Sailing Jargon

Roton Point Jr. Sailing Presents…..

“What the heck is my kid talking about?”

A quick vocabulary overview for the new sailing parent

• “Mom I got hit in the head with the boom today… 13 times!!”
  • The boom is attached to the sail horizontally and will switch sides of the boat when the boat turns.  New sailors will commonly be grazed if they do not duck their head soon enough. To ease your worries, this tap is usually nothing to be concerned with. As kids become comfortable in the boat they learn how to anticipate when the boom will switch.

• “Dad, I got stuck in irons today and I couldn’t get out.”
  • Irons, otherwise known as the “No Go Zone” is when the front of the boat is facing directly into the wind and the sail cannot catch the wind.  If the sail cannot catch the wind the boat will come to a stop.  The children will be taught to go into irons intentionally (safety position) and how to get themselves out.

• “I can’t remember what port and starboard are…”
  • In the nautical world, port refers to left and starboard refers to right.  The children will learn this as well as rules that go along with these terms.

• “I am missing 5 sail ties, can we go to the boat locker and get some?”
  • A sail tie is the small piece of line that attaches the sail to the mast and boom.  They are tied on with a reef/square knot (the kids will learn this knot and know it by heart).  Occasionally these ties will become loose and fall off.  We will have the kids tighten these periodically so they can avoid losing them.

• “Today I got tangled in my mainsheet!”
  • The mainsheet is a line that is attached to the boom which controls the position and trim of the sail.

• “I am so excited to sail in next week’s regatta!”
  • A regatta is the sailing jargon for a series of races.  Almost all regattas have different levels that the children can be entered into to assure that the kids will enjoy themselves and be amongst similar competition.
    • The green fleet is  for the beginner racer (ages 9-11)
    • The white fleet is for the intermediate racer (ages 10-11)
    • The blue fleet is for the advanced racer (ages 12-13)
    • The red fleet is for the expert racer (ages 13-15)

• “Mom I can’t find my blades!”

• • Blades are the combination of the rudder and dagger board.
    • The rudder is what primarily steers the boat.  The sailor holds onto the long skinny end called the tiller so that he/she can steer the boat effectively from the rail.
    • The daggerboard is the long board that sits in the center of the boat keeping it stable and tracking in the water.

• “I capsized and then turtled today!”
  • Capsizing is when a boat turns onto its side and the sail is lying across the water.  When the boat turtles it is completely flipped upside-down and the daggerboard is sticking directly upwards.  The children will go through drills that intentionally put them into these positions so they can practice getting back to a normal position.

• “I dropped my bailer in the water today, I need a new one… please J”
  • The bailer is an empty container with a handle.  It is mandatory that all sailors have a bailer in their boat so that they will be able to easily remove any water that enters their boat.
    • Instead of buying these… try to hold onto smaller containers for things like; laundry detergent Tropicana orange juice or Arizona ice tea and cutting the bottom off.  These all make perfect bailers.

Revised on May 23, 2011