A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum... well... not the way to the forum but the mooring in the marina. When we were coming in to the mooring and everything was going fine I notice the mooring buoy disappear under the boat. This has happened twice before. The first time Tim jumped in and pulled it free when we had moored. The second time I just pulled the line to the quayside and it came free... much easier. So we realised this was the solution in the future. It's not possible with a strong southerly wind to avoid this scenario, so a workaround is what you need.

Only this time... well... three seconds after the small buoy we use for the side lines disappeared under the boat, Tim needs to use the bow thruster. There is this decidedly unhealthy noise from the bow thruster and I am concerned that the ropes from the mooring buoy have made their way into the bow-thruster tunnel. That wasn't what had happened... the bow thruster had sucked the mooring buoy into the tunnel and it was now stuck fast like a cork in a bottle!

So we secure the boat with other lines and Tim jumps in again and has to use all his strength, bracing his legs against the hull to pull it free, when it eventually pops free like a champagne cork.  Good job its the Med and not the North Sea... a lot warmer water.