Successful sailboat docking in gusty wind (Mykonos)

Hard docking a sailboat on 31st of July 2013 in marina Mykonos (Greece). Wind (meltemi) was blowing with gusts over 30 knots. Video is for education purposes.
Težavno pristajanje jadrnice v močnem in sunkovitem vetru (meltemi) dne 31. julija 2013 v marini Mikonos v Grčiji. Sunki vetra so presegali 30 vozlov. Video ima izobraževalni namen.

[@billleskeep2033]

I have done this repeatedly in similar situations. Bottom line is, most skippers lack that particular skill unless they live in a very windy environment and come and go repeatedly in such. For the masses, he did quite well, he was careful and patient, his crew was willing to fend off, the other slip owners were helpful to assist. At the end of so many minutes he safely got his vessel tied-to. Good job.

[@awanderer9000]

The more wind there is, the more power one needs to keep control of the boat. The skipper in the video is using too little power. Actually, the wind direction is not that bad, it is blowing almost from the dock he is aiming at (N wind, meltemi). The way to do it: pick up speed by making a longer approach, maintain enough speed to keep the boat bow against the wind and under control (in this case that would mean starting well outside of the space between the pontoons and not just in front of the berth), only slow down at the very last moment where the boat can lean against the leeward boat and lines can be thrown (at this moment a bow thruster is handy to keep the bow straight for some more seconds). In general, no bow thruster will work against really strong wind, only speedy approach. Bow thruster is just some extra help.

[@pestiz727]

Docking a boat in 30 knots of side wind , without damaging anything , is good docking . He may worked longer and harder than a professional , but he's got the job done .

[@AlesDimnik]

Thanx for your comment. I have added some annotations to the video.

[@Duh6666666]

+Aleš Dimnik Just a question, in the med style of docking, aren't you supposed to drop anchor before actually docking?

[@pestiz727]

+Duh6666666 Please take my apologies for answering a question not pointed at me . The term " med style mooring " means ,that when docking , you place your stern to dock , not the bow , like the northern Europeans . The fact that you use anchor or not , depends on if you have lazy lines available or not . In Ales is video there where lazy lines available , and there you are not suppose to use anchor , because of 100% entanglement of the anchor and the mooring lines and the concrete blocks holding them . Best to You from Hungary

[@AlesDimnik]

+Pesti Z Thank you for your answer. Yes you are right. If there is lazy line (mooring), you are not allowed to drop anchor. In this marina sailing-boats also used anchor in places between places with lazy lines (moorings).

[@kostoulisrcg]

if you cant docking a boat in 30knots without damaging anything, please dont ever come to greece with a boat..

[@chgodoys]

Thanks for the video. From time to time I look for videos with difficult docking conditions and try to imagin what I would do in such situation. Best regards from Chile. Carlos

[@AlesDimnik]

Thanx for your comment. I have added some annotations to the video.

[@mlegge]

A tricky job, well done. not having had nearly enough practice in such wind conditions, I wouldn't dare attempt it. I think I'd dock on the pontoon opposite, and argue with the harbour master until the weather calmed down a bit.

[@Keramx64]

I have more than 52 weeks as skipper at the sea on the charter boats from 30 to 56 ft and I have to say that it is not easy to dock the boat at this situation. It must be fast and coordinated, yes... but... It depends of the boat quality and length. As bigger boat, as exponentially bigger problem with side wind. So somebody experienced from 26-33 ft ship cannot help much by some advice to 46-56 boat skipper. What is easy to do with 30ft can be extremely difficult with 46+ ft. (bigger side wind area, much less space at marina for docking, bigger momentum etc...) And next... there is big difference how "nicely" the boats goes reverse. Some (mostly Bavaria, new OC 45, 48 etc...) you can dock like a car. You just put reverse on engine and the boat goes straight on back with the big power. It stop "immediately" if goes forward. You can start maneuver from the place. Some (older SO, Oceanis) goes to the side (not back) long time with very low power. I was trying to stop one OC36 by reverse engine at 12kt back wind when the boat goes 3-4 kt with the wind without sails and it needs 5 lengths of the boat to stop! Then I was diving under the boat, if there is some propeller? :). (Finally, it was not original propeller.) So with this boat I was docking from very, very far. On the other hand, with some "nice reverse going boats" I just went in marina and dock. And next... Some ones has counter-clockwise, some opposite propeller => some goes nicely back to the left, some to the right. You must remember it. If you will need turn to the side on which boat goes nicely, you will need much less space for prepare. On the other side, lets go from far with the higher speed and make turn fast, even without throttle during turning, if you need really small radius of curve. You have to know your boat and crew and work with this. So there are not some universal plan of docking. So, check all this at the open sea, when you have some charter boat for the first time. As I can compare how I saw other crews docking, this crew has 85%.

