Big boat skippering

“This is it, don’t go to easy on the throttle” I remember thinking. That is the advice all skippers have given me in the past when I’ve been practicing docking. The wind had a lull, and I started my approach. Make it or break it. Literally. What could I break? Well, a big boat. Or a bigger boat. Heck, there are many things that can be broken in a marina. With a mixture of extreme excitement and terror I docked the 47 ft. boat. It was just one of those things that had to be done. I’d felt for quite some time that I’d grown out of the first mate costume, and that it was time to take the step to be skipper. But it is a step, and it requires courage. At least for me. It is something that I’ve worked towards for years, and to finally be able to skipper a large sailing yacht together with a somewhat inexperienced crew, was quite an accomplishment. The harbormaster grinned when we had secured the last lines, and said “I wish everyone would dock like that, it would make my life so much easier”. I think it is the most beautiful compliment I have received in years. Wow. Thanks .