I appreciate you walking us through this. It's always a show of good character in my book, when someone is able to wear their imperfections on their sleeves, as they say. I suppose it's only human to sometimes have difficulties balancing routine and your own expectations against the reality of a specific situation. It's a good reminder to stay sharp and communicate. Thanks for the insight!
Respect! I watched already some of your videos before but because of this one, I subscribed. I also had an incident while docking just a few days ago. The dock hand just didn’t tie the windward line we threw. He insisted on first taking the mooring line (underwater slime line). The wind caught the bow, the stern scratched the dock and the bow crashed into to boat next to us. It just goes to show that even with 40 years of experience, things can (and will) go wrong. Thanks again for being confident enough to also publish failures!
Great that you have the courage to share and analyse your mistake(s). Really appreciated and I learned a lot from this (as someone said in the comments below: typically you learn more from mistakes than from things that go smooth). Note that aborting the first docking attempt is also a sign of good skill & attitude: rather than to pursue a manoevre and risk damage to boat and/or crew: go around, prepare again + put yourself in a better position, and try again. Last but not least: I admire you calm attitude (not yelling or making frantic moves, or...). This is also shows your experience and is a excellent example for you crew. Well done video; please post more!
Sometimes it is like this. You get used to those maneuveres and it comes to the danger of routine. Thanks for also showing your mistakes and reminding me never to fall into routine. It's always better to be overprepared. In this case you simply could also have prepared a line from the starbord middlecleat and pass this first to stern. The vector against the crosswind is much better when you thrust fwd.
You are an excellent Captain. It is humbling to watch howe you point out your own mistakes. You're an excellent leader. Respect! I had a tricky time at Alimos too! Lots of wind.
Great Video and I really appreciate that you stand to your failures and learn from them (even at your level of experience)! That's exactly what I like in sailing - you will never stop learning and always have to reflect yourself!
Oh yes we did learn a lot of it. The most I liked is to use the springline. So far I only used the stern mouring line in such case with a strong forward to keep the balance. With the springline this shall be way easier. Thanks you for the idea
Thank you for the briefing. Although you did some mistakes you did extremely well to keep calm and control the situation and get the boat back in place. Thats a sign of a professional😎
Thank you. Mentally I review every docking manoeuvre and, truth be told, in the majority of cases there’s an improvement to be made. It is reassuring to see that way more experienced captains go through a similar experience.
Thank you. Could you please explain how to “walk” your boat upwind along the quay towards the catamaran if you had tied up initially against the downwind monohull?
Wow super amazing video... Being so open on such a situation.... The errors and what should have been done too... Such a learning experience for all Bravo 👏👏👏👏
Firstly, I’ve seen worse on a calm day in croatia, so no worries. I miss the boat characteristic ,,factor’’ about the video, as far as I can tell it’s most likely a dual rudder sailboat with a clockwise rotating prop, which is the worst you can have in this situation. When you stop the boat, the bow drops not only because of the wind, but because of the propwalk pushing the stern to starboard. That’s why things go bad so fast, and the more throttle you give to tighten the line, the more the bow drops.
Thanks for sharing - a good analysis and well thought out. Please share with us how to put the yacht straight after the bow has been shifted by the wind. Also as many others I would be interested how to walk the "walk" the yacht upwind. More videos please, great work.
Hello Alexandros: Many thanks for taking the time to put together this most informative (and well illustrated) video. Question: when docking in STRB cross wind… what is BEST STRB dock line to use -while putting the engine IN FORWARD-to keep the boat perpendicular to the dock? A strb stern line OR a midship strb line? I have ALWAYS used a stern line with good effect… but in the video you seem to recommend using a midship line. Wouldn’t a midship line cause the stern to swing out to port… causing the boat to want to lay parallel -not perpendicular- to the dock… with bow pointing into the wind?
It depends of the boat, usually when you put rudder to Port then the boat is getting perpendicular. Some boats they point the bow more to the wind but that's not necessarily bad, if you are prepared with fender protection to the bow you touch bow first to the windward boat and the stern close after.
