While on holiday on the Costa Brava last year I hired a dinghy with an outboard for a day -15 horsepower; quite a buzz when you're only used to 4! Apart from the fun of the day I got one useful idea from the boat equipment.

An anchor was provided, which was the local style of fisherman - chunky, short, and heavy for use on the rocky, boulder-strewn bottom. The interesting bit to me was that the warp, with the anchor on top, was just stuffed into a large woven plastic sack. The bitter end was not attached to the boat at all.

When anchoring the warp ran out freely. One just had to be careful not to chuck the whole lot out with the anchor. On weighing, the warp was just progressively stuffed, or flaked, if you want to sound fancy, back into the sack. This seemed a good step forward on my own practice which I had inherited from the previous owner of my Drascombe Dabber. On my boat the bitter end was tied on, and the warp was coiled and held together with a length of shock cord which was captive on the warp. Because the warp was coiled rather than flaked it tended to snag, and coiling it up was a nuisance. I have therefore adapted the sack method as follows.

My 'sack' is a heavy canvas duffel bag. Actually its one of my dad's World War Two kit bags, made to last forever by someone resting at His Majesty's Pleasure. I cut a hole in the bottom and put a brass eyelet in it. The bitter end is passed through this and attached to the boat. I do not feel comfortable without this precaution. Just inside the bag is a stopper knot to prevent the bag riding along the anchor warp. The rest is easy. The warp is stuffed in, with the anchor, a plough in my case, going in last.

Anchoring consists of reaching into the bag and chucking the anchor overboard. The warp follows obediently. When leaving anchor the warp is normally pulled fully into the boat and then stuffed into the bag.

The bag is neat in the boat. The anchor is not rattling about, yet is readily accessible should it be needed in a hurry. On long passages I stuff the whole lot into the forward uncovered locker, still attached to the boat, but often I just leave it on the floor boards.

The bitter end (attached to boat) - Eyelet - Warp - Anchor - Sack - Stopper knot.