[Captain Steve]

We were tubing on Pine Lake in LaPorte, IN last weekend and stopped to anchor so the kids could jump off the back. A great time for sure. Then I let my guest captain take the helm for a little cruise. I thought hey, just tie off the tube and tow it empty to save a little time. Well, we got under way, and the drag from the tube seemed excessive, so I pulled it in. Then my guest increased throttle to about 1,600 rpm, and my wife, who was holding the tube yelled "Stop!" I looked over the side and saw the danforth anchor flashing below like the largest pike lure you have ever seen!. Doh. Pulled in the anchor and made ready to sail again and jeez, if there wasn't another thing hanging out. The ladder. Trust me, a wet tube, an anchor, and the ladder make a lot of drag.

So has anybody else ever weighed anchor without weighing the anchor?

[rooperdan]

LOL !!Fellow captian bonehead,, I did the same thing! It was the second time I had pulled my wife up on her slalom ski, the first time she yelled at me because I didn't take off fast enough and drug her a bit through the water,,,,well later on in the day after we were anchored she wanted another tow..so Out went the rope and I took off and again she was screamin at me to GO! well couldn't cuz the achor was still off the bow and the ladder was down,,,,,,After I stopped and she said what the Hell are you doin! and then everyone laughed so hard as I went to the front to get the anchor up!!! Well it was great to know that someone else had done the same thing!Good thing the cleats he:rolling_laughld out becuase that would have been the second anchor I would have lost!...

[depman160]

Not done it personally....yet.
But I watched the captain of a 50-foot houseboat actually lose two anchors in one night.
He dropped anchor about 100 yards downstream from a raft-off we had going, and decided to come join us.....without pulling the anchor.

When he came alongside and tied off, we realized with the number of boats, we should have another anchor out.....well, he went the bow and found no anchor, only some extra line still tied to the cleat.

So, in his infinite wisdom, he figured he would use the stern anchor, which would help keep our flotilla from swinging around in the wind.

Well, a few hours later, as he fired his engines to head back to the marina, he found his port engine was barely working, was starting to overheat and eventually seized up.

So, with no bow anchor and limping on one engine, he slowly drifted downstream, only to realize his stern anchor had been wrapped around the prop shaft and was most likely hanging under his boat.

We were able to board him with a spare anchor and get him stopped and three of us went down below with knives and a flashlight and sure enough.....there was the anchor!

We freed the prop shaft, saved one off his anchors and made it back to port safely.

The captain rarely leaves the dock these days, and if he does, he doesn't drop anchor!