Το μεγαλείο ενός δασκάλου είναι να πει στο μαθητή του τι εχει κάνει λάθος ο ίδιος! Σε παρακολουθώ μερικούς μήνες γιατί θέλω να κάνω ένα 7ημερο με ιστιοπλοϊκό με την οικογένεια και πραγματικά έχω μάθει παρά πολλά πράγματα απο εσένα! Μόνο έτσι θα καταλάβω τι πρεπει να κάνω και δεν πρεπει να κάνω… Οταν κατέβω Αθήνα θα σε ψάξω να τα πουμε. Well done professor
Well explained! And thanks a lot. One question: Once you attached the line to the bolard, how do you climb the boat to the right position? You make forward, but where do you put the rudder? Rudder to stardboard or to port? Thanks a lot for sharing your knowledge
I would leave the rudder amidship as the forward gear will pull the boat upwind against the single upwind mooring line much like a spring line. I use this a lot when departing and needing to turn into the wind.
Thank you very much for this video of failed maneuver. It is even more worth than those successful ones! Small note - we've been taught that in case of strong crosswind there is better to dock from windward side of docked ships - because then your boat can lean on docked ship and you'll have small or no problem with drifting bow at all. What do you think?
Σωστά τα έκανες λάθος 😂! πολλές φορές από κούραση δεν βλέπουμε σωστά τα δεδομένα.... Χωρίς λάθη δεν μαθαίνεις εξάλλου 😊. Μια εναλλακτική θα ήταν ένα σκοινί στην πλώρη του καταμαράν αφού υπήρξε και άνθρωπος εκεί διαθέσιμος μέχρι να πάρεις το ρεμεντζο. Καλές θάλασσες και σε ευχαριστώ για το πολύ καλό βίντεο!!!
You are making this assessment harder than it needs to be. Alimos, is a big marina and it's easy to get confused about where you should go. With a lazy line you really don't have to worry about being too straight when you arrive. Your crew has one job. Get the windward line secure on the dock, at that point you can use your engine in forward to hold yourself straight. Then get the second line on. Only once you are happy and settled do you think about the lazy line. You can sit for an hour with engine going forward and windward stern in place and you will sit nice and straight even in 20kt winds. So the real lesson is make sure your windward line is set, your stern railings are open and your crew can step off if needed and tie the windward line. and of course some stern fenders. Mid ship lines should only be a last resort if you can't stay straight on the lazy line. I know in Greece there is a habit to set stern lines as wide as possible, but you achieve the same with crossed stern lines or additional stern springs.
The mid ship line is attached at the center beam of the boat and it has the best leverage of all lines and it can balance the boat effortlessly to the Crosswind
Thank you for the video. Question: Would it be a valid action to arrive next to the catamaran and then ask one crew member to use a spring line from your mid cleat to the cat's mid cleat (held by hand to allow movement) until you sort the stern lines? The cat owner was on deck, could been asked if he agrees... Is this accepted, is it done usually, or it is not liked by the other boats captains in general?
For a completely stress-free approach, could you also have come in alongside to the dock bow into the wind first, prepare the Stb stern line, take the lazy line, and then just slowly move the boat to its final position? Or is the danger too great that you catch one of the lazy lines with the prop, so one should never come alongside in these kind of docks?
May I ask, in this situation, why don’t you initially enter to the channel forward headwind, pass the docking point and reverse from the other side? This case you shouldn’t work against the wind, you would have more time when the wind starts turning the bow and the boat starts drifting. Am I lost somewhere in the dark? 😀
Backing with the wind and turning the bow with the wind is Fundamentally wrong and you do it if you have no other option. Otherwise "slapping" the wind with the bow is the proper technique
At 7.17 you say that you cannot put the engine in forward to aggressively. Why is that? Shouldn't you apply enough forward drive and pull the weel upwind to straighten the bow? Btw love your videos 👍🙏
You must firstly forward to take the slack of the line and then give more rpm to pivot. All the way forward to a slack line can damage the cleats, it recoils the boat and drops the bow
Αλέξανδρε αν ανεβαίνεις στο κανάλι με πλώρη αντί με πρύμνη και μετά να πήγαινες δίπλα στο καταμαράν με πρύμνη και παραπάνω ταχύτητα και μπο ου θα λειτουργουσε καλύτερα αυτός ο τρόπος? ευχαριστώ Βασιλης
Πλώρη προς το αέρα και μετά ανάποδα προς το καταμαράν θα επιταχύνει πολύ την πλώρη υπηνεμα. Θέλουμε σχεδόν πάντα να κάνουμε ανάποδα στον αέρα και σφαλιαρισμα με την πλώρη προς τον αέρα
Cant you give bow line to catamaran and stern starboard line land? Or another plan in my mind: go parallel land give land guy bow springline, turn portside and then give him stern line?