[@conradpreen2368]

Always fun here in the Cyclades :-) the bigger the boat the fun you have !!!

[@akisantoniou2913]

Only one way to do it. Pick your reverse speed way out and reverse into the spot steady and non stop. Confidence is essential and accuracy on the steering. If you miss it go out and come back again. Stopping and messing around in front of the spot is a disaster. The bow thruster is of little help. Having said that every boat behaves different and you must know yours well.

[@christiaanjansen]

Agree. If you fall still in the water, the wind will always have a go with you. Most of the times you really don't want that, you'll loose control. Like mentioned, go back out, and have a new go. Fenders ready on all sides. A crew member with a spare loose fender to use where extra temporary needed to stick between the boats. Never start pushing and pulling on the sea railing. It doesn't help and you only destroy the railing with that. These boats way several tons. And with the wind pushing on it, it doesn't do much. Good thing it ended well. Thanks for sharing this video!

[@ricdanger2]

Yep. And bow will always fall off the wind. Approach from upwind not down at good speed.

[@sportsman5613]

An addition: Most people think they have to rush to attach the mooringline to the cleat on the bow, to prevent the bow to drift to the side, especially if there's no other docked boat on your leeward side. Just do this, and you have all the time in the world for the mooringline: When you're (almost) docked, just attach the line from the stern, windward side. Put the engine in forward and steer a bit to keep the boat in the right position. Then you can take as much time you want to attach the mooring line and the line from the stern, leeward side.

[@robertdahlgren4033]

It looks to me like the problem was the approach. He has the bow pointed downwind, and the wind was trying to push it off even further. Plus the prop walk would want to move the stern to port. If he has come in pointing upwind (to the right from the camera perspective) then started backing, the wind would have been pushing the bow to the right and prop walk pushing the stern to port and he would have been able to slide right into the slip without a dangerous amount of speed.

[@efetackno.2807]

.... and here is the answer to the question in my head. Thx @robert. I clicked this Video because I have read "... Advice" in the title. Maybe you want to add this real advice into the text - would be great for willing learners like me 😉 Though ... thx for the video, the comments fulfilled it. Cheers.

[@JBattler]

I'm with you on that one. Seemed pretty obvious, so wondering what the skipper was thinking...

[@jamescaplinger3424]

In 30 kts controlling the boat as well as they did is witchcraft imo - I'm certainly no pro but 30 kts med style mooring with zero extra space is as hard mode as it comes

[@nearlythere9443]

Before reading the rest of the posts, that is what I just suggested 7 years later!!

[@GorillaProduction38]

Wow...Mikonos port. One of the worst ports in windy days. Last time I've been there was during an 8th degree storm caught between Delos and Mikonos with a stuck Genoa sale flying all over the place. Fuck me, that was a horrible experience... I've never seen Greeks panicking like they were that night, running up and down the docks, waving like crazies. Two of us were all around the Genoa sale trying to hold it down, another two were running up and down the boat keeping an eye on the fenders and the skipper was drifting the boat off the wind with the engine on reverse. It was damn intense.

[@KeepYourDaydream]

Glad to see the boat tucked in nicely at the end... that's all that matters.

[@nearlythere9443]

The wind was blowing his bow off, the wind will always control the bow, that is why he finished up across the bow of the boat on his St'bd side. If he had motored forward into the gap between the two pontoons (if there was enough room in front of him) and then reversed in, he could have used the wind to bring the bow around as he reversed in. A precise move and you have to be confident and decisive to pull it off.

