Actually, I think you have exactly the right attitude already. You don't sound at all like an idiot. Far better to be able to get oneself out of trouble rather than have to look elsewhere. That's very often the cause of real problems.
Cheers MC , your a good bunch of sailors on this forum , my last voyage started off badly , myself and my fellow crew member reversed out of a very tight pontoon mooring . The wind got us and the stern took control , we recovered after fending off etc . No persons or boats were damaged and we were about to congratulate ourselves when a hysterical female boat owner started screeching at us , “ don’t you damage my boat , don’t you dare damage my boat “ . Embarrassing to say the least , if anyone catches my boat I just fend them off and tell them not to worry about it .
) and an expected blow from the north arrived earlier on the Monday morning than forecast... We were in the butt end of the marina and in the landward end of that lane. Started to back out and the prop kick swung the stern to the North, so I tried to turn the bows through the wind... No chance. So I finished up going astern all the way to the fuel berth alley, which is wide, and with all of the 47 bhp applied and full starboard wheel applied managed to finally get the bows through the wind! I was prepared for a stern first trip home!
My saildrive combined with a limited rudder movement makes it hard to kick the bow through the wind, so progress astern out of a marina is quite a common event for me. My home berth tends to encourage usage this too. The longest run I’ve had to do this way was at St Helier, out of the drying pad in the corner, with about 15 knots blowing across, maybe 200 yds. It is a skill that everyone should be prepared to acquire, and really not that hard, except in the case of Tom, Dick, or Harry’s boat of course.A few years back, one May Bank Holiday we'd had a long trip to Bradwell (from West Mersea
I think reversing out is the way to go with my vessel , she pulls hard to port , when facing the aft . The yards boat handlers confirmed my findings during a recent lift out , fortunately due to their exemplary boat handling skills they used the characteristic to their benefit. Their advice was , either walk her out , point the bows in the required direction and allow your crew member to climb aboard , then off you go . Or let her pull you around add rudder as needed reverse away from other boats and then sail off as normal . The latter will be practiced away from the boatyard and other craft and under instruction .A few years back, one May Bank Holiday we'd had a long trip to Bradwell (from West Mersea
I did much of my learning on the Broads, in an assortment of boats. My last trip, before we started sea sailing was in a four-berth Leading Lady from Potter. I borrowed a nephew to make up the numbers and we weaved enginelessly and happily around for a week, taking in Horning, the Ant and Horsey Mere. A quant pole and a mop are good pieces of equipment for fending off dangers.
It was Meadow Dyke, on the way back from Horsey Mere that was our undoing.
You’ve got the wrong idea. You don’t give way to motor boats; you make them wait. We acquired quite a train on boats astern on our way up Meadow Dyke in the Leading Lady, 30+ feet plus bowsprit. We were racking, nephew with the quant pole and wife with the mop at the bow, until I took pity on our followers and nudged our bow into the reeds on the weather bank. Someone on one ofthe boats said as they passed, “What a pity. We thought you were doing so well up till then”
My foolish give way was in Horning village.
I made no such mistake, was just talking about myself!