I thought of two things, why no anker dropping? and why not instruct one of the three mates bow to hand a line to the guy on the catamaran? Ditch the bow thruster all together in the later example.
There is no faster way to get yellow card from the Marina (which provides mooring lines) for being reckless than by dropping an anchor - and of course get immediately labelled by anyone watching as someone totally lacking seamanship. Most proper Marinas in fact ban anchoring with signs in big bold letters (because of the total mess they can cause) - unlike small shelters and ports that lack properly functioning mooring lines and which are often used by inexperienced charterers on various Greek islands or small seaside villages and towns (and which sort of design spaces with anchoring in mind) who then believe anchoring stern-to is a norm everywhere .
@@Sorim-oj5li In those small harbours mooring stern-to might be impossible given the slope of rocks supporting the dock, and bows-to with a stern anchor was the only option, especially for smaller yachts.
Καλησπέρα. Θα ήθελα να σε ρωτήσω κάτι μιας και είσαι σχετικός με την ιστιοπλοϊα. Πιστεύεις είναι εφικτό για κάποιον με μέσο εισόδημα σήμερα να έχει ένα ιστιοπλοϊκό σκάφος ή χρειάζονται τρελα χρήματα για συντήρηση?
You could also have counted on the guy in the orange shirt, non? I mean give him a line from the bow, he could have blocked it on the cleat on the catamaran while you sort everything out.
@@epicnavigator What an admission :-). After many years that has persuaded me to tell mine. I was flotilla skipper and had set my fleet off to explore the upper Sporades. My wife & I went into Skopelos harbour, the yacht prepped correctly for a bows-to moor. There was just room at the end of a row of a rival flotilla yachts on the dock. I was very used to where to drop my stern anchor and had flaked the warp out so it would run without a snag. I always told flotilla crew to have a bowline in the end of that warp, and a second line bowlined onto it "in case they miss-judged it", but I knew the length needed & went in at a "confident" speed to show the lead skipper of the opposition, and the few other skippers chatting with him, how it was done. The anchor went down & the warp was running through my hand when I took in that my wife (standing forward with the bow line) had turned & had a certain expression on her face. She was trying to convey "aren't you going a bit quickly" at the same moment I glanced down at the few metres of line left on the cockpit floor. I griped the line tightly hoping the anchor would drag a little as the pressure came on, but of course this time it didn't - I HAD misjudged the distance and even as I kicked the (low mounted) throttle into astern the line was hauled out of my grip. I came to a halt a metre from the quay, with the group of skippers clapping. Even after tying up I had to drag the bottom to recover the stern anchor & line in front of them. Do I feel better for that? No, but I've never told of it before & if epicnavigator can show this, time I admitted to my mistake. And it DID cure me of showing off...
One simple thing that seems no one is mentioning. Those three crew at the bow on starboard. They are just standing there. One of them needs a boathook in hand. Grab the base of a stanchion on the cat and keep the bow from drifting. Why is this not mentioned? Problem solved. Then you have all the time in the world to sort out the lines astern.
@@epicnavigator I agree caution is advised, however not much force is needed to keep the bow from drifting sideways. If this is a concern, a sheet lassooed around the next boat's cleat and made fast to your own cleat, would definitely solve the problem until you get the boat's mooring lines sorted.
