I wake up at 04:00 hours. Everything is quiet, but I do get up and check our anchor. Outside, there is no wind and the sky is clear. You can see the stars and the moon is almost full. Our ship is anchored rock solid. The temperature is nice, and I stay outside for a while to enjoy the peace and quiet.
After a few more hours of sleep I do get up around 07:30, Time for a swim, and listening to the weather forecast via VHF. Breakfast after that, another swim, and some time for reading. We lift our anchor around 10:30. Immediately outside the cove we hoist our sails, the wind is northwesterly (Tramontana), 6 – 9 knots. The barometer rose 4 hPa to 1018 hPa since 08:00. Our course is 150 and boat speed is 4 knots while we sail towards the western coast of the island of Lastovo. Around 12:30 we pass the rock Plič Pod Mrčaru on the northern side of Lastovo. One hour later, we sail around the island of Bratin. Soon after that we see the lighthouse at Rt Skriževa and Rt Struga, and around 14:45 we drop our anchor in Skrivena Luka.
According to the pilot guides, Skrivena Luka is the finest anchorage around Lastovo. We are not 100% convinced, the protection against winds is not as good as we hoped for. There are some holiday homes around the bay, and on its western shore there is a restaurant with its own pier (which is rather busy). Together with four other ships we anchored in the northern section of the bay, in 5 meters of water.
That evening the winds turns towards north, and increases to 15 – 20 knots. Around 19:30 I notice that the other boats are coming closer. My reference points on the coast have moved as well. In other words: our anchor started dragging… At first we try to re-anchor close to our original anchoring spot, increase our scope from 1 in 4 (20 meters of chain) to 1 in 6 (30 meters of chain). But it does not work, within 30 minutes we are dragging again.
By now it is dark, and it is time for drastic measures. We switch on the navigation lights and lift our anchor again. We move towards the center of the bay, far from the other yachts. In 7 meters of water we drop 50 meters of chain, increasing our scope to 1 in 7. Using the engine in reverse, we help the anchor dig in. It seems to work.
Soon after that we are visited by a dinghy with some crew members from a German yacht, moored at the pier. They saw us drag and re-anchor, and wanted to ensure that we are alright. By then we have the situation under control, but I do appreciate their offer. It shows the true spirit of yachting! During the next hour, I check our position a number of times. We are anchored rock solid.
That night, I sleep in the cockpit again. Every two hours I get up and check the anchor. Around 02:00 the wind dies. From that moment on I sleep a bit more comfortable. However, I do feel rather exhausted when I get up at 07:00. This is vacation, remember…
I share my story about the dragging anchor in Skrivena Luka with a friend of mine, who is a local skipper, later that week. He explains the mystery to me. The northern section of Skrivena Luka has a rocky bottom with a thin layer of sand and mud. Your anchor will not dig in here. The central and southern sections of the bay do have a proper layer of sand and mud, which will hold your anchor well. Something to remember.








