Hello again
On the page Bowsprit we notice a photo of jack cleaning your anchor – it has been our experience of many years that a swivel on the anchor alleviates the twisted chain and thus lessens the risk of the chain breaking. Again thank you for your website it is very informative. Safe sailing.
Cheers
Rob & Vanessa

Hope this helps, reply by Jack
We have never used an anchor rode swivel. We do not like any weak link in our rode. Maybe they are better designed than when we first set out, I don’t know. But I do know, in our style of cruising we do not need one. Firstly, in tropical sailing the vessel stays pretty much in a static position, unless effected by tidal flow, and then the vessel generally rotates with the trade wind. In higher latitude, changeable winds might swing the vessel round ‘n round, but we’re just not anchored long enough for that to be a factor to our 60 m of chain. Weedy bottoms can roll chain as it slides over the weed, thick Ribbon Weed particularly. A swivel would not stop that as the chain rolls up mid-span.
Yes, our chain sometimes gets a few twists, but these generally get shunted towards the anchor as it comes up by going over the gypsy, and work themselves out when the anchor lifts. Very occasionally, maybe once a year, we’ll drop the whole lot in deep water to let it untwist.