[@subarokec]

There were quite a few mistakes done at this docking. 1. First of all the skipper has to prepare the crew and the boat for the docking. That has to be done before even entering the marina, especially in rough weather like this. Each crew member has to know exactly how the docking is going to be carried out, what is his position and what he has to do. In this case, it would be perfect to have two crew members at the stern - the first one on portside and second one on starboard side and they should both have stern lines and untied fenders in their hands. On this video, they almost damaged the sailboats because there was no fender at hand to put it between the boats. All other fenders should be positioned more to the stern in this case as they are no use at the bow. The third crew member should be positioned at the middle of the portside - first for watching not to hit the neighboring sailboat and then to carry the mooring line to the bow, which he gets from the fourth crew member who has - ideally - just caught the mooring line with boat hook standing at the stern. This is just one of possible crew positions, the exact formation always depends on the number of the crew members, boat, type of docking, wind, docking itself ... 2. The skipper should approach the docking with stern towards the wind, faster, in a straight line (perpendicular to the moored boats) then making quick turn towards the docking. Bow thruster can be a very helpful piece of equipment in a situation like this, but only to make small corrections while going backwards, it is not strong enough to keep or even turn the boat upwind at such situation. So never rely on a bow thruster to do the job instead of you and the main engine. 3. As the skipper saw that he cannot perform the docking without correcting the angle, he should have repeated the whole maneuver and not just trying to make some "last minute" adjustments, because by exposing the side of the sailboat to the wind gusts and then stopping the vessel, you can easily loose control of the sailboat by drifting aside and hit the dock, other boats or get trapped in some mooring lines. He has a lot of room at the bow in this case, but it is still not a good decision. The next thing is to react gentle on the throttle. Do not panic or make sudden throttle maneuvers. That is why it is very important to make a good docking plan in your head before you are in the marina, where you have limited space and time, and that are - combined with lack of experiences - a reason for panic and bad decisions. If you do not know the situation before you get to the dock, it is often the best to get to the dock, check the currents, wind and docking situation and if it is not an easy job, go back out of the close quarters, make a good plan and explain it to the crew and than start the docking from the beginning. If something goes wrong, repeat the whole docking as many times as needed. That is the best recipe. Well, I didn't want to be so long, hopefully someone will still read my post :) Be safe at sea everybody!

[@chrissyboi88b]

1st the skipper needs to learn how to reverse a boat! then everything falls into place after that. I was docking my dads GK29 when I was 10 in my opinion it really isnt hard.

[@700990]

I read it and even with low experience i totally agree. On my first trip as skipper with two "not-sailing"-friends. It was a lot of help to explain to them, what i am doing and why. That way they could react if something doesn't work out as planned. But if i really messed up cause of wind or even lowering the speed of the boat to soon, so i lost control over steering, i aborted and the second time worked. The worst thing you can do is trying to correct everything with low speed and no place... you will learn very fast, that in hectic situations you will never do the right thing ...

[@Airportnomad]

Thanks for the advice any thoughts on getting off a fuel quay with gusts? I seem to always clip my stern :(

[@700990]

James the sailor maaan indeed yes. Everytime you have to deal with gusts or strong wind. Approach against the wind. If the wind comes from the landing stage. Approach with speed and a wide angel. Most times I'm going good with 35 degrees. Shortly (1-2 m) before you crash into the landing stage turn your boat straight. Have two people with ropes prepared at the bow and aft. Then strongly drive backwards to stop the boat and you are fine.

[@700990]

James the sailor maaan sorry I read wrong. You want to get off. Set a springline from your bow to the aft with fenders on your bow. Drive forward with wheel to the landing stage. Now your aft goes away from the landing stage. If you have enough angel, drive backwards and you are fine.

[@jeremyrowley1240]

In strong winds a yacht will always try to weathercock if there is very little flow over the keel with the bow falling off to leeward. I would have motored well past the gap in forward and then reversed in allowing wind to help the yacht to turn in. However, docking in those conditions is not for the faint-hearted and the skipper got there in the end, so all is well.

[@allanfrank8271]

Yes, I would have done it the same way. Pass it forward, then reverse to get some speed. Just use the wind to turn the yacht and stear with about an 30 degree angle to the parking place. Once you get closer reduce the speed and and the wind will continue to turn the boat until you have right position to fit right in.

