The biggest differences between sailing in the Netherlands and in the Mediterranean is the way of anchoring, berthing or mooring in a bay or harbor. In almost every harbor we use the anchor for berthing the boats.

Anchoring can occur in many variants e.g. in a bay you will often use your anchor in a free way. In this situation you have to take into account the turning circle of your anchor line/boat compared to the other ships around you. The amount of chain is crucial in this situation, but also the way to pull it to do a proper anchor check.

In harbors the most common maneuver is to anchor ‘in a layer’. This means you will put your boat with the bow, or most often, with the stern to the quay. You use your anchor to prevent bumping into the quay.

Anchoring ‘in the layer’ should not be difficult, but it’s a bit tricky if you have never done it before. The most common problems are:

* You work with 20 to 50 feet of chain. The other ships left and right of you used this amount too. It is important that these chains do not cross. For this, the chain should not be only straight in front of your boat, but also be right-angled to the quay. The latter is difficult to see from a few dozen meters away.
* The distance at which the anchor must be thrown is three to four boat lengths away from the quay. The length of the boat is often overstated, so even with a generous 60 meters of anchor chain, sometimes you will not reach the quay.
* As soon as there is some cross wind, the ship begins to drift. It will do the same if it doesn’t have any speed. How do you compensate that?

Furthermore, we pay attention in this training to harbor maneuvers, the use of maps and compass and the use of the VHF device.

Reason enough to follow the OCC Yachting flotilla training. Your holiday will become more relaxed. Because you feel more confident working with the wheel or anchor.

Duration of this course is two to three blocks of 3,5 hour.