Ship-handling is the fine art of getting a ship to do what you want it to do when you want it to do it. Many operations require skilled ship-handling, but two which show poor ship-handling quickly are the "Med- moor" (Mediterranean style Mooring) and Mooring to a buoy. In either of these maneuvers any weakness in the ability to control the ship precisely becomes obvious to a large number of people quickly.

Mooring to a buoy requires only a few minutes of very skillful Ship-handling. It also tests the skills and abilities of the deck crew. Preparation by the deck crew is very important in this operation. Usually the Forecastle (the forward portion of the ship) on a destroyer is equipped with two anchors which are attached to large chains which are stored in compartments near the bow of the ship. These compartments are called Chain Lockers. These chains have detachable links in them periodically to permit the chain to be separated for different purposes.

There is generally one anchor windlass that is used for raising or lowering an anchor or, using the upper drum, controlling a line. A pair of Chain Stoppers holds each anchor chain in place. Stoppers are lengths of chain about four-foot in length. One end of the stopper is bolted to the deck. The other end is attached to a Pelican Hook. A Pelican hook is a steel clamp that is designed to fit across the flat of a chain link, between the adjacent links. The hook is hinged in such a way that when opened it can be slid under the flat of a link. Then folded back over the top of the link and locked with a hasp that slips over the end of the hook and can be secured with a steel pin that is wrapped in place by a string. These Stoppers secures the chain from moving allowing the chain to be disconnected from the Windlass. The chain is wrapped around the windlass manually by men using large hooks to grab links and pull the chain around or off of the windlass.

The Anchor Windlass is driven by a large electric motor below deck that is capable of lifting the ship’s heaviest anchor completely covered in mud. It is not of unlimited strength. In addition to the braking power of the electric motor there is a physical brake which wraps around the windlass and can be manually tightened or loosened. Only one anchor chain can be around the windlass at any given time. The windlass is used to retrieve anchor chain and to control the speed of chain deployment.

In preparing for mooring to a buoy one anchor chain must be separated from its anchor. Normally the anchors are held in their stored position with a pair of stoppers on each chain to hold them firmly in place. On my first ship, USS Talbot (DEG-4), we had an anchor directly on the stem (or bow) and one back a way on the port (left) side. The bow chain is the obvious choice for mooring to a buoy. Once the stoppers are checked to insure that the anchor isn’t going anywhere the first detachable link is located. A temporary stopper is rigged to insure the chain will not slip down into its chain locker when the link is broken. A sledge hammer is used on a marlin pin to drive a locking pin out of the detachable link, which allows it to separate releasing the adjacent chin links, one going to the anchor and the other towards the chain locker. A large mooring clamp is connected to the end of the chain. This is a large piece of metal in the shape of the letter C with a threaded bolt closing the open legs of the C. The bolt is screwed in just enough to be securely attached yet easily removed by the man balancing on the buoy. The lanyard connecting the bolt to the C is inspected to insure that if the bolt is dropped it will not get lost. The temporary stopper is released and a chain hook and the windlass are used to lead the now free end of the bow anchor chain through the Bullnose (a large circular opening at the top of the prow).

As we approach the mooring buoy the whaleboat is lowered with a team of boatswains attired in lifejackets and safety helmets, which will board the buoy and make the physical connection. This can be a very risky business. These men will leave the boat and actually get on the buoy. The buoys differ in shape and stability from port to port around the world. Additionally high seas and poor Ship-handling can place these men at risk. The small boat will deliver the team of two to three men to the buoy and then back off from the buoy as the ship approaches. It will stand by upwind as a safety measure.

What the men on the forecastle have done and what the men on the buoy will do is Seamanship in the finest sense of the word. What I am going to try to explain next is Ship-handling.

