As keeping your boat securely connected to the bottom is really important for the safety and well being of all distance cruisers, an ongoing discussion of issues about gear and technique can be very helpful. Ground tackle has been dramatically improving over the past few years, and as a result techniques for deploying that tackle have been modified.

This is a great place for members to share their experience with newer anchors and related gear, tricky anchorages, and tips for effective technique.

And if you have a great story to tell, please share it. We all know that anchoring is a spectator sport, and we all love a good story.

Vice Commodore, OCC 

Hi David,
Thanks for the field report and I concur with your conclusions.
While reading your report, I remembered another reason (I do not think this came up before) to shy away from chums (sentinels/kellets) as a regular thing and that is the occasional midnight fire drill where I want to get the anchor up and secure with speed and simplicity. Now, this did not happen so often in Northern Europe, but I do remember them (with no fondness) in the tropics where squalls were more common and un-predictable and being able to be up and underway with a minimum of fuss was important.
My best, Dick Stevenson, s/v Alchemy, Baddeck, Nova Scotia