Shore School

Sailing glossary

The words youth sailors and parents hear at practice and on a regatta weekend, in United States usage, written for the Optimist (Opti). If a definition here and the sailing instructions disagree, follow the sailing instructions.

Find a word

AP (also: postponement, answering pennant): A race-committee flag that means racing is postponed. Wait on shore or near the notice board for the next signal. It is not a start, and it is not permission to launch on your own.
AP over A: Two flags together: postponement, and no more racing today. Change into dry clothes. The sailing instructions and the notice board govern the day.
batten: A thin strip in a pocket of the sail that helps the back edge hold its shape. On an Optimist they are short. Do not sail without them if the sail has pockets for them.
beam reach: Wind from the side of the boat. The boom is about halfway out. Faster and easier than sailing close to the wind, and a common Green Fleet leg.
bear away (also: fall off): Turn away from the wind. The boom goes out. Opposite of heading up. In the United States we say bear away. Some coaches say fall off. Same turn.
boom: The pole along the bottom of the sail. It swings when you tack or jibe. Keep your head low. On an Optimist it is at head height.
bow: The front of the boat. Opposite of the stern. Point the bow toward the wind when you right a capsized Optimist so the sail does not fill and flip you the other way.
bowline: A knot that makes a fixed loop. Used on the painter so a safety boat can grab you. You should be able to untie it with wet fingers. It is not the same word as the bow of the boat.
buoyancy bags (also: airbags): Bags inside the hull that keep an Optimist a boat when it fills with water. They must be in and tied. A bag that is empty or coming loose should be reported before you launch.
capsize: The boat goes onto its side or all the way over. The first job is to hold the boat. An Optimist floats. Stay with the hull.
channel: The deeper water boats use to come and go, often marked. Fishing boats and work boats cannot always miss a small sailboat. Stay out of the channel unless a coach put you there.
clew: The back corner of the sail, where the boom, outhaul, and sheet meet. Not the top, and not the front.
close hauled (also: beating, upwind): Sailing as close to the wind as the sail will still work. Yarns flying. The boom is mostly in. This is the first beat.
competitors’ meeting (also: skippers’ meeting, skippers meeting): The meeting before racing where they say the course, the clock, and the day’s limits. Coaches may have a separate meeting. You still go to the competitors’ meeting.
cover: Sailing so a boat behind you cannot pass without sailing a different race. Use it when you are ahead. Matching the leader when you are deep in the fleet usually keeps you there.
cunningham (also: downhaul): The control that pulls down the front of the sail. It changes the luff. Point at it today. Crank numbers later.
daggerboard: The fin you slide down through the middle of an Optimist so the boat does not slide sideways. Pull it up for the beach, a tow, or shallow water. A retainer keeps it from falling out if you capsize.
daggerboard retainer (also: retainer): The leash or pin that keeps the daggerboard from falling out of the trunk if you capsize. A missing retainer is a beach day.
daggerboard trunk (also: trunk): The slot in the hull the daggerboard slides through. It has hard edges. That is one reason you wear closed-toe shoes.
depower: Make the sail less powerful so the boat stays flat and the mast stays up. Often vang on, sprit eased, hike, and foot. Staying upright is the first job.
dirty air: The disturbed wind and water behind another boat. Your yarns can stall even if your bow is high. Clear air is often faster than a close fight.
DNE: A disqualification you cannot throw out. Sportsmanship and the sailing instructions decide when it applies.
DNF (also: did not finish): Did not finish. You started, you did not get a finish. Different from DNS (never started) and OCS (on the course side at the gun).
DNS (also: did not start): Did not start. You never made a start that counted. Different from DNF and OCS.
drain plug: A small plug in the hull so rain and splash can drain on shore, then stay out on the water. If it is still in the bag, you stay on the beach.
figure-eight: A stopper knot in the end of a sheet so the line cannot run out of the block. If the sheet vanishes, you have no trim.
first warning: The signal that starts the start sequence for a race, not the gun that starts the race itself. Harbor start is when you leave the beach. First warning is when the clock for that race begins.
foot: Two ideas. The foot of the sail is the bottom edge. To foot is to bear away a little and ease so you go forward faster instead of pinching high and slow.
gate (also: leeward gate): Two marks you choose between at the bottom of a windward-leeward. Pick the exit into clear air, not the crowded one.
gooseneck: The fitting that joins the boom to the mast so the boom can swing. Check it is on before you launch.
