More berthing Mediterranean style

Last week I have learned a few new lessons on berthing in the Med. Last Sunday I was berthed in Pula, and arrived very nicely perpendicular to the quay. Okay, to be fair, ik was an absolutely windless situation, but non the less I drove my boat perpendicular to the quay. Then one of the Marina Staff members arrives on the quay and says: " You have been very lucky." Because the season has not started yet, they were cleaning all the mooring lines. So instead of laying on the bottom, they had now tightend them to the quay, and one could easily have gone into my propellor!!!. But luck was sitting on my shoulder.
Because the weather forecast was not very favourable (predictions of gusts up to 30-40 knots), I decided to stay in Pula. The bad weather, accompanied by thunderstorms was supposed to arrive late in the afternoon. Pula is very shelterd, so why risk leaving? The wind gusts were running a bit late, and finally arrived aroud midnight. Just before going to sleep I had pulled my boat a little further from the quay, so I would have some peace of mind while sleeping. In the middle of the night I was brutaly awakend by a "bang". I instantly knew it was Madame Curie smashing into the quay. On getting on deck I realised the problem. The windward mooringline was not holding. Upon tightening it, I just pulled up some anchorchain. Somehow the mooring line was no longer connected to the concrete block on the seabed. Madame Curie was no longer perpendicular to the quay. The only way I knew to solve this situation was to ty a line to the boat right next to me. Lesson number two: never trust mooring lines. Frustrated as I was, I immediately went to the marina office to complain. That is the nicest thing in Croatia, it doesn't matter that it is 3 a.m., two members of the marina staff are present. They immediatly apologized, and one walked me back to my boat to see if there was anything else we could do (still 40 knots of wind). Not being able to do anything to improve the boats situation, and releaved of al my frustration, I went back to sleep.

I also learned, that in my previous post I was exaggerating. Because if mooring lines are not cleaned, they look like this!!!

Hopefully the next situation is the last "strange" berthing manner that I will encounter this trip. I am affraid thoug, that I will run into more strange situations. In Medulin, a small town, with a gigantic tourist industry I had to berht alongside, but without touching the quay. Two mooring lines pulled Madame Curie away from the quay. But I did enjoy a long uninteruped night's sleep, with no touching the quay.