Solo sailing in the Med

[joegrace]

Thanks very much for that

[Norman_E]

Can't find the edit function. My first paragraph is wrong. It is in the marinas where gaps between lines of boats can be very tight and help from marineros is often required.

[sailormed]

"……. quickly getting steerage in reverse."
If you have a bowthruster you will have steerage in reverse at any speed. Put the rudder in center position and use your bow thruster as a rudder going in reverse.

[Norman_E]

I had a bowthruster, but the important thing to do is learn how to moor without using it, then it becomes a handy aid if things are going slightly wrong not something you rely on because you cannot use the rudder, or use prop walk to help you instead of hinder you.


As I gained experience I found that I used the thruster less and less, which was just as well as it failed early in one cruise and I did not bother to get it fixed until I returned.

[vivaturina]

Originally Posted by joegrace

Hi, I am about to go solo sailing in the Med for the first time. I wondered if anyone has any experience of stern-to mooring and has any useful tips please. Thanks in advance.

You will need a windlass remote, so you can drop your anchor from the helm. Otherwise i don’t see a problem.

[goboatingnow]

It’s important to develop techniques that are adaptable. In one harbour I went stern too between two boats and rowed my anchor out and set it.

Of course you will find you the chain is regularly crossed by others or dragged up by others and you need to go back out and reset it.

Fun and games.
Dont take it all too seriously

[patprice]

And.....if you are going to collide with another boat, make sure you are going very, very slowly!

[Adornan]

Just back from 10 weeks sailing in Croatia. I'm no expert but, the other thing I would add is, watch out for other boats bow lines in the water. Its especially a problem if the berth is shallow and the fairway is narrow. Also more difficult if the neighbouring boat is bow to the pontoon, as this means the ropes in the fairway will be on the stern and so further apart, ie closer to the spot you want to be in.

We fouled ropes twice, the first without damage, the second time I had to cut the rope and remove the prop to get the remnants out. Our marina also charges you 100 euro for a cut rope.

In a marina, rather than harbour wall, best advice is to keep to the middle of the fairway, before turning into your berth. When leaving your berth, push your bow as far to the opposite side of the fairway as you dare before making your turn in order to get your props and rudder into the middle of the fairway. Good luck !

[joegrace]

I've got a lot of practising to do! Going out in October, so it will be quieter. Thanks everyone for your advice.

[Sojourner]

A few points from someone who has lived onboard here in the Med for 5 years now, from Italy around Spain and back, now mostly far east greece:

Marinas are easy, you pay thru the nose for the service so they will absolutely hand you your slime lines and catch and tie you off in back. Often they'll meet you in a dink and help guide you in as well. So don't worry about that.

Public quays: Single handing, you will most certainly need to have a remote for your windlass. The weight of the chain paying out helps keep the bow straight, and set the anchor before you get all the way in. The anchor setting will likely yank the boat a bit off line so be ready for it and have enough room to regain steerageway astern (don't do it level with the other boats). Bow thrusters are great for this if you have one. Just go astern as fast as your windlass will pay it out, then neutral and coast back to set the hook. When it's good, pay out more and keep going till you're almost home. If you keep the engine in idle astern, it'll hold you against some side wind as well, and you have plenty of time to jump off or throw lines.

There hasn't been a time I've seen in season between 5 am and midnight that someone isn't hanging around. Even if they don't know what they are doing, mime to them that they can pin you down with a few overhand knots and you'll fix it later. Your chain is already holding you off, so it's all good.

If for some reason (and here in greece I never have seen it) there are slime lines on a public quay, meaning no marinaros, just bystanders), you can throw both your stern lines, then motor idle forward. The boat will hold itself even into a good crosswind and you can walk the mooring to the front and pull it in. However, I wouldn't really be trusting unmaintained lines tied to public docks unless the wind is going to be nil.

The little balls you might see holding mooring lines in public places almost always belong to fishermen. They will run you off in the middle of the night, or raft you with their wooden boats and leave till the next day. I've seen it. You will get scratched, or yelled at, or both

About the anchor length: Not too much and not too little... some places get a lot of ferry surge and if you have a whole lot of chain out (easy to do miscalculating the distance when dropping), if you make it tight enough to stay off the dock in wind, the weight of the catenery will jerk you back and forth. 30m of chain is usually plenty since the direction will not be changing. 40m is about right. On the other hand, the amount of times I've seen boats come in, tie off, and THEN dump 30 meters of chain in a heap beneath their bows is a few more than once, which is too many....

Re the above, if you have some time to kill before coming into a place you'll need your anchor, put a pin on your chart plotter/navionics that is 40 meters plus your boat length from shore. It'll help get the amount of chain right.

Also get a chain hook and have it handy.... they look like in the link. You'll get snagged sooner or later. Without this hook, you'll be doing gymnastics off the bow to free yourself, or going back to the place you just left to call a diver. https://www.ebay.com/itm/OSCULATI-Ma...r/142151737941

Have a backup anchorage picked out nearby. You can't reserve public docks, so you might need a place to hang on the hook until someone leaves (usually from 11 am till the boats start coming in around 4pm). Also it's good if there is significant crosswind to have a place to wait it out.

OK that's my coffee-fueled info dump. Enjoy!

[joegrace]

Thanks very much for the dump! Very useful.

[Norman_E]

Fouling ropes is a hazard you do your best to avoid. Some places like Mandraki harbour in Rhodes are notorious for it.

The worst I ever had was however in Kas harbour in Turkey, where a small gulet had moored using a floating rope as anchor line. Result was it was too near the surface and I cut it, and the engine stalled, as I crossed the harbour to lay my anchor. Managed to restart the engine and stop the boat just short of hitting the boat on the other side, but coming back I cut it again as it floated under my stern. I did get in OK with my anchor set. I was singlehanded and the gulet skipper started complaining about me cutting his rope, but I think some other Turks were calling him an idiot for using floating rope.

[joegrace]

thanks, perhaps i should have got a camper van ....

[vincik]

It could, apart from all the advice above, which does not need repeating, be useful,, if possible, to tie a fender on your stern (big ball fender or long fender) to protect your stern from damaging if anything goes wrong; also useful if there is some swell in the harbour or waves from motorboats.

Some harbours have lines from the shore in the water and fixed with blocks of concrete or otherwise in the water, which you need to pick up with your boat hook and tie to the bow, no anchor needed then. Slowly backwards on engine , tie up land lines , then pull the boat about one meter from the shore and tie the bowline without any slack.

If you anchor, take at least some 25 meters chain and check with your engine that it really holds.

Then, get yourself a nice meal and a bottle of wine in one of the local restaurants in town.

[joegrace]

Hee hee, a good incentive to get it right first time! Thanks