What about going in sideways? There looks to be plenty of space. You could change to the upright position once you have a line to drive against. Or would you advise against it?
I appreciate you walking us through this. It's always a show of good character in my book, when someone is able to wear their imperfections on their sleeves, as they say. I suppose it's only human to sometimes have difficulties balancing routine and your own expectations against the reality of a specific situation. It's a good reminder to stay sharp and communicate. Thanks for the insight!
This is brilliant. A really top captain knows his mistakes. An even better one explains them to the public 👏
Respect! I watched already some of your videos before but because of this one, I subscribed.
I also had an incident while docking just a few days ago. The dock hand just didn’t tie the windward line we threw. He insisted on first taking the mooring line (underwater slime line). The wind caught the bow, the stern scratched the dock and the bow crashed into to boat next to us.
It just goes to show that even with 40 years of experience, things can (and will) go wrong.
Thanks again for being confident enough to also publish failures!
Another fantastic video! Failures often teach us more valuable lessons than easy successes
Huge respect for your attitude and you being open about your mistakes. Thank you for the video!
Great that you have the courage to share and analyse your mistake(s). Really appreciated and I learned a lot from this (as someone said in the comments below: typically you learn more from mistakes than from things that go smooth). Note that aborting the first docking attempt is also a sign of good skill & attitude: rather than to pursue a manoevre and risk damage to boat and/or crew: go around, prepare again + put yourself in a better position, and try again. Last but not least: I admire you calm attitude (not yelling or making frantic moves, or...). This is also shows your experience and is a excellent example for you crew. Well done video; please post more!
Sometimes it is like this. You get used to those maneuveres and it comes to the danger of routine. Thanks for also showing your mistakes and reminding me never to fall into routine. It's always better to be overprepared. In this case you simply could also have prepared a line from the starbord middlecleat and pass this first to stern. The vector against the crosswind is much better when you thrust fwd.
You are an excellent Captain. It is humbling to watch howe you point out your own mistakes. You're an excellent leader. Respect! I had a tricky time at Alimos too! Lots of wind.
Mistakes are the greatest teachers and can make us wiser...as long as we can recognize and accept them. Another great video.
Bravo.Explaining failed maneuver is as important as good one.
A Greek admitting his mistakes, and a captain on top of that. Big respect !
Great Video and I really appreciate that you stand to your failures and learn from them (even at your level of experience)! That's exactly what I like in sailing - you will never stop learning and always have to reflect yourself!
Oh yes we did learn a lot of it. The most I liked is to use the springline. So far I only used the stern mouring line in such case with a strong forward to keep the balance. With the springline this shall be way easier. Thanks you for the idea
Thank you for the briefing.
Although you did some mistakes you did extremely well to keep calm and control the situation and get the boat back in place.
Thats a sign of a professional😎
Very nice recap. Gr8 trick idea with the mid cleat, if you have one. I didn't have the mid on 35 ft boat. Anyway. Very nice recap.
Thank you. Mentally I review every docking manoeuvre and, truth be told, in the majority of cases there’s an improvement to be made. It is reassuring to see that way more experienced captains go through a similar experience.
Thank you. Could you please explain how to “walk” your boat upwind along the quay towards the catamaran if you had tied up initially against the downwind monohull?
I will make a video explain it
Same here - it would be great if you can explain how you would walk the boat upwind to the catamaran. Great channel!
Thank you very much for posting this video. There are lessons we are all learning all the time, this helps us all to improve.
Wow super amazing video...
Being so open on such a situation.... The errors and what should have been done too... Such a learning experience for all
Bravo 👏👏👏👏
A teacher who shares and analyzes his own mistakes is a true teacher to me. Thanks!
Firstly, I’ve seen worse on a calm day in croatia, so no worries. I miss the boat characteristic ,,factor’’ about the video, as far as I can tell it’s most likely a dual rudder sailboat with a clockwise rotating prop, which is the worst you can have in this situation. When you stop the boat, the bow drops not only because of the wind, but because of the propwalk pushing the stern to starboard. That’s why things go bad so fast, and the more throttle you give to tighten the line, the more the bow drops.
