Anchoring Self Sabotage

Now that we’ve been taking our boat out on over night trips, the art and science of anchoring has become of key interest. From an outsiders perspective, dropping an anchor is easy, right? You drop it down in the water and your boat magically stays in position. Further thought and experience prove otherwise.

There are a lot of considerations to make when anchoring your boat overnight. For example, what type of sea floor are you anchoring in? Is it reef? Is it kelp? Is it rocks? Is it sand? Each type of bottom is served best by a particular anchor. Then there is the whole issue of “scoping.” That is, in addition to the depth of water your in, the amount of line you use should be scoped by a factor of 3, 4, 5, or even 7. If you are in 30 feet of water, you should let out 90, 120, 150, or even 210 feet of line! This helps keep your boat from pitching in the water should, say, the tide comes in. Or it will help your boat from being bounced around with each wave if you are tightly held to the bottom (imagine a taunt string versus one with slack). Another consideration is the material of the line to the anchor. Is it rope? Is it chain? Is it a combination? All of this, and so much more, is related to Anchoring. But what does this have to do with Self Sabotage? To answer that question, you need to ask yourself what anchors have you put in place to keep yourself from experiencing life.

I’ve met many people in my life that bemoan their “situation”, yet they continually put themselves in it. Maybe it is buying that new car before they have the cash on hand. Maybe it is committing to some sports activity that restricts their ability to spend time elsewhere. Some of the anchoring systems I’ve been shown by people in their lives is far more elaborate than the one I use on the boat. The anchors are so complex that trying to pick them up to move on is seemingly impossible. For a boat, when you don’t want to move, anchoring systems are great. But they are retractable. Are your self-imposed anchors retractable? If so, pick them up. Oh, and don’t kid yourself, you do have plenty of anchors if you look.