Went for a ride with my 10 year old s today 2 boys and a girl (triplets).They wanted to go swimming so I dropped the anchor in plenty of water but we must have drifted as I was getting the anchor out and know we are in two feet of water sand thankfully no rocks.Not officially aground but can"t drive out.Could have called Sea Tow but they wanted to go swimming any way so we all pushed the boat to deeper water.
I felt really stupid but was happy that I have taught them enough to work together and not panic when things don't go exactly as planned

And not to start the engines as you could have filled them with sand!

Teach them while they're young!

Nothing to feel stupid about E.D. You made the best of the situation and like you said ... kids learned, no damage, no harm/no foul! ... and best of all no need to call SeaTow Sounded like a blast to me!

Just a for what it's worth, I think that if you would have called Sea Tow and the operator wouldn't have been able to pull right next to you, but instead had to anchor, then get out and walk over to your boat to hand you a tow rope, that simple task would have made it a salvage operation. I have an $1800 bill for that heroism task .
US1 was not a happy camper that day.

Don't forget that the anchor can get you out of trouble as well. Just throw as far as you can, let it set and pull yourself away. I've done that a time or two.

you are in good company. anyone who runs a boat on barneget bay, sooner or later will come in contact with the bottom. you have a good crew, I have seen them in action.
Now go call Mike and put in some sea strainers.

And some say we have a lot of "shallows" up my way....


But like anywhere else...stay in the channels and for the most part you're fine.

If that's your dumbest mistake than you are smarter than most people on this board including myself!
We all have done worse I'm sure!

YUP YOU SAID IT.COMING BACK FROM NYC 3AM.1MIN FROM MY DOCK

Simple rules to anchoring.

1. Get an anchor setup that is atleast if not bigger for your boat. And don't just tie line to an anchor, have a metal fastener. Chain is good too, but not always needed.
2. Always follow the 1:7 rule. For example: If you're anchoring in 10' of water, you need atleast 70' of anchor line out.

Follow those rules and your boat should never drift.