[Diona]

I absolutely loved reading the article. It’s so relatable. I was just walking down near the docks by my house on a perfect day and no one was out sailing! It made me laugh a little thinking about this.

[andrew]

Having just finished ASA 101 and buying our first boat (1988 Oday 240) this article is very timely. Our berth is the last one on the last slip at our harbor. Making the final turn to get in is one of the hardest parts of the day and I have already been guilty of the panicked “do I go forward or reverse and point the motor left or right” feeling. It went well the first two times and the third needed some reverse thrust and a turn of the motor/rudder to back up and reset. I’m inspired to practice at the open dock at the mouth of the harbor next time to see how smooth we can make the approach before doing it in the confined space now. I think a spring line with a loop sized just long enough to catch the mid cleat and not require wrapping in a hurry will be prepped too.

[Jenny]

Let us know how it goes for you, Andrew! So many people struggle with docking, and it’s not surprising. It’s just a really challenging task until you do it about 100 times (but it’s a little different with each new boat). When I first got my captain’s license and was preparing to teach ASA classes, my affiliate manager said I wouldn’t really feel comfortable docking until I spent about 3 hours just practicing solo. That was nerve-wracking, but I did it. Sure didn’t help that I had a group of guys with beers at the picnic table raising their glass to me every time I successfully docked, but I got over the major jitters. I still find I have the jitters when docking, but I feel a lot better with that practice. And I love having a midship spring line, especially when coming in solo.