Always learning with your videos! Many thanks!
Tnx, instructive. I find the fisheye Perspective makes it Harder tonsee what's going in.
Thanks for sharing - a good analysis and well thought out. Please share with us how to put the yacht straight after the bow has been shifted by the wind. Also as many others I would be interested how to walk the "walk" the yacht upwind. More videos please, great work.
ευχαριστω που μηρασεζεις την εμπιρια σου μαζι μας, bravo bravo, thanks.
Nice video, we can learn reading and practicing but we really learn from the mistakes.
Congrats.
your videos are pure gold!
Hello Alexandros:
Many thanks for taking the time to put together this most informative (and well illustrated) video.
Question: when docking in STRB cross wind… what is BEST STRB dock line to use -while putting the engine IN FORWARD-to keep the boat perpendicular to the dock? A strb stern line OR a midship strb line? I have ALWAYS used a stern line with good effect… but in the video you seem to recommend using a midship line. Wouldn’t a midship line cause the stern to swing out to port… causing the boat to want to lay parallel -not perpendicular- to the dock… with bow pointing into the wind?
It depends of the boat, usually when you put rudder to Port then the boat is getting perpendicular. Some boats they point the bow more to the wind but that's not necessarily bad, if you are prepared with fender protection to the bow you touch bow first to the windward boat and the stern close after.
Yep, little mistake here but at least you recognize them, that's how you learn ! Even the better guy in the world can make mistakes.
I really love this channel, it is great!
Amazing content!❤
Το μεγαλείο ενός δασκάλου είναι να πει στο μαθητή του τι εχει κάνει λάθος ο ίδιος!
Σε παρακολουθώ μερικούς μήνες γιατί θέλω να κάνω ένα 7ημερο με ιστιοπλοϊκό με την οικογένεια και πραγματικά έχω μάθει παρά πολλά πράγματα απο εσένα!
Μόνο έτσι θα καταλάβω τι πρεπει να κάνω και δεν πρεπει να κάνω…
Οταν κατέβω Αθήνα θα σε ψάξω να τα πουμε.
Well done professor
Well explained! And thanks a lot.
One question:
Once you attached the line to the bolard, how do you climb the boat to the right position? You make forward, but where do you put the rudder? Rudder to stardboard or to port?
Thanks a lot for sharing your knowledge
I would leave the rudder amidship as the forward gear will pull the boat upwind against the single upwind mooring line much like a spring line. I use this a lot when departing and needing to turn into the wind.
Center to initiate the movement upwind and then to the angle that keeps the boat to the direction you want it
Thanks so much for the video! Hoping to take some courses with you in person when in Greece.
Thank you it was very useful
Thank you very much for this video of failed maneuver. It is even more worth than those successful ones! Small note - we've been taught that in case of strong crosswind there is better to dock from windward side of docked ships - because then your boat can lean on docked ship and you'll have small or no problem with drifting bow at all. What do you think?
If you rewatch the video you will see that I explain exactly that as the safest and easiest of all maneuvers. I will make a video performing it soon
I like that he put the free pumping flag at the back of his boat
🙂I have this same problem like You on my first time when Im a sciper🙂
Epic!
Σωστά τα έκανες λάθος 😂! πολλές φορές από κούραση δεν βλέπουμε σωστά τα δεδομένα.... Χωρίς λάθη δεν μαθαίνεις εξάλλου 😊. Μια εναλλακτική θα ήταν ένα σκοινί στην πλώρη του καταμαράν αφού υπήρξε και άνθρωπος εκεί διαθέσιμος μέχρι να πάρεις το ρεμεντζο. Καλές θάλασσες και σε ευχαριστώ για το πολύ καλό βίντεο!!!
