Well, you did better yesterday than we did. :-) Newly acquired
Fischer 37, no familiarity with her, first time into her 40' of tight
berth (boats at both ends that weren't there when we first delivered
her) approachable only in from the side, 12kt breeze right off the beam
sending her in, little 4" wood dock bollards that won't take much pull,
and those sadistically placed exposed steel straps & bolts some
dockbuilders can't seem to do without. Cap't (not I) a little too
timid with the unfamiliar throttle. No Chinese firedrill & a gingerly
step ashore for me, but some nice long paint scars incurred while we
tried to help his confidence by chanting: "Bob is the best!!! Bob is
the best!!!". ;-) Were it a big RO/RO ferry or a Panamax OBO he
could've docked her perfectly without tugs & he's done that 1,000
times, but you know how it goes when one gets one's own BOAT. :-)

Getting her off hours earlier in the same conditions was "interesting"
too, until we realized how to back her out against a fwd springer
without raking her bow down the dock. All we had to do upon reberthing
was repeat the same evolution, but that was too simple & easy for us to
do. This is what 6 hours of perfect water & air can do to otherwise
reasonable men.

So, Altair now has a semipermanent reminder of our initial ineptitude &
good cheer.

It could've been much worse - the neighboring dockparty drunks could've
been around screaming obscenities...