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What's
In A Competition? (20-6)
by Dusty Miller
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 The
popular Toronto In-Water Boat Show held at Ontario Place
in September once again hosted the Annual Dusty Miller
Challenge, which is all about one of the most daunting
aspects of boat handling – low-speed manoeuvring
around the dock. This year, we divided the contest into
two segments – the Open Competition and Marina
Challenge.
The competition was open to all enthusiasts and there
were a lot of them. The top winner was honoured as the
Master of the Helm for 2005, while Sunday was set aside
for entrants from a dozen different marinas. Winners
from both sides of the competition took home several
great prizes plus a burgee to fly at their bow next
season.
In my 20-plus years of teaching boat handling, I have
seen many different handling styles – some work,
some don’t – and it’s always interesting
to see how boaters perform under competitive conditions.
The competition is fun and light-hearted, but competitors
do feel the pressure. This year’s winners were
Paul O’Connor of Bayview Yacht Harbour in Portland,
Ontario and Tim Monk of Frenchman’s Bay in Pickering,
Ontario. Paul was the winner of the Open Competition
and Tim took the Marina Challenge. Both beat out tough
competition under challenging conditions.
Most boaters handled the slalom course very well, at
least until they got to the 180-degree turn at the end.
Many competitors took a much wider swing than they would
have if they’d slowed down. They could have also
used the turning method, which I’ll discuss later.
Entering the slip was the greatest challenge. Too many
boaters tried to get in straight on, but the crosswind
was strong enough to blow them away from the dock.
The trick is to utilize momentum and carry the boat
up to the dock. To successfully do this, simply approach
the dock up wind at a 60-degree angle. Then, at the
last minute, turn the bow away from the dock and the
momentum will carry the boat parallel to the dock for
a perfect landing. If you’re backing in, simply
turn the stern away at the last moment.
While the approaches with the bow first were generally
good, the landings with the boat astern were not. Participants
needed to practise backing up in a straight line.
Turning around resulted in another challenge. Most boaters
swung the craft around in a very wide, uncontrolled
circle, or sort-of circle. You can easily make a nice,
tight turn in any craft. To turn a single I/O around
in its own length, put the shifter in neutral and turn
the wheel to port. Engage the shifter forward (no gas,
just idling) until the bow starts to turn to the left.
Then, quickly pull back into neutral. Turn the wheel
to starboard and engage the shifter astern. The bow
will continue turning to port. Quickly go back to neutral.
Repeat these two steps and you’ll turn in a tight
circle until you decide to stop and you’ll stay
virtually within the boat’s length. There are
two main tricks to remember. Always turn the wheel while
in neutral and never when the propeller is turning.
Leave the prop engaged until the bow starts to turn.
If the boat begins to move forward or astern, you’ve
left it in forward too long.
Congratulations to the winners. The boats were rigged
with a single I/O, a twin I/O and an outboard, which
were supplied by BoatMax in Innisfil, Ontario and Swan’s
Marina at Frenchman’s Bay in Pickering, Ontario.
The prizes were supplied by Clarion, Henry’s Fish
House, Aurora Marine Industries, Westwind Inn, Skyline
Marine and Power Boating Canada magazine. The OMOA supplied
the flag for the Marina Competition. With the excellent
participation from everyone, we’ll undoubtedly
be at the show again next year. (Page
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