You are making this assessment harder than it needs to be. Alimos, is a big marina and it's easy to get confused about where you should go. With a lazy line you really don't have to worry about being too straight when you arrive. Your crew has one job. Get the windward line secure on the dock, at that point you can use your engine in forward to hold yourself straight. Then get the second line on. Only once you are happy and settled do you think about the lazy line. You can sit for an hour with engine going forward and windward stern in place and you will sit nice and straight even in 20kt winds. So the real lesson is make sure your windward line is set, your stern railings are open and your crew can step off if needed and tie the windward line. and of course some stern fenders. Mid ship lines should only be a last resort if you can't stay straight on the lazy line. I know in Greece there is a habit to set stern lines as wide as possible, but you achieve the same with crossed stern lines or additional stern springs.
Fantastic.
By the way, what did you mean by midship line at the end? I did not understand.
The mid ship line is attached at the center beam of the boat and it has the best leverage of all lines and it can balance the boat effortlessly to the Crosswind
@@epicnavigator so instead of a windward stern line you rig a midship windward line ?
still great docking! looks like my best manouver haha
so at 5:51 did you make the angle aggressive because you knew the wind would start pushing the bow around quickly
Thank you for the video.
Question: Would it be a valid action to arrive next to the catamaran and then ask one crew member to use a spring line from your mid cleat to the cat's mid cleat (held by hand to allow movement) until you sort the stern lines?
The cat owner was on deck, could been asked if he agrees...
Is this accepted, is it done usually, or it is not liked by the other boats captains in general?
That was the plan...but never executed successfully...
@@epicnavigator It was interesting that your midship crew not only didn't have a line ready to pass, she didn't even turn round to face the action!
Congratulations on admitting your guilt and taking full responsibility. sometimes the captain is too proud and blames the crew.
Thx 🎉❤
For a completely stress-free approach, could you also have come in alongside to the dock bow into the wind first, prepare the Stb stern line, take the lazy line, and then just slowly move the boat to its final position? Or is the danger too great that you catch one of the lazy lines with the prop, so one should never come alongside in these kind of docks?
There are some problems with that maneuver and I will make a separate video explaining
Would you use winch of genoa sheet for the windward stern line in this situation to shorten the line?
You can if you want, but I always use the engine to get the slack from the line, I have never been so far in a situation where the winch was needed
ωραιος ο καπταιν!
May I ask, in this situation, why don’t you initially enter to the channel forward headwind, pass the docking point and reverse from the other side? This case you shouldn’t work against the wind, you would have more time when the wind starts turning the bow and the boat starts drifting. Am I lost somewhere in the dark? 😀
Backing with the wind and turning the bow with the wind is Fundamentally wrong and you do it if you have no other option. Otherwise "slapping" the wind with the bow is the proper technique
At 7.17 you say that you cannot put the engine in forward to aggressively. Why is that? Shouldn't you apply enough forward drive and pull the weel upwind to straighten the bow?
Btw love your videos 👍🙏
You must firstly forward to take the slack of the line and then give more rpm to pivot. All the way forward to a slack line can damage the cleats, it recoils the boat and drops the bow
@@epicnavigator thanks for clarifying 👍
Αλέξανδρε αν ανεβαίνεις στο κανάλι με πλώρη αντί με πρύμνη και μετά να πήγαινες δίπλα στο καταμαράν με πρύμνη και παραπάνω ταχύτητα και μπο ου θα λειτουργουσε καλύτερα αυτός ο τρόπος? ευχαριστώ Βασιλης
Πλώρη προς το αέρα και μετά ανάποδα προς το καταμαράν θα επιταχύνει πολύ την πλώρη υπηνεμα. Θέλουμε σχεδόν πάντα να κάνουμε ανάποδα στον αέρα και σφαλιαρισμα με την πλώρη προς τον αέρα
Cant you give bow line to catamaran and stern starboard line land? Or another plan in my mind: go parallel land give land guy bow springline, turn portside and then give him stern line?
All off the options you mentioned are possible
I thought of two things, why no anker dropping? and why not instruct one of the three mates bow to hand a line to the guy on the catamaran? Ditch the bow thruster all together in the later example.