Green Fleet (also: Green): An introductory teaching fleet for novice Optimist sailors. Learning, improving, and having fun come first. Active coaching is often allowed. Coaches help all sailors who need it. It is not scored as a championship.
gunwale (also: gunnel): The top edge of the hull you hold when you climb in from the water. Say GUN-ul.
harbor start: The time boats are supposed to leave the beach or dock toward the race course. It is not the start of the race. The race starts at the first warning, then the start signal.
head: The top of the sail. On an Optimist the peak is the high back corner the sprit tensions. Head is the top; clew is the back; tack is the front corner on the boom.
head up: Turn toward the wind. The boom comes in. Opposite of bearing away.
header: The wind shifts so you cannot hold your line toward the mark. Keep moving. In Green Fleet, stay sailing. In Championship Fleet you may tack if the other tack is the better wind.
heel: The boat leaning. A little is a clue. A lot means you hike, ease, or both. An Optimist on its ear drags.
hiking (also: hike): Putting your weight outboard, toes under the straps, so the hull comes back flat. In light air, sitting still keeps the boat moving. Hiking then usually costs speed.
hull: The body of the boat that sits in the water. Keep it mostly flat when you can. An Optimist that heels hard drags extra hull.
in irons (also: irons, no-go): Bow into the wind, sail flapping, you are not going. Push the tiller so the bow falls off, then sheet in and sail away. Do not sheet in hard and wait.
jibe (also: gybe, gybes, jibes): Turning so the stern goes through the wind and the sail slams across. Duck the boom. In the United States we say jibe. Some books say gybe. Same move.
keep clear: Stay out of the way so the other boat can sail her course. Right of way is not a license to force a crash. If you just got right of way, give them a chance.
kill switch: A clip the powerboat driver wears so the engine stops if they leave the helm. An adult setting. Stay away from the propeller even when a coach boat came to help.
knockdown: The boat is on its side, mast near the water, not fully upside down. Hold on. Then right it. Different from a turtle, when the hull is upside down.
layline: The line you can sail close hauled and just make the mark. Late is usually better than early. Early means you are stuck, often in dirty air, with no more shifts to play.
lee helm: The boat wants to bear away if you let go of the tiller. Usually sit, rake, or trim — a coach names which. Opposite of weather helm.
lee-bow: A tack close to leeward of another boat so they sail your dirty air. It works with speed. A slow tack and they roll you. Championship Fleet tool; Green Fleet still needs the picture.
leech: The back edge of the sail, from peak to clew. The vang and the leech yarn live here. A tight leech in heavy air can be how you depower. A tight leech in light air can stall you.
leeward (also: lee): The downwind side, or the boat farther from the wind. On the same tack, the windward boat usually keeps clear of the leeward boat. Say LEE-ward.
lift: The wind shifts so you can head up toward the mark. Hold it. Do not chase every wiggle. Opposite of a header.
luff: The front edge of the sail, along the mast. Luff yarns live here. If the luff is shaking, you are too close to the wind or the sail is too tight.
lull: A patch of less wind, often lighter water. Hike less, trim a little, keep the yarns alive. Speed still beats pointing at nothing.
mainsheet (also: sheet): The line in your hand that pulls the boom in or lets it out. First trim control. The glossary also lists sheet as the general word.
mark: A buoy or other object you have to sail around or through. The windward mark is the upwind turning mark. Leave marks to port unless the course board says otherwise.
mark-room (also: room): Space the other boat needs to sail to the mark and around it. If they have it, give it. The mark does not move. A rushed turn in a pile is how people get hurt.
mast: The tall spar that holds the sail up. Metal. Stay off it in thunder. On an Optimist it can stick in mud if the boat turtles.
mast lock: The pin, tie, or fitting that keeps the mast from jumping out of the mast step. Check it before every launch.
mast step: The cup or hole in the hull where the bottom of the mast sits. Hard. Closed-toe shoes.
notice board: The official place, on a wall or online, where the race committee posts changes. A copy from earlier in the week can already be out of date. Follow the board.
