Botany Bay - Lost Anchors

[chrism1986]

Hi Fish Raiders,

I am fairly new to boating, however have enough knowledge to keep myself out of trouble and meet the rules and regulations set by the maritime. My question is: What is the best way to unsnag an anchor in botany Bay? (besides cutting it off). I have now lost two anchors, once over near trevally alley and the other just 15-20 meters from the drums. I usually buy a sand anchor and allow only enough rope out to set anchor and stop the anchor from drifting. What am i doing wrong?

Any help with this would be much appreciated.

Thanks and regards

Chris.

[achjimmy]

Hi Fish Raiders,

I am fairly new to boating, however have enough knowledge to keep myself out of trouble and meet the rules and regulations set by the maritime. My question is: What is the best way to unsnag an anchor in botany Bay? (besides cutting it off). I have now lost two anchors, once over near trevally alley and the other just 15-20 meters from the drums. I usually buy a sand anchor and allow only enough rope out to set anchor and stop the anchor from drifting. What am i doing wrong?

Any help with this would be much appreciated.

Thanks and regards

Chris.

I read a post recently that suggested you can not fish Trevally alley until you have donated a least two picks to the anchor gods !

I saw another suggestion where they drill another hole on the sand anchor near the front and secure the chain there and then tie the chain to the back mount hole with wire. Idea beening that should it get stuck you can tie it off and pull it forward which should break the wire and allow the anchor to be pulled from the front to release. I have never tried it but it sounds feasiable.

[Berleyguts]

I read a post recently that suggested you can not fish Trevally alley until you have donated a least two picks to the anchor gods !

I saw another suggestion where they drill another hole on the sand anchor near the front and secure the chain there and then tie the chain to the back mount hole with wire. Idea beening that should it get stuck you can tie it off and pull it forward which should break the wire and allow the anchor to be pulled from the front to release. I have never tried it but it sounds feasiable.

I have always rigged my sand anchors up that way, to "trip" if caught (although not drilled). Rare to lose one. But, if not anchoring over sand or mud, use a reef pick and pull the prongs. You can also rig them to "trip" too.

Baz

[chrism1986]

Hi

Thanks for the responses. I am not sure how to setup the anchor tripping as per described. I have a Sand Anchor (Danforth Type) which has a tripping hole on the bottom of the anchor i believe. I am not sure how to rig this up? Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks in Return

Chris.

[Berleyguts]

Hi

Thanks for the responses. I am not sure how to setup the anchor tripping as per described. I have a Sand Anchor (Danforth Type) which has a tripping hole on the bottom of the anchor i believe. I am not sure how to rig this up? Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks in Return

Chris.

Without seeing the anchor (I don't have a Danforth, just light sand anchors now for my punt), you should be able to attach the chain with a U-bolt to that lower hole. Then you run the chain along the shaft and tie it with strong cord or light wire at the other end. An old Georges River jew fisherman showed me how to do this when I was a kid.

Baz

[Kruzenvax]

Is trevally alley just along of the container wall / Moulinex point? The reason I'm asking - I anchor there all the time and never lost an anchor... or this is a differnet spot? I have lost an anchor near Botany heads (I guess its Watts reef or something - heads on the same side as the oil warf). I've been shown the same set up as described above, but was advised to use a heavier cable tie, not a cord... yet to break it in real conditions.

Edited October 28, 2008 by Kruzenvax

[Dan]

Hi Fish Raiders,

I am fairly new to boating, however have enough knowledge to keep myself out of trouble and meet the rules and regulations set by the maritime. My question is: What is the best way to unsnag an anchor in botany Bay? (besides cutting it off). I have now lost two anchors, once over near trevally alley and the other just 15-20 meters from the drums. I usually buy a sand anchor and allow only enough rope out to set anchor and stop the anchor from drifting. What am i doing wrong?

Any help with this would be much appreciated.

Thanks and regards

Chris.

Hi there..

I have been fishing the bay in my 4.5m Monarc for about 4-5 years now and know where you are coming from.

When I stated fishing the bay, was also when I purchased my first boat.

I lost about 3 sand anchors in my first 10 visits to the bay (and at $45 a pop)

I now have two anchors, a reef and sand. The only place I use a reef is from Bear Island and further out through the heads closer to the shore.

If you do set you're anchor in deep and can’t pull her up, always remember to tie off on the front bollard and move the boat to the opposite angle that the anchor is set to. Then just pop her in reverse and give her a small tug.

It takes some getting used to and some times you need to try a few angles. Just remember small tugs not flat out or anything like that.

I have not lost a sand anchor in the bay for about 4 years now....

(A friend dives of Kurnell often and has said there is a anchor grave yard in a few spots) 

Cheers,

Dan.

[brudus]

Hi Chris,

After losing a couple of sand anchors I invested in a SARCA - the only anchor you will ever need.

The SARCA has been designed as an all purpose, easy retrieve anchor (great for arthritis sufferers like me), that is easy on the environment as it slides out of sand, weeds etc rather than ripping the bottom.

To learn more about the SARCA simply type SARCA into google.

Kindest regards

[chrism1986]

HI Guys,

Thanks very much for the replies, i will give them all a shot. Those anchors come at a price 50 bucks ea and i will do almost anything to stop it happening. I dont know if they get snagged or if the sand is that heavy and we cant lift it back up. I had two people try to lift my anchor and we ended up with alot of sore hands.

I will try that reversing trick. Thanks for the tips guys... much appreciated.

When you guys anchor from the break wall, how far do you anchor from it? 20-30 ft?

Thanks

Chris.

[mr magoo]

HI Guys,

Thanks very much for the replies, i will give them all a shot. Those anchors come at a price 50 bucks ea and i will do almost anything to stop it happening. I dont know if they get snagged or if the sand is that heavy and we cant lift it back up. I had two people try to lift my anchor and we ended up with alot of sore hands.

I will try that reversing trick. Thanks for the tips guys... much appreciated.

When you guys anchor from the break wall, how far do you anchor from it? 20-30 ft?

Thanks

Chris.

if you anchor within 20 feet of the wall you are still over reef and that is why you cant get your sand anchor back out ,watch your sounder to confirm that you are over sand before you drop the sand anchor,or use a reef pick

when i retrieve my anchor ,i drive the boat in the same direction the anchor rope is laying in the water while the decky is retriving the rope and if he can t pull it up when we have got over it directly ,he would then tie it off to the bow and i would use the boat to try and release it from the bottom

cheers arman

[Davemmm]

As an aside I have LANDED to anchors in the last eight months.

The first was off St George Motor boat club. Thought i was on sand but then struggled to pull the anchor in. I drove the boat around in circles till it lifted and up came another sand anchor hooked into mine.

The second was during winter in the Wonny river. I struggled to lift the anchor (arm in plaster didn't help) when I finally dragged it up it was conected to the chain of a decent reef anchor.

I may have got two back but Neptune is still winning overall.

Dave

edit

i've also caught twu pusbikes but that doesn't count

Edited October 30, 2008 by davemmm

[CiViC]

When you guys anchor from the break wall, how far do you anchor from it? 20-30 ft?

on a still day you can actually see the big cubes (concrete?) that sit down there.

about 5m out should be enough as longs as its not a NE or E wind.

[Flightmanager]

If you are over a reef or rocks , use a reef pick. If it gets stuck , GENTLE reverse thrust from the engine will straighten the stuck tine , and you are free. If you wedge a sand anchor in rocks you will have hells own job of releasing it . Carry two anchors. The reef pics can be straightened for easy storage.

My best retrieve from Molly Pt was 3 sand anchors , 2 lures and about 100M of braid !!!!

Ross