Sailing words, in the order you need them
Start with the beginner words and you can follow a match. Each level builds on the one before.
Already know some? Search all 67 words and 31 rules
Words
- Hull
- Sail
- Mast
- Boom
- Rudder
- Tiller
- Keel
- Bow
- Port
- Windward
- Leeward
- Tacking
- Gybing
- Heading
- Points of sail
- Course
- Mark
- Start line
- Fleet racing
- Match racing
- Regatta
- Right of way
- Protest
- Port and starboard tack
- Keep clear
- Overlap
- Avoiding contact
- Mark-room
- Zone
- Obstruction and room
- Proper course
- Propulsion
- Racing
- Finish
- Individual recall
- General recall
- Race committee
- Starting penalty flags
- Postponement and abandonment
- Notice of race and sailing instructions
- Two-Turns and One-Turn Penalty
- Scoring penalty
- Low Point System
- Scoring abbreviations
- Race and series ties
- Redress
- Fair sailing and exoneration
- Dinghy
- Keelboat
- Windsurfing
- Crew
- Person in charge
- Trim
- Heel
- Hiking
- Trapeze
- Pumping
- Roll tack
- Laylines
- Cover
- Wind shift
- Pinching
- Starting sequence
- Spinnaker
- Foiling
- One design class
- Handicap racing
Rules
- When has a sailing boat started, and when has it finished?
- What does a boat have to do to complete the course?
- What happens if a boat touches a mark?
- How do you win a sailing regatta?
- What do DNF, OCS, BFD and the other letters mean in sailing results?
- What happens when boats are level on points?
- How does a sailing race start?
- What happens if a boat is over the line at the start?
- What do the I, Z, U and black flags mean at a start?
- Why do sailing races get postponed or abandoned?
- Can the course be changed while a race is going on?
- Who has right of way when two sailing boats are on opposite tacks?
- Who has right of way when two boats are on the same tack?
- Does a boat lose its rights while it is tacking?
- Is a right-of-way boat allowed to hit a boat that gets in its way?
- Can a boat sail anywhere it likes to block another boat?
- Who gets to go inside at a mark?
- What happens when boats meet near the shore or another obstacle?
- Are there boats that lose their rights or must be left alone?
- Why do sailing boats spin in circles after an incident?
- Can a boat take a points penalty instead of doing turns?
- How does one boat protest another in sailing?
- What happens at a sailing protest hearing?
- What can a boat do if its race was spoiled through no fault of its own?
- Can a boat break a rule and not be penalised?
- Can a sailor be punished for unsporting behaviour?
- Can sailors rock or pump the boat to go faster?
- Can a boat get help or coaching during a race?
- Do sailors have to wear life jackets when racing?
- Are there rules about what sailors wear and how they sit out?
- Who runs a sailing race, and which rules apply at an event?