On the spur of the moment I thought I’d sail up to Anegada today and anchor in Pomato Point, as the weather seems to have settled. I departed and had a great sail to Anegada, with the wind directly on the beam and with 1 reef in both sails I was doing a very comfortable 8 knots all the way. I dropped sails outside of the markers and then slowly motored into Pomato Point, avoiding the reefs on the left and right. The sun was high in the sky so it was easy to see, but in the end I was in 10 feet of water, with just 2 feet indicated under the keel. I anchored and dove on it (plus to check if I really had 2 feet). The fathometer has about a foot of leeway but I didn’t feel comfortable where I was (plus the swell rolled around the corner) particularly as I didn’t know the state of the tide. If my 2 feet disappeared (it could have been a spring tide due to the full moon) then I would have no way out of the anchorage so I broke the record for the shortest Anegada stay, making an espresso after drying off from the dive and then I proceeded to carefully motor out of the anchorage until the water depth was 20 feet once again, then set sail and almost made the channel entrance on one tack. This time I anchored off Leverick Bay and I’ll head in tonight for the Happy ‘Arrrr show by Michael Beans and a good pizza or burger. I don’t understand the herd instinct with anchoring, I made sure to anchor far away from the mooring field and then a powercat (basically a catamaran without the mast) came in and dropped their hook right beside me; although there’s tons of room in the anchorage. I don’t think they set enough chain, either; I’m in 20 feet and they couldn’t have put out more than 50 feet of chain, if that much. At least if they drag it will be away from me.
After returning from Happy Hour I see my neighbors belong to this year’s “in” group with lit running lights. When we swing in the same direction our separation is no more than 20 feet so I can hear their conversation, which is rich in expletives… despite it being dark I think I might change position. Instead of changing position, I pulled the dinghy up to the starboard side to act as a cushion should our boats get too close together.
I finished watching the movie on my notebook and then sat and watched the moon slowly traverse up the night sky before repairing to bed at a respectable hour for a boatie – 22:30.
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