In Today's Issue:

* It's Your Call, Skipper!
* Sailing Skills Video-of-the-Week
* Special Weather Alert - Storms Pound North Atlantic!
* Did You Miss the Latest Member's Articles?
* Sailing Skipper's Quotable Quotes

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"It's Your Call, Skipper!"
Seven Golden Rules for Docking Your Boat

Imagine that you are coming back from sailing...

entering a narrow canal, waterway or marina channel.

Shoals to the left--shoals to the right...

plus a nice stiff cross wind blows onto your beam.

All of a sudden--out of nowhere...

Pop! Bang! Sputter! Your engine just died!

Now what, skipper?

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Make This Recipe for Good Seamanship

When reading about sailing or power boat seamanship, you'll run across one word time after time--preparation. The formula might be simple, but the followers often seem to be fewer these days. Look at this as a two part recipe for docking success...

90% preparation
10% execution

What does this mean? Preparations include defensive measures above and beyond the ordinary. For example, go down to any marina on a busy Saturday or Sunday and watch boat after boat as they return to their slips or come alongside a dock--unprepared for the unexpected!

Make sure your small sailboat gets prepared for the unexpected ahead of time--every time. Make this a habit when you know you will enter any narrow, restricted waters. And that always includes your own familiar marina. Why?

Engines fail when you least expect them to fail. Boats might block your path when and where you intend to tie up. An unusual current or wind may convince you to change from a port-side-to docking to a starboard-side-to docking (or vice versa).

Mad last minute scrambles to shift lines and fenders can result in confusion, lines that lead the wrong way, and accidents or injury. Follow these seven golden rules and you'll be ready for action in any tight quarters situation:

1. Rig fenders on Each Side.

Lose power and you will not know which side you will tie up on. Your objective will be to get the boat alongside an open spot along a pier or seawall, slide into an empty slip, or drift up to a stationary piling.

2. Attach Docking Lines Port and Starboard.

Use extra lines or join two lines together (with a becket or double becket bend) to cover both sides of the boat in case of emergency. One extra bow and stern line on the opposite side will be enough to hold you alongside. Lead each docking line under the lifelines or pulpit and back aboard, coiled and ready to use in an instant.

3. Pass the Eye Ashore Always!

End the debate right now ("Do we use the eye on our boat or pass it to the folks on the pier?"). If you need to use a large eye in one end of a line when docking, pass the eye ashore. That allows your crew to work the boat cleat with the bitter end.

If possible, avoid using eyes in a line altogether unless you have no other choice (i.e. when tying up inside a slip). That gives you more options for docking line adjustment or springing alongside or off a pier.

4. Hold a Crew Pow-Wow Now

Gather the crew in the cockpit and assign docking duties. Pick the most experienced crew to handle lines. Remember that line handling skills often make or break any docking approach. Lesser skilled crew might work the roving fender (a single loose fender, carried to cushion contact points). Encourage quiet communications to keep stress levels low and concentration levels high.

5. Make Up a Roving Fender

Not many pieces of equipment get forgotten or ignored more often than a single, loose fender carried by a crew. Pre-hung fenders can be next to useless when docking. Their duties start when you get tied up. The roving fender does 90% of the work when docking or undocking.

The crew walks with the fender (roves) to cushion any point where the boat might make contact with the pier or another boat. Use a roving fender even with short-handed crews as your first line of defense against costly hull damage.

6. Use Headsets or Hand Signals

When I crewed aboard "SHIBUMI" this past summer--a big 65' New Zealand ketch with an enclosed pilothouse--we used headsets for docking maneuvers. These wireless wonders keep communications quiet and clear as a bell. No yelling necessary. As an alternative, develop easy hand signals that all hands can understand. Keep communications quiet to keep stress levels low and confidence high.

7. Step Ashore and Work the Docking Line

Caution the crew that they need to step to the dock and never jump. Get the boat close enough before your crew goes ashore. This will help prevent serious injury. Go over the basic procedure and terminology for working a docking line. Again, line handling will make or break a great docking approach.