[@kylefng]

I’ve lived this and learned coming in now first, back the stern and let the wind blow the bow over worked pretty good. Tough with that wind.

[@vangloberlos]

I salute all the couch skippers in the comments....especially the ones that suggest various approach tactics, better than the tactic the skipper in the video employed...which mostly proves that they have never been in a situation like this...because if they had they would know that, in situations like this, the best a spectator can do is to keep their opinions to themselves and their big mouth shut....

[@multikult1]

I succeed to dock alone 43ft at 25kts wind portside (90 degrees from left). His wind is strong but quite from back. He docks without speed with short manouvres. Take 200m distance, catch speed and turn hard left. If affraid, dock foreward.

[@IM2a1]

Yes. That's any maneuvers book's solution. But you have to know your boat handling very well. Otherwise the caution is better.

[@andrewkeene9681]

Boat safely tied, take as long as you like I say in those conditions. Humble, slow, methodical. The beer tastes better when there’s no damage to boat or folk. 😊

[@phonehoppy]

I think in conditions like these it is essential to have enough speed in reverse when coming in stern-on so the boat keeps being maneuverable...

[@Estreka]

If you're ever in an extreme situation like this and I'm docked next to you, just have someone with the windward bow line jump onto my boat and steady you. I'd much rather have a trespasser than a gouge in my hull.

[@fareezharis]

Finally an actual 30knots video... Some people claim a 40kn berthing but...

[@sailadventurercaptainpeter909]

No problem mooring in 30 knots side wind. Backing against the wind and determination ( mostly speed) is key. Also a Skipper and a crew that knows what they are doing.

[@Iclo420]

Here the trouble is clearly "I want to dock as writed in the book and how I always did, no other option" Be creative and have a B an C plan in mind before the first try. - Uses the dinghy as a tug boat to keep the bow in the wind. - Dock foreward is much easier and safer in these conditions: you will have a complete control of the boat and if necessary you would be able to abort the approach at each step if someting goes wrong. And if it's too difficult, there was a nice empty dock upwind (where the camcorder was) perfect for a temporary docking with a single line at the bow. From there, put a long line and let the ship goes back in the assigned docking place. Retrieve the line with the dinghy at the end. (or by the shore using your foots)

[@poonsuckel]

+Iclo420 I am a beginner and I know your comment is a year old, but I don't see how going in foreward is better. Why would you have more control over the bow? Going backwards makes it much easier to abort the procedure and try again. If you go forward and need to abort, you can not steer untill the boat is going in backwards again.

[@Iclo420]

+bitwiz Hello, In fact, the question is not to move foreward, or backward but to have the "best controled part" of the boat on top of the wind. At slow speed with a strong wind, the boat is basically a wethervane. If you have the rudder and the engine "at top of the wind" (and so in this movie, going backward), you are able to keep control of the ship, and be able to keep in line with the place you want to dock. Otherwise, as soon you slow down, you lost the control of the ship and are driffted by the wind. It's the same thing, if you are docked parallel to a dock and want to leave with a strong wind at 90° (without having a bow thruster): if you try to leave forward, you will be pushed back against the dock before having enough speed to be able to steer the boat. Going backward, you will be able to diverge from the dock using the engine and rudder to pivote without needing speed. See an example here www.boatsafe.com/nauticalknowhow/docking.htm The main question, in the video is : did they have a bow thruster ? Did they use it ? if yes, it looks totally ineffective. Sorry for the typo, I'm not an English native speaker. Regards

[@jodalar13425]

Typical problem with sayling boats in Cyclades islands.Meltemi gusts during the summers are unreal making it very diffucult to dock, and imagine Mykonos marina is one of the best....I have seen a few diasters all these years.In such cases its better to drop the anchor quite a few feet along the way, even if there is a remezzo(in that case they got a remezzo waiting for them thats why they dont drop the anchor)its always good to drop anchor as it stabilizes the boat decently in such occasions

[@rs2352]

The wise decision with 30 knots of wind is to anchor up and wait it out.... What is SO important that you have to be tied up at a specific time???? Set the anchor, relax, tell a few sea stories, and head for the dock when the winds have abated. Simple as that.

[@ericfleury3147]

A great sailor can dock in adverse conditions, a smart one waits it out.

