One good reason to go bow first into a slip
is vessel control.

Before docking, we all determine whether this is wind and/or current running
(which is stronger if both are in play) and how it is going to effect the
handling of the boat.

Once that is determined, if a skipper has a choice of berths he is more likely
to select one where he is motoring *into* the prevailing variable, (wind or
current) to help stop the boat. It's normally easier to add a little throttle
to overcome an opposing force
than to be swept along like helpless flotsam. Most vessels are more efficiently
propped to move forward, rather than in reverse. Most vessels have more
positive steering control moving forward than when backing up.

When the wind is up, the light bow is more likely to blow off than the heavy
stern. Tucking the bow in first may get it out of a crosswind if there are
vessels berthed to either side. Backing in with a cross wind leaves the
vulnerable bow hanging out in the fairway, while the muscle and brains of the
vessel, (the prop and rudder) are squuezed into a confined space with less room
to correct the situation.

Since we steer with the stern, not the bow, it makes sense (to me) to have the
greatest amount of flexibility possible to steer the vessel. That means having
the stern in the fairway with some wiggle room available rather than jammed in
the slip with less. Maybe a twin screw powerboat with a bow thruster has plenty
of control backing up when it's windy- but for any other vessel my own
preference would be to go into the slip bow first.

I one *must* back up to the float yacht club cocktail style and conditions are
less than completely benign, the lost art of using a spring line can allow a
boater a chance to substitute gracefully for a "proper" (big grin) bow-first
appoach