A B C of Sailing Terms

Just for fun! TheYachtMarket brings you sailing termsthe "messenger" (a moving line propelled by the
that you may not be familiar with. Why not testcapstan) so that the cable is dragged along too
yourself?(Used because the cable is too large to be wrapped
A is for... Aft - Towards the sternround the capstan itself). During the raising of an
B is for... Baggywrinkle - A soft covering for cablesanchor the nippers were attached and detached
that prevents sail chafing from occurring.from the (endless) messenger by the ship's boys.
C is for... Chock-a-block - Rigging blocks that are soHence the term for small boys: 'nippers'.
tight against one another that they cannot be furtherO is for... Orlop deck - The lowest deck of a ship of
tightened.the line. The deck covering in the hold.
D is for... Deadeye - A round wooden plank whichP is for... Pipe down - A signal on the bosun's pipe to
serves a similar purpose to a block in the standingsignal the end of the day, requiring lights (and
rigging of large sailing vessels.smoking pipes) to be extinguished and silence from
E is for... Embayed - The condition where a sailingthe crew. A red light at night.
vessel is confined between two capes or headlands,Q is for... Quarterdeck - The aftermost deck of a
typically where the wind is blowing directly onshore.warship. In the age of sail, the quarterdeck was the
F is for... Fathom - A unit of length equal to 6 feetpreserve of the ship's officers.
(1.8 m), roughly measured as the distance between aR is for... Ratlines - Rope ladders permanently rigged
man's outstretched hands.from bulwarks and tops to the mast to enable
G is for... Gunwale - Upper edge of the hull.access to top masts and yards. Also serve to
H is for... Hand over fist - To climb steadily upwards,provide lateral stability to the masts.
from the motion of a sailor climbing shrouds on aS is for... Sampson post - A strong vertical post used
sailing ship (originally "hand over hand").to support a ship's windlass and the heel of a ship's
I is for... In Irons - When the bow of a sailboat isbowsprit.
headed into the wind and the boat has stalled and isT is for... Three sheets to the wind - On a
unable to manoeuvre .three-masted ship, having the sheets of the three
J is for... Jibboom - A spar used to extend thelower courses loose will result in the ship meandering
bowsprit.aimlessly downwind. Also, a sailor who has drunk
K is for... Killick - A small anchor. A fouled killick is thestrong spirits beyond his capacity.
substantive badge of non-commissioned officers inU is for... Under the weather - Serving a watch on
the RN. Seamen promoted to the first step in thethe weather side of the ship, exposed to wind and
promotion ladder are called 'Killick'. The badge signifiesspray.
that here is an Able Seaman skilled to cope with theV is for... Vanishing angle - The maximum degree of
awkward job of dealing with a fouled anchor.heel after which a vessel becomes unable to return
L is for... Luffing - When a sailing vessel is steered farto an upright position.
enough to windward that the sail is no longerW is for... Windlass - A winch mechanism, usually with
completely filled with wind (the luff of the sail isa horizontal axis. Used where mechanical advantage
usually where this first becomes evident).greater than that obtainable by block and tackle was
M is for... Mainsheet - Sail control line that allows theneeded (such as raising the anchor on small ships).
most obvious effect on mainsail trim. Primarily used toY is for... Yardarm - The very end of a yard. Often
control the angle of the boom, and thereby themistaken for a "yard", which refers to the entire spar.
mainsail, this control can also increase or decreaseAs in to hang "from the yardarm" and the sun being
downward tension on the boom while sailing upwind,"over the yardarm" (late enough to have a drink).
significantly affecting sail shape.How many did you already know?!
N is for... Nipper - Short rope used to bind a cable to