November 8, 2007
Cindy is one of the few women boaters that prefers to be at the helm rather
than handle the lines & fenders for docking. But she is quick to relinquish
her post to Scott when the parking space seems a bit too tight.
Scott is the master of backing our 25 feet wide beam into a 25 ½ foot space.
The best description of what it\’s like to dock a boat was written by Suzanne
Giesemann, author of *It\’s Your Boat Too*:* *\”There\’s always that element of
\’what could go wrong?\’ because a boat doesn\’t handle like a car. You can\’t
step on a brake and stop in an instant. A boat doesn\’t only move forward and
backward, it moves sideways too – sometimes when you wish it wouldn\’t. Boats
also turn differently than cars and take longer to do so.\” Having twin
engines is certainly an advantage but depending on the amount and direction
of both wind and current, docking our rather large house can be interesting.
We have mixed feelings when someone unknown walks up and offers to help. Do
they know how to catch & secure a line? Or will they cause more trouble than
help? In Oceanside a helpful volunteer appeared on the dock and before you
know it we were secured for the night. We checked in with Harbormaster
across the street. Laundry was piling up so we obtained a key to the public
facilities about half a mile walk from our dock. While the wash was going we
introduced ourselves to the friendly folks at the Oceanside Yacht Club. We
hadn\’t thought ahead, we could have docked there, but no matter, we were
only there for one night & already tucked into the public dock.
KIT, Scott & Cindy