Near death whilst berthing! Advice needed!

I cannot help thinking that either the tuition was very poor, or your ability to learn is rather low. If you do find learning difficult,( not everyone can grasp things easily first time, so it is no disgrace) then you need a lot more tuition, because 20 times is a lot of failures

You might not be making enough allowance for emotional states. Failing to do something that you can't easily give up on a few times in a row doesn't really set you up for success the other 17 times.
 
I have to admit that I find it hard to imagine failing 20x ...... but I also can remember a really nice guy - sadly passed away - that came sailing with me more than once. Boating just seemed to be alien to him - but he wanted so much to 'boat' that I think his 'learning' was compromised.
Anyone who sails with me - I try everything to get the event as relaxed as possible ...

I have a suspicion that OP is not failing to come alongside because of tide / wind or outside influence .. I suspect there needs to be more time spent understanding what the boat does ....
I wonder if a day spent away from the pontoons ... in clear waters but relatively sheltered similar to the mooring ..... just playing with the boat - seeing what effect any action or combo of actions has ... Time spent learning the boat like this can repay in 'buckets' ....

I am going to upset a few here and say that going to another Sailing School is probably not the answer. DB says that using a 'mate' is not the answer .... I only half agree there.
There's a lot to be said for finding another boat owner and spending time sailing their and own boat together ... literally crewing for each other ... I've always found that there are plenty of boat owners looking for crew .. and plenty of owners willing to 'crew' / help others.

If I was in the locale of the OP ... I would be happy to crew for him ... I'm no expert - far from it ... plenty of far better boaters than I ... but I would at least want to help him.... hopefully get him some way toward getting that boat in without 'incident'.
 
Remember boating is more like hand grenades than horse shoes…close is good enough…that is what boat hooks are for
 
There's a lot to be said for finding another boat owner and spending time sailing their and own boat together ... literally crewing for each other ... I've always found that there are plenty of boat owners looking for crew .. and plenty of owners willing to 'crew' / help others.
The OP has a Beneteau Antares. ( Outboard power I believe) There is not really much crewing required & forumites are discussing lots of yachtie methods which are really a little different. ie probably no spring cleat & the shape & height of the hull might make one less effective anyway. The OP does not say what model, but trying to hook a pontoon cleat from an A11 would be difficult in itself. No deep keel, so the boat will tend to skid sideways with windage a problem. Steering will be different with outboards. The smaller models are all single outboard.

Perhaps that is why the OP has not bothered to respond to the thread after 64 posts. Like most OP's he has not given the full details either , which never helps.
 
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My advice was all powerboat with single outboard...of which I have had many years experience and much qualifications....but he has disappeared
 
My advice was all powerboat with single outboard...of which I have had many years experience and much qualifications....but he has disappeared
Apologies. One had forgotten that you come from the dark side. Having only one explains a lot though :D
Still, you know what they say- It is not what you have got- it is how you use it ;)
 
Thanks everyone! Sorry I didn't get back to you but I was relying on getting notifications in my emails I didn't realise I had 70 replies. I'm going to have more practice this weekend as it's quite calm.
But I'm going to pay more attention to the wind and slow it down more and just quick clicks in reverse.
But the main advice I'm taking is not to look at top less women in short skirts in cars.
 
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