EXPLANATION OF MED MOORING
Note: We received the following explanation from our friends Bob and Judy Bailey, on Pooh Bear, who did such a great job on the subject that we present it here:
A little explanation of "Med mooring" may be in order. In the States, yachts normally berth either alongside a long wharf or go head in (or out) to the
wharf with at least four pilings to tie up to. Finger piers extend out perpendicular to the main wharf at least half the length of the boats so you
can easily step ashore. More modern marinas have at least the finger piers floating so they stay in the same place relative to the boat in spite of the state
of the tide.
In the tideless Med, a different system has developed that permits a maximum number of boats in a given space and requires a minimum of land facilities; Med mooring. Boats approach the wharf at ninety degrees and when still some distance out, say a hundred feet, drop an anchor, then motor on in until a line can be put ashore and secured. Then the anchored line is pulled taught and the boat secured at right angles to the wharf, one end by the line to the anchor and the other end by the line to the wharf. Nowadays, most western Med marinas have modified the system to provide mooring blocks with a line that leads ashore and you tie off the outer end with that instead of dropping an anchor. Watching late arrivals at a crowded Med moor marina is a great source of entertainment. Crews on all boats involved (docked or arriving) line the decks, deploy six and eight fenders on each side, shout instructions in various languages to everyone, and eventually the newcomer is wedged in. It is a standard way of operating in the Med.
Most power boats and some of the modern sail boats with wide sterns choose to back in, but Pooh Bear, being pointy at both ends, always goes bow in. In addition, we have the windvane steering on the stern and a bunch of other claptrap in the way making stern boarding impossible so must climb off over the bow pulpit (the railing on that stick out of the front end for you lubbers). For those of you that know Pooh, the bowsprit is at quite a rakish angle making it a long way down from the end. Prior to Gibraltar, our only encounter with Med mooring was at Viana de Costello where Med mooring worked rather poorly due to the three foot tide. If at low tide we set the stern line to put the bowsprit just over the dock, it would be several feet from the dock at high tide.
Med moor veterans solve this problem with a "passarelle"; a boarding ladder that has
casters on one end and is attached to the boat at the other end. Some are very fancy
with hydraulic or electric systems to raise or lower them. Some are of gleaming stainless
steel with handrails. Some are nothing more than a wide plank tied to the boat with a
piece of old rope. On some of the "gold platers", the passarell is raised and lowered by
radio control so unwanted boarding is difficult when the crew is ashore. Having nothing like these, we had a little borrowed rope ladder off the end of
the bowsprit that allowed us to demonstrate our athletic prowess.