BOATsmart! Base de connaissances du Canada 

CHOOSING LANDMARKS

Once the anchor is set, choose two fixed landmarks on the horizon and occasionally check your relative position to ensure that you are not drifting.

SWING

Never secure the anchor to the stern of the craft.
If the wind changes direction, your boat will swing with the stern into the wind. Smaller boats can be easily swamped by waves crashing over the transom.

RIGHT OF SWING

If you are preparing to set anchor in an anchorage among other boats, remember that the first craft into anchorage has the ‘right of swing’. Other boats may ‘swing’ with changes in wind direction. Always allow for another craft’s right of swing and anchor well clear.

RETRIEVING THE ANCHOR

To retrieve the anchor, slowly pull on the anchor line, move the boat forward until the anchor frees itself from the bottom, bring the anchor onto the craft and fasten securely.