What's Up Dock? - On a recent visit to Gorda Sound, I stopped by the Leverick Bay dock to pick up water. Following the instructions of the dock master, I pulled the catamaran (a 47-footer) into the middle of the dock, close to the bow of a monohull tied up there. Midway through the manoeuvre, the dock master changed his mind and signalled for me to back all the way down to the far end of the dock and tie up there, leaving the centre free. OK to that.

After we were finished tying off our lines, I stepped off the boat where I was accosted by a woman of mature years.   “You didn’t see me at all, did you?” she asked.   “You’re supposed to look all around you but you didn’t even glance my way.   What if your engines had quit?”   She wasn’t making a whole lot of sense.   As we talked, it became clear that she, the skipper of a chartered Bavaria, had been following close behind me as I approached the dock and had been caught out when I suddenly changed direction at the dock master’s behest.   I explained to her that I had been following instructions from the dock master.   “That’s no excuse,” she said. “You’re the captain, you’re in charge.”

You can imagine how it might have gone, but I bit my tongue.   Yes, it was true, I was in charge—and so was she. I tried to explain that since she was following me and since I was approaching a dock, the rules of the road might be worth consideration.   Particularly the bit about keeping a safe speed and distance.   And since the dock master was directing traffic, that would include her as well as me.   

Her clinching argument was that “there are a lot of people trying to get water, you know.”   Therefore, you’d better hurry up, mate.   For a moment I began to worry that I had missed something—was I guilty of Reckless Driving? So how should we behave around a dock?   By being careful, of course, and by giving other boats time and room to complete their manoeuvres; by communicating with the dock master; and by not being in too much of a rush; and by choosing your dock well.   Now, at a small dock you might feel compelled to push your way ahead of other boats since there’s only room for one at a time.   But at a decent sized dock like the one at Leverick you shouldn’t have to wait long at all.

As for my engines quitting, well that’s even more reason to give me some space.