ROCNA: DESIGNED BY A SAILOR FOR FELLOW BOATERS
The Rocna anchor was designed by New Zealand sailor Peter Smith, who has been designing, building, and sailing boats since the early 1960’s.
Over 100,000 nautical miles of cruising, Peter experienced the same anchoring problems that are still prevalent today – the need to carry a variety of anchors to suit various seabeds, yet still the anchors dragged and boaters felt insecure. “Your anchor should provide you and your crew with reliability, security, and confidence,” says Peter. A lifetime of nautical experience worldwide was poured into an anchor – initially conceived for Peter’s own use – which became the original Rocna.
Meet the Creator
In 1978, Pete walked away from his successful yacht production company Cavalier Yachts to go cruising with his wife, Josephine. A boat-builder by trade, Pete built Kiwi Roa over a five-year period to be his ultimate cruising yacht (her design philosophy matches that of the Rocna–bulletproof.) 15m (50′) long, she is built from 10 mm aluminum alloy plate (up to 25 mm in some sections), displaces 27 tons, and is designed to withstand the worst conditions Mother Nature – or man – can throw at her.
Peter, together with Jo and their son Craig, sailed Kiwi Roa from England to New Zealand during the period 1994 – 1998. Although extremely well set up, Kiwi Roa experienced frequent problems when anchoring. Soft mud areas such as the English East Coast, the Chesapeake, and the Delaware Bay presented particular problems. Peter had used every type of anchor known to man. Kiwi Roa carried a 110 lb CQR, an 88 lb Delta, and a 110 lb Bruce, but there was always a feeling of insecurity.
So, in the New Zealand tradition of do-it-yourself, he built the first Rocna prototype, a 50 kg concept model which was tested during a circumnavigation of New Zealand. It endured hundreds of uses in conditions that included 70 knots on and off for ten days in Stewart Island, and 50 knots for two days in Akaroa. While other boats were having anchor trouble, Kiwi Roa did not move. As word of the Rocna’s formidable holding power spread amongst the cruising community, other sailors started to ask Pete for a Rocna of their own. Rocna anchors are now available in over 40 countries worldwide.
ROCNA: The Next-generation Anchor
Rocna consistently returns top results in objective and independent testing. Since 2004, the Rocna has led worldwide anchor tests as published in the likes of SAIL, Yachting Monthly, Practical Boat Owner, Voile, and others. Because of Rocna’s reliable and convincing performance against its competition, Rocna is trusted to be rock solid in the real world. Rocna anchors are performing in some of the world’s toughest locales: Patagonia, Alaska, temperamental tropical weather in remote coral atolls – and most importantly, your local favorite weekend anchorage. Rocna is trusted by respected boaters, from Jimmy Cornell to Skip Novak to Jérôme Poncet.
The Rocna roll-bar™ ensures the anchor always arrives at the ideal angle for penetration, and the skids guide the fluke tip which chisels into the seabed. A concave fluke gives the greatest resistance. In soft seabeds, this provides the secure holding power you need. On hard or weedy sea floors, Rocna’s chisel tip cuts through and bites deep. Rocna anchors are designed – and built – for strength and durability. They remain stable and buried, and fight roll-out on veering of pull, or if dragged beyond holding ability, providing enhanced security whatever the circumstance. The Rocna shank is designed so the anchor self-launches and self-stows on the majority of bow-rollers, with the greatest possible reliability. Rocna anchors are true multi-purpose anchors that set and hold in most seabeds, from soft mud to hard sand, clay, grass, and kelp.
VULCAN: IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF ROCNA
Following on the success of the Rocna, designer Peter Smith was often approached by customers seeking to experience the exceptional holding power and setting performance of a Rocna, but who had difficulties accommodating the roll-bar design on their bow. After years of testing and development, Peter has come up with a design that meets the needs of these customers – the Vulcan.
The Vulcan is Rocna’s first major design development since the launch of the highly successful and acclaimed Rocna anchor itself. The Vulcan is carefully designed to offer the greatest possible compatibility across a wider range of vessel bow configurations, particularly powerboats with a bow pulpit. When designing the Vulcan, the design intent was to match the performance of the Rocna, and in our internal testing and feedback from customers, we believe we have achieved our goal.
The question of choosing Rocna or Vulcan is simply determined by which anchor fits better on your bow – in either case, you will enjoy the same quick sets, massive holding power, and reliable performance across the full range of bottom types. Vulcan brings the security and reliability of the Rocna anchor, highly successful and popular with offshore cruisers and adventurers, to a wider range of boaters who we believe desire improved anchoring performance.
Rocna Mk II: Perfecting the Ideal
While the reputation of the Rocna for reliably quick setting and high holding power was built up over years of real-world experience and the feedback from thousands of boaters, Peter dwelled upon the thought: could Rocna be improved further? The answer was yes, but with great care and consideration. The new Rocna Mk lI anchor is the first major improvement since the launch of the highly successful and acclaimed Rocna Original.
An idealized form of the Rocna design, the Rocna Mk Il is based on the same proven design pattern, but refines every element close to perfection. The Rocna has established the highest performance and consistency of behavior when put to the test both by a worldwide array of boaters and in numerous independent tests. This performance is the result of careful design and engineering by Peter, and it is all completely retained and tuned in the new Rocna Mk II.
Peter has again put to work all of his knowledge and experience to develop an improved design that pushes the limits once more. The Rocna Mk II brings substantial upgrades in performance and strength by way of revision and refinement — inheriting and prating the original’s proven performance advantages for an extremely quick and reliable set across a range of seabeds, with rock solid holding power.
Follow Peter’s Adventures
Peter’s recent sailing has been in the Atlantic, both south and north. After several years in Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego, and expeditions to Antarctica and the South Atlantic islands of the Falklands and South Georgia, Kiwi Roa has been in South Africa and the western African coast before making the big jump to Newfoundland and Greenland. To find out more about Peter’s adventures, including comprehensive photo journals, visit his personal website at petersmith.net.nz.