Abandon. 1. Wild
state in which a sailor acquires a boat. 2. Wild state in which a sailor
relinquishes a boat.
Boom. Laterally
mounted pole to which a sail is fastened. Often used during jibing to shift crew
members to a fixed, horizontal position.
Centreboard. Permanently
jammed movable keel.
Clouds. Concentrations
of water vapour at various levels of the atmosphere, the shape and sizes of
which are used in predicting weather changes. Thus, a cloud shaped like an
umbrella indicates rain, while one shaped like a beach chair indicates sunny
weather.
Heeling. A basic
process affecting all sail boats, which begins with the boat leaning over as the
wind presses on one side of its sails, and ends as the sailboat finally exhibits
its natural tendency to come to a state of rest on the sea bottom.
Jibe. Course
change which causes the boom to sweep rapidly across the cockpit; also, frequent
type of comment made by observers of this manoeuvre.
Life Preserver. Any
personal flotation 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.
Pier. Harbour
landing place that goes crack or crunch when hit.
Racing. Popular
nautical contact sport.
Wake. 1.
Horizontal track in the water caused by the passage of a boat. 2. Ceremony held
if that track becomes vertical.
Zephyr. Warm, pleasant breeze. Named after the mythical Greek god of
wishful thinking, false hopes and unreliable forecasts.