Keep your line handling crew or partner safe. Imagine that you are docking with giant rubber bands--which you are! Nylon can stretch up to 40%. If it breaks under tension, it will snap back at 700 feet per second. Keep that in mind whenever you place a docking line under tension.

Line handlers should take a turn onto the dock cleat right away. Work the docking line (see below) from the side of the dock cleat opposite that of the tensioned line. This prevents serious injury should the line fail.

Go over the basic line handling terms that you use aboard your boat with your crew. Never assume that new or experienced crew know how you communicate in tight quarters docking situations.

For example, newer crew might think that the docking term "ease" means to "cast off". There's a huge difference in docking when you "ease the after bow springline" as opposed to "cast off the after bow springline". Once your crew understands how to work with docking lines, your dockings will go smoother and you'll gain an envious reputation among the dockside lawyers!

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Use these seven steps to dock your boat like a pro--even when the unexpected crosses your path. You will soon gain the skills you need to cruise with confidence--wherever in the world you choose to go sailing!

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Captain John's Sailing Skills Video-of-the-Week

Did you know that your Genoa or headsail...

can cause your mainsail to shake and flutter?

This causes your boat to lose power, speed and drive...

Watch this video to see how one little-known technique...

will maintain your mainsail's powerful sailing performance!

How to Avoid Mainsail Backwinding for Powerful Performance!

** Mobile Device Users**
Click on the link above. Click on the icon beneath the main screen.
Please allow 20 to 30 seconds for the video to upload.

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Special Weather Alert - Storms Pound North Atlantic!

This just in from frequent Skippertips contributor Fred Pickhardt, chief meteorologist and weather routing expert from
Ocean Weather Services:

"Outlooks suggest active North Atlantic Storm tracks will prevail from the Great Lakes to Newfoundland then east-northeastward to Iceland over the next week (Nov. 16 to Nov. 23).

This will result in frequent periods of storm to possible hurricane force winds and seas across much of the North Atlantic shipping lanes between North Europe and the US East Coast and Canada.

In the graphic, dark area indicates average wave heights of 4-5 meters (13 to 16 feet). The white area shows where the average waves will be 5 meters (16 feet) or more".

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Did You Miss the Latest Member's Articles?

Sailing Navigation Secrets - Seven Simple Steps for Sailing Safety!
November 17, 2011 ~ If you are anything like me, it's easy to forget your sailing navigation basics in exchange for the effortless nautical GPS or chart plotter. Use these seven sailing secrets to increase your safety
http://www.skippertips.com/snip/783.htm

Learn to Sail Like a Pro - Cure Weather Helm with These Secrets!
November 16, 2011 ~ It's a blustery sailing day with whitecaps to windward and misty spray over the bow. Exhilarating? You bet! But how does the wheel or tiller feel? Does your sailboat want to round up toward the wind like a weather-vane on a barn roof? Cure this headache in a heartbeat with these three sail trim secrets.
http://www.skippertips.com/snip/784.htm

Are Your Sailboat Blocks Chafing Your Expensive Marine Rope?
November 15, 2011 ~ Have you married each sailboat block on your small cruising boat to the right marine rope "mate"? How can you know if they will be compatible with each other for years to come? Use this easy guide to save big $$$s and keep your sailing rigging in tip-top shape.
http://www.skippertips.com/snip/785.htm

Learn to Sail Like a Pro - Balance Your Helm for Blazing Speed!
November 14, 2011 ~ At what point does heeling start to slow down your small cruising boat? How much helm should you use for each point of sail? Lean to sail like a pro to add blazing speed, power, and performance to your sailing today
http://www.skippertips.com/snip/786.htm

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Sailing Skipper's Quotable Quotes...

I am looking to see whether anything is out of order. There will be no time to look for what is missing or out of place when a storm comes up at sea... -- Phoenician Seaman, 335 B.C

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"Written so clearly that navigation and seamanship will be comprehensible to anyone."
-- Dave and Jaja Martin, circumnavigators, authors and stars of the documentary "Ice Blink"

"It should be read by anyone contemplating
coastal cruising or blue water voyages."
-- Ted Brewer, world famous yacht designer, veteran ocean racing and cruising sailor

Captain John Shares 25+ Years of Experience to Show You How to...