I’ve been listening to a lot of AC/DC recently. But that’s not important right now. Besides, they’re Australian, and the Rocna anchor was designed in New Zealand. I should probably have selected a Flight of the Conchords musical reference, since they’re from New Zealand.

Anyhoo! I’ve decided to get a Rocna anchor and try it out aboard Two Lucky Fish. The Rocna is one of the new generation of Funny Looking Anchors we’ve discussed here previously.

I’ve got 6-kg model on its way from Suncoast Marine in Vancouver, the North American manufacturer. This should be plenty big enough for my C-Dory 22, especially considering that I don’t usually anchor out when it’s really rough, and I cruise in areas where some sort of shelter is nearly always close at hand. I don’t need a hurricane anchor.

I’ll report on it periodically as I gain experience with it. I’m not going to attempt to conduct genuine “scientific” testing, but I might take it out to the beach with my current Bruce-clone “Claw” anchor and a similar-sized Delta I can borrow from my sister, and play around with them all in the sand.

All I know now is that my Claw anchor seems to stay in place about as well as a pile of loose chain would. Yeah, I know…I’m probably not setting it right. That’s almost certainly true. I don’t claim to be any sort of anchoring expert.

But that’s sort of the point.

My anecdotal impressions will probably be more helpful to the average coastal cruiser who only anchors occasionally than will reports from the serious offshore voyagers the Rocna was really designed for (and by).

Will my experience with the Rocna measure up to the manufacturer’s claims and recent test results, particularly in the short-scope anchoring situations typical in the Pacific Northwest?

Stay Tuned!