Sailing skills Boat handling under engine: Part 6 In the previous article we had a look at parking up when the touchdown zone was a nice long stretch of pontoon, but what about when it’s a wall, piles or even (shudder) a finger berth? As our series on boat handling under engine comes to an end Nick Beck looks at a few of the more esoteric landings we might be required to perform.
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s the malaise of pontoon ‘finger’ marina moorings spreads inexorably through our harbours, it’s becoming increasingly rare to stumble across fore-and-aft piles, quay walls, scrubbing grids – or even just to be asked to raft up alongside another boat. I think that this is a shame, not only because marinas are often ugly, noisy affairs, but because it steals from us the fun of developing
the skills necessary to deal with anything unusual, thus dumbing down the abilities of the average sailor. Marina pontoons are also occasionally laid out in a way ill-suited to tidally prone harbours – and frankly there’s nothing quite like the view of traditional boats moored along a quayside to stir the heart. So here are a few thoughts on how to handle the unusual, the difficult or the downright unfair.
Blind-side berth: You’ll need to make a sharp turn; if wind and tide won’t help and space permits, consider going past, turning and coming in from the other side; or raft up (gently) to the other boat and then warp across. Tricksy fingers Nothing makes my heart sink quite like being told to park up on a finger berth deep inside a marina, especially when said marina lies along the banks of a tidal river. It’s the kind of thing that makes me long for a lonely anchorage away from this purported ‘civilisation’. Even when the entry is fairly easy, karma seems to demand that the exit will be horrible. But there are times when needs must so here are a couple of the nastier possibilities and suggestions about how to achieve the job without unduly frayed nerves: Blind-side berth You know the scenario; the friendly chap on the marina radio apologises for having no
hammerheads available and offers you a finger pontoon instead. “Don’t worry!” he says, “you’ll be pointing up-tide.” And then he utters those fateful words, “starboard side to,” which you know in this marina means a blind-side berth. Now, if the wind is blowing you onto the target pontoon or is puffing along against the tide there needn’t be too much panic as either will assist you in making the sharp turn necessary and can even be encouraged to do so using a foresail. If the wind is flowing with the tide or blowing you off the target however, then you’re going to have to force the issue. If space and the tide rate allows, I’d consider passing the berth, spinning the boat
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