All it takes is an advance conversation and agreement.

You're right and when we're anchoring I generally do it singlehanded. Most of the time when I'm at the helm and just walk up to the bow so I can make sure all is going smoothly when it's time to fall off and pay out the rode. But we use hand signals more when departing, motoring up to the rode it's easy to overrun it -- then there's also the issue of washing off the mud as it comes up. So I have my wife on the bow and that's when we do a lot of pointing and hand signals.