Despite the gloomy November weather my student Amy and I had a fantastic day on the water on her beautiful motor cruiser, a day of Own Boat Tuition on a 36ft Motor Cruiser, an Italian Gobbi 345 in Cardiff Bay. (https://w3w.co/dart.risk.force)
A 1:1 training day is a wonderful way to get to know your own boat in your own time and we did just that. We started with some twin engine theory, where I explained what happens when you engage ahead or astern with the port engine, starboard engine and then both engines. We discussed how to make turns, tighter turns and how to "split the sticks" and the effect of doing so. The best way to explain is to put theory in to practice so it was time to cast our lines and go!
Following all the boat checks and preparation I manoeuvred the boat out of Penarth Marina. A gentle but persistent easterly threatened to blow us off our mooring but a quick to turn to starboard countered that. Proceeding through the lock gates we had to open up a bit as the wind on the bow was channeled and quite blustery. Out in the bay the conditions were more favourable with a persistent yet gentle easterly adding some interest to the start of the day.
Following a demonstration of the controls and how to balance the vessel and hold position I handed over to Amy who spent the next half an hour doing just that. Picking transits on the starboard side and gently holding the vessel to the wind. Not an easy exercise on hour 1 of day 1!!!
We then moved on to proceeding towards a mooring buoy. There aren't any mooring buoys in Cardiff Bay so we had to simulate the manoeuvre, coming up to one of the yellow special marks on the approach to Mermaid Quay. The skill here is to proceed towards the buoy from downwind making enough momentum to counter the wind but ensuring there is not too much way on to hit the buoy. An excellent exercise to increase throttle skills and vessel speed awareness.
Then it was lunch time! How time flies when you are having fun!
It is very important not to overload a student who is starting out with too much training or new skills. They need time to absorb the skill they have learned before proceeding to the next. Having done so well in the morning, I was well aware that fatigue kicks in quickly in the afternoon so we got on with the day before that happened.
The next manoeuvre was coming alongside. In my mind the most important manoeuvre of all. Learn how to do this and your boating will be a joy. Fail to learn this and your boating will be a misery. I demonstrated this approach twice, in order to show the effects of wind on the vessel. As the helm position on a Gobbi 345 is located on the starboard side of the vessel I chose to make a starboard approach to the pontoon. The skipper has greater visibility approaching from this side and it is the best way to show a novice how to approach a pontoon. As their skill increases I will demonstrate how to approach from the port side where visibility is drastically reduced due to the high freeboard, but for now, that is for another day. A full description of this approach will appear in another blog entry.
Amy responded to the challenge and approached the pontoon. She turned to port and presented the vessel's beam to the pontoon and came alongside. She repeated this three more times at varying levels of competence. Each time I debriefed her on what went well and things to consider for her to make the manouver more smooth. She absorbed the information and attempted the approach again, this time with an audience of students and an instructor on a keel boat moored nearby. No pressure!!
She aced it to much applause. Well done Amy. Onwards to the final session and that was a turn in a confined space. As she is a novice the confined space is not that confined, rather the space between two pontoon fingers where on another day they could be full of boats enjoying the sunshine. The scenario being that there is no space within the marina and the skipper would need to turn the vessel around and exit the pontoon area.
I demonstrated by approaching the area and at the appropriate time turning the vessel in to the wind, on this occasion turning to port, using only the starboard engine ahead. As I turned I throttled to neutral, and then turned the wheel full lock from port to starboard. I engaged port astern, turning the vessel on its own pivot. It's not a three point turn, but it can be completed as so, but if conditions or space do not allow, then it is perfectly acceptable to complete the turn in 5, 7,9, 11 or more turns. On this occasion, three were enough and having spun the vessel around, I engaged neutral on port, centred the wheel, engaged starboard ahead and exited the pontoon area.
Amy's attempts were admirable and made good use of the space ahead and astern. She was not fazed by the lack of space but was quick to tell me she would be if the pontoon area was full of vessels. I reassured her by saying that in time her experience will grow and she will be able to turn in a space full of vessels.
My plan was that we prepared Amy to return the vessel to the mooring, but the decision was made that I would do so as fatigue had crept in and Amy felt it would be too stressful after a long day to try such a manoeuvre. We then took the vessel across the bay and back in to Penarth Marina, where I moored the vessel stern-to in fair but constant easterly winds.
A great first day on the water for Amy, and having correctly made the decision not to moor the vessel herself, she finished the day buzzed and excited about her achievement for the day. We can always try the stern-to mooring next time.
For now, a happy client, who demonstrated excellence throughout the day, and on returning to their berth was wanting more. A perfect day and a glimmer in the gloom. Well done Amy.
Meuryn Hughes, November 2024.
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