Preveza and learning about current in a small marina 7/12/21

A lot happened yesterday so here is another update. I hope I am not spamming anyone I promise to turn this into a blog.

On Saturday we sailed into Preveza Bay (actually called Ambracian Gulf)….very narrow long channel to enter…looked scary on the charts and was very long and narrow and lots of charter boats coming out but we made it in after dodging about 6 boats going the other way on the wrong side of the channel.

The eventful part was on Sunday docking at Cleopatra marina. Tides in the Mediterranean are normally mild. Less than 20cm up and down. Still you can see the water moving in and out from bays. I think of it as the ocean breathing in and out slowly. I have noticed a gentle current going in or out of harbours but no big deal. Until Cleopatra marina.
Docking (or mooring) in the Mediterranean is almost all stern (back) in. Sometimes you need to drop your anchor a ways out to hold your bow, but in marinas they generally have lines to hold your nose but you have to back your boat in. You attach the stern lines (windward first) then deal with the bow. I read lots of horror stories about how hard this is but with Spruzzo it is not that bad. Backing up is easier than going forward in some ways.
Cleopatra marina is near the mouth of and inside Preveza Bay and the narrow channel apparently magnifies the tidal affect. There was a lot of current here. We were asked to back into the marina to dock the boat so we didn’t have to maneuver in the marina. We did. Backing up Spruzzo actually gives you more control of the boat because of the great bow-thruster on the boat. (It needs to be lowered from inside the boat, and can get snagged on lines and break, and you have to remember to put it back when you are done, and it can leak, and it is apparently tricky to remove and replace the special seals (to be done every 2 years) to stop water coming in but it is very powerful 🙂 The bow thruster can move the nose of the boat side to side easily, so to backup you just turn around, forget about the wheel (keep it centred of course) and control thrust with the throttle and the direction of the boat with the bow thruster. You are turned around and the controls are behind you but other than that it is just like backing up a car. You go slow and no problem.

With wind you want to be pointing the boat into the wind so the wind is pushing you back. This gives you a force to use against the wind (the throttle). Eventually you have to straighten up and will be pushed sideways (if the wind is sideways) but you will be mostly docked and the bumpers will stop the movement.

ANYWAY backing into Cleopatra marina I could only go one way. The space between the boats for my spot looked very small but I was OK with that (my spot in Ragusa was tight too). Spruzzo is 16m long (and 4.6m wide) and as I started to line up on an angle I could see that I couldn’t start turning because my nose was still beside the boat on the opposing dock. There was a lady on the boat standing there (making sure i didn’t hit her boat) and she told me when I was clear (Victoria was on the stern keeping a watch there) so i started to turn and could immediately see that I was being pushed sideways by the surprisingly strong current and wasn’t going to make it……so I started forward and bow-thrustered my nose back which was all fine, except the current was still pushing me down the row of boats and away into the other side of boats.

An important point is that the bows of these boats are held by lines which go roughly 45 degrees or less down and forward into usually cement blocks.

So…..I was pointed in the right direction, but too close to the other side of boats, *and* I had forgot to put away our wonderful aluminum Amel swim ladder. The Amel swim ladder is very light, and attaches to the side of the boat. It is easy to miss and forget about which I had done. It was now being caught in the bow line of one of the boats on the other side. (As an aside anything you do wrong with your boat you will pay for. Seems to happen quickly and regularly when sailing 😉

Long story short we badly bent the swim ladder (Victoria removed it heroically after it became untangled to stop it from being tangled again) and I got the boat back into the centre of the channel and we took the boat outside the marina and docked outside by the fuel dock.

Victoria thought we were going to wipe out an entire side of boats. It was very exciting to say the least. I’m not capturing the real-time drama. It felt like throwing 10 babies into the air in different directions and then having to run around and catch all 10. Maybe while blindfolded. There were 6 boat owners on the too-close side of boats helping push us away and another 6 on the other side watching the entertainment. Too bad we don’t have video to share.

So now we pay close attention to current 😉 I’m hoping the marina can bend-back the swim ladder..

Jeff and Victoria