I would really suggest that you start using spring lines when docking. Even i heavy weather it allows me to pretty much single hand dock our current boat Bav 42C.
Yup my thoughts too, need to do a little research I guess. I know the theory but not so much practice yet. I think the difficult part was the space we had and getting someone ashore in the first place. Thanks for the advice. Cheers, Chris
@@SailingAurora Tight space is the spring line even more important, cause it prevents the boat to drift around. If you took a long line from the bow and sailed straigt up and mounted it where the stern would go, you could then just let the boat drift back and with the rudder all the way to starbord and the engine in forward you could get the boat sideways an holding it there. Hope it makes sense.
Thank's for sharing! About docking, my general opinion is that if you have docked without 1. hurting anyone, 2. damaging other people's property, and 3. damaging your own boat, then it's a good docking! 😊 It does not have to be pretty. I think your winching method was clever!
Thanks very much, my method was pretty much get 1 part of the boat secured and let it hang in the wind, winches can be utilised later on to get the boat in as long as you have a bit of space. Definitely right about the safety part, as long as everyone is ok, boats come secondary. Always nice to come in without casualties :) Best regards, Chris
Hi Guys, just discovered your channel. Great to see you've a H415 which is almost identical to our boat so there'll be some binge watching in the next week! In almost every circumstance, the first rope we get ashore is from the mid-cleat with preference for port-side-too. Once tied off the boat is more balanced in strong beam winds and with engine ahead, the boat will move forward and sideways closing onto the dock with a little steering to parallel the boat. Course your post is a year old and you may have discovered this method yourself! We also found the standard Hanse fenders (may have been supplied by the agent) to be far too small squashing almost flat in strong winds so we invested in ten 270x850mm Anchor fenders (~£400) which are big but offer excellent protection. Super, look forward to binge watching your other videos. Cheers! (Andrea & Ian, SV Gabrielle)
Hi Ian, Aurora is a Hanse 418, very similar to the 415 just with a few updates. Thanks so much for the tip, actually didn't know this method so thanks very much for sharing. I'm actually thinking about single handing a little next year so that could be really useful to know. Could be good with some new fenders, we have bought 2 extra ones, its been ok so far but like you say could be nice with bigger ones. We also have a ball fender inase of high winds etc. Thanks for the compliment, hope you enjoy the channel, cheers Chris
Moving the boat with the stern against the pier is a good idea. But than insted of a long rope from the bow just put the the gearbox in forward, throttle between idle and half ( depending on wind strength) and the rudder against the pier (to starboard in your example), be a bit patient and the boat will be moved like from ghosthands driven against the pier :-).
Thanks for the advice Jörg, really appreciated, I have learned a lot over the summer, especially about the importance of going in reverse in these situations. We haven't had winds like that in a while, noted and will definitely try to remember for next time. All the best, Chris and Tanja
Hi Chris! Great meeting you yesterday! I’m bingewatching your videos today. Really recognize the stress of handling a big boat in new situations where you feel you loose control. Not a good feeling!😳😬
Cheers Joakim, was great to meet you too. It's great to meet fellow boaters around Stockholm. It's not a great feeling when you feel like you are going to fail like that, the thing I learnt from it is never to underestimate the situation (and a few techniques I could have used). I hope you enjoy the videos. Thanks, Chris and Tanja
I sailed a lot in the past but the most important thing is to fasten the boat always (at least try to) at the middle first (especially with wind from the wall) and never from the bow and stern first. And in general you can push the stern in the wall even with high winds if you build up the necessary momentum towards the wall before the turn, it needs some guts (dont go too slow) and knowledge of the boat. You can train a bit with like 10 knots (like 8 times or something) without using the bow-thruster (so when it gets tricky you have that option still available, just for training). But tbh the harbor was very small and with the buoys made it difficult for sure. On the short term just try to avoid these very small places with high wind until you learned your boat and the maneuvering better.