While the deck crew has been preparing the deck the officer assigned to moor the ship is reviewing the location of the assigned mooring buoy, weather conditions, and the area surrounding the buoy. He must understand any obstructions or other vessels in the area. He will plan his approach to the buoy from down wind so he must plan his route to the buoy with this in mind, keeping well clear of any ships, small craft, or physical hazards that may be presented.

When he takes control of the ship he must position the ship downwind of the buoy and lower the boat crew.

You need to provide enough time for the team to get to the buoy and prepare without leaving them exposed any longer than necessary. This ship has a single engine and as in all ships, the slower the water moves across the rudder, the less effect the rudder has. That is why it is so important to be headed directly into the wind. Hopefully the current will not be strong enough to make a significant difference. If the current is strong you must compensate in the approach to the buoy.

He makes a final check of status of the deck crew and we begin the approach. The trick is to stop with the anchor chain hanging within reach of the team on the buoy. They have a boat hook which gives them about a six-foot reach but you want to avoid them having to reach to grab a very heavy chain and taking the chance of loosing their balance. The problem is that the buoy disappears from sight as you approach. There is a delay between when you give an order and when it takes effect. It is not difficult to line up so that the bow is pointed exactly at the center of the buoy, the trick is stopping with the bullnose and the chain hanging from it over the center of the buoy. The rake (slant) of the bow allows you to do this but you must not hit the buoy or you will surely send the men into the water. So the trick is to stop the ship with the bullnose directly over a point that you can not see. You can not be off more than six feet and you must not overshoot your mark. You can have a man on the bow giving you estimates of the distance. It can be done by visualizing the buoy as it disappears. Once the men on the buoy have the chain in hand the chain must be slacked off by the deck crew to give them enough to reach the attachment point. The conning officer must hold the ship in position while the connection is made to the buoy. You don’t want to apply any strain on the chain as this would endanger the men.

Once the anchor chain is attached to the buoy the boat can extract the men. Then the deck crew can start easing the chain out as the ship is slowly backed away. When an appropriate length of chain is paid out to minimize strain on the buoy the ship’s rearward motion must be stopped before the brake on the windlass is set. When the ship is stopped the chain stoppers can be set and the whaleboat retrieved.

This procedure is called the Med-Moor because it is used so frequently in ports in the Mediterranean. It maximizes the number of boats that can be directly tied up to the pier by having them tie up stern to the pier instead of having the side of the ship or boat tied to it. It requires a combination of good Seamanship and Ship-handling.

Coordination between the bridge, forecastle crew and the fantail are crucial in Med-Mooring a 400+ foot long vessel. Especially a ship with a single engine. This operation utilizes both anchors and at least four lines from the stern to the pier. Placement of the anchors is important in that they will be used to position the bow of the ship and you do not want to lay your anchor chain over the anchor or chain of an adjacent vessel which may have to depart before you.

One of the keys is to get the anchors paced well out in front to either side of your final desired position. One of the keys to making it work when you have only one windlass is shallow water. If the water were deep you could pull enough anchor chain out to have the free running anchor run away and pull all of the chain with it. There is no way to stop a runaway anchor chain.

Naples is the port I am most used to Med-Mooring at so I will use it as an example. Prior to entering port the deck crew has been busy setting up the forecastle and arranging lines aft so that they will run cleanly, without entangling and without interfering with each other. I have an experienced Officer on a sound powered phone on the fantail to give me distance estimates as I call for them. The First Division Officer is on the forecastle overseeing preparations there.

On the forecastle the anchor chain for the bow anchor has been wrapped around the anchor windlass and the slack taken off of the stoppers. The port anchor chain has been pulled up a bit to relieve pressure on the inboard chain stopper. The lashing on the pins holding the hasp that locks the chain stoppers is undone. On each inboard stopper the pin is pulled and a sledge is used to knock the hasp clear allowing the top half of the stopper to open. On each chain the inboard stopper is pulled clear leaving each anchor and it’s respective chain held in place by a single chain stopper which has its hasp being held in position by a pin on a long lanyard. The chain on the port anchor is slipped back towards to chain locker to insure there is no slack on deck. A slight tension is taken on the bow anchor chain to relieve strain on the remaining stopper. And the brake is set.

