Sailing words · Beginner
The words you will hear in your first match, grouped the way you meet them.
B · Beginner · 37 words · Step 1 of 2Boat and equipment terms
Hull
The main body of the boat that sits in the water.
Sail
The large fabric surface that catches wind to propel the boat.
Boom
The horizontal pole attached to the bottom of the main sail, which swings side to side as the boat changes direction.
See also: Sail
Rudder
The underwater blade at the back of the boat used to steer.
Tiller
The steering control connected to the rudder, smaller boats use a tiller (a stick), larger boats often use a wheel.
Also called: wheel
See also: Rudder
Keel
A fin-like structure under the boat that prevents it from sliding sideways and helps it stay upright.
Also called: centerboard
Bow
The bow is the front of the boat; the stern is the back.
Also called: stern
Port
Port is the left side of the boat (facing forward); starboard is the right side, these never change regardless of which way you're facing.
Also called: starboard
Wind and direction terms
Windward
The side of a boat away from which the wind blows is her leeward side, and the other side is windward. Of two boats on the same tack that overlap, the one to leeward is the leeward boat and the other the windward boat. In general speech windward also means the direction the wind comes from.
Leeward
The side of a boat that is away from the wind. The leeward boat of two overlapped boats on the same tack has right of way over the windward boat.
See also: Windward, Right of way
Tacking
Turning the bow through the wind to change tack. After a boat passes head to wind she must keep clear of other boats until she is on a close-hauled course.
See also: Course, Keep clear
Gybing
Turning the stern through the wind to change tack. The rules say gybe. A boat inside at a mark that has right of way and must gybe to sail her proper course must not sail farther from the mark than needed until she gybes.
Also called: jibing
See also: Sail, Bow, Course, Mark, Right of way
Heading
The direction the boat is currently pointed/travelling.
Points of sail
The various angles a boat can sail relative to the wind direction (like close-hauled, reaching or running).
See also: Sail
Racing terms
Course
The route boats must sail, set by the notice of race or sailing instructions as a series of marks. A boat sails the course by starting, passing each mark on the required side and in the correct order, and finishing.
Mark
An object the sailing instructions require a boat to leave on a specified side, or a race committee vessel at the end of the starting or finishing line. A boat may not touch a mark while racing.
Also called: buoy
See also: Racing, Race committee
Start line
The line from which a race starts. A boat starts when, with her hull entirely on the pre-start side at or after her starting signal, any part of her hull crosses it to the course side. Being over the line at the starting signal brings a recall.
Fleet racing
Many boats race together. Each finishing place scores points under the Low Point System (1 for first, 2 for second, and so on), and the boat with the lowest series total wins, usually after excluding her worst score.
See also: Low Point System
Match racing
A race between two boats at a time under its own appendix of rules (Appendix C). Match racing and team racing have special rules that replace some of the usual ones.
See also: Racing
Regatta
An organised sailing competition event, often featuring multiple races over several days.
Right of way
A boat has right of way when another boat is required to keep clear of her. The basic rules are: a port-tack boat keeps clear of a starboard-tack boat, a windward boat keeps clear of a leeward boat, and a boat clear astern keeps clear of one clear ahead.
See also: Port, Windward, Leeward, Keep clear
Protest
An allegation by a boat or a committee that a boat has broken a rule. A protest committee hears it. A boat that is not exonerated and breaks a rule should promptly take a penalty or retire.
Right of way and rules
Port and starboard tack
A boat is on starboard tack when her windward side is her starboard side, and on port tack when it is her port side. Boats on opposite tacks meet under rule 10: the port-tack boat keeps clear.
Keep clear
A boat keeps clear of a right-of-way boat if the right-of-way boat can sail her course with no need to take avoiding action and, when the boats overlap, can also change course in both directions without immediately making contact.
Overlap
Two boats overlap when neither is clear astern. A boat is clear astern when her hull and equipment are behind a line abeam from the aftermost point of the other boat. On the same tack, an overlap decides who is windward and who is leeward.
Avoiding contact
If reasonably possible a boat must avoid contact with another. A right-of-way boat need not act until it is clear the other boat is not keeping clear, and is exonerated if contact causes no damage or injury.
The ruleIs a right-of-way boat allowed to hit a boat that gets in its way?Starts and signals
Racing
A boat is racing from her preparatory signal until she finishes and clears the finishing line and marks, or retires, or until the race committee signals a general recall, postponement or abandonment.
See also: General recall, Race committee
Finish
A boat finishes when any part of her hull crosses the finishing line from the course side after her starting signal. She has not finished if she then takes a penalty, corrects an error in sailing the course, or continues to sail the course.
Individual recall
When any part of a boat's hull is on the course side of the starting line at her starting signal, the race committee displays flag X with one sound. The boat must return completely to the pre-start side and then start.
See also: Hull, Course, Race committee
The ruleWhat happens if a boat is over the line at the start?General recall
When the race committee cannot identify the boats over the line, or there was an error in the starting procedure, it displays the First Substitute with two sounds. The class restarts with a new warning signal one minute after the flag is removed.
See also: Race committee
The ruleWhat happens if a boat is over the line at the start?Race committee
The officials who run the race: they signal the start, set the course, record finishes, and may postpone, recall or abandon. A protest committee separately hears protests.
The ruleWho runs a sailing race, and which rules apply at an event?Boat classes
Keelboat
A larger, heavier boat with a fixed keel, generally more stable than a dinghy.
Windsurfing
Sailing on a board with a hand-held sail. It has its own rules in Appendix B of the racing rules. Kiteboarding, with a kite, has its own Appendix F.
Crew
The additional sailor(s) helping the skipper manage the sails and balance of the boat.
See also: Person in charge
Person in charge
A boat must have on board a person in charge, named by the member or organisation that entered it. The rules use competitor for anyone who races. The helm and skipper are not defined terms.
Also called: skipper, helm