Berthing disasters we have witnessed

[BobnLesley]

Why is it that most pontoons have exposed bits of hard sharp steel to break your cock up.

I've wondered that too, along with 'why do you so often see fibreglass repair guys on marina pontoons at night?' Surely it's too dark for them to be working as they'll never get a decent colour match... and what do they need those jemmy bars and hacksaws for?

 

[Dockhead]

My favourite. Pontoon mooring in the Hamble. i'm aboard doing some odd jobs and see a boat that moors about 3 boats down heading into her berth - wind is slightly blowing her off - older couple in the cockpit, younger guy on side decks.

I decide to wonder down to help and just as i'm getting there, crew decides to jump, not realising that having a 3 foot jump to the pontoon is not helped by having a stern line with 2 feet of slack in it.

On the positive side, the water is not that cold and he now knows his lifejacket works.

I obviously helped him out, moored the boat up and never said anything again to him!

The usual issue with pontoon mooring on the Hamble (especially there) is the tide.

It is basically impossible to get into a downtide berth under control when the tide is near peak flow, especially at springs. Some people don't ever seem to learn this.

I moved from Swanwick Marina to a mid-river pile mooring (with a pontoon between the piles) and it was a revelation to be able to get in or out whatever the tide, since it could be approached from either direction.

Later I was based in Cowes Yacht Haven and someone would smash into my boat at least once (and usually several times a year), losing control in the tide, although it's much milder here than in the Hamble.

 

[adamstjohn]

The most memorable one was in Benodet. It just so happened that all of the boats already on the visitor's pontoon had arrived on the same tide, and as the tide absolutely jets past the pontoon were all moored facing the same way, into the tide as it was when they arrived.
The tide turned and more yachts arrived. The first one seemed to assume that because all of the boats were facing in the same direction, so must he... So he made a down tide approach, in at least 3 knots of tide, he must have been doing 5 knots over the ground when he absolutely clattered into the boat behind us, bounced down it, then us, then the boat in front before finally sheering off, his one tiny fender not really up to the job....

The most amazing thing though was that the next 3 boats who were watching did exactly the same approach, with similar results, and every skipper on the pontoon was on deck yelling and gesticulating them to come in the other way...

My own personal worst was in a lock in Holland. I still have no idea how it happened, but to cut a long story short I drove into the lock forwards, but I had to reverse out whilst hiding from the open laughter of the other lock occupants... Fortunately the only damage was to my pride.

I have had exactly that lock experience in Ostende, with crew releasing the forward line so we swung round, it was a wide lock and we were just able to swivel round without touching the sides at bow and stern.
The german yacht waiting to enter - as we reversed out past him - shouted over 'you will not get back to england like that'. it was cringeworthy.