Mooring Techniques

Whilst on your sailing holiday in the Ionian, you will experience many different forms of mooring which you may not be used to. Below we have set out the various techniques which will be useful for you. 

The most important aspects to remember when mooring the yacht are:

• take your time
• communicate clearly to all the crew what you are planning on doing and allocate the jobs clearly
• prepare the yacht in plenty of time (fenders, dinghy, anchor, mooring warps, music off, tidy the cockpit, tidy the lines)
• consider the wind direction and strength
• devise some hand signals to aid communication along the length of the yacht
• only the skipper should be giving out orders to the crew
• skipper – stay on the helm and cover the throttle at all times and keep watch for hazards in the water (swimmers, lines, buoys)
• take her in as slow as the conditions allow.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask us!

Stern To Mooring

This is the most common type of mooring used in the Ionian when visiting harbours or tavernas with their own pontoons.  It can be with lazy lines or using your own anchor.  The instructional video below explains in detail how to do it like a pro!

Long lining

If you are anchored in a beautiful Ionian bay and you wish to stop the possibility of the yacht swinging with wind direction change, then this is a great technique to employ. You will also find in many bays that when there are other boats moored near by, you will not be able to swing safely, especially if the other boats are long lining. The best knot for tying to the shore is the bowline, as even when it has been put under significant tension it is possible to undo without too much effort. So get practicing! All Blue Sea yachts come equipped with long floating shore lines. The biggest hazard to consider when mooring like this is the dreaded prop wrap. The floating lines do help minimise this risk, but please do be extremely careful when engaging gear with any lines in the water near the boat.