Mooring adventure

We are very lucky to live next to the most difficult shores on earth. We get so many factors while learning to sail, we end up knowing what we're doing a lot of the times.

Today, somebody on a sail boat complained to me about the Westerly wind. I can understand they don't get that often here, but I almost got rammed twice from a Westerly force 4 blowing in the marina. The first boat lost engine power in the middle of the marina, dropped anchor and sheered with its stern across our mooring line. They missed us by inches. When they upped anchor, the speeds they developed in harbour while going back and forth were amazing.
Instead of putting a line to the pontoon, they trusted their engine to help them into the next pontoon. They luckily succeeded.

Later, a 41 foot charter yacht with a very nervous skipper got in next to us, which he did quite admirably, until he throttled forward to try and pull the boat on one mooring line at the stern into the wind. Of course, all he was doing was pushing against us quite violently. When I suggested he just put into neutral and pick up the front line from the pontoon, all I got was abuse. He then suggested I moved away. Again, the Westerly wind was blamed for the incompetence of the skipper.

When they asked me where I was from, I couldn't help remarking we get quite a lot of Westerlies in the North Sea. Didn't make any friends there, I can tell you. But the British boat that came in earlier wasn't doing too well getting into the apointed spot, so he decided to ask for a different one a bit further down. A very smart move and although less cool and macho, a lot more sane. Something I've done time and again, knowing myself and my boat well enough not to be too adventurous when mooring.