Interview with Superyacht Captain Damien Carr on M/Y Felis (Feb. 25, 2025)
Damien, we just spent a whole day anchoring and testing your AnchorGuardian system. How would you describe the experience?
It worked out really nicely! The wind conditions were great, we had 15-20 knots and beautiful clear water, and it allowed us to carry out all the sea trials that we wanted to do. We anchored the boat, had a diver in the water and working with him, we were able to manufacture some anchoring scenarios to put AnchorGuardian through some tests and get some visualization of what was happening under the water and make sure that it correlates to the data that we were seeing on the screen itself.
And did it?
There was a moment where the boat was happily swinging at anchor, doing its natural cycle and the plotter told us our anchor was holding.
But when we looked at the AnchorGuardian statistics, it was very clear that the anchor was on the edge. The force going through the module and the angle on the anchor arm were all suggesting that if we didn’t make any changes to the anchor and the wind picked up, we were at risk of dragging. So, that was a really nice moment because it became very clear why we would want AnchorGuardian on board. It really allowed us to figure out where AnchorGuardian fits into the world.
How did you first hear about AnchorGuardian?
It was through word of mouth. Another superyacht captain introduced me to the founder, Thomas Frizlen, and at the time, the itinerary of my yacht made it suitable for trials. When I first spoke to Thomas and he explained what the system could do, I was immediately interested. The yacht I was on at the time had chronic anchoring issues—no matter how much chain I put down, we still dragged. That’s when I realised this technology could provide critical information that captains just don’t have right now.
Would you say, AnchorGuardian is solving a real problem for you?
Exactly. That particular yacht was a 46-metre sailing yacht. Even with 50 metres of chain in just five metres of depth, the moment the wind exceeded 30 knots, I knew we were going to drag. There was no way around it. That’s what really piqued my interest. Because as captains, we have so many instruments—GPS, depth sounders, weather sensors—but when it comes to anchoring, we’re still relying on old-school rules of thumb. It’s shocking how little data we actually get from the anchor itself.
Tell me a little bit about anchoring a superyacht. What kind of challenges do you face? What typically goes wrong?
In my opinion, anchoring technology hasn’t really evolved at all—not since I’ve been in the industry, at least. The way it works is pretty straightforward: you follow general recommendations, set an anchor alarm on board, and then you’re essentially just monitoring weather conditions. If the weather deteriorates, you’re waiting to see if the yacht starts dragging or if the anchor holds. That’s it. You get no feedback from any onboard equipment except your chart plotter, which just shows a radius around the vessel.
So that’s all based on boat-side technology, monitoring the vessel rather than the anchor itself?
100%. You have an anchor watch system in place, which requires crew time—someone has to stay on duty, checking for movement through the night, just waiting for an alarm to go off. It’s a fairly basic system. It’s useful in the sense that, if you drift or drag, you’ll be alerted. But it’s not particularly intelligent—it doesn’t provide any insights into why it’s happening or how to prevent it. It’s also counterintuitive because, let’s say you’re on a trip with the yacht’s owner in the middle of the night—you don’t want to wake them up. But if there’s a problem, you have no choice. You’re firing up the engines, raising the anchor, repositioning, and hoping it holds this time. There’s nothing to indicate whether it’s going to work better or worse than before. It’s largely guesswork, relying on the captain’s experience and judgement.
In a worst-case scenario, what happens if the anchor just won’t hold?
You’ve got a couple of options. You can try laying out more anchor chain and hope it resets, but that’s not always possible. In many anchoring situations, you’re surrounded by other boats, or you’re in a confined bay with rocks nearby, so you can’t just keep letting out more chain indefinitely.
A good example is the Bay of Saint-Tropez. The wind can jump from 10 knots to 50 knots in no time, and suddenly you’re dragging. At that point, you’re in full reactive mode—firing up engines, using full hydraulic power, crew running around, cushions flying—worst case, it’s a moment of chaos.
Sounds like a serious situation. So how does AnchorGuardian help with that?
The technology provides real-time feedback on exactly what’s happening at the anchor. Instead of just reacting when the situation is potentially out of control, you can anticipate problems before they occur. It allows you to be proactive rather than reactive. You get data on the forces acting on the anchor, the angle of the anchor arm, and whether adjustments are needed. If you see the load increasing, you can take corrective action early—either by putting more chain down or repositioning while conditions are still manageable, rather than waiting until the yacht is dragging towards another vessel or the rocks.
AnchorGuardian provides a whole collection of functionalities around the anchoring procedure. Now that you have had the opportunity to work with it on Felis, do you have favorite features from the system?