[@epicnavigator]

Waiting the wind to calm down in Mykonos... ? You are going to wait a long long time

[@Rmnntn66h18g420a]

Alexandros He could wait until September. Ah ah

[@chainanalyst639]

Bow thruster?

[@marz5715]

having on mind the conditions and available space, -good job...

[@Boatyarddog]

Really? Why not just anchor out till the wind dies down, you have a dinghy!

[@Daveinet]

OK, I'm confused. Why didn't he drive the bow directly into the wind. Drive past his spot and then back the boat in from the other angle. The wind would have caught the bow and moved it to starboard as he backed the boat in, aligning it perfectly with the spot. Probably could have backed in without the motor even running, as the wind would have pushed him backward, as he steered the stern into the spot. Maybe a hindsight is 20/20 thing, but sure seems like it would have been tons easier. don't fight the wind, use it.

[@catboattwo]

+Daveinet In the whole mediteran sea docking maneuvres like these are prefered....: backwards to the pier. It is called " roman-catholic ". 95% of the skippers do so, no matter from wich direction the wind blows or the flow comes. I will never understand, why.....

[@bchadaway7469]

Very hard to bring a boat like that about in that wind in such a tight space.

[@Daveinet]

Sure if you are working against the wind. That is why I suggested pointing directly into the wind, driving past the spot, and then backing in from the other direction. Use the wind to turn the bow. Its not difficult at all. One spends all that time out on the water using the wind to move the boat, but yet when trying dock, assumes he is going to fight the wind rather than use it.

[@hendrikbteb2317]

+Daveinet at a windforce like 30knots cant do the thing you suggest, 05° of the wind direction wil blow the stern within 15 seconds downwind. above 10knots wind sternprop is quite useless. I sail a 50 feet Bavaria. And I think he did a nice job. controling the boat like the skipper did, gives me the idea that he knows his boat. the line he put on the stern from his portside neighbor maybe better to do that with his starboard side neighbour. (maybe he did that to) nice sailing. nasty situation.

[@fotomesec]

@Daveinet "The wind would have caught the bow and moved it to starboard as he backed the boat in, aligning it perfectly with the spot." and then you will turn off the wind, not to move bow further downwind in to downwind docked boat. NO GO!

[@MrBlacknass]

Folding propeller is probably not giving to much thrust on reverse so the wind is winning.. The boat struggles to go backwards to gain some speed and manoeuvrability. Plus some small mistakes from the Skipper who probably didn't expect that to happen and in the end he looks unprepared. It could happen to everyone.. In the end they made it.. So.. That's fine with me.

[@MICHAELLOPEZ-us9fb]

What size is the yacht

[@xDiakias]

Where’s the anchor?

[@plstrom]

beautiful vessel, it must be very hard to execute that maneuver in that much wind...

[@daled8221]

Sardine can docking! That place is too tight, I can't see the fenders staying in place where you need them but I could see banged up rails on a $1mil yacht!

[@hensennejf]

Rough conditions, and in the end the boat is in the correct position. I would have done it differently though. Coming from the other side backward.

[@ubreakifixtampa7483]

It's nice when you have a crew that big.

[@user-mq5os3hn1t]

No bow anchor?

[@cbrey]

At 1:45 you mean the boat is approaching the LEEWARD dock.

[@konstantinospatsis9522]

1. Where are the fenders of the along all the side of the boats?? Thats for all the three boats that are involved. 2. He should be coming reverse with bow into the wind and then with reverse turn the stern of the boat into the slip. It's the only way for the bow not to turn against the wind.

[@MrMiddleagesman]

The first line across should have come from the bow. Instead, the stern line handed off to the adjacent yacht was tensioned too early which drove the bow down--again. Same pull on a bow line would have eased the procedure.

[@OKOK-hm2is]

They haven't had any bow line, because in mediterranean style berthing it's not used, only two stern lines.

[@cherylekutzer7521]

I agree with awandèrer. More speed gives you alòt more controĺ? We live in Western Australia which is notorious for strong winds and big seaß. So docking on a windy day is the norm. But well done skipper, i know where your heart ❤ was.

