Anchors galore

An insurance claim for a replacement anchor was placed, a new 25kg Vulcan anchor was duly ordered and, as it was on 3-4 weeks delivery, we needed another anchor to continue our summer cruising. This was provided by or friends off Taurus, in the form of a 44lb Delta - the same type as our original factory anchor albeit 9lb heavier. We cruised down to Te Kouma Harbour on the Coromandel Peninsular and spent a very peaceful and non-eventful 3 days there. Not that there was a lot of wind.

Sunset at Te Kouma

Same shot - next night - a tad earlier

A couple more weeks went by and a couple of things happened simultaneously. The marine store advised that the Vulcan had arrived, and the insurance company advised that the claim had been approved and that they had ordered the replacement from the same marine supplier. I told them that I had already ordered one and that it had arrived and during the ensuing discussion I discovered that they had approved replacement of, and had ordered, the $6000 SS 50lb plough!! The rationale is that the policy required replacement "like for like" so that was it! This was also on a 4 weeks delivery and, as I had already decided I wanted the Vulcan, I took it as well. So the new SS plough anchor will become a very pretty (and very expensive) spare when it arrives. I will sell the original 35lb Delta that came with the boat as it is near new and of no use to me at all now.

We picked up the new Vulcan and took it down to the boat. Here's what it looks like and how it compares to the borrowed 44lb Delta

It fitted neatly in the bow roller (just like the cardboard cut-out predicted) and rolled easily up to lock in place. It is also the first anchor I have had that will deploy and retrieve without having to lift the anchor locker hatch

The first time we used it, in Putiki Bay of all places, it dragged in a strong SW wind. But when I pulled it up I found a piece of cable wrapped around the shank, which probably caused the problem. It also has a slightly different deployment technique to what I had been doing with plough anchors and we have since anchored a dozen or more times using that technique and, boy, does it dig in.

We also did a four day away trip to Kawau with Charlie and Pauline that was very pleasant but brought to a head a couple of long standing issues that need to be addressed. One is the holding tank ventilation, the other is battery charging, and they will be the subject of separate postings.