Absolutely, one cool feature was knowing the force pulling on the anchor. In other words, being able to see peak load. For instance, today we learned that with my set up here on Felis, if it got to 300kg going through I knew we were okay. Once we got to a 1000kg, that’s when we finally got the anchor to drag in a manufactured dragging situation.
Another feature was the angle of the anchor arm because according to the plotter, we were holding fine. But AnchorGuardian was saying that my anchor arm was teetering and that not all my chain was lying along the seabed. So based on the AnchorGuardian statistics, it was very clear that the anchor was on the edge, and I needed to make a correction.
A third feature was the way it figures out how much chain is on the seabed because occasionally it would say 5 to 10m, occasionally it would say 15m, and obviously, as this statistic changes, you can see that you’re either getting closer and closer to a point where the anchor is going to get ripped out and you’re going to be in a dragging situation or not.
Put differently, it’s going to give you some statistics to tell you, not only am I holding, but I’m holding well. Or I’m holding badly. As a captain, I can then decide to put a bit of time and effort into either resetting or changing something which will then allow the rest of my day to go smoother.
And if I can add, I like the custom charger in the hawse pipe, that’s another cool thing. I think that’s a good idea that has evolved since I’ve been involved in this project. Having the ring on the inside of the hawse pipe, it is just cool. It really looks nice as well.
It is all about giving the captain more science related data to make more informed decisions and keeping everything on board safer and moving smoothly?
This tech just gives you that extra bit of confidence when anchoring. The plotter might say you’re holding, but AnchorGuardian will tell you when you’re close to not holding—so you put out another 5 or 10 meters of chain and go about your day a bit more relaxed.
Maybe the wind picks up later, so you check the screen for a few minutes, see what the data says. The plotter will always say you’re good—until you’re not. But this will tell you early if you need more chain or if you can even pick some up to make space for others. You don’t always want to be the big boat with loads of chain out when everyone else has less.
It is a continuous reevaluating of the situation to make sure everyone and everything remains safe.
In the yachtie world, things get busy. There are guest runs, beach setups, deckhands sorting out the water sports, the captain doing paperwork. Nobody’s watching the anchor 24/7, even though they should. But with AnchorGuardian, you can check in quickly, feel confident, and focus on other things without that nagging worry.
The alternative? You’re mid-paperwork, the wind picks up just 9-10 knots, and suddenly it’s, ‘Where’s the deck crew? We’re dragging!’ Now it’s a scramble—pulling in water toys, getting guests out. This just gives you that little bit of extra time to act before it becomes a problem. Keeps everything smooth and everyone relaxed and yes, safe.
Where do you see the future going with anchoring?
Surprisingly, in this day and age, with all the things that we have, there’s just nothing other than AnchorGuardian out there for the anchor. Over the last four years, where I have been involved with these guys, even in that time, they are still the only people developing this sort of technology.
In my opinion, AnchorGuardian will just become another evolution of the wheelhouse. The same way the internet has evolved, the GPS, the depth sounder, the radars, they have all evolved. Now we recommend a 4-to-1 or a 5-to-1 scope. But AnchorGuardian adds something extra, it builds the picture, and it allows us captains to make better assessments in all sorts of conditions. And so to me, this technology is evolving the anchoring side of it.
As with all new technologies, it requires a paradigm shift within the yachting industry away from status-quo and moving towards the possibilities of what technology can provide when anchoring.
Absolutely. I think most captains would be interested in trying it. The real challenge is getting buy-in from owners.
Because from an owner’s perspective, they’re not really thinking about the anchor at all?
Owners expect the crew to handle everything and just assume the yacht is in a safe position. They’re not usually involved in the details of anchoring.
I’ve been fortunate with my current owner because he takes an interest in the technical side of things. He even participates in driving the yacht, so we have regular conversations about anchoring.
For example, he likes to use the bare minimum amount of chain, whereas I always push for the maximum for safety. We’re always debating it. But with AnchorGuardian, we don’t have to rely on opinions—it gives us the data we need to make an informed decision. It tells us the exact amount needed for the conditions at that moment, rather than guessing based on past experiences.
Having AnchorGuardian made not only sense for me but fortunately, very much sense for the owner as well.
It is all about making smart decisions based on the information you have at hand.
As a captain, in general, you are just managing information: crew information, boss information, information about your toys, your gadgets on board, machinery, etc. Good captains will then build a picture and make decisions using all that information. End goal is to make the boss happy and the crew happy. In essence, the more information the better.
I think it is safe to say, this has been a very good day. For SY captains, for us as a team and for the marine industry as a whole. Any last words from your side?
AnchorGuardian is in a league of its own. All I have to say to other captains is, get involved!
Listen to Damien and the AnchorGuardian team talk about the day.