Sail into almost any harbor in Greece, Croatia, Italy or Turkey and you will see boats packed side by side along the quay with their sterns to the wall, like books on a shelf. This is Med mooring, and for many people on a bareboat charter it is the most nerve-racking part of a Mediterranean holiday: reversing a boat you barely know into a gap barely wider than the boat, with an audience at the café tables.

Quick answer: to Med moor, you back the boat into a gap at a quay with the stern (or bow) toward the wall. The bow is held off either by your own anchor, dropped three to four boat lengths out, or by a lazy line (a laid mooring line tied to a ground chain) that you pick up at the quay and lead to the bow. Two stern lines go to the quay, the anchor chain or lazy line is tightened to hold the boat off, and you go ashore over a gangplank (passerelle).

What Is Med Mooring?

In much of the Mediterranean there is little tide and harbor space is tight, so instead of lying alongside, boats moor perpendicular to the quay. Each boat takes up only its beam in quay length, and the harbor fits several times more boats. The holding forward of the boat comes from one of two sources:

• Your own anchor, typical in town quays and smaller harbors, especially in Greece and Turkey.
• Lazy lines (also called slime lines or mooring lines), typical in marinas and many managed town quays, especially in Croatia, Italy and Spain.

The technique is similar either way: reverse into the gap, get stern lines ashore, then tension the bow. Practise reversing in open water first, and read our guide to prop walk, because the sideways kick of the propeller is the main reason Med mooring approaches go wrong.

Stern-To vs Bow-To

	Stern-to	Bow-to
Getting ashore	Easy: step off the transom or over a passerelle	Harder from a high bow; you may need a ladder or a plank
Privacy	The cockpit faces the quay and passers-by	More privacy; the cockpit faces the water
Maneuvering	Requires reversing, with prop walk to manage	Easier to steer going forward
Anchor	Dropped from the bow in the normal way	Needs a stern anchor or lazy line led aft
Rudder and propeller	Closer to the quay; risk of hitting a submerged ledge	Rudder and prop kept away from the wall

Most cruising boats and almost all charter boats moor stern-to, especially those with a fold-down swim platform. Bow-to makes sense when the quay has a shallow, rocky foot, when you want privacy, or when the wind makes reversing in impractical. The rest of this guide describes stern-to, but the principles are the same both ways.

Preparing Lines, Fenders and Crew

Prepare everything before you enter the harbor, while the boat is in open water and nobody is rushed.

• Stern lines: two long lines, one from each stern cleat, led out under the guardrail and coiled ready to throw or hand ashore. Make them longer than you think; quays are often farther away than they look.
• Fenders: three or four on each side, at hull-widest height, because you will be touching neighbors. Add one at the stern if the quay is rough.
• Anchor: check the windlass works, the chain is free, and the anchor is ready to drop. Know how much chain you have and how it is marked.
• Boat hook: at the stern for picking up a lazy line, and a second if possible.
• Crew roles: helm, one person on the anchor windlass, and one or two at the stern with the lines. Agree on hand signals (stop, more chain, hold chain, slow) because talking over engine noise rarely works.

Then do a slow pass along the quay. Look for a gap a little wider than your beam, notice which way neighboring boats’ chains run, check for shallow spots or ledges, and see if there is a harbor attendant waving you in. Call the marina or port on the VHF if there is one; they may allocate you a berth and send someone to take your lines.

Med Mooring With Your Own Anchor

1. Line up. Position the boat bow toward the quay or across it, three to four boat lengths out from your gap and in line with it, so that you can drop the anchor roughly perpendicular to the quay. (Use more distance in deeper water: you want enough chain out for the depth.)
2. Get sternway. Start reversing slowly toward the gap. Allow for prop walk: if your stern walks to port, start with the stern a little to starboard of where it needs to go.
3. Drop the anchor. At your chosen point, signal the windlass operator to drop. Keep reversing steadily while they pay out chain freely. The chain should not snub the boat; a jerk will swing the bow and ruin your line.
4. Steer for the gap. Once the boat has sternway, the rudder starts to work. Aim between the neighbors, using short bursts of reverse and neutral to keep control.
5. Snub the chain. About a boat length from the quay, signal to slow the chain, then hold it. This sets the anchor and acts as a brake so the transom does not hit the wall.
6. Get stern lines ashore. Hand or throw the lines to someone on the quay, or step ashore from the transom if it is safe. The lines go around a bollard or through a ring and back to the boat, so you can release them later from on board.
7. Tension everything. Tighten the chain with the windlass and adjust the stern lines so the boat lies about a meter or so from the quay: close enough to step off over the passerelle, far enough that the rudder and transom are safe if a gust or wash pushes you back.

