Sailing is an exciting adventure and, for the most part, you have the seas to yourself. No matter how many boats are out in the ocean, the ocean is always vastly larger. But when you are coming into or out of an anchorage, there are a lot of boats in a tight space and you need a plan of action to safely navigate to a mooring without running into other boats or running over anchor lines. I saw this sad, but funny video of a sailor with limited knowledge about how to navigate a sailboat, come into a busy anchorage. They managed to hit six boats, ensnarl three anchor/mooring lines, and needed considerable help from fellow sailors. It took about forty-five minutes for the sailors to be extracted.
Now, the video is edited, so while there may have been some foul language at some point in the process, I was struck by how polite those that were trying to assist the inexperienced sailors were. Their actions are consistent with what I generally see throughout the sailing community: grounded people who are genuinely interested in helping out others in a time of crisis.
Sailing isn’t just about moving through the water; it’s about docking, anchoring, maneuvering in tight quarters, and picking up a man overboard. These newbie sailors were clearly not ready for all of the responsibilities that their bareboat charter demanded. What elements of your next endeavor have you not properly thought out or planned for?