Thanks for tips, but your right, we've had the boat for a few months now and it's getting much better. Just need some more practice like you say, have to find the time in the quiet months, thanks Chris and Tanja
I have a a H385 since 2014 and think you did alright. The bow should be facing shallower water so you can reverse away, in soft mud go hard on the prop, wiggle the rudder to get water flow to clear the mud.I always sit sideways with the throttle between my legs. Visibilty is better along the side of the boat and hitting the prop hard as needed uses the force of the prop wash against the rudder to assist turning, standing up is the' normal' approach, but makes reversing and prop control much harder to do. Make sure that the depth sounder reads at zero about 20 cm or close to that below the keel, with the alarm set at 1.8 metres. Anyway, just a couple of thoughts, enjoying the vids very much.
Thanks very much Phillip, great advice there. I wasn't really planning on being in the shallow part of that harbour back first but we sort of ended up down there. As you say always best to go keel first, my dad used to have an MGC27 which was a bilge keel or twin keel and I remember going aground many times in my childhood with that one in the UK tides around Poole harbour. it was just a fact of life when the average depth in the harbour is 2 inches. Sometimes I wish that they put the throttle a little further up but it's not really possible at least on these Hanse's so makes it a little awkward and I have also adopted sitting on the side option, works pretty well just takes a little getting used to. Great advice with the depth sounder also, I need to look into that, I know there is an alarm at 1.8m already set but need figure out when I will actually hit the bottom and what it needs to be set to. One question do you have any good advice with testing this other than going to a place where you know the depth? Cheers, Chris
@@SailingAurora I am not sure about getting exact measurements and boats vary with stowage and salinity anyway. I was lucky when I set the boat up to have an expert with me and knew the system and the B&G manual very well.My memory is that we just set the boats draft ( on the h358 1.9) plus a small margin, the channel into my marina is a little more shallow than I like and silts up between dredging, so I have actually registered a minus on the screen, only mentioned it because in my experience depth anxiety has given me more headaches than everything else combined by a hundred times, though on the other hand these are very stable boats due to the keel and rudder design and have to be pushed very hard to round up, we have also been through big seas and winds without ever feeling unsafe One of the strengths is that they reverse beautifully without propwalk, we nearly always reverse into a berth but I dont believe in formulas as so much can vary, thinking things through and experience is the go, docking safely in 20 knots will always be problematic no matter what.
Sorry I didn't reply earlier, thanks for the input. It's still on my to do list to go through all of the small things on the boat and learn more over the autumn and spring period. Cheers
23:44 Port side is the opposite :-) Nice upload guys. That cockpit enclosure must be nice while sailing in bad weather but I imagine a nuisance during docking. Did you have times (when things went wrong) that you thought if this was really the right move - getting the boat etc. I know bad situations, specially while docking can really be a hit in the ego.
Hi Nicks, I was thinking to dock on the port side once I had turned the boat around and the bottom of the marina, unfortunately I could not show this as the camera battery died :( You are absolutely right about the enclosure, it's so comfortable but it really makes it tricky sometimes with the visibility, especially when the salt has dried on the spray hood window and you are facing the sun, there is no other way to see out. Yup.... the ego was damaged that day for sure after the docking! Luckily the boat was not :) but I think it easily could have been. There has been a couple of times where I thought "should I have gone a little smaller" or "am I really skilled enough for this?", but I guess everyone goes through that at some point (just guessing). 99% of the time I am so happy to be on the boat and it's the place I long to be, I need something that floats in my life and I think Tanja is also getting that way, she loves it too. Cheers, Chris
Excellent episode. I know this is old news but I’ve just picked up on your channel. Ive started from the beginning after I heard about the grounding, working my way in sequence before it happens. Heard about your channel when comparing to Expedition Evans and their purchase of a damaged Benneteau. I was in the same predicament with a blowing crosswind here in Western Canada trying to dock an unprepared 48’ sailboat in a crosswind in a 55’ wide marina. Dock on one side, breakwater on the other with the wind blowing over the breakwater. Managed to hog tie the port stern as you recommended but couldn’t get the bow to come around. Ended up using a breast line around a winch and grinding our way to the dock. Scary shit, took almost an hour to finally get tied up safely. One thing we noted was as the weather was incliment and we had our full cockpit enclosed, what would have helped was to release the sides and let the wind blow through the cockpit instead of having the blow try to weathervane us. Lesson learned. We lost our bow line when the fellow on the dock couldn’t hold her at the cleat. Now we don’t come into dock ill prepared and always have a midship breast line at the ready. Can’t wait to catch up to real time. Cheers Doug
Hi Doug, I think we learn't in exactly the same way, great story, I can imagine exactly what you went through. Also glad I'm not the only one :) Good idea with the cockpit tent, there is a lot of windage on that, also reduces the visibility. Thanks for sharing, Cheers, Chris
Your comments on docking are reassuring but may I add this observation, if it's rough outside wait until you're in the shelter of the harbour before asking crew to organise ropes and fenders. And keep your head to wind.
