SKIPPERS’ TIPS
Winterising halyards • Integrating AIS • Foolproof berthing
Pilots sit exams on a subject known as ‘human factors.’ Why? Because it’s humans that tend to mess up, rather than the machines they control. Sailors are no different.
We are fallible creatures, easily absorbed into one element of a complex task, sometimes with bad consequences. Nowhere is this truer than when manoeuvring in a marina under the stress of challenging conditions.
A difficult approach to a berth can quite easily become a target in the mind of the helm, ‘a point to aim for’. This is invariably a bad idea.
By focusing our attention on hitting the target, we succumb to a kind of tunnel vision; our mind prioritising where we want to be, rather than balancing the forces acting upon the boat that dictate where it will likely end up.
A degree of experience certainly helps in these situations, but there is a simple way to heighten your senses to the reality you’re facing before it’s too late.
As close as possible to the berth, but still in an unconfined space, hold position in one spot and consciously take in each of the forces acting on the boat in turn.
How much power are you needing to use to stem the tide? Then, take the boat through a full 360-degree circle. What does it take to get the bow through the eye of the wind and how much space do you think it requires?
Through this simple exercise it generally becomes clear if the berth you are looking at is actually a workable target to aim for.
If it is, your plan will be one informed by a solid appreciation of the elements – the hardest thing to calculate when your mind is focussed solely on manoeuvring the boat into its final berthing position. Happy landings!