Up-tide or down?

There’s little more embarrassing than coming into a hammerhead berth down-tide by mistake. Most of us know the feeling. Everything looks fine until you suddenly realise the boat doesn’t want to stop and you are running out of berth very rapidly. By Sod’s Law you’ll be wrong side on for the propeller as well, and the result is an ugly shambles, with retribution from the crew and knowing smirks from dockside loafers. Yet it’s an easy mistake to make near the turn of the tide. Unless you can see the stream running past a pile or buoy, the only real answer is to turn the boat beam-on to any potential current before you arrive. Watching the shore ahead of you as the boat moves athwart the stream leaves no doubts about what’s going on.