Hi Chris. Thank you so much for your comment. Yes, this docking situation was definitely a learning for us, also in how to get organised. Cheers, Chris & Tanja
Good thoughts. I am in favour of your eventual proposed final solution. Reverse in, but I would not have the bathing platform down. Pass the lines or step ashore when close. Inside stern line on and you can spring in. Also agree with others about the cockpit enclosure. Make sure enclosure is away for any tricky docking. We docked our boat the other day in calm conditions with the sides of the cockpit tent up and that was tricky. In the future we will put the whole thing away first before going near the harbour.
Thanks for the input, really appreciate it, yea you could be right. Never thought of just using the stern as a spring in that way. Will have to remember that one. For the cockpit tent you are probably right also, really made it tricky with that up with visibility, not to mention the windage on the boat. Lessons learned the hard way :) cheers
Your probably right, would need a hello of a lot of speed to control the boat backwards in that wind. It's another thing I need to experiment with in open water, it's in the plan at least. Cheers Chris and Tanja
We bought a 385 in 2012 with a similar amount of experience, docking challenges everyone, even the most experienced sailors, we have done about 10000 NM's since then and got it right and wrong many times; though as time goes on the rights well out way the wrongs, we have also sailed the Baltic for two seasons so we are familiar with your sailing area, at least you don't have tides at the moment. You are right planning works, however I do not think your stern solution was a good one, the light bow blows around much faster than the stern, I think your original approach was good just have crew ready to step ashore with good instructions from a forward position, not the gates which are too far back, and then, as many below suggest, use the mid cleat to great effect to hold the boat in place whilst you sort yourself out.
Great advice, I think backing the stern in would have worked because the wind would have been directly on the stern. I will have to get more practice. As you say, even the experts get it wrong sometimes, but when the mistakes happen they are usually less catastrophic. Thanks for the advice, Cheers, Chris
Everybody is inexperienced sailing in a new boat. Backing up the way you suggest is much more difficult than the way you used. There was a bit sailing around in the harbor, but you did the sailing correct. Once I went in on Christians Ø in a storm. No problems, but that is difficult especially because the harbor was 100% full of sailboats, that did not dare to sail with 30-40 knots of wind.
Thanks for the advice, much appreciated. It's a learning curve I guess, We will definitely have to play around with the manoeuvring a bit more. I can imagine Christianso being tricky and intimidating in high winds and lots of boats there. Cheers, Chris
I agree, the only thing I prefer about backing in though is you can get the boat inch perfect into position. When putting the bow towards the dock it's sometimes very difficult to judge the distance. I see where you guys are coming from though, cheers
@@SailingAurora no matter what kind of sailboat backing into wind is always best because the rollerfurling has so much winddrag, and with additional rollerfurler cutter or solent double up. So, if you have to wait stationery for a fuel dock or something, or pick up a mooring buoy in heavier wind, always stern to. Much easier and better control. Boat stays almost by itself lined up with the wind and you just need the motor to stop the drift. I prefer to use that bow to method with my boat, that doesn't turn on a penny, not even near, and has a pretty strong propwash to port in revers, when coming in to harbours, especially tight ones. And, you also naturally motor in with bow first😉
Yepp, that is really trick when you get blown of the dock like that. Even more so when you don't have much room to maneuver in... I tend to use a spring line and the engine to help get the boat alongside the dock. You can use different techniques with springlines both for getting onto the dock and getting of the dock. One thing to think of is to have fenders in the stern or aft depending on what type of spring maneuver you are doing. Some examples... Getting on to the dock. ua-cam.com/video/lyDSlNNClnA/v-deo.html Getting of the dock ua-cam.com/video/9VHCM1JFX6M/v-deo.html
Så har i fået en følger mere ,dansker strandet på Corfu GR. Skulle arrangere sejltur maj 2020 men!!! Kan anbefale Guvia marina og Corfu hvis i kommer i met.!
