We awoke at 5:30 am to the sound of wind gusts out of the north. These increased in intensity during the day and produced steady 18-20 Knot winds with gusts as high as 28 knots. It was not a day to be exploring but one to relax and keep an eye on the anchor and its chain. We had 125 feet of chain and another 80 feet of rode out and were secure, even during the high wind gusts. Finally, about 3:30 pm the Barometer bottomed out at 1011.7 and began to rise slowly. As I write this at 8:00 pm it continues its steady rise and the wind, while still gusting, is less frequent and less intense.

It was a good day to take stock of our anchor planning. We had added 125 feet of 3/8 short link G4 HT chain to the primary 40lb CQR anchor and backed this up with another 220′ of 5/8″ rode. I had also re-spliced a thimble into the rode and used a shackle to attach this to the chain. Hilbre also carries a spare 80′ of 3/8 HT chain as well as two shorter 3/8 chains of 30 and 25 feet.  In addition we carry 220 feet of 5/8 rode, 100′ of spare 5/8 rode and another 150 of half inch rode.  Some of this is used for the spare Danforth anchor as well as the smaller lunch hook anchor.

When it comes to anchoring, nothing is too much. During the day, we watched three other boats having to re-anchor because they were dragging. One boat did so at least five times during the day and we could see that she clearly moved downwind with each passing hour. This reminded me of the walks I have taken along various docks noting the size of boat verses the size of the anchor. It has always amazed me that people skimp on anchors, often using the smallest they can get away with; not a good policy and not one that will save them in a blow.

We hope that the ‘Northerner’ will blow itself out during the night and that tomorrow we will be able to launch the dingy, go ashore, stretch our legs and do some exploring.