Sea Detail has been set and I receive the report that the ship is ready to enter port. We radio Port control and are granted clearance to the berth (parking space) we were previously assigned. Our berth is between two ships that are already in position so there will be no room for error. As we enter the harbor the berth is to port (our left).

I shift control to the flying bridge. This is on top of the enclosed bridge where the helmsman and lea-helmsman remain. I communicate with them through a talker wearing sound powered telephones. My communications are going through an extra step. However, I also have direct communication with the forecastle and the stern and my visibility is much less restricted.

We are traveling at about 5 knots. I swing slightly to starboard (right) to maximize the distance between where we will drop anchor and where we will end up. I send word to the forecastle to standby to drop the bow anchor. On deck one man holds the lanyard to the pin on the remaining chain stopper on the bow anchor chain. Another stands by with a sledgehammer to knock the hasp clear if necessary. The navigator is calling out the distance to the intended drop point. At the drop point I call for the deck crew to drop the anchor. The man on the lanyard pulls the pin clear and jumps clear. The man on the sledge knocks the hasp clear and he jumps out of the way. The brake is released and the anchor falls. I swish the rudder rapidly port then back starboard to be sure the chain is where I want it as I proceed to the second drop point. The navigator is counting down to the drop point. At the drop point I call for the port anchor to be released and reverse the engine and go to left full rudder. As the pin is pulled and the hasp is hit the anchor drops. The deck crew starts the anchor windlass and starts retrieving chain on the bow anchor. This combination should rapidly turn the ship 90 degrees and allow me to back into the assigned space.

As we back between the adjacent ships I adjust my rudder to try to center the ship in her birth. When the bow is lined up I instruct the forecastle to start slacking on the bow anchor chain to permit us to back into place. I now have the anchor chain, the engine and the rudder at my disposal to make final adjustments. As we get near the pier a boatswain on the stern uses his bolo to get a line to the line handlers on the pier. In this case the line handlers are U.S. sailors from the adjacent ships. They pull on the line that is attached to an eye in a mooring line. The eye in a line is created by making a large loop in the line and weaving the end of the line back into the line. It creates a very strong opening in the line, and in this case is designed to fit over a Bollard. A Bollard is a thick post on a pier or ship used to secure a line. This first line will go to a bollard directly in the center of our berth. Once this line is secured and around the drum of the stern winch the operation is down to clean up and securing the ships position. I can center the rudder and stop the engine essentially using the anchor windlass and the stern winch I can finalize the position. This would only be a last resort, but it feels good to have a couple of firm points.

Now it is a matter of getting lines from both the left and rear quarter to the men on the pier, finalizing the position fore and aft using the guidance of the man I have stationed on the stern, and positioning the bow using the bow anchor. Once I am satisfied with the position of the bow the windlass brake is applied, the chain stoppers are applied, the chain is removed from the windlass and feed back into the locker. Then the port anchor chain is wrapped on the windlass and the slack taken out of it. This secures the bow position regardless of wind or sea currents.

At the stern the lines from the quarters are feed to the pier where they are dipped through the lines of the ships that are already there. Dipping the lines is passing the eye of our line up through the eye of another ships line before placing it over the bollard. This permits either ship to get underway without disturbing the other ship’s line. For improved stability an additional line is passed from either side of the ship and crossed behind the ship. In most ports a brow (or walkway) would now be run from the ship’s stern to the pier. This, however is Naples Italy and we are not permitted to use this pier to access town. Instead of walking ashore directly we have to rig an accommodation ladder and run boats to the landing site. An Accommodation ladder is a ladder with a platform just above the waterline, which is used to board the boats.

As I hope you can see, a Med-Moor is a real test of Seamanship, Ship-handling, and coordination between the two.