Tortugas Trip Day 7 - Boaca Grande

About 3am, it appeared we had dragged our anchor.  Two more times in the next 30 minutes it happened again for a total of four times. It would only drag about a boat length and reset each time.  I was concerned about the shallow water behind us. It was dark and the current appeared to be screaming past us at a high rate. I pondered the problem for a while and formulated a plan. I felt it was too risk in the dark to pick up the anchor and try to reset it farther up the channel. So, we would motor out at about a 45 degree angle and set the secondary anchor. Once both were set, and the anchor lines balanced, we would not only have twice the holding power, but would also be positioned between the anchor; closer to the middle of the channel with no shallow water behind us.

I had to wake Grace. I had to teach her how to drop the anchor and let out the line. To help her, I flaked a good bit of line on deck beforehand. I was to drive the boat. This is opposite our typical anchoring, but the driving was critical. On our first attempt, I signaled Grace too soon and the anchor was not set where I wanted it. I weighed the anchor, flaked the line, and we tried again. On this second attempt everything worked out very well.

Anchored safely, or should I say relatively safely at Boca Grande, Grace and I settled in for a slow, relaxing day. The weather was foul with nasty winds; the channel had a tremendous current. So much so, that the boat faced the current, not the wind while at anchor. And while the current changed direction with the tides, the boat sat sideways across the channel, not facing the wind (sometimes) , and not facing the current. Distant Horizon was constantly changing direction and always in motion. The anchorage was exactly as described, however; well protected from waves and fully exposed to the wind.


At low tide, either side of the channel was dry. Here is a picture of the warning buoys, high and dry.