Who is at fault?

[Spyro]

I’d say it takes two but you started reversing out of your berth knowing the other boat was there. He had no way of knowing you were attempting that manoeuvre. Had you reversed down the aisle past your berth then went in ahead in the normal direction that would have been a much better manoeuvre as the direction you went in with the wind behind was never going to get you next to the berth as the boat would be slipping sideways away from the pontoon. I don’t know how much room you had but as you knew the manoeuvre you were going to attempt it would have better waiting till the other boat was out of the way. You could have passed him and your berth then went into reverse. The boat would weather cock and you could have reversed out again or gone in to your berth stern to.

 

[Poignard]

It's the marine equivalent of the sort of accident that happens in supermarkets every day.

Mend and forget!

 

[FlyingGoose]

It's the marine equivalent of the sort of accident that happens in supermarkets every day.

Mend and forget!

Very sensible idea ,
We have all had near misses accidents etc ,and we move on a little bit wiser

 

[capnsensible]

A simple misunderstanding. Shit happens.

:encouragement:

 

[greeny]

I don't think that we are in a position to be sure about that, but in any case, warping across is always the better option. This can be done without effort by using the sheet winch. I'm a bit confused when the OP says that the adjacent berth was empty, though he previously stated that his stanchion met part of another boat.

Blew onto the boat that was on the other side of the adjacent pontoon. Bow anchor.

 

[Poignard]

Blew onto the boat that was on the other side of the adjacent pontoon. Bow anchor.

Cue new thread about the pros and cons of anchors that stick out from boats' bows.

 

[greeny]

Not sure what fenders and ensign have to do with anything. I had fenders both sides. Ensign was British, is there a problem with that. Probably 20% of boats in marina are British flagged at an estimate.

 

[Poignard]

Not sure what fenders and ensign have to do with anything. I had fenders both sides. Ensign was British, is there a problem with that. Probably 20% of boats in marina are British flagged at an estimate.

The ensign wouldn't have made any difference. Except that if it was blue, most forumites would immediately ascribe any blame to you.

 

[Ohlin Karcher]

...Bow anchor.

Yes yes.. but what type of anchor was it?

 

[greeny]

I’d say it takes two but you started reversing out of your berth knowing the other boat was there. He had no way of knowing you were attempting that manoeuvre. Had you reversed down the aisle past your berth then went in ahead in the normal direction that would have been a much better manoeuvre as the direction you went in with the wind behind was never going to get you next to the berth as the boat would be slipping sideways away from the pontoon. I don’t know how much room you had but as you knew the manoeuvre you were going to attempt it would have better waiting till the other boat was out of the way. You could have passed him and your berth then went into reverse. The boat would weather cock and you could have reversed out again or gone in to your berth stern to.

Ok I understand the reversing bit but my boat is twin rudder and needs to travelling fairly quickly to keep steerage in astern especially with what would be a wind on the bow trying to push the bow off if you go slow. Reversing down the aisle is possible but reduces my ability to respond to unexpected should a boat pull out on me.
I never intended to go straight into the berth first time, I was using it to spin the boat then approach from the other direction, which I incidently did after the incident with no problem.
In my opinion, where it went wrong was when the trip boat pulled out without looking and then didn't wait for me to complete my docking before going behind me. Others clearly think that my manouevre was too complicated and I should have docked in the next berth and warped across. Had the wind been stronger I would have done this but it was my assessment on the day that this was not necessary.
If there's one thing I've re-enforced in my mind and planning process is to expect the unexpected in all situations.

 

[GHA]

A simple misunderstanding. Shit happens.

:encouragement:

And I know that tourist boat, he's in and out all day long, possibly not 100% concentrating as it's something he's done thousands of times.

 

[Skylark]

Did the other boat sound 5 short blasts as it sounds like your intentions were unclear

To avoid it happening again, with wind on your stern I’d certainly go in backwards, past the berth and then approach it with a midship cleat / windward pontoon berth manoeuvre.

You say that you need a lot of water over the twin rudders before she’ll respond. I can understand that. Turning to starboard, putting the wind on the beam, going astern, waiting for the rudders to bite, is pretty much bound to blow the bow off.

Is there normally a boat on the adjacent, leeward pontoon? Hope he’s well fendered, too

Glad that only pride was damaged. Put it down to experience.

 

[C08]

This sort of situation needs both parties to appreciate the others potential difficulties. The trip boat may have had difficulty holding station without being blown across the aisle onto parked boats so would be wanting to get moving again as soon as possible, and the op trying to park would have problems if he had to abort the berthing midway. As the F1 people say "just a parking incident".

 

[Ohlin Karcher]

CO8 good point about other peoples' difficulties

 

[lw395]

Not sure what fenders and ensign have to do with anything. I had fenders both sides. Ensign was British, is there a problem with that. Probably 20% of boats in marina are British flagged at an estimate.

If you had certain ensigns other than bog-standard red, mildly faded, of appropriate size, or an eclectic collection of fenders/fender socks, people might have been alerted to the possibility of unexpected behaviour. Alternatively you could try wearing the wrong sort of hat....

 

[Tomahawk]

The trip boat should have looked to see you coming down and stayed put until you were in your berth.

... but he is a commercial boat and you are a stupid WAFI so it has to be your fault because .... well just because

 

[Tamar]

The trip boat should have looked to see you coming down and stayed put until you were in your berth.

... but he is a commercial boat and you are a stupid WAFI so it has to be your fault because .... well just because

I'm a commercial skipper of over 20 years. Just when I think I have seen it all some numptie will surprise me.

 

[Spyro]

The trip boat should have looked to see you coming down and stayed put until you were in your berth.

... but he is a commercial boat and you are a stupid WAFI so it has to be your fault because .... well just because

Well he was in his berth then decided to reverse back out. I think in any case if you start reversing out of a berth you have to make sure no one is coming.

 

[Tomahawk]

I'm a commercial skipper of over 20 years. Just when I think I have seen it all some numptie will surprise me.

Which leads me to consider your fellow commercial skipper should have been prepared for a stupid WAFI do something "odd" and waited until he was actually putting ropes ashore?

 

[ip485]

One of those impossible questions without being there.

The trip boat if skippered by any one of us, could well have thought all was well and secure, equally, if honest, he could have acknowledged that he had been knowingly pushy. You have to been in the other persons shoes to see it from their perspective and then be honest.

The only thing to take away is usually it is better to show just a little more patience rather than make assumptions. It costs a few minutes, but we all think we are so time precious, we have no time for anyone else. It is exactly the same on the roads. Then again I am probably just as guilty as the next man.