"Gene Kearns" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 16 Jul 2003 05:57:23 GMT, "gatt" wrote:


"Gould 0738" wrote in message

Good rule of thumb is to dock *into* the wind or the current (whichever
is
the
prevailing force at a given landing) and use it to brake the boat.

That's standard practice, isn't it? I mean, you see people doing it
ass-backwards all the time but it's kind of like flying a plane; you take
off and land into the wind so that your ground speed and the amount of
space
you use up is as little as possible.

-c


That isn't the best analogy in all respects.

One frequently lands according to the topography of the landing area
and gives second consideration to the wind. Wind is inconvenient at
times, but trees and rocks are somewhat immovable objects.

Given a 10 knot wind away from the dock and a 10 knot current heading
toward the dock, I'm going with the current. The heck with the
wind....


.....and sometimes the wind helps keep your boat from tapping other boats
while docking, even while it makes the docking a bit harder. It all depends
on the place, your mood, the skill level of your helpers, if any, and about
a dozen other unknowable factors which vary from day to day.