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Larry's LogThe next morning we listened to the morning nets and finished our preparations. Stowing all the "stuff" that finds its way out of storage is always interesting. We got underway at just about 9am. It was only 14 miles to go but with the time needed to raise and lower the anchor it would take some time. Leaving St. Pierre, the wind was 20 knots but fortunately from behind us (at least at that point). After leaving the wind died for about an hour. After about 90 minutes, we could again see a wind line coming up as we got closer to Fort-de-France Bay. As we hit it, we started to get 20 to 25 knots on the nose. We had been motoring to charge the batteries but we could have sailed if the breeze had been fair, but it wasn't. So we motored all the way into Anse Mitan. We got to Anse Mitan and anchored in about 17 feet and put out about 80 feet of rode, all chain. I felt we were anchored pretty securely. We had lunch and then got the dinghy ready to go - put on the engine, seat, etc. We then went into Pointe du Boute, the area around the small marina at the end of the Anse Mitan peninsula, and walked around. We also walked into Anse Mitan, but didn't find much. As we approached the ferry dock, we met some other cruisers, Mark and Anne from Cameron. We walked with them for awhile and then went back to the boat and had dinner. On the way back we stopped at another boat just to say hello, but they asked us aboard for drinks. Patrick and Teresa were aboard Kajsa, a Halberg Rassy 35. Before we left, we asked them to stop by Destiny tomorrow so we could return the favor. They said they weren't sure if they would be around, but they would if they were in the anchorage. We went back to the boat, had dinner and went to bed early. We planned to go to Fort-de-France by ferry the next day and wanted to catch the 8 or 8:30 ferry in the morning. The next morning, we managed to get the 8:30 ferry although it actually left about 10 minutes early. The guidebook says it may leave either early or late. Well, it is the islands. We walked around the town a great deal and then met another couple from a catamaran in a small chandlery. Lodie and Andy were aboard Cathouse, a name that they said did give some chuckles. They had left from Florida and had gone down the "Thorny Path" except they went directly from the Exumas to Puerto Rico. They were leaving tomorrow and were anchored in Fort-de-France. We asked about any internet places and they told us about a place they used. We went there and Andy and I both checked our Hotmail accounts. Andy had bought a large block of time that he wasn't going to use up and he kindly let me use some of his time to login. Later, he said just go back and say I want to use his account since he had over an hour left. Thanks Andy. We walked and talked for awhile and finally broke company slightly before lunch. We walked around town and made plans to purchase some things later; we didn't want to carry them around all day. We ate lunch at a restaurant recommended in several guide books - Marie Sainte. It was authentic Creole food and it was really good. We both had Red Snapper with red beans and rice and cod fritters. The fish was served whole (sans head and cleaned) but Diane didn't like the bones, although they were really pretty easy to remove once you got the knack. After lunch we continued our tour and saw the cathedral, the theater, the large park and several other sites around the largest city in the Caribbean. Unfortunately, the tour was a little marred by a beggar coming up to me and just saying, "Give me money" (in English) and then a bit later a different one saying something in French. We had seen some dilapidated housing across a small river that runs through town that separates the "Ville Central" from the rest of the town. On the whole though, we really enjoyed the trip. We rushed back to the ferry terminal to make the 4:30 ferry but naturally, it never came. We finally took the 5pm boat back to Pointe a Bout (the little marina near Anse Mitan). We got off the ferry and went to get a baguette for dinner. Lunch was large so we planned a light dinner of just bread and cheese. As we walked back to the boat, we looked out over the dock to see where the boat was. We saw it but it seemed to be in a different spot. As we drove out to the boat, it also seemed that we had to drive longer to get there and when we finally did get there, I said to Diane this doesn't seem right. Diane agreed as she got into the boat and stepped into the cockpit. There was a note there, as expected if Patrick and Teresa weren't going to stay in the anchorage. But what the note said was NOT what we expected. "You were dragging down on the boat behind you. The man on Nirvana called you on 16 and we happened to hear, so we came over." Oh My God!! The story we got was that the boat had dragged onto the anchor chain of another boat, also unoccupied, and was basically bouncing up and down on the chain. A boat from Montreal, Nirvana, had just come into the anchorage and had seen it happening so he tried getting us on the radio but, of course, we weren't there. The couple we had met the day before, Mark and Ann on Cameron, happened to hear what was happening and came over to help. They had a 15hp outboard on their dinghy and while Paul, from Nirvana, handled the anchor and windlass, and Ann steered, Mark pushed the boat with his dinghy. They had to try twice before the anchor finally caught! After we read the note, we noticed that Nirvana had just come back in their dinghy. We called over and Paul came over and explained what happened. He said I should check the stern for any damage from the other boat's chain. He said he didn't think the other boat suffered any damage. I thanked him several times and got back into the dinghy to check the stern. I could see that the edge of the stern had indeed gotten a little "chewed" by the chain but it was slight and didn't require any repairs immediately. Paul also suggested I check that the anchor was indeed set and I did that with the engine. We seemed OK, thank God. We were both pretty shaken. The outcome, if not for people we had only just met, Ann and Mark, and people we hadn't met at all, on Nirvana, could have been disastrous. I knew that the cruising community was a close knit group and would readily help each other, but I never thought I would need to be quite so in need of that help, without even knowing it. A truly wonderful group of people. After we got our wits about us again and double checked that the boat was really OK, we got in the dinghy and went over, first, to Nirvana, where we thanked them again and said to over for drinks the next night. Paul and Louise said they would be happy to come over if they were still there, they might be moving to a different anchorage. They again said that those things happen to everybody eventually and not to let it worry us too much. After thanking them again we went over to Cameron. We asked them over as well, naturally. Mark said that he had seen CQR anchors have problems before. If they get caught around a rock, once the direction of pull changes, the hinge caused the shank to rise and the anchor doesn't reset itself. He suggested a Delta anchor, which they use. He also suggested leaving a spare anchor on deck or somewhere easily accessible so if that happens again, the helper can deploy the second anchor easily. I would have to see how I could do that, not that I'm planning to drag again (but just in case). When we got back to the boat (still where we left it), we were exhausted from walking around all day and the nervous energy expended after we got back. We had a couple of drinks and a light dinner. But we both didn't sleep too well that night. I had tried to figure out if I had made any mistakes that caused the boat to drag. We had been anchored for almost 24 hours, in 20 - 25 knot gusts, before we had a problem. The anchor had been set, or we would have dragged earlier. Its possible that a large rock had caused the anchor to be upset, as Mark described, but the wind direction really didn't change that much. I suppose that is what happened, since I remember reading about such problems with CQR anchors, but this was the first time it had ever happened to me. We had held well in all the places we had been. I went back to read the cruising guide again and it said that there were some spots where there was just a layer of sand over rock or coral. I suppose we could have just been unlucky and found one of those spots. I guess I'll never know exactly what happened but I will be more careful next time and try to make sure we anchor over pure sand. I will also start to snorkel over the anchor to see if it's really set. I'll probably try to dive on it as well, but I've never been able to do that. I'll see how I do. |