Collision at night!!

After 5 nights in the anchorage in strong winds from all directions I thought the anchor must have dug itself far down into the muddy seabed. I was wrong! I woke in horror at one a.m. to the sound of scraping metal! I grabbed my life jacket and jumped on deck and saw the silhouette of a large steel boat Aquarella was leaning on. At first I thought it must have been the other boat that had drifted but realised, by looking at the surroundings, that it was in fact me. The french boat owner was very helpful and tied my boat up to his while I tried to get my anchor up. That wasn't so easy, it was under his chain! I ran back and got in the dinghy, pulled myself along the side of the boat against the wind and the waves and tried to lift the anchor off. I know there's only one way to do this but I was panicking instead of thinking, distracted by the awful sound of shrieking metal. The anchor was entangled with an old fishing net from the sea bed ( probably why it didn't hold) With the help of the other boat owner it was freed and I could climb back on board. I wanted to sail off and anchor well away from the other boats and buoys but the Frenchman took command and insisted I stay the night tied on to their stern. You're safe now, he said, get some sleep and we'll sort it out in the morning.
Well I didn't sleep much, the wind was still howling and the mooring rope between our boats tightened up and jolted the boat with every swinging movement.

My host for the night: Mimosa ll of Brest

In the morning when the wind abated I went over in the dinghy to see if there was any damage to the other boat. There was, - a long scratch in their paintwork. I offered to pay but they said I could give them a drink next time they came. Such nice people. There were a few scratches to my own boat but nothing serious.
I  moved the boat further out in the anchorage but after the french couple sailed away I could come back nearer the quay again within range of the internet hot spot in the town.

In the night when all this happened I thought; this is no good, I can't cope, I have to give up and take the boat back to the boatyard, go home and forget about it. But in the morning, after I'd anchored twice, cleared the deck, filled transmission fluid to the moaning hydraulic steering and WD40 to the squeaking rudder, I felt that I had confidence again. It was after all through no fault of my own that the anchor didn't hold, s**t happens.