Believe it or not, I (Joy) haven’t been sailing for very long. In fact, before I arrived in Costa Rica to spend my retirement taking people on sailing charters, I had actually been sailing a grand total of twice (unless you count a week aboard the Royal Clipper… I highly recommend it).

Lucky for me, my husband (Captain Chris) has been sailing for thirty odd years so I am learning quickly.

I decided that it might be good idea to write a post for the rest of you landlubbers who, like me, might not be as familiar with sailing terminology, to clarify a few terms that you might hear while you’re aboard ships.

The most basic terms that you need to know are directions, by that I mean the terms that we use to describe the areas of the boat.

The front of the boat is known as the BOW, so any terms that you hear that include the word ‘BOW’ (unless it’s Bow Chica Wow Wow) are referring to things at the front of the boat. For example ‘Bow Wave’ refers to the wave that is pushed outwards when the Bow cleaves its way through the water and the Bowsprit refers to the spar (piece of lumber) that extends out past the bow of the boat. (It’s the piece that you see on pirate ships in movies that sticks out above the figurehead).

Conversely, the back of the boat is know as the STERN, it can also be referred to as AFT.

The left-hand side of the boat when you are facing the bow is called the PORT side.

The right-hand side of the boat when you are facing the bow is called the STARBOARD side.

AMIDSHIPS refers to the area in the center of the boat.

You can also describe a side of the boat in relation to the direction of the wind. In this case, the WINDWARD side of the boat is that which faces the wind, and the LEEWARD side is that which is OPPOSITE the direction of the wind (or in the lee of the wind).

So far so good, right? It’s not all that complicated one you know the terminology.

The next word that you need to know on a sailboat refers to the large pole that extends from the mast outward along the bottom of the sail. It’s known as the BOOM for very good reason since this piece swings from side to side depending on the direction of the wind. “Boom” refers to the sound it makes when it hits unsuspecting sailors on the head in passing. If you ever hear the term “READY ABOUT’ on a sailboat, this means that the crew is about to tack (change direction) and that the boom is likely to swing. The warning is given so that everyone on the boat knows this and can duck if need be thus avoiding the BOOM.

The most important part of the boat is the SAIL. A sail is a large piece of canvas that is stretched out to catch or redirect the wind and thereby move the boat. There are many different types of sail, named for there various uses but we don’t need to get into that yet. Originally most boats had square-rigged sails which meant that the wind pushed the boat from behind. The sailor’s ability to control their direction was limited by the way in which the wind was blowing. They were, for all intents and purposes, completely at the mercy of the wind.

FUN FACT- Christopher Colombus, perhaps the most famous explorer of all time, had only square-rigged sails at his disposal and was forced to wait for favourable winds and/or pull his ship by means of rowboats whenever the wind was going in a different direction from where he wished to go. it makes his voyage even more incredible.

Another important part of the boat is the HULL. This term refers to the bottom outside layer of the boat, usually constructed of wood, metal or fiberglass depending on the type of boat. It is the part that keeps you afloat by means of water-displacement.

The RUDDER is a large flat piece of wood, metal or fiberglass that sits under the back section of the boat and is used to steer the boat. Larger boats (like ours) control the rudder via a wheel (known as the HELM) while smaller boats will have steering mechanism (known as a TILLER) directly aft that generally resembles a long wooden handle. The handle is pushed in the opposite direction to where you want to go and pushes the water away forcing the boat to turn while the HELM can be turned in the direction you wish to go in the same manner as a car.

The KEEL is the bottommost portion of the hull, far below the waterline, along the center of the boat the KEEL is a long piece of wood, metal or fiberglass that juts out of the bottom of the hull. It stabilizes the boat and provides BALLAST so the the wind in the sails doesn’t push the boat over.

TACKING, as I mentioned before, is a method used to change the direction in which the boat is travelling. When you TACK, you turn the bow of the boat through the wind so that the wind changes from one side of the boat to the other. This means that the wind is filling the sail from the opposite direction, which is why the boom will shift to the other side of the boat when you do it.

GYBING or JIBING achieves the same end by a different method. In this case you move the stern of the boat through the wind so that the wind changes from one side of the boat to the other. As with TACKING, this will push the sail to the opposite side and allow the wind to fill the sail from the opposite direction. Basically, in the one case you are turning into the wind and in the other you are turning away from the wind.

Simple, right?

Here are a few more important terms…

ANCHORAGE refers to a location that is intended for and suitable to anchorage (dropping anchor).

Believe it or not, there are no ropes on a boat, there are LINES, and LINES when they have a specific jobs have names. For instance a HALYARD is a line that is used to raise a sail and they are differentiated by referring to the specific sail that they raise. The MAIN HALYARD raises the MAINSAIL for instance. A SHEET is a LINE that controls the angle of the sail in the wind (like the ones that are used to TACK or JIB. An ANCHOR LINE is used, you guessed it!… to anchor. and a MOORING LINE is used to MOOR.

Which brings us my next term…

A MOORING is a permanent ground tackle (something big and heavy that sits on the bottom) fixed to a BUOY that boats can tie up to. In general, a MOORING is used in a harbour whereas an ANCHORAGE is used when you wish to stop somewhere that doesn’t have specific MOORINGS…like a great snorkelling spot. It can also be used in reference to tying up to a MOORING CLET on a dock.

There you have it! These are the most basic sailing terms. The ACT of SAILING is actually a little more complicated and I will add more information here and there (as I learn it).

For now here are some FUN SAILING FACTS…

• A modern (not square-rigged) sailboat is basically an airplane on it’s side! The wind moves over the sails in the same way that the wind moves over the airplane wing, providing ‘lift’ except on a sailboat the keel which is underwater acts as the second wing.

• ‘FEELING BLUE’ is originally a sailing term! If a ship lost its captain during a voyage, the sailors would sail blue flags, indicating their loss. So if you're feeling blue, you're actually referring to the blue flags that used to sign the ship's crew is in mourning.

• The smallest boat to sail around the world was on 22 feet! Alessandro Di Benedetto, who is also called the Crazy Italian, has a special world record on his name. He circumnavigated the world in the smallest sailboat: a 21' (6.5 m). It took him 268 days and 19 hours.

Thanks to onestopsailing.co.uk for the lovely diagram of the parts of the boat