Sorry for the long absence in providing the racing articles.  Seems my computer decided to take a siesta that left even the best IT gurus inIndia scratching their heads for a while…and I went sailing for two weeks in June/July!!  But I have been tracking our club’s participation on the various race courses this year.  We have been representin’ at Southern Bay Race Week, Cock Island, and elsewhere.  Good on ya!

Upcoming races include the Little Creek Cup on 31 July – Cruising Fleet included, Hampton Yacht Club’s Tom Brady Masters Race August 7^thin which all crew members must be 55 or older and the boat must be 10 years old to participate. This race is OPEN TO ALL who meet the “seasoning” requirements.  Entries are due at HYC no later than 1100 on race day.  For info and to enter, contact HYC, (757) 850-4225. BBSA’s Cape Charles Cup is August 14-15^th.  This race has a great cruising fleet, usually split into two fleets due to its size.  Several of us checked out the course in Larry and Sandy’s Captain Ron weekend July 24-25^th and just may have an edge on the competition!  (Let’s hope for more wind and less heat!!)  If the sun is beating down too hard during the day, HYC is providing its overnight Plantation Light Race on August 20^th for PHRF and Non-Spin racers.  Finally, don’t forget the Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday after work series are all in full swing! Bring your boat, or volunteer as crew – you’ll be glad you did!  There’s no time like the present to get out there and race! 

                                                                        Andy

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Boating Educational Article:  Picking up a mooring ball
 

Frank Lanier

Picking up a mooring ball can be a simple, unremarkable affair that goes unnoticed by fellow boaters or a pride devastating catastrophe of biblical proportions regaled in the yacht club Tiki bar for years to come.  In efforts to ensure you fall under the first category, here’s some advice to make sure your name, the words mooring ball, and the phrase “I’ve never seen anything like it before or since” are never used in the same sentence.     
 

Get to know a mooring ball before picking it up.
 

Mooring balls are easy to identify, the standard being a white ball or can shaped buoy with a horizontal blue band visible above the waterline – vertical spars (utilizing the same color scheme) are also used in some locations.  Most mooring buoys will typically be labeled for identification purposes.  Public moorings may have a VHF contact channel or name, while privately owned ones are typically marked with the owner or vessel’s name, mooring permit number, and possibly its intended use (as in the case of yacht club moorings labeled “Guest” for visiting boats). 
 

You can expect to pay a fee to the harbor master when using a public mooring, although most every case it’ll be cheaper than dock fees for the night.  Once you’ve contacted the harbor master, they’ll let you know if the mooring ground tackle is sufficient for your sized vessel and if it isn’t, will direct you to one that is.  
 

Public moorings are normally professionally maintained, although that’s not always the case with those owned by clubs or private individuals.  Mooring balls are often considered to be more secure and less of a hassle than anchoring, however they can and do fail if routine maintenance is lacking.  For this reason (and to avoid interaction with an irate owner who returns to find his ball occupied) you should avoid picking up private mooring balls or those that appear poorly maintained.    

A typical mooring system consists of a pennant (which you attach to your boat or bridle), buoy, riding chain, ground chain, various shackles and swivels, and finally some means of anchoring the whole system to the bottom.  You’ll find pennants constructed using various types of rope, however braided polyester best meets the requirements of strength and resistance to both chafe and deterioration due to sunlight.  Elasticity (as in the case of selecting an anchor rode) isn’t an issue due to the pennant’s short length.  
 

On a final note (as you are ultimately responsible for your vessel) it’s always a good idea to inspect the mooring buoy you’re using to the extent possible (pennants, hardware, etc).  Every mooring buoy should have dual pennants, one primary and one back-up or safety pennant.  If the one you’re directed to doesn’t, install a temporary one after mooring.  Mooring balls typically have a galvanized rod that transits the ball with eyes at each end – the bottom eyelet attaches to the ground tackle rode, while the top one is normally used as an attachment point for the pennants.  As this rod can suffer from corrosion (often out of sight inside the ball) and eventually break, some boaters attach a back-up pennant to the lower eye just to be on the safe side.

Picking up a mooring ball can be divided into two basic scenarios, approaches under power or sail.  Picking them up under power is generally easier for most boaters, however sailors should at least know the basics of picking up a ball under sail, a particularly useful skill in the event of an engine casualty.
 

