TECHNICAL WHY BIGGER ANCHORS AREN’T ALWAYS BETTER

Reading the advice on what size anchor is best for your boat, the forums are full of advice that an anchor one or even two sizes bigger than the manufacturer’s recommendation should be carried for greater anchoring security. On the assumption that the manufacturers have tested their products in a wide variety of conditions, I began to wonder why people would believe that they need to go bigger, with all the expense and handling difficulties that this may entail.

Our yacht cruising experience began around 35 years ago in Anglesey, North Wales, from where we cruised widely to Scotland, Ireland, the Scilly Isles and Brittany, almost always anchoring. Throughout this period we used Delta anchors, a 10kg version on our first boat and 16kg when we