Sailing Terminology and Techniques Guide

Posted on Oct 2, 2024 in Geology

Boats

Types

  • Single-Hull: These vessels have a keel that extends vertically through the hull, preventing lateral movement.
  • Multihull: Catamarans and trimarans, consisting of multiple hulls connected by arms.

Classes

  • National Class: Popular within a specific country, with local, regional, and national championships.
  • International Class: Boats popular across multiple countries, with continental and world championships.
  • Olympic Class: International classes accessible to a wider population, potentially included in the Olympics.
  • Unclassified: Used for educational or recreational purposes, often in sailing schools.

Sailing Terminology

  • Parked Side by Side: Parking boats alongside each other on drums.
  • Quartering: Taking the jib clew to windward to aid in tacking.
  • Righting: Returning the boat to an upright position after heeling.
  • He argued: Circling or turning in a specific area.
  • Trades: Steady winds blowing between the tropics and the equator across the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans.
  • Tie: A general term for a rope used to secure a boat.
  • Amollo: To drop a line.
  • Port and Starboard Tack: Refers to the boat’s position relative to the wind.
  • Anemometer: A device for measuring wind force.
  • Embroidered: The distance between two tacks.
  • Feather: To submerge something in the water.
  • Hunt: To pull a rope.
  • Contraescora: To heel to windward.
  • Cleat: A T-shaped piece used for securing lines.
  • Demolition: Rotational movement of the boat away from the wind.
  • Enfilar: Aligning the boat with a line determined by two points.
  • Heel: Tilting of the boat to leeward.
  • Sheet: A line used to control the angle of the sails.
  • Date: Keeping the boat stationary.
  • Flame: Uncontrolled movement of the sails due to improper sheeting or wind direction.
  • Make banda: Using body weight to counteract heeling.
  • Length: Sailing at a 120-degree angle to the wind.
  • Luff: Rotational movement of the boat towards the wind.
  • Rattle: A short embroidered distance.
  • Rizo: Reducing sail area in strong winds.
  • Role: Changes in wind direction.
  • Leeward: The direction opposite to where the wind is coming from.
  • Trabuco: Capsizing the boat.
  • Through: Sailing perpendicular to the wind.
  • Shipyard: A place for storing or mooring boats.
  • Virada: Maneuver to change tack, either forward or round.

Weather

Fronts

  • Contact: The meeting of two air masses with different characteristics.
  • Cold Front: Cold air replacing warm air, often accompanied by storms.
  • Warm Front: Warm air replacing cold air, often resulting in gentler, prolonged rainfall.
  • Occluded Fronts: A cold front overtaking a warm front, leading to varied precipitation.
  • Stationary Fronts: Two air masses meeting without either being dominant, often causing prolonged cloud cover and precipitation.

Wind

  • Wind: Air moving from high to low pressure areas, influenced by solar energy.
  • On Shore/Off Shore: Wind blowing from sea to land or land to sea, respectively.
  • Weather Map: Graphical representation of meteorological variables.
  • Isobars: Lines connecting points of equal atmospheric pressure.
  • Anticyclone: A high-pressure system with stable atmospheric conditions.
  • Storm: A low-pressure system with unstable atmospheric conditions and potential rainfall.
  • Waves: Generated by wind, their size depends on wind speed, duration, and fetch.
  • Atmospheric Fronts: Boundaries between air masses.

Sail

Parts

  • Parts: Stern, side, bow, mainsail, mainsheet, jib.
  • Vela: Various parts and terms related to sail control and adjustment.
  • Cabos: Terms related to ropes and lines used in sailing.