Hej Erik. Velkommen, dejligt at læse og skrive dansk:-) Håber din sejltur kan blive til noget i år?! Tak for anbefalingerna, håber vi kan gøre brug af dem. Pas på dig selv og held og lykke med sejlturen. De bedste hilsner fra Chris & Tanja
Because my earlier comment was a bit sketchy as with regard to details I found an excellent video which describes all kinds of docking procedures and terms used in a very professional way. I hope this will help you to keep the boat from hitting the walls (being new and all) and build up more confidence in future. Fair winds 😎 (check 51:15 for your specific situation btw but best to sit out the whole vid) ua-cam.com/video/PoGMAEjiHmU/v-deo.html Edit: It seems the link starts too far into the vid but maybe thats only me.
Thanks for the information and the link. I think in any other situation you are definitely right, I would put the middle cleat on first but in this situation I didn't have the "swing room" so I could turn and get the beam close to the dock if I remember correctly. Like you say I didn't know the boat and this will come with experience and it takes balls to pull of the "captain ron docking". Really appreciate the advice, cheers
Have an enough long rope from the middle springcleat running outside stantions and all, all the way to the bow and bowcrew. Approach bow to pier, about where your stern is going to be when alongside. Bowcrew jumps on pier (bowladder) with rope and attaches to pier a little bit towards bow where stern is going to be. Ease out a few meters, but be careful to keep bow towards where you want it (bowthruster/careful helming and propcontrol) . Full rudder and a short hard thrust forward should start your turning alongside with the help of the now spring mooring line. Continue motoring against springline and you'll be alongside in no time. As soon as possible cleat another midcleat line to pier as short as possible. Crew on pier can grab this line from lifelines if it is ready cleated to midship cleat and a bight thru a bungeestrop on lifelines. The same goes for stern and bow mooringlines if they are ready waiting in bungeestrops about midships. Practise.
The mediterranean mooring technique could be a good solution in this case if you had the option to drop the anchor in the harbour. ua-cam.com/video/8Y9lWp7Q0ms/v-deo.html . Preparation is key with each crew with a specific task.
Yea, could have been an option but the harbour was empty (luckily) so much more convenient to moor along side. I just love how many different methods there are to this mooring business, really gets you thinking. Also there were bouys all around the harbour so would have just taken one one of those. You are totally right, all about the prep, thanks for the link. Cheers, Chris
Thanks for the advice, you are right, a bit of teaching couldn't hurt. If you have sailed with a closed cockpit in cold weather for days on end I can assure you, it is very much appreciated. A group of guys behind us just picked up a new 458 sailing to Finland, it wasn't long before they also put on the cockpit tent while sailing, I have seen it on many boats. Nothing more miserable than being cold and wet for hours at a time.
Sailing Yacht Aurora I just sailed from Helgoland to Edinburgh in 53h. Wind between 20 to 35kn. Always wet and cold, no Heater on board! It’s a Question of View, as always. My Point of View is better safe than warm!! Sorry....
@@sailkoop dont be sorry, I do appreciate different points of view. Definitely I think it's much better to have it down when docking, even the spray hood also. But for sailing its perfect yes it restricts visability but that's about it. Sounds like you've done some great sails, quite jealous
I would really suggest that you start using spring lines when docking. Even i heavy weather it allows me to pretty much single hand dock our current boat Bav 42C.
Yup my thoughts too, need to do a little research I guess. I know the theory but not so much practice yet. I think the difficult part was the space we had and getting someone ashore in the first place. Thanks for the advice. Cheers, Chris
@@SailingAurora Tight space is the spring line even more important, cause it prevents the boat to drift around.
If you took a long line from the bow and sailed straigt up and mounted it where the stern would go, you could then just let the boat drift back and with the rudder all the way to starbord and the engine in forward you could get the boat sideways an holding it there. Hope it makes sense.
@@tonnyjensen6503 Makes sense :) Thanks
That sternapproach you demonstrated is also good. And, get those SENA Bluetooth comms!