Notice of Race (also: NOR): The invitation to the event: fleets, fees, measurement, whether you should even go. The sailing instructions govern once you are there.
OCS: On the course side of the start line when the start signal is made. Come back the way the flags and sailing instructions require. It is a scoring letter for that race.
offset (also: offset mark): A short mark after the windward mark so boats do not all turn onto the run at the same buoy. Reach a little, then go down.
one-design: The class wants boats equal enough to race. You may tune legal controls. You may not invent a new hull. Measurement and class certificates belong to the class and the event.
Optimist (also: Opti): A small singlehanded dinghy used by youth sailors. One sail, a daggerboard, and a pram bow. Shore School is written for this boat.
outhaul: The control that pulls the clew out along the boom. It changes the foot of the sail. Tight in breeze. Softer in light air.
overlap: Neither boat is clear ahead of the other. On the same tack, overlap plus windward/leeward decides who keeps clear. It is not the same as touching.
painter: The bow line you hold on a dock, on a beach, or when a safety boat tows you. Keep it ready, not in a heap in the cockpit.
PFD (also: life jacket, lifejacket, vest): Personal flotation device. A life jacket. It is part of the boat. On and zipped before the hull leaves the sand. If it rides up toward your ears when you lift your arms, it is too loose.
pinch: Steering too close to the wind. Yarns die, speed dies, then you cannot point anyway. Ease and foot until the yarns fly.
port: The left side of the boat when you face the bow. Also a tack: wind coming over the left side. Starboard usually has right of way over port when two boats cross. Not the harbor.
PRO (also: principal race officer): Principal race officer. The person running the racing for the club that day. They fly postponement flags. A parent or designated adult can still keep a sailor on the beach when thunder is already overhead.
proper course: The course you would sail to finish as soon as possible if the other boat were not there. Championship Fleet vocabulary. Green Fleet still needs keep-clear and mark-room first.
puff: A patch of more wind, often darker water and a sudden heel. Ease, hike, then trim. Look at the water ahead so you are ready before the boat heels hard.
race committee (also: RC, battery): The volunteers running the start, the course, and the flags, often from a committee boat. The flags they fly tell you whether to wait, start, or come in.
rake: How far the mast leans back. You feel it in the tiller. A parent or coach may measure it with a tape later. Today you point at the mast, not at millimeters.
rashguard (also: rash guard): A tight long-sleeve shirt that blocks sun and some chafe. In summer it is part of your gear.
righting: Bringing a capsized boat back upright. On an Optimist you usually climb onto the daggerboard, lean back, keep the bow toward the wind, then climb in over the side.
rudder: The fin at the back you steer with, through the tiller. Small moves. The sail is the big control.
run: Wind from behind, sail out. Look at the other side so you do not jibe by accident. Heat the mark: do not sail extra miles.
RWB (also: Champ, championship fleet): Championship Fleet racing in Red, White, and Blue age divisions. White is usually 10 and under, Blue 11–12, Red 13–15. This is the next step when a sailor is ready for a more competitive environment. Coaching on the water is usually tighter than in Green Fleet.
safety boat (also: coach boat): The powerboat watching the fleet. Wave, stay with your hull, wait. Do not swim for the clubhouse. On a tow, sit, painter on, daggerboard up.
sail: The cloth that catches wind. If you come up under it after a capsize, put a hand on the cloth and follow the edge to air. Do not punch a hole in it.
sailing instructions (also: SI): The local rules for this event: start clock, coaching, time limits, courses. If a lesson and the sailing instructions disagree, the sailing instructions and the notice board govern.
sea breeze: Wind that often fills on sunny afternoons when land heats up and air is drawn in from the water. It can make a decent race day. It is not the same as a thunderstorm line.
sheet: The line you pull to trim the sail, not a bedsheet. Easing the sheet lets the sail out. Trimming pulls it in.
