Anchor Work from the Deck

The bridge controls the engine. You control the anchor. Do not confuse those two things.

Why This Operation Is Different

Anchor work sits in a category of its own. The master has the conn, gives the orders, and watches the screen. But from the bridge windows, he cannot see the angle the chain is making, whether it is bar-taut or slack, whether it is coming in clean or dragging mud, or whether the windlass brake is creeping. He is flying partly blind, and his instruments are your eyes and your voice.

That is not a figure of speech. In poor holding ground, in a swell, or when a vessel is dragging, the information coming up from the forecastle is the most operationally critical data on the ship. This piece is about giving that data accurately, managing the gear correctly, and keeping the team safe while the machinery is running.

Pre-Operation Checks: Before You Touch Anything

Get to the forecastle early. Rushing pre-checks because the vessel is already on approach is how you discover a seized brake at the worst possible moment.

Work through this in order:

• Windlass brake: Apply fully and check the drum does not move. The brake band and brake liner wear over time. If there is any slippage under static load, report it before you start. Do not intend to manage a failing brake during the operation.
• Windlass clutch and controls: Confirm the clutch is engaged to the cable lifter, controls are in local mode if operating from the forecastle head, and that the hydraulic or electrical supply is live and pressure is reading correctly.
• Bow stopper (cable clench): Confirm it is in good order and that you know whether the bridge expects you to use it. On some vessels and some masters, the stopper goes on as soon as the anchor is let go. On others, it is a last resort. Know the standing instruction before the operation, not during it.
• Chain markings: Look at the first few shots before the anchor goes. Paint marks, wire markers, and kenter shackles all degrade. If the markings are ambiguous, say so. Counting shots in poor visibility with a running windlass is not the time to discover you are unsure what three shots looks like.
• Hawsepipe and spurling pipe: Clear of any obstruction. On a vessel coming from heavy weather, chain lashings, wedges, or hawse plugs may still be in place.
• Communications check with bridge: Before the anchor goes anywhere, you want two-way confirmation that your VHF is working, your hand signals have been acknowledged, and that both parties know who is calling the depths and who is relaying them. This is not bureaucracy. It is the last moment when you can sort out a misunderstanding without consequences.

Forecastle Team Roles

On a well-run ship, the forecastle team for anchoring has distinct roles even if it is only three people.

The officer-in-charge is the windlass operator and the person giving information to the bridge. He is watching the chain direction and the amount out. He is not operating a secondary control and simultaneously trying to signal to a colleague across a noisy deck. Keep the roles clean.

The AB at the windlass controls the brake and clutch on instruction. He knows the feel of that windlass better than anyone, and if something sounds or feels wrong, he says so immediately. Hydraulic windlasses have their own character. An experienced hand will notice a pressure drop or an unusual noise before any gauge moves.

If a third person is available, they stand clear of the chain run and act as a relay or safety observer. Chain under load does not fail gracefully. Nobody stands in the lead of the chain. Nobody stands over the hawsepipe.

That last point is worth its own line.

Nobody stands in the lead of the running chain. Ever.

Communications When Machinery Is Running

VHF is your primary link to the bridge. Use it. The radio channel should be agreed before departure from the berth or anchorage. Channel 16 is for distress. Use a working channel.

Hand signals exist because windlasses are loud and VHF can fail. Agree a set before you start. The standard signals used in most fleets are:

• Arm raised, fist closed: stop
• Index finger rotating forward: heave
• Flat hand, fingers down, rotating: ease/walk back
• Both arms raised: anchor clear of the bottom (aweigh)
• Arm pointing outboard at angle: direction of chain

The problem is that in a swell, with spray, with the windlass running and two people in foul-weather gear, hand signals can be misread. Never assume a signal was received. If there is doubt, stop the operation until you have confirmed communication. A vessel drifting for thirty seconds while you re-establish comms is a nuisance. A misunderstood signal during a let-go is a significantly bigger problem.

Bells. On older vessels, the bell code from the forecastle to the bridge is still specified in the SMS. Know it. Confirm the bridge knows it. In practice, VHF has replaced bells as a primary medium, but they remain as a backup and they work when everything else has gone wrong.

