Maneuvering Mastery
A story (for a reason) from Grant Headifen, Global Director of Education and author of this Maneuvering Under Power Course.
Near the beginning of my open-water sailing career, I chartered a 46-foot sailboat in St. Maarten. The particular charter base where we chartered from is in a protected cove with a tricky reef entrance. Because of the entrance, the charter base requires upon return that a pilot come out to your boat in a speedboat, jump on board to bring the boat through the reef, and park it in the slip in the marina for you. I spent some time observing this very talented Rastafarian expertly maneuver my chartered boat into the slip.
It was a maneuvering job with which I was very impressed. Why? Well, just days before I had wiped the BBQ off from the back of my sailboat because I could not maneuver the boat in a tight marina with 20 knots of side wind just as it was getting dark. I had been trying to back up to a concrete wall and simultaneously lasso pilings as they went past to hold the front of the boat in place and— off the wall. As captain, I was seeing very quickly that my open water experience was not paying off and was about to cost me, the charter company, and the insurance company a lot of money. Luckily, the expense turned out to be just the BBQ clamp.
I remember a year later maneuvering a 50-foot Beneteau sailboat into the marina in the beautiful port of Bonifacio, Corsica. Our slip was right next to a sidewalk restaurant loaded with tourists, so it was imperative to my ego to get it right. Well, I did but I think it was really more luck than anything else. As we sat on the back of the boat celebrating a no-damage docking, we watched a crew expertly maneuver their boat backward down a row of slips, then turn right angles, then back their boat into a tight slip, stopping perfectly. We all cheered and clapped – it was very impressive to watch. I vowed right then and there to master the skill of Maneuvering.
The secret is to make an entrance plan according to all the factors – wind, current, dock layout, prop walk etc. For each combination, there is a specific formula – like the one below where the captain understands to back the boat into the wind and at the same time use prop walk to maneuver easily into the slip.
One year later I was smiling as I maneuvered a 50-foot sailboat through a very tight harbor in Kos, Greece. You can always tell how you are doing in a busy port. If you’re doing well, everyone on the other boats will be watching and will continue to drink their gin. If you’re doing badly, they all put down their drinks and put fenders over the side. In Greece, everyone continued drinking!
This course will teach you how to practice and master the skill of placing the boat however and wherever you want it every time, in all wind situations, with confidence. The lessons here are arranged so you can first read the material and begin to understand the theory. Then you can practice. Each module has associated practical exercises that you absolutely must perform and repeat often to become an expert and a master of maneuvering.
In the end, I’m confident that you’ll be so comfortable with maneuvering and backing your boat in a tight marina that you’ll never have any onlookers need to put down their drink and pick up a fender. You’ll feel great and, even if you mess it up a bit, you’ll know exactly how to do it better next time.
After going through this material, we recommend taking the exercises from this course, a friend, some sandwiches, and some nonalcoholic libations (of course) with you to the boat. Then have a great day performing all the practical exercises on the water several times over to master the concepts.
There is no alternative to being able to maneuver a boat in a marina – you simply must become a master at this skill!
Mastery is the only option!
I mean do you want to be barely proficient and rely a little on luck? Or do you want the boat to do what you tell it?