sprit (also: uptight): The pole that tensions the peak of an Optimist sail. Vertical wrinkles usually mean too tight. A diagonal crease to the clew usually means too loose. Some beaches say uptight for this control.
squall: A sudden hard blast, often with a dark cloud line, rain, and a wind jump. Come in. A filling sea breeze is not a squall. If you cannot tell, stay on the beach.
starboard: The right side of the boat when you face the bow. Also a tack: wind coming over the right side. Starboard usually has right of way over port when two boats cross.
start line (also: pin): Usually the race-committee boat and the pin (the other end). You cannot be on the course side at the start signal. Line sight is how you know where the line actually is.
stern: The back of the boat. The transom is the flat wall at the stern of an Optimist.
tack: Two related ideas. A tack is which side the wind is on (port or starboard). To tack is to turn the bow through the wind so you switch sides. Different from a jibe, which turns the stern through the wind.
telltale (also: yarns, telltales): Yarn or ribbon on the sail that shows airflow. When they stream, the sail is working. When they stall, ease and bear off a little before you try to point higher.
throwout (also: discard): A race you drop from the series total, usually your worst. One poor race should not erase a weekend. DNE usually cannot be thrown out.
tiller (also: tiller extension): The stick that turns the rudder. The extension lets you hike and still steer. Fingers, not a shovel. Look where you want to go.
transom: The flat back end of the hull. Gear lives in a bag, not as a pile sliding off the transom. Sitting too far aft in light air makes the transom drag.
true wind: The wind the flags and the water see when you are not moving. When the boat moves, your face feels a mix. That is why yarns can lie if you only trust your cheeks.
turtle: The boat is fully upside down, mast pointing at the bottom. Do not bounce on the hull. That drives the mast into mud. Get a safety boat if it is stuck. Under the sail: hand on the cloth, follow the edge out, then hold the boat.
UFD (also: BFD, black flag): U-flag or black-flag disqualification at a start. Championship start flags. The sailing instructions say when they apply.
vang (also: kicker): The control that pulls the boom down and tightens the leech. Sheet first, then vang. In the United States we say vang. Some books say kicker. Same control.
wake: The waves a powerboat leaves. Slow down, take them at an angle, hold on. Do not use them as a jump.
weather helm: The boat wants to head up if you let go of the tiller. A little is normal. A lot means you are heeled or overpowered. Lee helm is the opposite: it wants to bear away.
windward: Toward the wind, or the boat closer to the wind. The windward mark is the upwind turning mark. On the same tack, windward usually keeps clear of leeward.

Learn this in Shore School

Shore School

Sailing glossary

Find a word

AP (also: postponement, answering pennant): A race-committee flag that means racing is postponed. Wait on shore or near the notice board for the next signal. It is not a start, and it is not permission to launch on your own.
AP over A: Two flags together: postponement, and no more racing today. Change into dry clothes. The sailing instructions and the notice board govern the day.
batten: A thin strip in a pocket of the sail that helps the back edge hold its shape. On an Optimist they are short. Do not sail without them if the sail has pockets for them.
beam reach: Wind from the side of the boat. The boom is about halfway out. Faster and easier than sailing close to the wind, and a common Green Fleet leg.
bear away (also: fall off): Turn away from the wind. The boom goes out. Opposite of heading up. In the United States we say bear away. Some coaches say fall off. Same turn.
boom: The pole along the bottom of the sail. It swings when you tack or jibe. Keep your head low. On an Optimist it is at head height.
bow: The front of the boat. Opposite of the stern. Point the bow toward the wind when you right a capsized Optimist so the sail does not fill and flip you the other way.
bowline: A knot that makes a fixed loop. Used on the painter so a safety boat can grab you. You should be able to untie it with wet fingers. It is not the same word as the bow of the boat.
buoyancy bags (also: airbags): Bags inside the hull that keep an Optimist a boat when it fills with water. They must be in and tied. A bag that is empty or coming loose should be reported before you launch.
capsize: The boat goes onto its side or all the way over. The first job is to hold the boat. An Optimist floats. Stay with the hull.