Letting Go

When the order comes from the bridge, the sequence is as follows:

• Confirm the order verbally back to the bridge: which anchor, depth of water.
• Remove the bow stopper or lashing if applicable.
• Ease the brake progressively. Do not release it entirely unless the vessel is moving ahead and you need the chain to run freely. In most cases you are controlling the rate of run with the brake.
• Call out the chain as it runs: shots, direction, strain.
• When the required scope is out, apply the brake, confirm with the bridge, and put the bow stopper on if instructed.

Walking back is the controlled lowering of the anchor under the brake before the vessel is at the letting-go position. The clutch is engaged, the brake controls descent, and the anchor is lowered to just below the waterline or to a specified depth. This is done in restricted waters, alongside a berth, or when the master wants the anchor at short stay before the final position. It requires a steady hand on the brake and clear communication about depth of water below the keel.

The difference between letting go and walking back is not just technique. It is risk profile. A free-running chain in deep water with a failing brake is a different emergency from a controlled walk-back in shallow water. Know which operation you are doing and set yourself up accordingly.

Reading the Chain

This is the skill that separates a competent forecastle hand from an exceptional one.

Chain direction tells you what the anchor is doing. If the chain leads straight down, the anchor is directly below you and the vessel is over it. If it leads forward, the vessel is behind the anchor. If it leads aft under the bow, the vessel has sheered or is being set across the chain, and that information needs to go to the bridge immediately.

Strain tells you the load on the gear. A chain that is bar-taut with white water spraying off the links has a very different message from one hanging in a loose bight. In a strong tide or wind, you expect to see a taut lead. In calm conditions, unexpected tautness means the anchor is dragging or the vessel is moving in a direction it should not be.

Amount out is the scope, and it is your count. Call each shot as it goes out. A shot is 27.5 metres (15 fathoms). Know your markings. If you lose count, stop and sort it out. The bridge can manoeuvre around a brief pause. They cannot manoeuvre around incorrect scope information passed as fact.

Weighing Anchor: The Sequence and the Patience

Weighing is slower than letting go, and that is correct. The windlass is working against the anchor load, the weight of the chain, and whatever mud or clay the anchor has buried itself in.

Start heaving on the bridge order. Call the chain direction constantly. As the vessel moves up towards the anchor, the chain will come in more freely. Do not increase windlass speed just because the chain is running easily. The next moment may bring a snag or a sharp load as the anchor breaks out.

When the chain is up and down, the anchor is directly below. Report this to the bridge. The vessel will feel it in the helm and the master will apply manoeuvring power to break the anchor out. Your job is to keep heaving steadily as the anchor lifts and to call clearly when the anchor is aweigh, meaning clear of the bottom and suspended on the chain.

Aweigh is a specific moment. Not nearly up, not almost there. The instant the anchor lifts from the ground, the vessel is under helm alone. Call it clearly.

Continue heaving. As the anchor comes to the hawse, reduce speed. Watch the anchor as it enters the pipe. A fouled anchor, or one carrying a turn of chain, will not seat correctly. Stop, assess, and sort it before it is half in the hawsepipe and wedged.

Anchor housed and secured means: anchor seated in the hawse, bow stopper closed, windlass clutch disengaged, brake applied and locked, and the bridge informed. On some vessels there is a hawse cover or pipe cover to fit. In heavy weather this is not optional.

Report to the bridge: anchor housed and secured, and identify which anchor. Do not leave the forecastle until the master has acknowledged.

In Practice

• If you are not certain of your chain markings, say so before the operation starts. Not during it.
• The brake is your primary control. Know its condition before you need it.
• Direction of chain is more important than scope when diagnosing a dragging anchor. Report it first.
• Agree hand signals, VHF channel, and bell codes at the pre-operation brief. Do not assume.
• Aweigh is a precise call, not an approximation. Get it right.
• The bridge cannot see the chain angle, the windlass behaviour, or the anchor seating. Your report is their reality. Make it accurate.
• Nobody stands in the lead of the running chain.