As with any successful evolution, planning, preparation, and practice are the big three.  We’ll break down tips for pick-ups under both power and sail in a moment, but the following basic guidelines apply to both.   

Planning 

1. Plan out your strategy and walk the crew through it beforehand, ensuring everyone knows their role and that “the plan” address any special circumstances to the extent possible (opposing winds and current, proximity of other vessels, etc). Two crew members on the foredeck is a good number, one to pick up the mooring pennant with the boat hook, another to take the boat hook (once the pennant is onboard) place it safely out of the way, then assist as needed – additional crewmembers will likely just be in the way.
    
2. Establish hand signals or review existing ones used between helmsman and crew to convey information such as distance and direction of the mooring ball, speed of approach, etc.  Use of FRS hand held radios or wireless headsets are also good options to consider. 
    
3. Be aware that if you carry an anchor at the bow, it may interfere with the mooring line – plan ahead and know what you’ll do if it does (temporary relocation, etc).  
    
4. After assignment by the harbor master or while selecting a mooring ball, cruise by to check it out – a “dry run” prior to an actual attempt to pick it up is also a good idea.  Scoping out the situation lets you see the type and condition of the mooring ball and pennants, while a practice run provides insight on how existing winds and current will affect your approach. For example, if the pennant isn’t floating in the lee of the mooring ball, you’ll likely have some current to deal with.

Preparations

1. Have crewmembers don PFDs.
    
2. Have a boat hook handy – gloves too, as floating mooring pennants can be encrusted with barnacles or other marine growth.
    
3. Some moorings require you to pass a line from your boat through the eye of the painter and back to your vessel.  Prepare this line in advance, making sure it’s rigged properly and of sufficient length.  You may want to use your own line to attach directly to the ball if the mooring pennants are worn or encrusted with growth.
    
4. Stage a small anchor or “lunch hook” out of the way, but ready for quick deployment should the need arise (engine failure, fouled props, etc).  Having an anchor ready to deploy provides additional time to address the situation without damaging other vessels or running aground.
    
5. If towing a dingy, shorten up the painter prior to mooring (to prevent it from fouling the prop) or better yet secure it alongside using a bow and stern line.
    
6. While on your approach, keep an eye out for smaller vessels or swimmers and snorkelers in warmer waters.

Practicing your mooring ball pick-up skills is time well spent.  One stress-free way to accomplish this is to attach an empty laundry detergent jug to a brick and drop it into the water at a location where you have plenty of room to maneuver.  If this area is near where you normally dock, leave it for a few weeks or so if possible, which allows you to stop by and practice picking up your “mooring” each time on the way in (just verify it’s OK with whoever has jurisdiction over the location).  This is an excellent way to see how your vessel handles under various conditions, such as how far your boat will coast once placed in neutral at different wind speeds.

Picking up a mooring under power
 

When under power you’ll typically want to approach a mooring slowly from dead downwind/current, which provides better control and maneuverability. Once the mooring ball is at the bow, slow or gently reverse engine to halt forward motion.  The goal here is to gauge boat speed and wind effect so that once the boat is placed into neutral it coasts to a stop with the bow above the mooring, at which time you (if single handing) or your crew grabs the pennant and ties off before the wind pushes you away. 

The most common mistake while picking up a mooring is approaching too fast – you can’t go too slow (as you then simply increase throttle as needed to overcome the affects of wind or current) but you can over shoot the mooring, which can lead to fouling of the pennant or mooring rode on the keel, rudder, or prop.
 

Another option is picking up the mooring ball at the stern or even backing up to it, which may be easier (particularly while single-handing) as the helmsman is closer to the action and the stern is typically closer to the water, providing an easier pickup.  That being said, there are those with the opinion that everything you want to avoid getting tangled (props, rudder, etc) is at the stern, and suggest using the bow.
 

The procedure for picking up a mooring at the stern (whether using a bow approach or backing up to it) are essentially the same: 

1. Cleat off one end of a long line at the bow (to act as a bridle) and route it outside the stanchions aft to the helm. 
    
2. Slowly motor up alongside the mooring (or back up to it, depending on you plan) until the mooring ball is at the corner of the stern.
    
