four of which we were anchored out almost every night. The other 15 years were spent anchored out on week ends and week long vacations. On this boat and others, I've anchored at night, in the wind, in the rain and one class 4 hurricane. I've drug anchors, tangled anchors and fouled anchors in the last 45 years but I've never gotten caught up with my hand held anchor switch. I lost my balance once and fell into the windless one night just as the anchor chain was jumping out of the gypsy and some how got my thumb smashed under the chain which was pretty nasty. I was trying to anchor in the lee of Isla Providencia out side the reef, at night, in deep water in a hell of a current without a chart going by the noise from the braking waves on the reef as my only guide. Not an idle situation but we needed to get to the medical clinic in the morning because a friend had taken very sick. I have to say, however, that happened with a manual windless.

If you happen to own one of the one in twenty boats that has the "perfect place" for a foot switch then I say go for it. They manufacture the switches so someone must be buying them. If you own one of the other nineteen boats where the anchor is hanging out on a platform, the stay sail in in the way, the club footed boom is in the way, the anchor platform is in the way, the anchor well is in the way or their is some contraption in the way that you use to tack down your Asymmetrical spinnaker then I would, again, advocate for the hand held switch.

My Simpson Lorance "Sea Wolf" windless is 35 years old and still going strong. It's been painted a couple of times, re-greased and a few parts replaced but it hasn't rotted away yet. I keep it covered with a Sunbrella cover made to keep breaking seas from getting into the anchor locker below via the chain and that helps the longevity issue. My windless is mounted on top of a two inch high bow platform 4 feet back from the anchor just to the side of the stay sail and in front of the support for the dinghy. Ah, the dinghy. If you travel with the dinghy on deck when off shore and not in the davits or rolled up, when you get to where you're going you would usually have to deal with getting it out of the way just to get to your foot switch. Again, not the ideal situation. I suppose that it you had the right deck and a boat with davits and no bow platform then maybe, OK. Come to think of it, I know a boat like that! Dan and Ray's "Tropical Dance" had a foot switch and bow like that. I remember because in Belize I kept jamming the anchor into the roller because I couldn't get my foot off the switch in time and never did get the timing down right. Damn windless would coast more then any windless I had ever seen. Once while anchoring that boat we got into the only argument that we had ever had in 15 years. It was only for a few moments and we both returned to our gentlemanly ways quite quickly as I remember. More like a few cross words between men on a hot and humid day. I recall that trip with very fond memories. Do you remember that Dan? I'm sure that reinforced my dislike of foot switches but my distaste for them predated that by at least a couple of decades.