The Truth Is Out About Old Style Anchors

January 24, 2021February 1, 2007 by John Harries

There is an interesting comparison test of anchors in the October 2007 issue of SAIL magazine. All the usual anchor suspects are put through their paces but what stands out is the very poor performance of traditional anchors, particularly the CQR, against more modern designs like the Rocna and SPADE.

The testers at SAIL were surprised. We were not, having dragged a CQR anchor around half the periphery of the Atlantic basin.

If you are using an old design anchor and particularly if it is a CQR, we strongly recommend that you upgrade to one of the newer designs. It is one of the easiest, cheapest (in comparison to many other upgrades), and most effective ways to increase your safety and enjoyment of cruising.

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John was born and brought up in Bermuda and started sailing as a child, racing locally and offshore before turning to cruising. He has sailed over 100,000 miles, most of it on his McCurdy & Rhodes 56, Morgan's Cloud, including eight ocean races to Bermuda, culminating in winning his class twice in the Newport Bermuda Race. He has skippered a series of voyages in the North Atlantic, the majority of which have been to the high latitudes. John has been helping others go voyaging by sharing his experience for twenty years, first in yachting magazines and, for the last 12 years, as co-editor/publisher of AAC.