Strong winds were forecast, it was October 2023 and I was preparing to leave Manorbier Bay on the Bristol Channel to reach Worm’s Head. Why, didn’t I feel this anchorage was safe enough? I asked myself this and a million other questions as I stood on the bow of the boat in the dark, bobbing around, trying to make sense of the rock shadows ready to sink me if I didn’t get it right.
I got on my knees and reached through the pulpit to grab the anchor chain, then struggled to my feet. Bending my knees, I hauled hard, trying to get the momentum going for my Atlanta 25 Dobbin, so I could reel her in.
Hand over hand, links of galvanised chain fell from my hand into the locker. Would the anchor trip? I sure didn’t want to lose it. Not with a two-day blow coming. Like a fish on a hook, I could feel the tension. Then… Dobbin tripped. It felt good. Hand over hand, faster now. Back on my knees, hands through the pulpit I grasped for the small 6.8kg anchor; the prize. On my previous voyage to Scotland and back, she had seen me through more than a couple of anchorages.
Careful now not to have the