Anchor in the marina only in case of emergency, otherwise you get tangled with the mooring lines and you have big drama
There is no faster way to get yellow card from the Marina (which provides mooring lines) for being reckless than by dropping an anchor - and of course get immediately labelled by anyone watching as someone totally lacking seamanship. Most proper Marinas in fact ban anchoring with signs in big bold letters (because of the total mess they can cause) - unlike small shelters and ports that lack properly functioning mooring lines and which are often used by inexperienced charterers on various Greek islands or small seaside villages and towns (and which sort of design spaces with anchoring in mind) who then believe anchoring stern-to is a norm everywhere .
@@Sorim-oj5li In those small harbours mooring stern-to might be impossible given the slope of rocks supporting the dock, and bows-to with a stern anchor was the only option, especially for smaller yachts.
Καλησπέρα. Θα ήθελα να σε ρωτήσω κάτι μιας και είσαι σχετικός με την ιστιοπλοϊα. Πιστεύεις είναι εφικτό για κάποιον με μέσο εισόδημα σήμερα να έχει ένα ιστιοπλοϊκό σκάφος ή χρειάζονται τρελα χρήματα για συντήρηση?
Ένα μικρό σκάφος λιγότερο από 10 μέτρα δε ζητάει πολλά
You could also have counted on the guy in the orange shirt, non? I mean give him a line from the bow, he could have blocked it on the cleat on the catamaran while you sort everything out.
It was part of the plan...but wasn't executed successfully also. A lot of miscommunication unfortunately that day because of my rash...
the left rudder seems to swing a bit while moving
I'd skip the fish eye scope on the camera mate, totally skew the scen.
I think the distortion cannot be less with that camera 360 2. What do you suggest instead?
If you know what you did wrong, why did you not do it at that time, is it stress or no standard procedure?
There is always an "important" reason to make us believe we can skip the proper procedure and the results usually make us humble again
@@epicnavigator A great comment!
@@epicnavigator What an admission :-). After many years that has persuaded me to tell mine. I was flotilla skipper and had set my fleet off to explore the upper Sporades. My wife & I went into Skopelos harbour, the yacht prepped correctly for a bows-to moor. There was just room at the end of a row of a rival flotilla yachts on the dock. I was very used to where to drop my stern anchor and had flaked the warp out so it would run without a snag. I always told flotilla crew to have a bowline in the end of that warp, and a second line bowlined onto it "in case they miss-judged it", but I knew the length needed & went in at a "confident" speed to show the lead skipper of the opposition, and the few other skippers chatting with him, how it was done. The anchor went down & the warp was running through my hand when I took in that my wife (standing forward with the bow line) had turned & had a certain expression on her face. She was trying to convey "aren't you going a bit quickly" at the same moment I glanced down at the few metres of line left on the cockpit floor. I griped the line tightly hoping the anchor would drag a little as the pressure came on, but of course this time it didn't - I HAD misjudged the distance and even as I kicked the (low mounted) throttle into astern the line was hauled out of my grip.
I came to a halt a metre from the quay, with the group of skippers clapping. Even after tying up I had to drag the bottom to recover the stern anchor & line in front of them.
Do I feel better for that? No, but I've never told of it before & if epicnavigator can show this, time I admitted to my mistake.
And it DID cure me of showing off...
One simple thing that seems no one is mentioning. Those three crew at the bow on starboard. They are just standing there. One of them needs a boathook in hand. Grab the base of a stanchion on the cat and keep the bow from drifting. Why is this not mentioned? Problem solved. Then you have all the time in the world to sort out the lines astern.
Generally is a bad idea to hook the stanchion that usually end up with people in the water or just loosing the hook
@@epicnavigator I agree caution is advised, however not much force is needed to keep the bow from drifting sideways. If this is a concern, a sheet lassooed around the next boat's cleat and made fast to your own cleat, would definitely solve the problem until you get the boat's mooring lines sorted.
@@epicnavigator Agreed.
@@msammdream A sheet?
What about going in sideways? There looks to be plenty of space. You could change to the upright position once you have a line to drive against.
Or would you advise against it?
The port aft quarter of the boat doesn't let it pivot with that much wind and you can potentially get the lazy lines to the propeller