Then check that the anchor is holding by giving a little forward throttle and watching the chain and the stern lines. Our guide on how to anchor a sailboat covers setting and checking the anchor in more detail, and our article on anchoring in different seabed types explains why some harbor bottoms hold better than others.

Crossed anchors

In a crowded quay, anchors and chains often cross. The usual causes are someone dropping their anchor at an angle instead of straight out, or dropping it too close. To reduce the risk, drop as nearly perpendicular to the quay as possible and watch where your neighbors’ chains run. When leaving, if your anchor comes up with someone else’s chain on it, take the weight with the windlass, pass a line under their chain and secure it to the boat, lower your anchor to free it, then release the line and let their chain drop back. Be polite and ask for help: it happens to everyone.

Med Mooring With Lazy Lines

A lazy line is a rope fixed to a heavy ground chain or block out in the harbor, with its other end tied to the quay (often with a thin “tail” line). It replaces your anchor, so you do not need to drop anything.

1. Reverse into the gap as above. A marina attendant may hand you the lazy line or point it out.
2. Get the stern lines ashore first and make them fast loosely. This holds the boat in place.
3. With a boat hook, pick up the lazy line where it is tied at the quay. Walk it forward along the side deck, outside the stanchions and shrouds, keeping it clear of the propeller.
4. At the bow, pull it as tight as you can and make it fast to a bow cleat. Wear gloves: lazy lines are often covered in weed and marine growth.
5. Adjust the stern lines so the boat lies off the quay at the right distance.

The key danger with lazy lines is the propeller. Never put the engine in gear while a lazy line is slack near the stern. If you are unsure, keep the engine in neutral until the line is made fast forward.

Handling Crosswind and Prop Walk

Crosswinds are the real test. The bow of a sailboat blows off much faster than the stern, so in a side wind the boat wants to pivot as soon as you lose speed.

• Keep sternway. Speed gives the rudder authority. Reversing too slowly in a crosswind lets the bow fall off, and you lose control.
• Start upwind. Begin your approach a little upwind of your gap, letting the wind carry you down onto the line.
• Get the windward line on first. Once the stern is in, the windward stern line ashore prevents the boat from being pushed onto the downwind neighbor.
• Use the anchor. A snubbed anchor chain holds the bow up to windward while you sort out the stern.
• Plan around the kick. If your prop walk takes the stern upwind, it helps you in a crosswind; if it pushes downwind, start farther upwind and expect it.

If it is not working, do not force it. Motor out, re-anchor and try again. Neighbors far prefer a second attempt to a scraped topside.

Getting Ashore and Leaving

Getting ashore

Most boats use a passerelle (gangplank) from the transom to the quay. Secure it so that it cannot fall when the boat moves, and lift it at night or when you leave the boat for security. Do not tie the boat so close that the passerelle rests directly on the quay; the boat moves with wash and wind, and you want room for that.

Leaving

1. Start the engine and check that no lines are in the water near the propeller.
2. Convert the stern lines into slip lines (doubled back to the boat) so they can be released from on board.
3. With an anchor: release the stern lines, then motor gently forward while the crew raises the chain. Keep the bow over the chain so you do not drag across neighbors. With a lazy line: release the bow line and let it sink, drop the stern lines, and motor straight out.
4. Once the anchor is up and clear, look out for other boats’ chains and turn out of the harbor.

Where You Will Need It

Med mooring is standard throughout the Mediterranean, including Greece, Turkey, Croatia, Italy, Spain and France. See our guides to sailing in Greece, the best marinas in Greece and the best sailing destinations in the Mediterranean for places to practise. For more boat-handling basics, see our article on sailing maneuvers including docking. Away from quays, a mooring ball or anchorage is often more peaceful; our step-by-step guide on how to pick up a mooring ball explains that technique.

Med Mooring: Summary

Med mooring means backing the boat stern-to (or bow-to) a quay and holding the bow off with your own anchor, dropped three to four boat lengths out, or with a lazy line led from the quay to the bow. Prepare lines, fenders and crew before entering the harbor, keep enough sternway for the rudder to work, allow for prop walk and crosswind, get the windward stern line ashore first, and keep the boat about a meter off the wall. Practise in calm conditions, accept a second attempt without embarrassment, and it soon becomes routine.