Mooring in marinas

Mooring along side pier

This is the exception, usually outside of the peak of the summer season

Mooring bow to the pier, or stern

This is the most common setting as it allows for mooring a maximum number of boats.

Steps are as follows:

1. Install lots of fender on both sides. If enough crew onboard, one crew with a free fender could be very useful.
2. Prepare the mooring lines. Initially, 2 at the front and one at the back, preferably the ankarolina equiped with a open hook (bojkrok) bar of a snap hook.
3. Go around the harbour once to check which berths are available and check winds inside.
4. As you pass between the back buoys, hook the stern mooring line to the appropriate buoy, preferably on the upwind side. Let unroll the ankarolina freely while approaching the pier.
5. The crew on the bow throw the downwind mooring line to the dock and jumps on the pier with the upwing mooring line and attach it to a cleat at 1 to 2 metres upwind.
6. As the crew jumps on the pier, the crew at the helm reverses sligthly to avoid hitting the pier.
7. The crew on the pier secure the second mooring line and the crew on the aft tighten the aft line firmly.
8. It is a good practice to use a second aft mooring line to another buoy in order to prevent the boat from moving from one side to the other. The aft mooring lines should cross each other, with the line on the starboard buoy being attached to the portside aft cleat and conversely.

Mooring on a pendille

Mooring on a pendille, the mediterranean term for a mooring line attached from the pier to a chain on the sea bottom of the harbour, which acts as a secure aft anchor. Sandhamn KSS marina for example is using pendilles for mooring.

In such harbours:

• Step 2 only implies preparing the front mooring lines.
• Step 4 is skipped
• Step 7 is modified as the crew at the helm goes to the front to get the pendille using a hook to catch it and pull it back to an aft cleat.
• Step 8 is irrelevant

Mooring between poles

This is often available in Germany and Denmark. The main difficulty is to assess the width between the poles in relation with the boat width.

In such harbours:

• Prepare fenders only on the deck before entering between poles, and then put them outside only after entering.
• Step 2 implies preparing two long aft mooring lines that will be passed around the poles as the boat enters the berth.
• Step 4 is replaced by tying around the poles a mooring line, as the pole passes the beam.
• Step 8 is irrelevant.

Mooring on cat-way or alongside

Nothing specific in this situation. Do not hesitate to moor backwards.

Mooring alongside another boat

This is not a common practice in the Baltic, even though in some places there is no questions that is has to be done, such as at the entrance of the Kiel canal or in specific small places such as Hävringe, Christiansø or Utklippan.

In any case, should you wish and need to moore along side, try to get a contact with the target boat to get consentment, and choose a boat bigger than yours!