Med Mooring opportunities in the Carribean/Bahamas?

[JebLostInSpace]

I had a somewhat similar experience to OP: I chartered a boat in Greece without having any med style mooring experience, and with inexperienced crew. I went out with an instructor ahead of the charter and we practiced med mooring at a local park's day-dock that nobody was using. As another poster mentioned, you can practice at any dock as long as it's open for the time you want to spend.

For the drills, we started easy by going to an empty t-head dock with no current. We practiced dropping the anchor a few boat lengths out, backing up to within about 6 feet of the T-head dock, then driving forward and recovering the anchor. After a few rounds of that, we started actually tying up to the t-head. Then we placed markers on the dock to signify where other boats were, and practiced getting precise with the landing spot. Then we went and did it all again in a somewhat more exposed spot with a light current.

It would have been nice to do more of those kinds of drills, but we ran out of time. There were also 2 big issues we failed to prepare for. The first was that the boat I chartered in Greece turned out to be an absolute pig in reverse, and I never was able to achieve the same precision I had on the practice boat. I would recommend specifically finding a boat to practice with that is worse at backing than your charter boat. That may not be as big an issue with catamarans, but it was frustrating not to be able to back as confidently in our charter boat.

The second issue was that we had no way to practice with lazy lines, so I wasn't very well prepared for them when I got to Greece. All of the dock hands, helpful neighbors, and spectators that cheered us on when we got there made a big deal of the risk of catching a lazy line in your prop during the approach. They all wanted me to have the boat in neutral for the final boatlength or so of the approach. I had not practiced that way, so it was quite stressful to make that change under pressure. This problem may actually be worse in a catamaran, since you have 2 props in the water, and the advice is to use only the props and not the rudders when backing. I imagine that means you'll be spinning at least one prop through most/all of the approach. Just something to keep in mind if you do find yourself in a marina with lazy lines. I'll also mention that when I researched our intended ports, I was under the impression they would not have lazy lines, but every one of them actually did. This was a charter out of Athens, so your mileage may vary.

[SV Coronado]

This gent did a great job of describing the process of docking stern-to with a lazy line.

https://youtu.be/jULddr4KA50

[Bill_Giles]

That is not Greek aggression but rather exuberance and volubility. The Greeks I have found have been very helpful and forgiving. Also you could pay for a day of instruction on arrival. There are a couple of variations on the Med Moorings. Take some tough waterproof gloves for handling those ropes that have been in a filthy Greek harbor.

[Rimica]

We sailed our cat in Greece in 2018 and 2019. Med mooring is easy with the anchor in front and more messy with lazy line. I prefer using the anchor. Here is how we did it:

1 line up the boat 2.5 to 3 boat length in front of your spot. The difficult part is to be right in front. The anchor line cannot be at an angle to the boat. It may need to be further out depending on the depth. But usually there 3 to 4 meters of water . We have a 15 meters cat .

2 drop the anchor to the bottom and start backing to the dock as you feed the chain out at the same rate as the boat is backing

3 at one boat length from the wall stop feeding the chain let the anchor stop the boat but keep the engine in reverse so the anchor digs well. Sometime we did it further out from the wall if we are concerned that the bottom is very soft such that the anchor would drag a bit longer before digging

4 once it is dug in let go a meter at a time of chain until the stern is at the proper distance from the dock. We use a remote control to the windlass for this. I stand on the stern and controls the windlass until I like the distance to the wall. If you do not have a remote than one person stays at the windlass and the other at the stern.

5 attach the stern, you will need 4 lines. One on each side going to shore and the other 2 in an x pattern from the inside of each hull to the shore. That way the boat will not move forward or sideways.

6 put a snubber on the chain. No need to use the bridle. We just put a snubber to the chain and a middle cleat with a good amount of tension (don’t be shy here, you are well dug in anyway) This ensure that you will not hit the wall.

The most common and stupid mistake made is not digging in the anchor solidly or have it on too short a scope. If you do not set it, at the first breeze the nose of the boat will drift sideways and make a huge mess of things. We have seen this happens several time.

PS: forget to mention to have a good set of fenders on each side.

[Lionshooter]

Originally Posted by CaptainSusan

As I am a former airline employee, it is reasonably easy for us to fly virtually anywhere,

Don't you just love it? I too have had the luxury of chartering all over this world for 20 years thanks to Delta and insane ZED fares.
I have chartered in Greece several times and the first time I was a tad bit apprehensive because I had heard the stories of Greek sailors (all true) and "Med mooring" which I was only vaguely familiar with. I had a 41' monohull and found that it was a piece of cake. Not much different than backing into a beach in Biscayne Bay or Umbrella Cay, Bahamas. I think that twice I had to abort and reset because of dragging. But all in all, it was not a problem in the least. Never tried it in a cat. Never will. Don't like 'em.

[buddhadawg]

hey susan, look up port de plaisance marina in st maarten, they are great and have med moorings, st maarten is an awesome place to vacation. there are multiple direct flights from the us. ( i dont know about tx) and not too expensive, people are great and friendly, diverse culture with both sides of the island, beautiful beaches, nightlife, and not too hung up ont he stupid covid crap..
enjoy and enjoy the med!

capt bill

[NormanMartin]

Hi
I work for a sailing school and charter company in the North East. We teach med moor on cats and monos all the time. Ask around at local sailing schools.
Norm

[LaurieK]

This might be worth a look…

https://youtu.be/CUqaCvXLqws