Anchor OH-oh

     Charlotte Amalie's Long Bay is the harbor where two to three cruise ships dock on any given day during the high season. It is a busy area and the water in the bay is not as clear as most other VI anchorages. We chose to anchor there for about a week because of its proximity to businesses and services we needed to visit.
      Over time, we have become pretty confident in setting our anchor.  When we sailed Lake Michigan's waters as newbies, we learned to use a Danforth anchor with a strong, durable line and a sandy bottom with good holding was always easy to find.  Since purchasing Exit Strategy we've gradually up-graded our anchor and setting techniques.  We occasionally dragged at anchor during our early voyages on ES using a CQR anchor; a swivel was attached to the anchor chain to correct it.  The anchor was then able to flip over and dig in better, but most often it laid on its side and the captain would dive down to manually correct it.  When we moved on to ES, that anchor was quickly replaced by an over-sized Delta model.  Problem solved.
     We left plenty of room to swing when we set anchor in Long Bay.  Everything seemed fine until there were high winds one night.  We noticed that ES seemed to be pivoting about on a short lead, although still holding firm. The next day we saw our anchor buoy floating freely at our stern- its line shredded.  Later that day, some friends said they had noticed our short swinging pattern, too.  Then we recalled that last season some other cruising friends got their anchor stuck in the same vicinity.
      The captain & I discussed a plan to safely weigh anchor and get unstuck from the submerged obstacle with minimal damage.  Specific hand signals to be used during the delicate process were reviewed. (No fingers allowed.) Dan slowly eased ES in the direction the anchor chain was wound indicated by my outstretched arm. The chain caught and stopped, so Dan stalled ES.  The chain relaxed and we proceeded until another catch, followed by ES pausing again.  Alas! We were free with no damage!