ALAN: Picking Up A Mooring

[Don Guillette]

ALAN, my man: Now your famous!! Look at all the nice responses you've received.Have you ever sailed up to and picked up a mooring? The last time I did it was when I was 16 years old on Narragansett Bay. Everyone in those days was on a mooring. I think there are a lot of mooring situations in your neck of the woods but not a lot out here. I'd really have to think about how to do it but it might be second nature to you or others out there. On a calm day it probably would be easy but what happens when there is a breeze or current. Anyone can pick up a mooring under power but what fun is that!! Having the ability to control a boat has a number of advantages such as man over board etc. A sail boat does not stop on a dime so learning to be the master of your craft in any situation is what every sailor should strive after. OK Alan , fire away!!

 

[Alan]

Don

Famous! I hardly think so....now yer makin' me blush!!! Yes, I use a mooring, and you could say I've become pretty good at 'pickup time'. But that wasn't always the case.A couple of years ago, I was headed 'back to the barn' after a Wed nite race. I left the guys in the club at about 2300hrs and headed across the bay to my mooring. The wind had picked up as a front moved through. I've done this for more the a couple of years. When I arrived at the mooring area the winds were 25+kts with a stiff ebbing tidal current. The usual prodedure that I use is to approach the mooring off line and down wind, and depending on wind strength, turn up into the wind a fair amount before the mooring, in neutral, and coast to a stop at the pikup stick. Problem was that the wind was strong enough that the pickup stick was lying over on it's side. I had left a boat hook lying on deck at the bow and now had to time a quick maneuver from the helm, to the bow, pick up the boat hook, reach over and try grab the pickup stick, all before the wind and current drove the bow off. The whole thing took nearly 20 minutes before I was finally able to pull it off. I had started to think about going back across the bay to dock the boat for the night. When I finally got the mooring penants on the bow cleats I had to spend a couple of minutes catching my breath. It had been a pretty good workout.Next time I'll tell you a story how we actually docked the boat with no motor, under spinnaker, talk about timing!!