Due to a problem with First Great Western trains John Goode arrived at the club very shortly before he was due to give the address on anchoring and in fact he had only minutes between arrival and the start of the presentation. Due partly to his preference for a flip chart rather than any form of screen projection he was able to get himself organised within those limited minutes. LSC members almost filled the library around 19.30 in anticipation of an interesting address from a master mariner in the true sense and those LSC members were not disappointed.

John Goode’s opening remarks set the scene in the sense that he pointed out the major contribution which anchoring made to enjoying life afloat - especially at night. Anchoring, for him, was something to be embraced rather than shunned and he made it very clear that he would sleep more soundly knowing that he was on an anchor which he could trust rather than on a mooring which he might know very little about.

He then proceeded to try to dispel any fears about the process of anchoring and to enlighten us on the skills needed to set and weigh an anchor under power and under sail. John encouraged us not to be constrained by seeking to anchor only in those areas specifically marked as anchorages on charts - many other opportunities existed provided of course that we checked on the obvious issues such as the holding properties of the seabed.

He talked us through the process of manoeuvring the boat whilst laying an anchor in order to achieve the most efficient use of chain / warp and of course he dwelt on the all important digging in process. Many issues were covered including the use and operation of kedge anchors, the various types of main anchors, anchoring in Mediterranean ports and how to restrict the veering movement of a boat at anchor in strong winds. One important issue stressed by John was the ability of the anchor to act as a brake in emergency or tight situations and therefore the need to know, before setting off, exactly how the mechanism should operate.

Finally John presented a horse shoe device which he conceived and designed to assist the clearing of a fouled anchor and he then ended his address with a ‘seasonal poem’. The device is known as a Trip Hook and is manufactured by Coastline Technology (www.coastlinetechnology.com or telephone 01943 830399).

John Goode’s considerable experience made it all sound achievable and, if only for that reason, the presentation was a great success. I believe that we all took something away from that address - I know that I did.

Bob Fairman