Ellen MacArthur wrote:
"Jeff" wrote
| You certainly don't need it for your boat.
|
| I can understand using it for a 6 ton crab crusher. For that matter,
| I'm not sure about my boat, especially if I had a lot of constraints.
|
| On the other hand, I did it many times, perhaps hundreds, with boats
| like a Rhodes 19. You just push it off and get going. Or you get
| someone else to push the boom.



I'd rather be safe than sorry. It's better not to put other boats at risk
because you cut things too close. It's not fun being embarrassed because
you ran into somebody's boat. Using an anchor to kedge off is tried and
true and professional. It's just about foolproof.

Cheers,
Ellen

Good Grief, what a wimp! Tell me how professional you feel when the
club launch fouls on your anchor line while you're rowing back in the
dink. Sailing a dinghy or even a small keel boat off of a lee dock is
one of the basic maneuvers that you have to learn. If you have any
concerns, you are permitted to practice it a few times when the dock
is empty. Or even find an unused dock to practice on in different
conditions.

Casting off is a useful skill, worth learning in its own right. But
spending half an hour doing when someone else can just hop in the boat
and sail off, doesn't look too professional.