Sailing Terminology - why on earth is it so silly?!
Discussion
I watched a great episode of 'Faking It' last night, where a really shy girl that cleaned toilets on ferries was taught to 'skipper' a yacht in four weeks. She not only managed it, but she won the race at the end of the programme! 
It got me thinking though, where does all this daft sailing terminology that she had to learn come from? (sheets, tacking, gybing, heeling, reaching, broaching, furling, port, starboard, bow etc).
There is so much of it a mere mortal such as myself gets totally lost, as none of it seems to make any logical sense. In motor racing, the left side of the car is the err... 'left', the units that damp out the bouncing of the suspension are called 'dampers', and the process of going round a corner is called 'cornering' - far more logical!
Where does this silliness in sailing come from and why does it persist?...
It got me thinking though, where does all this daft sailing terminology that she had to learn come from? (sheets, tacking, gybing, heeling, reaching, broaching, furling, port, starboard, bow etc).
There is so much of it a mere mortal such as myself gets totally lost, as none of it seems to make any logical sense. In motor racing, the left side of the car is the err... 'left', the units that damp out the bouncing of the suspension are called 'dampers', and the process of going round a corner is called 'cornering' - far more logical!Where does this silliness in sailing come from and why does it persist?...
It's gotta be called something. I guess it's so people know what's happening, and what they're supposed to do. It's all part of the long lost art of division of labour. These day's one has to sit down for a week, read the ISO9000 procedure, do a full blown analysis, write a report, and then follow the flowchart just to realise that "It's not my job, guv".
Anyway, isn't going around a corner called steering? Not too far from steerboard, always on the right facing forward in Viking ships. What about nearside and offside? I guess we've been sailing for longer than we've been driving!
Anyway, isn't going around a corner called steering? Not too far from steerboard, always on the right facing forward in Viking ships. What about nearside and offside? I guess we've been sailing for longer than we've been driving!
Edited by dilbert on Monday 6th August 13:14
RobM77 said:
I watched a great episode of 'Faking It' last night, where a really shy girl that cleaned toilets on ferries was taught to 'skipper' a yacht in four weeks. She not only managed it, but she won the race at the end of the programme!
It got me thinking though, where does all this daft sailing terminology that she had to learn come from? (sheets, tacking, gybing, heeling, reaching, broaching, furling, port, starboard, bow etc). There is so much of it a mere mortal such as myself gets totally lost, as none of it seems to make any logical sense. In motor racing, the left side of the car is the err... 'left', the units that damp out the bouncing of the suspension are called 'dampers', and the process of going round a corner is called 'cornering' - far more logical!
Where does this silliness in sailing come from and why does it persist?...
Philistine! These are terms steeped in history, when the 'wooden walls' of England made us ruler of the waves. And BTW I would like to see you to come up with alternatives for some of thio terms.It got me thinking though, where does all this daft sailing terminology that she had to learn come from? (sheets, tacking, gybing, heeling, reaching, broaching, furling, port, starboard, bow etc).
There is so much of it a mere mortal such as myself gets totally lost, as none of it seems to make any logical sense. In motor racing, the left side of the car is the err... 'left', the units that damp out the bouncing of the suspension are called 'dampers', and the process of going round a corner is called 'cornering' - far more logical!Where does this silliness in sailing come from and why does it persist?...
dilbert said:
It's gotta be called something. I guess it's so people know what's happening, and what they're supposed to do. It's all part of the long lost art of division of labour. These day's one has to sit down for a week, read the ISO900 procedure, and then follow the flowchart just to realise that "Not my job, guv".
So why can't I just jump on a boat and say "turn left away from the wind, loosen the main rope so the sail moves away from the wind, and then let the boat roll to about 45 degrees and sail at right angles to the wind'? Instead I have to say "turn to port, loosen the main sheet, heel a bit, stay on a broad reach'. I hope I got that right as I don't know one end of a boat from the other (just wikipedia at the moment!), but to me that just sounds plain stupid! If racing drivers had to use such weird terminology talking to the pit crew I'm sure we'd have some pretty badly set up cars out there!Most of the terms have evolved from the days of sailing ships.
There are reasons for most of it, though some is just tradition.
Ropes are not called ropes, they are lines. Except when they are used to raise a sail when they are called halyards, except when they are used to control a sail when they are called sheets, except when they are used to tie the boat to the dock when they are called warps. etc etc. There are a stupid number of lines needed to control a square rigged ship, so much of it is to avoid confusion.
There are reasons for most of it, though some is just tradition.
Ropes are not called ropes, they are lines. Except when they are used to raise a sail when they are called halyards, except when they are used to control a sail when they are called sheets, except when they are used to tie the boat to the dock when they are called warps. etc etc. There are a stupid number of lines needed to control a square rigged ship, so much of it is to avoid confusion.
s2art said:
RobM77 said:
I watched a great episode of 'Faking It' last night, where a really shy girl that cleaned toilets on ferries was taught to 'skipper' a yacht in four weeks. She not only managed it, but she won the race at the end of the programme!
It got me thinking though, where does all this daft sailing terminology that she had to learn come from? (sheets, tacking, gybing, heeling, reaching, broaching, furling, port, starboard, bow etc). There is so much of it a mere mortal such as myself gets totally lost, as none of it seems to make any logical sense. In motor racing, the left side of the car is the err... 'left', the units that damp out the bouncing of the suspension are called 'dampers', and the process of going round a corner is called 'cornering' - far more logical!
Where does this silliness in sailing come from and why does it persist?...
