Med moor shorthanded

[cpthook]

Hi

I chartered a yacht in the med last year with my girlfriend.
We are absolute novices and experienced difficulties mooring
stern-to due to lack of hands and experience. Having got the
yacht into its berth I would try and keep her in place at the helm
while the gf fished out the mooring line and secured the bows.
In the meantime the boat would be drifting hither and thither
in spite of my efforts. We would gently bump into adjoining
yachts causing a few Italians to shake their fists! I would occasionally
spring from the helm to fend off, but meanwhile the yacht would be
wandering and I'd have to spring back and power ahead to keep
her stern off the unforgiving pontoon.

In the mooring line situation would the gf have been better off securing
the stern first and then attending to the bows? Should the helmsman
be glued to the helm or is he/she expected to fend off and tie-up?
There must be a "best way" to do this

 

[Roberto]

If coming stern to into the berth/place, attach and secure the two stern lines, the put engine in forward at 1000/1500rpm, the boat will steady and leave you plenty of time to secure the forward line.
Result includes applauses instead of fists...

Also, especially with charter boats which usually have awful propellers, I would practice going backwards a few times in open water to evaluate propeller drift, it helps a lot in directing the boat into the right berth.

 

[Guest]

My wife and I have chartered in the med for the last seven years, this is what we do.

Make sure you get both stern lines ready and coiled on the pushpit before making your approach (avoids rooting in lockers at the last moment )

Anchor person takes position at bow ready to drop bow anchor (as you are going to leave it unnatended make sure it will run freely and that the bitter end is secured)

As approaching quay anchor person comes aft and either heaves the stern lines to helpful person on quay or steps off with them. Secure stern lines and put engine into forward.

Strongest person (if no electric windlass) goes forward and tensions anchor

Job done

The only change we make to this routine is if we have a boat with a combination of chain and warp for the bow anchor, in my experience this is much more likely to get snagged if left unattended. In this situation the helmsman must hold a stern line and heave it to a helpful person onshore and leave the anchor line attended, the anchor can then be tensioned early and avoid the need to put the engine in forward, this allows the helmsman to secure the second stern line if neccessary.

The only other suggestion I would make, apart from the good advice in the earlier reply to practice reverse in open water, is to always steer a wheel-steered yacht from behind the wheel,this avoids any confusion at the critical moment about which way to turn the wheel.

Kind regards

Steve

Steve Greenhough
"Frank" Liverpool Yacht Club

 

[steve_cronin]

This IS the best method if you are using your own bow anchor. However more and more marinas are fitting fixed bow lines tailed to the pontoon. Despite marina staff (the bloke at Gouvia is particular prone to this) trying to get you to pick up the bow line first, just ignore them and secure your stern first THEN pick up the bow line and walk it along the side deck to tension it onto a bow cleat. Again use the engine in slow ahead against the stern warps to allow the bow line to be tensioned.

Plea from me - a charter boat owner - please open the transom gate, bend on the warps OUTSIDE the rails and put out all fenders AND the stern fender before attempting!

Have a great trip. Who are you chartering with?

Steve Cronin

Steve Cronin

 

[cpthook]

Hi

We were chartering out of Gouvia with Vernichos. You're right! The bloke at
Gouvia marina did offer us the mooring line before we had secured the stern. The
gf ended up making fast the weedy tail line to a bow cleat while we seesawed
about, engine in forward then reverse. There was no stern fender attached
and the stern never touched the pontoon. But we could have done with a stern
fender. We didn't quite fall fowl of bending on the warps inside the rails though
Thanks to all for the advice.

 

[Guest]

You might care to have a look at the series that John Goode has been running in Sailing Today called Sailing In The Sun which covers all the problems you are likely to encounter on a Med charter.This series will almost certainly be published in due course as a booklet.Just a thought.

Keltman

 

[Guest]

I find a big difference if you are in a calm weather or in a strong side wind.

In case of wind, first secure the up-wind stern line, then the bow line as soon as possible, without taking care of distances, then relax and adjust.

In case of calm weather, fix the bow line a bit loose, go close to the pontoon, fix the stern lines at a distance just slightly longer (say 30-40 centimeters) you actually need to get comfortably ashore, then ask your partner (or go to bow) to fix the bow line, and, last step, pull with strength the stern lines in order to reach the rigth distance from the pontoon. All above it'much easier done than said, takes seconds and applauses