Some of the happiest parts of boating are the things that happen when you’re standing still: a quiet picnic in the lee of a remote islet; an impromptu gam in a friendly cove; or a splash ashore to an inviting beach. In all of those situations – or even if your boat is small enough that it can be driven or dragged onto dry land – you’ll want to secure it with an anchor.

Of course, there can be other reasons for dropping the hook that may not be quite as much fun: an unexpected loss of power; a sudden change in weather; or the need to reorient after missing a turn in unfamiliar waters. Whatever the motive, anchoring is one of those deceptively simple exercises that can be a source of all the wrong kind of surprises.

For example, nothing identifies us as alumnae of the School for Seagoing Simpletons quite as decisively as bending down at the skipper’s signal to give the anchor the old heave-ho — and finding it is securely lashed to the deck. Or to toss it out with the appropriate elan, only to have it jerk to a stop a full foot above the water because of a kinked chain or knotted rode. (Crustier seadogs refer to the anchor line as a “rode,” most likely to avoid being understood. This can be useful information for someone striving to recover lost face on the backlash of an embarrassing gaffe: “What fool fouled the rode? Shiver me timbers.”) And then there’s the boater who is so afraid of losing his anchor to thieves that he padlocks it in place and leaves the key in a cigar box under the work bench in his garage.