3. Shift the engine into neutral.
    
4. Grab the pendant with a boat hook, then slip the end of your bridle through it and walk the line back up to the bow and cleat it off.  
    
5. Turn the engine off, afterwards adjusting the bridle length as necessary.

Sailing on to a mooring

The best way to accomplish this will ultimately be determined by your boat’s characteristics under sail, meaning you’ll want to become familiar with how she carries way, how long she takes to drift to a stop under various conditions, etc.  
 

One method would be to approach the mooring ball on a tack perpendicular to the wind, aiming 3-5 boat lengths down wind of the ball.  Then, when dead downwind of the mooring, release all sail and head upwind towards the mooring (here’s where knowing how much “way” your boat will continue to make in various wind speeds is a plus).  
 

With a little practice, you’ll soon be able to gauge it so that you simply coast to a halt above the ball, allowing you to leisurely stroll up to the bow and pick up the mooring ball pennant.  If you come up short, simple raise sail and try again.  

After the mooring

Once secure to a mooring ball, let the boat drift back and verify that you’re clear of other vessels moored or anchored around you.  You don’t have to back down to set a mooring ball (as you would when anchoring) however you should look to see how your boat is riding.  Is the mooring buoy vertical or being pulled under?  If so, you’ll want to increase the length of your bridle to create more of a horizontal pull, which both improves the ride of your vessel in rougher weather and reduces wear on the mooring system.  Keep an eye out for chafing of the bridle or mooring pennant as well.

Finally, when you get ready to leave your mooring, slowly motor forward or use the pennant to pull your boat up to the ball, release the line, then drift back or maneuver forward to clear the mooring ball pennant and ground tackle.  If using a bridle, simple release one end and pull onboard prior to getting underway.

Capt F.K. Lanier & Associates, LLC 

Marine Surveyors and Consultants 
1441 Hunningdon Woods Blvd 
Chesapeake, VA  23320 
(757) 287-3770 
www.captfklanier.com 

editor's note:  thanks captain.  i am going to add a second pennant to my mooring ball right now!

Editor’s Report:

Even JJ O'Kane may not be able to beat this tale of the whale. Breaching Whale Crash-lands on Sailboat July 21, 2010 8:00 a.m. EDT Southern right whales are a common sight in Cape Town waters from June to November.   (CNN) -- A sailor has described her "miraculous" escape after a whale leapt out of the water and crash-landed on the deck of her boat off the coast of South Africa.   Paloma Werner, 50, of the Cape Town Sailing Academy, and her partner Ralph Mothes had been watching the whale from a distance in Table Bay, near Cape Town harbor, when it moved toward their 10-meter vessel and breached 20 meters away. Southern right whales are a common sight in Cape Town waters during the breeding season from June to November, drawing whale watchers to the region. Werner said the couple -- both experienced sailors -- expected the creature to go under the boat before re-emerging on the other side.   "I looked around and I saw this huge whale coming out of the water and smashing against the side of the boat," Werner told CNN. "The whale slipped back into the water but we just saw the mast with all its rigging and everything flying towards us, and that was scary, actually."   Werner said Mothes ducked behind the steering wheel which bore the impact of the mast. And while the masts need replacing, Werner said the steel structure of the boat was undamaged. "Miraculously nothing happened to us," she added. A tourist on a nearby boat captured the moment when the whale breached out of the water on camera. Werner said she had spoken to a local marine mammal expert who had told her that the incident was a "freak accident." Because the couple had been sailing without the engine on, the whale had failed to hear them, she said.   "It was a young southern right whale and he was just having fun. They have very poor eyesight and obviously if they're breaching visibility is very poor. The whale did not intend to attack us, it just did not hear us."   Whale experts have taken DNA samples from blubber left on the deck to see whether they have any existing records on the animal.   Werner said the whale appeared to be unhurt by the experience: "We saw it afterwards and there was no blood or anything. I think for a whale it was just a scratch and a bump."   In future, the couple would make sure they had the engine on while sailing during whale season, she added. "We were just going out sailing because it was an awesome day. Obviously it's a bonus if you see a whale but we didn't quite count on having one on top of the boat."   eric  s/v big e