Albert coached me through a bunch of super cool motoring practice, plus a couple POB's under sail up at the basin.
I started by taking us out of the slip, then did a regular docking at the t-head to warm up, then tried an emergency single handed docking at t-head but failed a couple of times (just missed catching the cleat with the spring line bridle) but finally got it after adjusting the line and getting in slower. It is a really neat trick. Albert would have some kind of attack and just "collapse" and then I would steer us somewhere safe and put it in neutral while quickly rigging the fwd spring through the middle chock and cleating the bitter end, then in clearing the loop end but leaving the line through the chock at the stern, and wrapping around the winch and tailer to hold it fast. Then I would approach the dock very straight on vs the normal bow in method because I wanted the stern to be closer to the dock. Then throw the loop over to lasso the cleat, then put engine in fwd but still throttled down, and point bow into the dock. At that point I was free to adjust lines and could use the winch to pull in, or loop a bow line over, etc. The problem comes with trying to reverse out because I couldn't double the line back from mid ships. I think it could work if we had a much longer line though.
After a couple successful emergency dockings, we reversed all the way to the fireboat by general ship repair and then turn left and go straight back parallel to the fireboat, THROUGH the dilapidated dolphins/pilings to simulate a Mediterranean mooring between the J docks, and then pulled out fwd. Then we did it again several more times but continued in reverse all the way out, and then tried it a couple of times to actually dock in our slip in reverse. I failed that a couple of times but then actually did it decently a couple times too. It was crucial to be as far to the right as possible and then turn well ahead, and once in slip if too far to starboard I could use a kick fwd to adjust. In that position prop walk helps get close to the finger. Then go into fwd to fully stop about halfway back.
Then we did backward practice by B dock going straight into the area by the covered picnic table and turning left sharply to do the Mediterranean docking thing at the firehouse. It was pretty scary but totally manageable in the low wind. I did it a few times.
my most important takeaways from the motoring practice was to get momentum going in reverse until steering kicks in, then go to neutral while steering and switch to reverse to give it a kick of power now and then. If you already have decent speed and steering can leave in reverse.
For POBs my issue seems to be turning up too soon and losing speed too fast, or the reverse. I need to carefully gauge the turn much more than in a J.