
CMS | Sand Probing and Anchoring in The Grenadines
Our Caribbean islands are simply a paradise for yachts and sea traffic and inevitably, at high risk for irreversible damage due to over use.
Fortunately, new technology can often cut through the age old problems of budgets and scant resources, to create environmentally friendly solutions.
We were asked to sand probe coastal areas in St. Vincent and The Grenadines, to install Manta Ray geotechnical anchors, primarily to protect vulnerable sea floor structures and create easily accessible moorings for visiting boats in high risk areas.
The process began with divers probing the sea bed sand with metal rods, to ascertain the necessary sand depth of at least 7 feet. We installed a drive anchor hinged to the steel rod of the Manta Ray in the required depth of sand.
We then activated and tested the drive anchor on the tip of the Manta Ray, by raising the shaft with a load locker, securing the device in the sand. Finally, the anchor plate was attached to the head of the steel shaft at the surface of the seabed.
This created a stable fixture for the attachment of a cable to a polyethylene surface buoy with an attached pickup line.
These are reliable moorings for yachts, which avoid dropped boat anchors, potentially dislodging rocks or destroying coral on the sea bed.
Manta Ray anchors are a simple, well designed response to a constant threat to our coastal and in shore environments. They have a wide range of on and off shore applications, determined by their drive anchor and shaft capacity, with no disturbance or displacement of sand or soil.
We have now installed over 300 of these devices
throughout these islands.