WHAT NOW SKIPPER — TEST YOUR NAVIGATION AND SEAMANSHIP SKILLS AND LEARN FROM EXPERT ANSWERS

Nick doesn't like fore and aft mooring buoys. He finds them difficult to pick up and, once secured, they seem to put veiy heavy loads on the mooring lines, particularly with the tidal stream from astern and a crosswind. Having read in the sailing directions that the only mooring option in Chausey Sound was between fore and aft buoys, he was thinking about giving up the plan for an overnight visit to the islands southeast of Jersey.

His crew had heard that this was a magical place though, and persuaded him that, as it was neap tides and no more than a Force 4-5 forecast, it would be a shame to pass them by. As it turned out, there was plenty of room on the moorings and, with the help of smart work from the crew, Nick picked up a suitable pair of buoys without a problem. The wind had been light when they arrived and dropped to nothing overnight so his worry about strain on the deck cleats and mooring lines was ill-founded.

The following day he planned to leave through the shallow northern end of the Sound, which meant waiting until mid-afternoon for sufficient rise of tide and a favourable stream. By lunch the wind had built to the promised Force 4-5 from the northeast, right abeam, and the heavy warp risers from the buoys were leading to windward at quite a shallow angle...