BTW I would like to see you to come up with alternatives for some of thio terms.It got me thinking though, where does all this daft sailing terminology that she had to learn come from? (sheets, tacking, gybing, heeling, reaching, broaching, furling, port, starboard, bow etc).
There is so much of it a mere mortal such as myself gets totally lost, as none of it seems to make any logical sense. In motor racing, the left side of the car is the err... 'left', the units that damp out the bouncing of the suspension are called 'dampers', and the process of going round a corner is called 'cornering' - far more logical!Where does this silliness in sailing come from and why does it persist?...
Well, we can start with 'rope' instead of sheet 
and 'left and right' instead of 'port and starboard'. How about "leaning" instead of heeling ("oh look, the boats leaning over" )? And how about "main sail" and "front sail" instead of 'mainsail' (pronounced mainsell almost as if such a logical name has to be corrupted further) and jib (eh?!).Edited by RobM77 on Monday 6th August 13:15
tank slapper said:
Most of the terms have evolved from the days of sailing ships.
There are reasons for most of it, though some is just tradition.
Ropes are not called ropes, they are lines. Except when they are used to raise a sail when they are called halyards, except when they are used to control a sail when they are called sheets, except when they are used to tie the boat to the dock when they are called warps. etc etc. There are a stupid number of lines needed to control a square rigged ship, so much of it is to avoid confusion.
That makes a bit more sense now, but why not sail rope, docking rope etc?There are reasons for most of it, though some is just tradition.
Ropes are not called ropes, they are lines. Except when they are used to raise a sail when they are called halyards, except when they are used to control a sail when they are called sheets, except when they are used to tie the boat to the dock when they are called warps. etc etc. There are a stupid number of lines needed to control a square rigged ship, so much of it is to avoid confusion.
RobM77 said:
tank slapper said:
Most of the terms have evolved from the days of sailing ships.
There are reasons for most of it, though some is just tradition.
Ropes are not called ropes, they are lines. Except when they are used to raise a sail when they are called halyards, except when they are used to control a sail when they are called sheets, except when they are used to tie the boat to the dock when they are called warps. etc etc. There are a stupid number of lines needed to control a square rigged ship, so much of it is to avoid confusion.
That makes a bit more sense now, but why not sail rope, docking rope etc?There are reasons for most of it, though some is just tradition.
Ropes are not called ropes, they are lines. Except when they are used to raise a sail when they are called halyards, except when they are used to control a sail when they are called sheets, except when they are used to tie the boat to the dock when they are called warps. etc etc. There are a stupid number of lines needed to control a square rigged ship, so much of it is to avoid confusion.
It's a langauge that allows us sailing folk to confuse the hell out of those land based people. On a related note then... Why is a bonnet on a car called a bonnet?? I don't see a ladies hat anywhere. Plenty of confusing terminology in cars, it's just that you know what they mean because you've learnt the language.
s2art said:
pistonbroak said:
s2art said:
And BTW I would like to see you to come up with alternatives for some of thio terms.
OK.Port : LEFT
Starboard : RIGHT
AFT : BACK
BROW : FRONT
This poor girl on the TV programme was trying to learn all this stuff and I just imagined me teaching her to drive a racing car. I could start straight away assuming she spoke English - no need to explain strange terminology - much more accessible. Maybe this is like when I'm making something in the garage and my Dad turns up and says "ah, I bet you don't know what that tool's called". The fact that I'm using it properly to do something (the end of it as far as I'm concerned!) doesn't appear to be the focal point at all!
tank slapper said:
Most of the terms have evolved from the days of sailing ships.
There are reasons for most of it, though some is just tradition.
Ropes are not called ropes, they are lines. Except when they are used to raise a sail when they are called halyards, except when they are used to control a sail when they are called sheets, except when they are used to tie the boat to the dock when they are called warps. etc etc. There are a stupid number of lines needed to control a square rigged ship, so much of it is to avoid confusion.
Square rigs are really cool. We did a bit of that, on a small sngle sail square rig, in wales on a course many moons ago. There are reasons for most of it, though some is just tradition.
Ropes are not called ropes, they are lines. Except when they are used to raise a sail when they are called halyards, except when they are used to control a sail when they are called sheets, except when they are used to tie the boat to the dock when they are called warps. etc etc. There are a stupid number of lines needed to control a square rigged ship, so much of it is to avoid confusion.
I'm a sailing terminology grunt. Anyway that bit of wood at the top, the spar.... The horizontal one from which the sail is suspended. If you want to change direction you have to drop it, and pull it around the mast. When it's at the bottom, the boat is full of the sail, and the spar hangs from a long rope to the pulley at the top of the mast. All a bit ungainly.
We did this on a windy day. The wind caught the loose sail, and the guy on the end of the spar got flung out to sea!!!!
Silly it may be, but dangerous it must have been.
Edited by dilbert on Monday 6th August 13:22
RobM77 said:
s2art said:
pistonbroak said:
s2art said:
And BTW I would like to see you to come up with alternatives for some of thio terms.
OK.Port : LEFT
Starboard : RIGHT
AFT : BACK
BROW : FRONT
This poor girl on the TV programme was trying to learn all this stuff and I just imagined me teaching her to drive a racing car. I could start straight away assuming she spoke English - no need to explain strange terminology - much more accessible. Maybe this is like when I'm making something in the garage and my Dad turns up and says "ah, I bet you don't know what that tool's called". The fact that I'm using it properly to do something (the end of it as far as I'm concerned!) doesn't appear to be the focal point at all!
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