I'm familiar with most of the techiques: the shackle at the waterline, the Brion Toss block with snubber at the end of the sprit, and the roller over the bobstay. There is one other approach that I have wondered about. I have kind of tried it in light conditions. It follows the logic of Larry Pardee's configuration for attaching a parachute off the bow as a storm anchor. The main attachment was near the bow with a second line (ran through a block part way out on the main line) to midship which held the boat in a hove to position by adjusting the midship line. I tried this in light conditions on Cat's Meow at anchor and she seemed to like if very much - absolutely no hunting, but never tried it in heavy weather. Has anyone ever done this?