Good shout, we are looking at that now
Thank's for sharing! About docking, my general opinion is that if you have docked without 1. hurting anyone, 2. damaging other people's property, and 3. damaging your own boat, then it's a good docking! 😊
It does not have to be pretty. I think your winching method was clever!
Thanks very much, my method was pretty much get 1 part of the boat secured and let it hang in the wind, winches can be utilised later on to get the boat in as long as you have a bit of space.
Definitely right about the safety part, as long as everyone is ok, boats come secondary. Always nice to come in without casualties :) Best regards, Chris
I concur :)
When it is windy things can be tricky because of the forces on all the lines...
Hi Guys, just discovered your channel. Great to see you've a H415 which is almost identical to our boat so there'll be some binge watching in the next week!
In almost every circumstance, the first rope we get ashore is from the mid-cleat with preference for port-side-too. Once tied off the boat is more balanced in strong beam winds and with engine ahead, the boat will move forward and sideways closing onto the dock with a little steering to parallel the boat. Course your post is a year old and you may have discovered this method yourself! We also found the standard Hanse fenders (may have been supplied by the agent) to be far too small squashing almost flat in strong winds so we invested in ten 270x850mm Anchor fenders (~£400) which are big but offer excellent protection. Super, look forward to binge watching your other videos. Cheers! (Andrea & Ian, SV Gabrielle)
Hi Ian, Aurora is a Hanse 418, very similar to the 415 just with a few updates. Thanks so much for the tip, actually didn't know this method so thanks very much for sharing. I'm actually thinking about single handing a little next year so that could be really useful to know. Could be good with some new fenders, we have bought 2 extra ones, its been ok so far but like you say could be nice with bigger ones. We also have a ball fender inase of high winds etc. Thanks for the compliment, hope you enjoy the channel, cheers Chris
Moving the boat with the stern against the pier is a good idea. But than insted of a long rope from the bow just put the the gearbox in forward, throttle between idle and half ( depending on wind strength) and the rudder against the pier (to starboard in your example), be a bit patient and the boat will be moved like from ghosthands driven against the pier :-).
Thanks for the advice Jörg, really appreciated, I have learned a lot over the summer, especially about the importance of going in reverse in these situations. We haven't had winds like that in a while, noted and will definitely try to remember for next time. All the best, Chris and Tanja
Great video , thx for sharing the experience
Glad you enjoyed it
Hi Chris! Great meeting you yesterday! I’m bingewatching your videos today. Really recognize the stress of handling a big boat in new situations where you feel you loose control. Not a good feeling!😳😬
Cheers Joakim, was great to meet you too. It's great to meet fellow boaters around Stockholm. It's not a great feeling when you feel like you are going to fail like that, the thing I learnt from it is never to underestimate the situation (and a few techniques I could have used). I hope you enjoy the videos. Thanks, Chris and Tanja
I sailed a lot in the past but the most important thing is to fasten the boat always (at least try to) at the middle first (especially with wind from the wall) and never from the bow and stern first. And in general you can push the stern in the wall even with high winds if you build up the necessary momentum towards the wall before the turn, it needs some guts (dont go too slow) and knowledge of the boat. You can train a bit with like 10 knots (like 8 times or something) without using the bow-thruster (so when it gets tricky you have that option still available, just for training).
But tbh the harbor was very small and with the buoys made it difficult for sure. On the short term just try to avoid these very small places with high wind until you learned your boat and the maneuvering better.
Thanks for tips, but your right, we've had the boat for a few months now and it's getting much better. Just need some more practice like you say, have to find the time in the quiet months, thanks Chris and Tanja
I have a a H385 since 2014 and think you did alright. The bow should be facing shallower water so you can reverse away, in soft mud go hard on the prop, wiggle the rudder to get water flow to clear the mud.I always sit sideways with the throttle between my legs. Visibilty is better along the side of the boat and hitting the prop hard as needed uses the force of the prop wash against the rudder to assist turning, standing up is the' normal' approach, but makes reversing and prop control much harder to do. Make sure that the depth sounder reads at zero about 20 cm or close to that below the keel, with the alarm set at 1.8 metres. Anyway, just a couple of thoughts, enjoying the vids very much.
