Here's my funny story about picking up a mooring with a rookie "admiral". We had chartered before but we'd either been with my parents or with our kids in a flotilla but this was our first time with just us two.

As we were motoring toward the mooring field, I went over the process again to make sure it was clear. I made sure to tell her that missing the ball was no big deal and we would just come around again. I set the bowline up so that it was all ready for her to put it through the loop and cleat off once she snagged the loop. I put her right on the ball and after a few seconds, she snagged the loop and slooowly brought it up to the deck. Well, it was blowing pretty hard and we started to drift back. As she hesitated, we drifted back more and I could tell we weren't going to make it. I guess I forgot to make it clear that she would not be able to hold the boat with just the hook in the loop. I yelled up to her to drop the loop but by that time, there was too much tension on it and the hook was pulled out of her hand. At least she didn't go overboard.

So there is our boat hook (mercifully) floating downwind. Crap! we are going to need that the rest of the week. I told her to come back and get on the swim platform and motored around to try and pick it up. I made a couple of passes but I couldn't get her close enough to snag it. I finally pulled the dinghy up and had her get in. I then towed her around like a kid on an inner tube and, after another miss, she snagged it.

Like the trooper she is, she went back up on the bow and snagged the ball the very next time. She's a pro now.