[@emmamorgan8696]

It's all about balls in strong wind. He/she did well coming over to the side of the camera and then just need to give it welly in astern using the bow thruster to line up with the berth. Knock it off about a boat length (momentum will keep you going) then plenty of forward thrust before expensive GRP repairs. Stopping in astern while making the maneuver is not an option you will just lose all steerage. If you don't line up properly, engage forward and try again. There is no shame in taking several attempts. Also good trick is to get a line astern on the windward side fairly short and then motor forward. This will keep the boat straight while you sort our the rest of the lines (slime etc). Hope this helps.

[@thetrain5785]

Well that looks fun

[@harmenbos]

This guy is managing his boat like parking a car. I also sail from Murter (Croatia). With a moderate speed in reverse you can get a boat nicely docked, Even with sidewind. in This video the wind is only 20 degrees besides pure bow-wind. Should be peace of cake.

[@DimitrisPapadopoulos1980]

Meltemi is something you should know in Aegean sea !

[@paoloscaroni4836]

L’unico errore fatto dallo skipper é stato di arrivarci troppo piano; va bene arrivarci con il vento in poppa ma appena hai superato il posto dove vuoi ormeggiare devi dare una decisa sterzata verso dritta in velocità; é comunque vero che se non sei un professionista più che esperto ormeggiare con 30 nodi non è affatto facile

[@steetonsales1]

That looked a difficult mooring, could not see the bow thruster working at all ? Audience did not help, but he did a good job under the circumstances.

[@mikestanovich1414]

This is where a BOW THRUSTER would really make the difference..!

[@born2sail]

Nope, way to weak. Use the ropes!

[@dryfixpreservation]

Surely in those conditions you'd come in Bow too, far less wind to fight? Just my opinion!

[@stumccreadie9772]

Oh yes, of course... The armchair EXPERTS would've talked to God and told him to stop the wind for 10 minutes.

[@kimfucku8074]

There is always something to learn, even for the supreme leader!

[@kostoulisrcg]

no bow thruster?

[@chrisgray3650]

Of course, they have !!! But steer man - tourist was so frustrated , he forgot about it or didn't know how to use it.

[@kyzersniper]

Interesting..indeed

[@jerryguitar1420]

Fenders are in wrong position for this maneuver. They should be way more astern. The cooperation from the other boat prevented damange.

[@MrTeneric]

Not sure the direction of the prop or the presence of bow thruster. It appears the skipper was kicking port frequently. Wind appears astern and port pushing bow starboard and stern to port (pivot being amidships). Wasn't there but would approaching from the opposite "tack" have worked better. The prop kick would have aligned the boat. The other problem I saw was there did not seem to be sufficient room. .

[@marinokalligas]

When you have side winds, the bow falls faster than the stern. Thus if he were to bring in the boat from the other side, the bow would have very quickly fallen to the right, not giving him any time to get into the slot. (So, if he were to enter by reversing and turning portside, when his bow aligns for the slot, it will not stop, it will keep turning and fall on the boats downwind from him.) Prop push isn't really going to change much on 30kn wind forces. I'm not sure if I've written it in a way that it can be understood, but its worth remembering that in high winds, you must always enter the slot receiving the wind on your stern and doing a quick "radical" turn right infront of your slot. The wind will stop the bow from hitting the boats that are further upwind ;)

[@MrTeneric]

Thank you

[@AlesDimnik]

Thanx for your comment. I have added some annotations to the video.

[@HippieSailor]

It seems that there wasn't sufficient room and skipper worried about hitting the two yachts, thus the decrease of speed when approaching the two docked yachts. Also skipper is not used to these situations probably.

[@feju4036]

more speed, strong spinning right before entering between the boats and maybe help with bow thruster and they would have been right in between to do all the lines... would have been way more difficult if they'd have to drop anchor in a straight line or something... from what i see, all other boats have mooring lines and no anchor dropped. hence, i don't understand why they were going so slow.

[@feju4036]

still, the spot was tight, i admit

[@StewartLobb]

Spectators can always do it better. LOL

[@AlesDimnik]

Hi Stewart, I totally agree. The same situation seems much easier from the land than observing it from the boat that you woul like to dock.

[@lucderan]

Always! in particular with 33 knots 🤣 That's why Fenders are sold to sailors and not to spectators!

[@richgouette]

wow, no room between he boats..??