Thanks very much Phillip, great advice there. I wasn't really planning on being in the shallow part of that harbour back first but we sort of ended up down there. As you say always best to go keel first, my dad used to have an MGC27 which was a bilge keel or twin keel and I remember going aground many times in my childhood with that one in the UK tides around Poole harbour. it was just a fact of life when the average depth in the harbour is 2 inches.
Sometimes I wish that they put the throttle a little further up but it's not really possible at least on these Hanse's so makes it a little awkward and I have also adopted sitting on the side option, works pretty well just takes a little getting used to. Great advice with the depth sounder also, I need to look into that, I know there is an alarm at 1.8m already set but need figure out when I will actually hit the bottom and what it needs to be set to. One question do you have any good advice with testing this other than going to a place where you know the depth?
Cheers, Chris
@@SailingAurora I am not sure about getting exact measurements and boats vary with stowage and salinity anyway. I was lucky when I set the boat up to have an expert with me and knew the system and the B&G manual very well.My memory is that we just set the boats draft ( on the h358 1.9) plus a small margin, the channel into my marina is a little more shallow than I like and silts up between dredging, so I have actually registered a minus on the screen, only mentioned it because in my experience depth anxiety has given me more headaches than everything else combined by a hundred times, though on the other hand these are very stable boats due to the keel and rudder design and have to be pushed very hard to round up, we have also been through big seas and winds without ever feeling unsafe
One of the strengths is that they reverse beautifully without propwalk, we nearly always reverse into a berth but I dont believe in formulas as so much can vary, thinking things through and experience is the go, docking safely in 20 knots will always be problematic no matter what.
Sorry I didn't reply earlier, thanks for the input. It's still on my to do list to go through all of the small things on the boat and learn more over the autumn and spring period. Cheers
23:44 Port side is the opposite :-)
Nice upload guys. That cockpit enclosure must be nice while sailing in bad weather but I imagine a nuisance during docking. Did you have times (when things went wrong) that you thought if this was really the right move - getting the boat etc. I know bad situations, specially while docking can really be a hit in the ego.
Hi Nicks, I was thinking to dock on the port side once I had turned the boat around and the bottom of the marina, unfortunately I could not show this as the camera battery died :(
You are absolutely right about the enclosure, it's so comfortable but it really makes it tricky sometimes with the visibility, especially when the salt has dried on the spray hood window and you are facing the sun, there is no other way to see out. Yup.... the ego was damaged that day for sure after the docking! Luckily the boat was not :) but I think it easily could have been.
There has been a couple of times where I thought "should I have gone a little smaller" or "am I really skilled enough for this?", but I guess everyone goes through that at some point (just guessing). 99% of the time I am so happy to be on the boat and it's the place I long to be, I need something that floats in my life and I think Tanja is also getting that way, she loves it too. Cheers, Chris
Excellent episode. I know this is old news but I’ve just picked up on your channel. Ive started from the beginning after I heard about the grounding, working my way in sequence before it happens. Heard about your channel when comparing to Expedition Evans and their purchase of a damaged Benneteau. I was in the same predicament with a blowing crosswind here in Western Canada trying to dock an unprepared 48’ sailboat in a crosswind in a 55’ wide marina. Dock on one side, breakwater on the other with the wind blowing over the breakwater. Managed to hog tie the port stern as you recommended but couldn’t get the bow to come around. Ended up using a breast line around a winch and grinding our way to the dock. Scary shit, took almost an hour to finally get tied up safely. One thing we noted was as the weather was incliment and we had our full cockpit enclosed, what would have helped was to release the sides and let the wind blow through the cockpit instead of having the blow try to weathervane us. Lesson learned. We lost our bow line when the fellow on the dock couldn’t hold her at the cleat. Now we don’t come into dock ill prepared and always have a midship breast line at the ready. Can’t wait to catch up to real time. Cheers Doug
Hi Doug, I think we learn't in exactly the same way, great story, I can imagine exactly what you went through. Also glad I'm not the only one :) Good idea with the cockpit tent, there is a lot of windage on that, also reduces the visibility. Thanks for sharing, Cheers, Chris
Your comments on docking are reassuring but may I add this observation, if it's rough outside wait until you're in the shelter of the harbour before asking crew to organise ropes and fenders. And keep your head to wind.
