Departure and Docking Under Sai

How do think we get etchells in and out of the dock

I once saw a British RYA examiner set a problem for a yacht master candidate which was to sail a boat in reverse and upwind off a marina berth in 20 knots.

You just have to think about it.

Years ago I had a pose trick where I could reverse park my Mottle 33 behind the jetty at our local sailing club by drifting in slowly upwind under sail until past the jetty then getting the crew to push out the boom hard to throw her into reverse. The boat would slowly stop then sail backwards and we could reverse in. A trick only possible in light winds and saved up for when girlfriends were onboard. I had to give up on it though on the last occasion I did it. We came alongside beautifully, tied off the lines and as I was jumping ashore the boom swung across and cracked my head! That taught me no more posing!!! I still have the lump today

Just make sure there aren't too many other boats around when attempting this kind of thing.
i once had an aluminium trailer sailer cave my transom in when it couldnt bear off in time after reversing under sail from a ramp.

I think the RYA question is pretty silly. It is much more prudent not to sail out in those conditions. If vital then use a line to a kedge anchor taken out to windward in the dinghy or in a pinch on a fender with you in your PFD 2, or to a windward bollard or marina finger. Slowly winch yourself out backwards, then when in midstream use a second line to go bow up and then either bouy the anchor and leave or slip the line and head off. I think setting a sail on your backstay is a tricky thing no one is going to do well. I once ended up in my cat on a sandbar in a gale. By the time I knew the game was up we were pushed 50 metres up the shoal. I walked the kedge out almost 100 metres to deep water and spent the next hour or two slowly winding us off - messengers to the anchor line led to each sheet winch. This is much better skill to learn than stuffing around with silly theoretical situations. Trust the kedge - and ensure you have a good lightweight danforth on board with 100 metres of nylon. That will get you out of lots of problems. Including dodgy examiners trying to trick you (this from a person with over 20 years in education)

Okay - this has really got my goat. When we sheet on normally in 20 knots we have the rig balanced - so that the CE is pretty much over the CLR. Then when you come out of a tack stalled, the keel is high drag but the boat stays balanced until you get flow and then we trim up and speed up. But the jib on the backstay is way way out behind the keel and CLR. So when you sheet it on the stern will fall away and whack the boat next to you. And the boat feels nothing like normal, with waves banging on the big bum instead of a nice bow and your transom doing a good impression of a high drag brick. Imagine trying to do this the right way around with just a storm jib on the bow. The bow would blow away straightaway and before you got steerage way there would be carnage in the marina. When I looked into chartering in the Med I was told that I would need to get one of these RYA certs. I found out it was about six hundred and two days in the harbour. Can I show you some boats I have built, cruises along the coast, years lived aboard, races and champs won? No, we want a certificate. So we went car camping instead. I thought the indignation had died down, I find that it has not. I will now take a Bex and have a lie down.

The problem is people getting taught this. Then they go oh well the engine isn't working we can just sail off the dock. Bad seamanship I think. Thats just my opinion.
An old boy once said to me you sail ONTO the dock when your engine isn't working not off it.

Yes boat handling under sail,kedging,doubling up a line to another boat post anything is all good to learn.
Teaching people that have very little experience to sail off the dock backwards because the engine isnt working is not a good idea in my opinion.

I used to be a sailing instructor and have been a teacher for over twenty years. I don't really get the idea behind such a question as this. For me I would rather instill the idea in a new sailor - if in doubt get the kedge/fenders/pumps/lifejackets out. That has saved my bacon more than a few times. Don't complicate things, and when things go bad, do simple things that will make your boat and your crew safe.