We tried this yesterday to pass between two Foilers, using a 4m unit in 15-18? Holding was inconsistent, leading to heroics by a third winger. Not sure if it was the spastic temperament of the unit with its dihedral, or if it was the chute strings seemed misaligned when I looked at it later. Would tying or whipping them in place be better than freedom to adjust?
Iāve had a few instances of failure to hold. Chute got caught in boom once (ā23 slick 4.0). So far have been able to catch the tumbling wing (before itās off to Japan). I try to be straight downwind of the wing so can intercept it. Itās a great idea and I will continue to get it figured out, esp in lighter winds
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Seems the failures to deploy are related to the lightweight rip stop drone chute used by the anchor man. Lighter weight unfortunately may mean less likely to hit the water when needed. Easy to add some weight as suggested before. I am considering getting a rip stop light weight anchor myself. Just so itās easier to stow and deploy then my Amazon special. But I think I will add some weight to the end to avoid any deployment issues.
This really has changed how I wing. Especially in onshore light wind days.
Iām convinced this is the issue. When I grabbed it the second time I noticed the QR attachment string was not centered on one webbing loop, it was pulling on the edge of the anchor. When I centered it manually the anchor would fill with water.
I canāt believe I didnāt try this at the time, but I now recall the string loops that the chute loops are through was so twisted that the chute loops were pinched maybe and unable to move freely. It worked a few times so I thought it was a fluke, but lesson is to pack it like a base jumper. I recall watching a college friend pack his chute. It was very methodical, including sweeping the floor.
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I also kind of drag the chute while holding the luff handle before I drop it. I think that helps fill / engage it properly. I wouldnt just chuck it.
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My $18 Amazon anchor can just be thrown, dropped or whatever and it has deployed everytime. It isnāt nearly as sexy as the whole cloud IX system but I only throw it 5 or 6 times then ditch it and just go normal winging. The cone is made of beefy pvc so it catched water quickly. It probably holds a little more than 1 gallon of water so 8lbs (sorry metric blokes) of anchor.
I am going to try to share it with my buddy next time for some DW practice. I guess we would still have to do the car shuttle. Hmmmm
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Same experience with my $18 special, itās been very reliable. That heavy duty material probably helps it drop and deploy quicker. Just need to find a better place to store it then under my rash guard as itās a little more awkward to deploy quickly then I would like
Can you share which drop anchor youāre using? The few Iāve looked at look to be PVC materialā¦ Wondering if thatās too stiffā¦
Offshore and pumping makes sense. Definitely needs a weight or something to make sure it deploys in strong offshore. Also the price vs Amazon I donāt really understand but I presume most of the cost is the waist leash and kite quick release?
Here is a video from Dave
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I am using this one, looks like Amazon raised the price. Works great. Maybe a little bulky but it folds up nicely and fits under my rash guard without getting in my way.
MOOCY 24/32/42-Inch Driftā¦ https://www.amazon.com/dp/B085SY1DCH?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
I showed the fold and stow at the end of the video at the top of the thread.
Thought it would be good to add a recent bad experience with my drift anchor to balance out the stoke and make sure everyone is aware of the best practices to avoid issues.
On my third session of the day yesterday(fatigue probably played a role) when the wind died and I was slogging in while sitting on my board a wave came from behind and knocked me off the board. Unfortunately it also dislodged my drift anchor from under my rash guard and it managed to get get tangled with my coil waist leash while deployed. Not a good combo in the shore break. Ended up getting my wing tip tagged by my foil stabilizer and was just an overall sucky way to end a fun session.
So word of caution, make sure your anchor is well secured before entering the shore break. Should not be an issue for the anchorman system if you use their belt.
Had a bunch of really fun drops that day that totally made it worth it in the end.
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Thanks for that! Good to get a realistic take on things.
Iāve been experimenting with bringing a water bottle upwind ā¦ something like a nalgene is light and inoffensive on the belt, and then can be filled and tethered. In heavy wind, a full liter is more than enough to slow down the wing ā¦ too slow in fact. In lighter wind i found i was attaching nothing to the wing to try and get it to keep up with dw paddling/slogging that averages 2mph off foil, 10+ mph on foil. In heavier wind though, i did find that the cap tether did nearly break if off the bottle, so i would create a duct tape handle or similar in the future. Aluminum bottle has also worked, but is a bit more of a hazard.
Would stick with soft anchors personally, just need to make sure they are secured well when coming in. I remember the original drop wallet idea turned me off because of the hard weight that he was using. The soft drift anchors work well and pack away nicely. That was my light bulb moment
I did notice that a submerged trailing edge, levering a weighted bottle basically acted like a trebuchet at moments ā¦ not good. One factor could be to extend the leash to make it less likely, while also letting the wing passively fly a bit more, which might help the wing keep up with the paddling.
Definitely recommend trying a soft drift anchor while you work on perfecting your MacGyver water bottle and duck tape trebuchet anchor. You might find you prefer it.
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Cheaper than a hydroflask thatās for sure. Look for the smallest one you can find. Which I think would be 18".
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Alrighty, will try the sea anchor and report back. 
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Made a custom drift sock aiming to be in-between the anchorman and the Amazon sock that would drift downwind nicely, but made the opening too small (8" diameter) for the wind I was in (15-25 knts with a 5m). I hooked it into a 15ā kite string to test before fully letting go and it was frequently getting launched. Gusty wind might be an issue for these. I also tried flipping the wing, but was way worse! Never fully let it go, seemed that it would be going downwind way faster that I could paddle. Probably will get one of those nylon socks.
Where do you all attach the leash to the wing? Iāve been sticking to the center handle for more robust attachment and nice flagging when letting go of the handles. Seems like the closer the attachment point to the water when drifting the wing, the more likely it lifts and starts flying downwind which is probably why mine lofted while upside down.
Was also thinking about bringing a small dry bag that could be filled with varying amount of water as an anchor, but also maybe hazardous and breakable.
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Definitely donāt need to over think this. The Amazon drift anchors have been flawless for me. I just use the normal leash attachment and connect it to the anchor. Works 100% for me. Think I will dedicate a leash to the anchor though as it does seem to stretch it out after using it a bunch.