Hi Chris. Thank you so much for your comment. Yes, this docking situation was definitely a learning for us, also in how to get organised. Cheers, Chris & Tanja
Good thoughts. I am in favour of your eventual proposed final solution. Reverse in, but I would not have the bathing platform down. Pass the lines or step ashore when close. Inside stern line on and you can spring in. Also agree with others about the cockpit enclosure. Make sure enclosure is away for any tricky docking. We docked our boat the other day in calm conditions with the sides of the cockpit tent up and that was tricky. In the future we will put the whole thing away first before going near the harbour.
Thanks for the input, really appreciate it, yea you could be right. Never thought of just using the stern as a spring in that way. Will have to remember that one.
For the cockpit tent you are probably right also, really made it tricky with that up with visibility, not to mention the windage on the boat. Lessons learned the hard way :) cheers
Backing the boat against the 20nt wind not easy, just get ready ball rope .easy to throw.
Your probably right, would need a hello of a lot of speed to control the boat backwards in that wind. It's another thing I need to experiment with in open water, it's in the plan at least. Cheers Chris and Tanja
We bought a 385 in 2012 with a similar amount of experience, docking challenges everyone, even the most experienced sailors, we have done about 10000 NM's since then and got it right and wrong many times; though as time goes on the rights well out way the wrongs, we have also sailed the Baltic for two seasons so we are familiar with your sailing area, at least you don't have tides at the moment. You are right planning works, however I do not think your stern solution was a good one, the light bow blows around much faster than the stern, I think your original approach was good just have crew ready to step ashore with good instructions from a forward position, not the gates which are too far back, and then, as many below suggest, use the mid cleat to great effect to hold the boat in place whilst you sort yourself out.
Great advice, I think backing the stern in would have worked because the wind would have been directly on the stern. I will have to get more practice. As you say, even the experts get it wrong sometimes, but when the mistakes happen they are usually less catastrophic. Thanks for the advice, Cheers, Chris
Everybody is inexperienced sailing in a new boat. Backing up the way you suggest is much more difficult than the way you used. There was a bit sailing around in the harbor, but you did the sailing correct. Once I went in on Christians Ø in a storm. No problems, but that is difficult especially because the harbor was 100% full of sailboats, that did not dare to sail with 30-40 knots of wind.
Thanks for the advice, much appreciated. It's a learning curve I guess, We will definitely have to play around with the manoeuvring a bit more. I can imagine Christianso being tricky and intimidating in high winds and lots of boats there. Cheers, Chris
Was going to say...but Tonny Jensen got ahead....that's the way to do it.
I agree, the only thing I prefer about backing in though is you can get the boat inch perfect into position. When putting the bow towards the dock it's sometimes very difficult to judge the distance. I see where you guys are coming from though, cheers
@@SailingAurorabow to pier is where those SENA sp10 bt Intercomms comes in especially handy
@@SailingAurora no matter what kind of sailboat backing into wind is always best because the rollerfurling has so much winddrag, and with additional rollerfurler cutter or solent double up. So, if you have to wait stationery for a fuel dock or something, or pick up a mooring buoy in heavier wind, always stern to. Much easier and better control. Boat stays almost by itself lined up with the wind and you just need the motor to stop the drift. I prefer to use that bow to method with my boat, that doesn't turn on a penny, not even near, and has a pretty strong propwash to port in revers, when coming in to harbours, especially tight ones. And, you also naturally motor in with bow first😉
Preparation is key...
Couldn't agree more
Yepp, that is really trick when you get blown of the dock like that. Even more so when you don't have much room to maneuver in...
I tend to use a spring line and the engine to help get the boat alongside the dock.
You can use different techniques with springlines both for getting onto the dock and getting of the dock. One thing to think of is to have fenders in the stern or aft depending on what type of spring maneuver you are doing.
Some examples...
