When we first came into the marina, a marinero helped us pick up the slime lines that run from cleats on our stern to chains and anchor points on the sea bed. He also helped us tie off our bow to cleats on the dock. That, combined with plenty of fenders on either side of us, should lock us into position for the season. However, a week later with moderate gusts into the 20’s one night, the boat was moving back and forth way too much for our liking. Knowing that Montenegro routinely experiences much higher winds in the form of the ‘bora’ that blows from the north/northeast, we needed a tighter tie down.

Trip contacted the office and two marineros came immediately. They used our winches to get even more of the slime lines out of the water. They used a trick of standing on the bow lines to make the boat slide forward, and then quickly take in the slack. Trip added chafe guard and snubbers to protect the lines. We also added spring lines.

Not from our boat, but a good example of chafe gear

We slept through the next storm (gusts in the 30s, maybe 40s), snug as a bug this time.

We were also happy to later learn how responsive the marineros are. The marina had already sent out an email blast asking boat owners to take precautions for the upcoming storm. Trip notified them of a neighbors boat that was swinging in the wind (the owner had flown back to the UK), and they came over immediately to better secure the boat. Things like that make me much more confident about leaving the boat this winter.