[@kz4506]

He did very well considering a cross wind , plenty of hands were there and fenders , I would had expect I would had had the same problem , straightening up power was no room to , so man handle in was best , well done ,love reading all the experts below ,till they are on the helm , welll done

[@wy6k]

This is a difficult docking in 30 kts with no bow thruster. More windage near the bow....

[@unitechmarine8076]

1. Take the dinghy out of the water 2. Prepare crew and ask for help in neighboring boats 3. Put stern to the wind 4. steer to the docking place to starboard 5 Use the bow thruster 6. Pray

[@zvonimir2096]

If I were you I would go out of there, than reverse to get some speed and then I would try to go straight in docking space.

[@08020802re]

If the Skipper steered with the bow first, it would be much easier. I do not understand why in southern Europe you always want to go with the stern first. The problems become self-evident. Even in the simplest situation, you must have a lot of people on the boat and ashore, it is not always there

[@francescosorrento3704]

Ormeggia di prua, che ti sbrighi prima e fai piu' bella figura!

[@elgrande99]

he made it no damage done, so not bad. It allways be better or even worse.

[@gianclaudiocitarda2608]

Ma girare prima la barca poi retromarcia no????

[@vincebednar5381]

That space looked so tight, I think it would be difficult to dock there on a calm day.

[@jimsbarg]

good vid space was tight but where is the advice or are you referring to advice from the peanut gallery lol

[@JoyElectric567]

Imagine doing that single handed😅😂

[@AlfredoContaldo]

ma ormeggiare di prua no?!

[@sdcofer52]

So, that is not very easy to do. Most of the time he had the right position but didn't take advantage of the wind direction.

[@jamestim319]

... and of course the boat is Italian!!

[@kailaniandi]

Bit of community spirit to dock like that. I'm in a slip, so not too hectic when it blows.(Single handed mostly)

[@andyroghi524]

Boat needs more Speed , in that kind of situation

[@claywebb8199]

I’m sure there was a very good reason why they couldn’t have just put the anchor down and waited for the wind to subside. 🙄🙄

[@kasperhansen4472]

Its not that easy in sidewind (Pls Look at the flags) like this, to manoeuvre a around 48 foot boat. And these modern boats are very shallow in their hull shape which means that they have very little grip in the water; they drift easily. Good idea to go in stern too as the steering momentum is much better that way. One thing that seems to be missing is using the bow truster more: going higher to the wind and then trusting the bow up in line would be the way to go. Maybe that is what he tried. Dont think that this is an easy manoeuvre if you dont have a lot of experience, it isn't.

[@olaolaonline]

You need speed to control the boat

[@eike64]

seemed to be difficult even with bow thruster!

[@AlesDimnik]

Hi eike64! Thanx for your comment. Bow thruster is not very helpful in such strong wind. I succeed to dock (land?) with our sailing - boat Gib Sea 43 (no bow thruster) in 4th attempt. First we thought that there is a mooring and we realised that we have to drop the anchor. Then the chain was too short and so on :) Sailing in Greece in summer 2013 was very stressful for me but I have learned many new things.

[@eike64]

Aleš Dimnik Hi, thanx for response. Yes, bow thruster does't seem to be much helpful in this case. Couldn't see the anchor falling either. And the gateway does't seem to be much wide for using the anchor. Anyway good luck in Greece and maybe we see us one day?

[@egonmuric9427]

Aleš Dimnik I was thre two weeks later and wind was raching 40 knots in same port it wes fun to wach boats docking, you realy need lots of expirences to dock boat here, I had to do it twice and it wasen't easy, realy respect the greek skippes that are sailing in Cyclades.

[@Markus451]

Please don't post false titles. If you have "advice" in the title, there should be advice somewhere in the video.

[@AlesDimnik]

Thank you for your suggestion. I have added some annotations to the video.

[@AlesDimnik]

Thanx for your comment. I have added some annotations to the video.

[@johnnywhite9956]

That was a job.

[@travistravis7190]

why didnt the muppet get some one in the rubber dingy with motor and control the bow with that

[@AndreasDuessca]

Because that creates more problems than it solves. Also, if you look carefully, you can see that the boat is equipped with a bow thruster.