Getting on to the dock.
ua-cam.com/video/lyDSlNNClnA/v-deo.html
Getting of the dock
ua-cam.com/video/9VHCM1JFX6M/v-deo.html
Hi Johan, thanks for the links. Yup it can be tricky. I probalby should brush up on some literature again soon on docking again. Thanks, Chris
A bit scary. But what would Patrick Laine have done? Check out his docking techniques at his UA-cam channel - ua-cam.com/video/kUTEYa1yvfg/v-deo.html
Chris, I'm going to nickname you Marvin ... you probably won't get that but I hope you cheer up 👍
Google is my friend :) I think I was a little worried and tired back them. Things have become a little more relaxing since
Så har i fået en følger mere ,dansker strandet på Corfu GR. Skulle arrangere sejltur maj 2020 men!!! Kan anbefale Guvia marina og Corfu hvis i kommer i met.!
Hej Erik. Velkommen, dejligt at læse og skrive dansk:-) Håber din sejltur kan blive til noget i år?! Tak for anbefalingerna, håber vi kan gøre brug af dem. Pas på dig selv og held og lykke med sejlturen. De bedste hilsner fra Chris & Tanja
Because my earlier comment was a bit sketchy as with regard to details I found an excellent video which describes all kinds of docking procedures and terms used in a very professional way. I hope this will help you to keep the boat from hitting the walls (being new and all) and build up more confidence in future. Fair winds 😎 (check 51:15 for your specific situation btw but best to sit out the whole vid) ua-cam.com/video/PoGMAEjiHmU/v-deo.html
Edit: It seems the link starts too far into the vid but maybe thats only me.
Thanks for the information and the link. I think in any other situation you are definitely right, I would put the middle cleat on first but in this situation I didn't have the "swing room" so I could turn and get the beam close to the dock if I remember correctly. Like you say I didn't know the boat and this will come with experience and it takes balls to pull of the "captain ron docking". Really appreciate the advice, cheers
@@SailingAurora Yeah, it is always easy to comment from the "cellar". Looking forward to the next episode.
Have an enough long rope from the middle springcleat running outside stantions and all, all the way to the bow and bowcrew. Approach bow to pier, about where your stern is going to be when alongside. Bowcrew jumps on pier (bowladder) with rope and attaches to pier a little bit towards bow where stern is going to be. Ease out a few meters, but be careful to keep bow towards where you want it (bowthruster/careful helming and propcontrol) . Full rudder and a short hard thrust forward should start your turning alongside with the help of the now spring mooring line. Continue motoring against springline and you'll be alongside in no time. As soon as possible cleat another midcleat line to pier as short as possible. Crew on pier can grab this line from lifelines if it is ready cleated to midship cleat and a bight thru a bungeestrop on lifelines. The same goes for stern and bow mooringlines if they are ready waiting in bungeestrops about midships. Practise.
You're lucky to have a bow truster !
Yup we love the bowthruster, comes in very handy
The mediterranean mooring technique could be a good solution in this case if you had the option to drop the anchor in the harbour. ua-cam.com/video/8Y9lWp7Q0ms/v-deo.html . Preparation is key with each crew with a specific task.
Yea, could have been an option but the harbour was empty (luckily) so much more convenient to moor along side. I just love how many different methods there are to this mooring business, really gets you thinking. Also there were bouys all around the harbour so would have just taken one one of those. You are totally right, all about the prep, thanks for the link. Cheers, Chris
Nobody is sailing or even more docking a boat with a closed Cockpit! Sorry, pick up a Teacher and expand your Experience!!
Thanks for the advice, you are right, a bit of teaching couldn't hurt. If you have sailed with a closed cockpit in cold weather for days on end I can assure you, it is very much appreciated. A group of guys behind us just picked up a new 458 sailing to Finland, it wasn't long before they also put on the cockpit tent while sailing, I have seen it on many boats. Nothing more miserable than being cold and wet for hours at a time.
Sailing Yacht Aurora
I just sailed from Helgoland to Edinburgh in 53h. Wind between 20 to 35kn. Always wet and cold, no Heater on board! It’s a Question of View, as always. My Point of View is better safe than warm!! Sorry....
@@sailkoop dont be sorry, I do appreciate different points of view. Definitely I think it's much better to have it down when docking, even the spray hood also. But for sailing its perfect yes it restricts visability but that's about it. Sounds like you've done some great sails, quite jealous