channel: The deeper water boats use to come and go, often marked. Fishing boats and work boats cannot always miss a small sailboat. Stay out of the channel unless a coach put you there.
clew: The back corner of the sail, where the boom, outhaul, and sheet meet. Not the top, and not the front.
close hauled (also: beating, upwind): Sailing as close to the wind as the sail will still work. Yarns flying. The boom is mostly in. This is the first beat.
competitors’ meeting (also: skippers’ meeting, skippers meeting): The meeting before racing where they say the course, the clock, and the day’s limits. Coaches may have a separate meeting. You still go to the competitors’ meeting.
cover: Sailing so a boat behind you cannot pass without sailing a different race. Use it when you are ahead. Matching the leader when you are deep in the fleet usually keeps you there.
cunningham (also: downhaul): The control that pulls down the front of the sail. It changes the luff. Point at it today. Crank numbers later.
daggerboard: The fin you slide down through the middle of an Optimist so the boat does not slide sideways. Pull it up for the beach, a tow, or shallow water. A retainer keeps it from falling out if you capsize.
daggerboard retainer (also: retainer): The leash or pin that keeps the daggerboard from falling out of the trunk if you capsize. A missing retainer is a beach day.
daggerboard trunk (also: trunk): The slot in the hull the daggerboard slides through. It has hard edges. That is one reason you wear closed-toe shoes.
depower: Make the sail less powerful so the boat stays flat and the mast stays up. Often vang on, sprit eased, hike, and foot. Staying upright is the first job.
dirty air: The disturbed wind and water behind another boat. Your yarns can stall even if your bow is high. Clear air is often faster than a close fight.
DNE: A disqualification you cannot throw out. Sportsmanship and the sailing instructions decide when it applies.
DNF (also: did not finish): Did not finish. You started, you did not get a finish. Different from DNS (never started) and OCS (on the course side at the gun).
DNS (also: did not start): Did not start. You never made a start that counted. Different from DNF and OCS.
drain plug: A small plug in the hull so rain and splash can drain on shore, then stay out on the water. If it is still in the bag, you stay on the beach.
figure-eight: A stopper knot in the end of a sheet so the line cannot run out of the block. If the sheet vanishes, you have no trim.
first warning: The signal that starts the start sequence for a race, not the gun that starts the race itself. Harbor start is when you leave the beach. First warning is when the clock for that race begins.
foot: Two ideas. The foot of the sail is the bottom edge. To foot is to bear away a little and ease so you go forward faster instead of pinching high and slow.
gate (also: leeward gate): Two marks you choose between at the bottom of a windward-leeward. Pick the exit into clear air, not the crowded one.
gooseneck: The fitting that joins the boom to the mast so the boom can swing. Check it is on before you launch.
Green Fleet (also: Green): An introductory teaching fleet for novice Optimist sailors. Learning, improving, and having fun come first. Active coaching is often allowed. Coaches help all sailors who need it. It is not scored as a championship.
gunwale (also: gunnel): The top edge of the hull you hold when you climb in from the water. Say GUN-ul.
harbor start: The time boats are supposed to leave the beach or dock toward the race course. It is not the start of the race. The race starts at the first warning, then the start signal.
head: The top of the sail. On an Optimist the peak is the high back corner the sprit tensions. Head is the top; clew is the back; tack is the front corner on the boom.
head up: Turn toward the wind. The boom comes in. Opposite of bearing away.
header: The wind shifts so you cannot hold your line toward the mark. Keep moving. In Green Fleet, stay sailing. In Championship Fleet you may tack if the other tack is the better wind.
heel: The boat leaning. A little is a clue. A lot means you hike, ease, or both. An Optimist on its ear drags.
hiking (also: hike): Putting your weight outboard, toes under the straps, so the hull comes back flat. In light air, sitting still keeps the boat moving. Hiking then usually costs speed.
hull: The body of the boat that sits in the water. Keep it mostly flat when you can. An Optimist that heels hard drags extra hull.
in irons (also: irons, no-go): Bow into the wind, sail flapping, you are not going. Push the tiller so the bow falls off, then sheet in and sail away. Do not sheet in hard and wait.
