This is jus one reason why you should never jump
(Of course, only as long as it's only a splash - no injury to person or property)
The head phones won't work if you jump off the boat with them on and land in the water.
A German Master Mariner friend tells a very good story about the time he accepted the post of Master on a Capesize bulker owned by a very well known French company. They loaded coal in the USA for Dunkirk. On passage she drew a little more every day as the ballast valves were leaking back, but he got her to the Dunkirk pilots and insisted that he should berth right away, as the tides were taking off and there would not be enough water under the unloader the next day..
This is jus one reason why you should never jump
Sometimes though, it does go right, even when there's an audience. We took our aged Snapdragon 24 to Cherbourg some years ago, It was August bank Holiday and I reckon there were more British boats there than in Haslar, and we were the smallest by a significant margin. As we came in, the marina went full meerkat wondering what this tiny thing was doing there. I turned in, the fenders kissed the pontoon as the boat stopped and Madame stepped ashore with a line. Two minutes later everything was sorted and we were ready for the aperitif.
Don't worry, I've also got plenty of tales about when it didn't go to plan
Oh so I wish that all boaters had the wisdom and expertise ....
But hell will freeze over before that happens ....
They do, but may not have realised it yet. nothing more simple than berthing but the skills involved will only come with time and experience over some years. Me ive no idea what I do, as each time is very different. I dont tend to climb on other boats or hit anything so something must be rightOh so I wish that all boaters had the wisdom and expertise ....
But hell will freeze over before that happens ....
I have the inestimable advantage of having been able to go about my adventures without forum witnesses.Oh so I wish that all boaters had the wisdom and expertise ....
But hell will freeze over before that happens ....
If you are a sailing teacher you also need the eye of the tiger, the wisdom of Solomon, the patience of Job and the luck of Old Harry.
). Building confidence gently and quietly is key. But this all stems from the final realisation of why berthing when being blown off has been tricky, she has no confidence standing on the gunwhales (being out of the cockpit). Doesnt't matter whether it is dropping a loop on a cleat or stepping off with lines. People get more risk averse as they get older and more wobbly. Time for a different strategy.
Some good stuff has emerged, thanks all. My boat is a Konsort (29ft) so not too high a free board to step off for me, but obviously wobbly pontoons don't always advertise their true nature. Much more likely I will be going for a midship loop, stern bridle cleat lassoo etc etc (all from here and Duncan Wells) but until we have had some serious experimentation and practice with my wife on the helm who knows, (quite likely I will end up back on the helm whatever
The fact that you remember it so well shows how rarely it happens. At our last mooring, we were on the multihull pontoon at The Folly. Between Ra, the odd twin masted thing, one on each hull, and a Dazcat. Both over 7m beam. We has 2m of clearance fore and aft. That’s a long ferryglide in a flighty tri, especially with no tide, as is often the case up there. However, with a good SW wind blowing us on, I could kind of ‘park’ 10m off the pontoon, and with little bursts of throttle an helm, just keep her parallel whilst the wind parked us up, sometimes to an audience of aghast onlookers. All I can say is that it’s a good thing we had a fresh audience when we were trying to leave in the same conditions.
