Is my anchor dragging? How to tell, and what to do in the first two minutes
The signs that your anchor is dragging, how to confirm it in under a minute, and what to do first, from starting the engine to re-anchoring in the dark.
The SafeBoat blog
Seamanship, written down.
How much chain, which forecast, who keeps the watch and what to do when the engine runs hot. Practical pieces from the boat owners who build SafeBoat.
Anchoring
Scope, holding, alarms and the nights in between.
How much anchor chain to let out: scope, depth and the 5:1 rule
How much anchor chain to let out for the depth: what scope means, a table from 3 to 20 m, why 5:1 works, and when to let out more chain or rope.
Anchor alarm radius: how to set one that will not cry wolf
How to set an anchor alarm radius from your chain, boat length and GPS error, where the anchor marker belongs, and why a GPS anchor alarm cries wolf.
Sleeping well at anchor: an overnight checklist
Anchoring overnight without lying awake: the night’s wind shift, swing room, anchor light, snubber, dinghy, noise, rolling, and a way out in the dark.
How to choose an anchorage: shelter, holding, swell and the night’s wind shift
How to choose an anchorage: shelter from the night’s wind shift, swell and fetch, gusts off high ground, holding in sand or mud, Posidonia and a way out.
Leaving the boat at anchor while you go ashore
When it is reasonable to leave your boat unattended at anchor, how to prove the anchor first, the dinghy ride back, security, and an anchor watch from shore.
Med mooring stern-to, without the shouting
Med mooring step by step: preparing lines and fenders, dropping the anchor, reversing in a crosswind, lazy lines, crossed anchors and taking a long line ashore.
Weather
Models, gusts, waves and the winds with names.
ECMWF, GFS or ICON: which weather model should sailors trust?
ECMWF vs GFS vs ICON for sailors: who runs each model, how fine and how often, where each one is strong, and why comparing them tells you what to trust.
How to read a marine forecast: wind, gusts, waves and the hours between
How to read a marine forecast: wind direction and knots, mean wind versus gusts, what significant wave height hides, why period matters, and reading the day.
The Beaufort scale for sailors, force by force
The Beaufort scale from force 0 to 12 in knots, with the sea state for each force and what it means aboard a 10 to 12 m cruising yacht.
The meltemi: sailing the Aegean’s summer wind
The meltemi for sailors: when the Aegean’s summer wind blows, how hard, its direction in each region, and how to plan passages and anchorages around it.
Crew safety
Watches, check-ins, radio calls and the people ashore.
Sailing alone: sleep, check-ins and staying found
Single-handed sailing safety, honestly: the lookout rule, the sums behind the 20 minute nap, staying on the boat, and making sure someone knows if you do not.
Night watch schedules for two, three and four crew
Night watch schedules for two, three and four crew, with tables: 3 on 3 off, 4 on 4 off, 3 on 6 off, the Swedish system, handovers and when to wake the skipper.
A float plan someone ashore can actually use
What to put in a float plan or sail plan, the worry time most plans leave out, what the person ashore should do when it passes, and a template to copy.
Mayday, Pan-Pan, Sécurité: what to say on the VHF, word for word
How to make a Mayday call on VHF channel 16, word for word: the DSC distress button, the MIPDANIO order, Pan-Pan and Sécurité, and cancelling a false alert.
Passage planning
Legs, timing, charts and where to go when it turns.
Planning a coastal passage: legs, timing and a bail-out bay
Coastal passage planning in plain terms: a realistic average speed, a departure time worked back from daylight, legs and hazards, and a bail-out bay for each.
Offline charts on a phone: what works without signal, and what does not
Phone GPS works at sea with no signal or data, but maps, forecasts and alerts may not. What to download before you go, and why a phone is your second chart.
Sailing the San Blas islands: anchorages, reefs and practical notes
Sailing the San Blas islands of Guna Yala, Panama: clearing in and local fees, reading reefs by eye, well-known anchorages, seasons and being a good guest.
Boat systems
Engines, manuals and the jobs that keep you moving.
Changing a raw water impeller, before it changes your plans
How to change the raw water impeller on a marine diesel: the warning signs, how often to replace it, the tools, each step, and finding the vanes that broke off.
Where to find your boat’s manuals, and the pages worth reading first
Where to find a boat owner’s manual or marine engine manual PDF, why the exact model and serial number matter, and which pages to read before you need them.
Free on iOS and Android
The tools behind these pages, on your phone
An anchor alarm, marine weather from ECMWF, GFS and ICON, I’m OK check-ins, a route planner and BoatGPT. No ads and no subscription, and the anchor alarm needs no account.