Sailing 101 Flashcards
Mast
The vertical pole that supports the sails.
Boom
The horizontal pole that supports the bottom edge of the main sail.
Bow
The front of the boat.
Stern
The back of the boat.
Aft
The opposite of forward.
Backstay
The support wire that runs from the mast down to the stern.
Forestay
The support wire that runs from the mast down to the bow. also called a headstay.
Sail Head
The top corner of a sail.
Sail Tack
Front bottom corner of the sail.
Sail Clew
The back, bottom edge of a sail.
Sail Foot
The bottom edge of a sail.
Sail Leech
The back edge of a sail.
Sail Luff
The front edge of a sail.
Sail Battens
Solid slats inserts into pockets along a sail’s leech.
Cunningham
The control line system near the tack of a sail used to adjust luff tension.
Halyard
The rope running up the mast used to pull the sail up.
Outhaul
The control line system (mounted on the boom) used for controlling the tension of the foot of the mainsail.
Traveler
A sail control system that can move the mainsheet attachment point on the boat from side to side.
Boom Vang
The control line system running from the boom to the mast that tensions the leech of the mainsail.
White caps begin to form on waves at what windspeed?
12 knots
1 MPH = 1 Knot
1.15
What is a Knot?
A knot is one nautical mile per hour (1 knot = 1.15 miles per hour ). The term knot dates from the 17th century, when sailors measured the speed of their ship by using a device called a “common log.”
What is Close-hauled?
Also called beating, sailing upwind, or sailing to winward, it’s the closest course to the wind that you can effectively sail on the very edge of the dreaded no sail zone.
What is Reaching?
Anywhere between close-hauled and running.
What is Running?
The course you’re steering when the wind is dead behind.
What is making a turn towards the wind called?
Heading Up.
What is making a turn away from the wind called?
Bearing Away.
Which is the Port Side?
Left
Which is the Starboard Side?
Right
What is the difference between Windward and Leeward?
The wind always hits the Windward side of your boat. The Leeward side is other side of the boat not being hit by the wind first.
What is Tacking?
Changing tacks by turning the boat from one side of the no sail zone to the other.
What is Jibing?
Changing tacks by turning the boat away from the wind until the wind blows on the opposite side.
What does “Being in Irons” mean?
Being stuck head-to-wind in the no-sail zone.