jibe (also: gybe, gybes, jibes): Turning so the stern goes through the wind and the sail slams across. Duck the boom. In the United States we say jibe. Some books say gybe. Same move.
keep clear: Stay out of the way so the other boat can sail her course. Right of way is not a license to force a crash. If you just got right of way, give them a chance.
kill switch: A clip the powerboat driver wears so the engine stops if they leave the helm. An adult setting. Stay away from the propeller even when a coach boat came to help.
knockdown: The boat is on its side, mast near the water, not fully upside down. Hold on. Then right it. Different from a turtle, when the hull is upside down.
layline: The line you can sail close hauled and just make the mark. Late is usually better than early. Early means you are stuck, often in dirty air, with no more shifts to play.
lee helm: The boat wants to bear away if you let go of the tiller. Usually sit, rake, or trim — a coach names which. Opposite of weather helm.
lee-bow: A tack close to leeward of another boat so they sail your dirty air. It works with speed. A slow tack and they roll you. Championship Fleet tool; Green Fleet still needs the picture.
leech: The back edge of the sail, from peak to clew. The vang and the leech yarn live here. A tight leech in heavy air can be how you depower. A tight leech in light air can stall you.
leeward (also: lee): The downwind side, or the boat farther from the wind. On the same tack, the windward boat usually keeps clear of the leeward boat. Say LEE-ward.
lift: The wind shifts so you can head up toward the mark. Hold it. Do not chase every wiggle. Opposite of a header.
luff: The front edge of the sail, along the mast. Luff yarns live here. If the luff is shaking, you are too close to the wind or the sail is too tight.
lull: A patch of less wind, often lighter water. Hike less, trim a little, keep the yarns alive. Speed still beats pointing at nothing.
mainsheet (also: sheet): The line in your hand that pulls the boom in or lets it out. First trim control. The glossary also lists sheet as the general word.
mark: A buoy or other object you have to sail around or through. The windward mark is the upwind turning mark. Leave marks to port unless the course board says otherwise.
mark-room (also: room): Space the other boat needs to sail to the mark and around it. If they have it, give it. The mark does not move. A rushed turn in a pile is how people get hurt.
mast: The tall spar that holds the sail up. Metal. Stay off it in thunder. On an Optimist it can stick in mud if the boat turtles.
mast lock: The pin, tie, or fitting that keeps the mast from jumping out of the mast step. Check it before every launch.
mast step: The cup or hole in the hull where the bottom of the mast sits. Hard. Closed-toe shoes.
notice board: The official place, on a wall or online, where the race committee posts changes. A copy from earlier in the week can already be out of date. Follow the board.
Notice of Race (also: NOR): The invitation to the event: fleets, fees, measurement, whether you should even go. The sailing instructions govern once you are there.
OCS: On the course side of the start line when the start signal is made. Come back the way the flags and sailing instructions require. It is a scoring letter for that race.
offset (also: offset mark): A short mark after the windward mark so boats do not all turn onto the run at the same buoy. Reach a little, then go down.
one-design: The class wants boats equal enough to race. You may tune legal controls. You may not invent a new hull. Measurement and class certificates belong to the class and the event.
Optimist (also: Opti): A small singlehanded dinghy used by youth sailors. One sail, a daggerboard, and a pram bow. Shore School is written for this boat.
outhaul: The control that pulls the clew out along the boom. It changes the foot of the sail. Tight in breeze. Softer in light air.
overlap: Neither boat is clear ahead of the other. On the same tack, overlap plus windward/leeward decides who keeps clear. It is not the same as touching.
painter: The bow line you hold on a dock, on a beach, or when a safety boat tows you. Keep it ready, not in a heap in the cockpit.
PFD (also: life jacket, lifejacket, vest): Personal flotation device. A life jacket. It is part of the boat. On and zipped before the hull leaves the sand. If it rides up toward your ears when you lift your arms, it is too loose.
pinch: Steering too close to the wind. Yarns die, speed dies, then you cannot point anyway. Ease and foot until the yarns fly.
port: The left side of the boat when you face the bow. Also a tack: wind coming over the left side. Starboard usually has right of way over port when two boats cross. Not the harbor.
