Alans post about coiling a line made me think about heaving a line. Most mates, when heaving a line from the boat to a person on the dock, make a couple of mistakes. The first is they heave the whole coil and the second thing they do wrong is throw the whole coil DIRECTLY at the dock person catching the line. This ends up being a messy situation but it happens all the time. Here's another way, which I think is the correct way. I think it is correct because it is the method I use!!!! First, the dock person catching the line should face the person throwing the line and extend his right or left arm horizontely to his side. That is the target the person throwing the line is aiming for - instead of the dock persons face!! The right handed person throwing the line should take 3 or 4 loops of the coil in his right hand. The rest of the coils are in his outstretched left hand (like pictures of Jesus welcoming his flock). When the thrower lets it go he can easily control the amount of line going out and can stop it very quickly so as not to over shoot the person. This is something you can practice in your garage. Give it a try and see what you think.
