If the terminology, associated with sailing, is a complete mystery to you, read on, to find no help whatsoever:
Ahoy
The first in a series of four letter words commonly exchanged by skippers as their
boats approach one another
Bar
Long. Low lying navigational hazard, usually awash, found at river mouths and harbour entrances, where it is composed of sand or mud, and ashore, where it is made of mahogany or some other dark
wood. Sailors can be found in large numbers around both.
Boom
A Laterally mounted spar to which a sail is fastened, used during jibing to shift crew members to a fixed, horizontal position.
Bulkhead
Discomfort suffered by sailors who drink too much
Cabin
A cramped, closet like compartment below decks where crew members may be stored – on their sides if large or on end if small – until needed.
Calm
Sea condition characterised by the simultaneous disappearance of the
wind and the last cold
beer
Channel
Narrow stretch of deep or dredged waterway bordered by buoys or markers that separates two or more grounded
boats
Current
Tidal flow that carries a
boat away from it desired
destination or toward a hazard.
Fitting Out
Series of
maintenance tasks performed on boats ashore during good
weather weekends in spring and summer months to make them ready for
winter storage.
Flipper
Rubber swimming aid worn on the feet. Usually available in two sizes, 3 and 17
Flotsam
Anything floating in the
water from which there is no response when an offer of a cocktail is made.
Fluke
The portion of an
anchor that digs securely into the bottom: also, any occasion when this happens on the first try.
Galley
Ancient: Aspect of seafaring associated with slavery.
Modern: Aspect of seafaring associated with slavery
Gear
Generic term for any pieces of
boating equipment that can be forgotten in the back-seat or boot of a car, left behind on a pontoon, soaked in the bottom of a
dinghy or
lost over the side of the
boat.
Gimbals
Movable mountings often found on shipboards lamps, compasses etc which provide dieting passengers an opportunity to observe the true motions of the ship in relation to them, and thus prevent any recently ingested
food from remaining in their digestive systems long enough to be converted into unwanted calories.
Grounding
Embarrassing situation in which a sailor returns to shore without leaving his boat.
Hatch
An opening in a
deck leading to the
cabin below with a cover designed to let
water in while keeping fresh air out.
Hull speed
The maximum theoretical velocity of a given boat through the water, which is 1.5 times the square root of its waterline length in feet, divided by the distance to port in miles, minus the time in hours to sunset cubed.
Jibe
Course change which causes the boom to sweep rapidly across the
cockpit; also, frequent type of comment made by observers of this manoeuvre.
Lanyard
A light line attached to a small article so that it can be secured somewhere well out of reach.
Leeward
The direction in which objects, liquids and other matter may be thrown without risk of re encountering them in the immediate future.
Life jacket
Any personal floatation device that will keep an individual who has fallen off a vessel, above water long enough to be run over by it or another
rescue craft.
Mizzen
The shorter aft
mast on a yawl or
ketch. Any
mast that is no longer there.
Moon
Earth’s natural
satellite. During periods when it displays a vivid blue colour, sailing conditions are generally favourable.
Motor sailer
A hybrid boat that combines the simplicity and
reliability of sail
power with the calm and serenity of a throbbing
engine.
Ocean
racing
Demanding form of sailing practised by sportsman whose idea of a good time is standing under an ice cold
shower, fully clothed while re examining there last meal.
Passage
Basically a voyage from point A to point B, interrupted by unexpected landfalls or stopovers at point K, point Q, and point Z.
Pontoon
Harbour landing place that goes crack, crunch when hit
Pilotage
The art of getting
lost in sight of land, as opposed to the distinct and far more complex science of
navigation used to get lost in
offshore waters.
Port
1. Left on a boat.
2. A place you wish you never left on a boat.
Propeller
Underwater
winch designed to
wind up at high speeds any lines left hanging over the stern.
Radar
Extremely realistic kind of electronic
game often found on larger sailboats. Players try to avoid colliding with “blips” which represent other sailboats, large container ships and
oil tankers.
Regatta
Organised sailing competition that pits yours against your opponents’ luck.
Sailing
The find art of getting wet and becoming ill while slowly going nowhere at great expense.
Satellite Navigation
Sophisticated electronic location method that enables sailors to instantly determine the exact latitude and longitude, within just a few feet, anywhere on the surface of the surface of the earth, of whatever it was they just ran aground on.
Single handed sailing
The only situation in which the
skipper does not immediately blame the crew for every
single thing that goes wrong
Spinnaker
Large beautiful balloon shaped sail used in powerful downwind sailing, collapses at the sides to make control difficult and when lowered stores neatly into the
galley and main cabin and heads all at the same time.
Tides
The rise and fall of ocean waters. There are two tides of interest to mariners: the ebb tide sailors encounter as they attempt to enter port and the flood tide they experience as they try to leave.
Yardarm
Horizontal spar mounted in such a way that when viewed from the
cockpit, the sun is always over it.
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