[@skippyone2769]

Wind or no wind that berth was too small. I think the skipper took a hell of a chance but determination and a few panicking neighbours got him in. 😀

[@matteoarlotti6760]

Fatto dalla parte sbagliata... Il vento va sempre usato, se possibile, a favore della manovra.

[@exonautes]

Having mooring lines, entering bows to is an easy and resolutive way to proceed

[@sailslikeagirl3154]

Surly everyone knows you motor into the wind and then reverse in.

[@ColGadarby]

If it's blowing hard go bows in first or if it's blowing really hard take an alongside and do it when the wind drops.

[@bethtp1]

hard should have goty bows upwind and approaches from right of picture bow swinging strait as stern goes in.why pass the stern rope under the rboats bow rail? good not to drop anchor lol as you take a long time getting them back agood little earner for local divers.laying back on an anchor would stabilise the bow swing

[@TheJohngilberttyler]

It's only wind

[@Maggifix2]

I would get mad .... Good crew

[@SY-Selene]

Marina Mykonos - yea this can be a bit windy. I was once there in similar conditions, because or reserves (beer) was empty. Well there is some space at the entrance where you can turn around the boat and head into the marina backwards with the wind from the aft. At the pier (where this guy was going) blows the wind with about 10° from the aft - so no problem - if you are fast enought to be able to steer the boat .. and of cause hit the spot ... Between Rinea and Mykonos the Meltimi can gust up to 45kn (in september), so the 30kn in the Marina can be called "calm". The better choise would have been not to go to Mykonos, but to go to one of the anchorages south of Mykonos or Rinea. At least thats what I prefer if I'm in that region.

[@andrewwilliams9419]

thats tight..very tough

[@ronsummers4090]

Definition of a yacht? A whole in the water lined with wood that you poor money into.

[@starlight7830]

nightmare on elm street !!!

[@badcompanyCDN]

Star Light I think you meant HELM street 🙂

[@starlight7830]

LOL you're right

[@cyspearfishing]

Put the wind from his front and then we see

[@OKOK-hm2is]

Shit, in that case I would better stay at sea, than go into marina

[@Bustefaen]

Not really a difficult situation. It is windy, but mostly from behind. There are lazy lines, so the skipper doesn’t have to worry about anchoring, and he has a bow thruster. Also, it doesn’t really go that well, since he ends partially across the bow of the downwind yacht and could easily have got stuck on their lazy line or bumped into their bow. But with a fair amount of help, it works out fine in the end. No harm done, and you see much worse every day in Greece - but also much better. As this is kind of a tight spot, going bows-to would have been both the easier and safer option, and also a better fit for the berth. Sure, it is the Med, but there is no rule to say you MUST go stern-to. (Yes, I am armchair sailing at this moment, but after more than 25 seasons of sailing and skippering in the Med.)

[@janlatta961]

Ils sont pas à la hauteur!!

[@noelfaulkner6293]

Thanks for the vid we all go through this and the worst part is you have an audience not to mention the wind , a lot of the time I anchor out if possible but you always have problems like you need water or the passengers need to go ashore , when im rich im going to have a crew that goes ahead of me with my own privet pontoon he he , good work

[@AlesDimnik]

Hi Noel, I agree that audience is not helpful for the skipper. In thi case in Marina Mykonos the staff guy was not helpful at all. He didn't show anybody where to dock. He was jut standing there not knowing what to do. He was not helpful at all to our sailing boat. The purpose of video is not making fun of others but showing how the boat is behaving in stronger wind. Better example would be docking on windward side. At the beginning I wanted to switch off the possibility for comments but as there are mainly positive comments I think it's better that people can comment video. Best regards, Ales.

[@noelfaulkner6293]

But at the end of it all dont you just love sailing he he

[@a64738]

Aleš Dimnik Many good ideas and advices in the comments. I had to do this alone with my 31tf sailboat in more wind than I would like when engine overheated and I decided going to nearest port because of a bad a bad impeller, I had little experience handling it in side wind. Was bumpy but I finally got it in there and no other boats was hurt in the process :)

[@harmenbos]

Stern wind i mean, excuse

[@paulmerron3947]

Should have approached from the other side, that way the wind would have helped turn the boat into the slot instead of fighting the wind as he did.