I was taught that in situations where I had to toss a line to have coils in both hands and in a manner that the line would uncoil naturally as it fed out. I have seen a lot of instances where a "backward" coil tangled on itself on the way out an splashed. Always toss past the dock hand not directly at him or her.
Normally, with a midship cleat, its not difficult at all to catch a dock cleat or a piling. The trick is to be nearly stopped. Many people tend to be moving too fast on approach and are in a near panic so to speak rushing to get to boat stopped with a dock line before hitting something. Done right with a reasonable dock height the skipper can put a line around a cleat or piling without leaving the cockpit letting the boat ease itself into position.