PRO (also: principal race officer): Principal race officer. The person running the racing for the club that day. They fly postponement flags. A parent or designated adult can still keep a sailor on the beach when thunder is already overhead.
proper course: The course you would sail to finish as soon as possible if the other boat were not there. Championship Fleet vocabulary. Green Fleet still needs keep-clear and mark-room first.
puff: A patch of more wind, often darker water and a sudden heel. Ease, hike, then trim. Look at the water ahead so you are ready before the boat heels hard.
race committee (also: RC, battery): The volunteers running the start, the course, and the flags, often from a committee boat. The flags they fly tell you whether to wait, start, or come in.
rake: How far the mast leans back. You feel it in the tiller. A parent or coach may measure it with a tape later. Today you point at the mast, not at millimeters.
rashguard (also: rash guard): A tight long-sleeve shirt that blocks sun and some chafe. In summer it is part of your gear.
righting: Bringing a capsized boat back upright. On an Optimist you usually climb onto the daggerboard, lean back, keep the bow toward the wind, then climb in over the side.
rudder: The fin at the back you steer with, through the tiller. Small moves. The sail is the big control.
run: Wind from behind, sail out. Look at the other side so you do not jibe by accident. Heat the mark: do not sail extra miles.
RWB (also: Champ, championship fleet): Championship Fleet racing in Red, White, and Blue age divisions. White is usually 10 and under, Blue 11–12, Red 13–15. This is the next step when a sailor is ready for a more competitive environment. Coaching on the water is usually tighter than in Green Fleet.
safety boat (also: coach boat): The powerboat watching the fleet. Wave, stay with your hull, wait. Do not swim for the clubhouse. On a tow, sit, painter on, daggerboard up.
sail: The cloth that catches wind. If you come up under it after a capsize, put a hand on the cloth and follow the edge to air. Do not punch a hole in it.
sailing instructions (also: SI): The local rules for this event: start clock, coaching, time limits, courses. If a lesson and the sailing instructions disagree, the sailing instructions and the notice board govern.
sea breeze: Wind that often fills on sunny afternoons when land heats up and air is drawn in from the water. It can make a decent race day. It is not the same as a thunderstorm line.
sheet: The line you pull to trim the sail, not a bedsheet. Easing the sheet lets the sail out. Trimming pulls it in.
sprit (also: uptight): The pole that tensions the peak of an Optimist sail. Vertical wrinkles usually mean too tight. A diagonal crease to the clew usually means too loose. Some beaches say uptight for this control.
squall: A sudden hard blast, often with a dark cloud line, rain, and a wind jump. Come in. A filling sea breeze is not a squall. If you cannot tell, stay on the beach.
starboard: The right side of the boat when you face the bow. Also a tack: wind coming over the right side. Starboard usually has right of way over port when two boats cross.
start line (also: pin): Usually the race-committee boat and the pin (the other end). You cannot be on the course side at the start signal. Line sight is how you know where the line actually is.
stern: The back of the boat. The transom is the flat wall at the stern of an Optimist.
tack: Two related ideas. A tack is which side the wind is on (port or starboard). To tack is to turn the bow through the wind so you switch sides. Different from a jibe, which turns the stern through the wind.
telltale (also: yarns, telltales): Yarn or ribbon on the sail that shows airflow. When they stream, the sail is working. When they stall, ease and bear off a little before you try to point higher.
throwout (also: discard): A race you drop from the series total, usually your worst. One poor race should not erase a weekend. DNE usually cannot be thrown out.
tiller (also: tiller extension): The stick that turns the rudder. The extension lets you hike and still steer. Fingers, not a shovel. Look where you want to go.
transom: The flat back end of the hull. Gear lives in a bag, not as a pile sliding off the transom. Sitting too far aft in light air makes the transom drag.
true wind: The wind the flags and the water see when you are not moving. When the boat moves, your face feels a mix. That is why yarns can lie if you only trust your cheeks.
turtle: The boat is fully upside down, mast pointing at the bottom. Do not bounce on the hull. That drives the mast into mud. Get a safety boat if it is stuck. Under the sail: hand on the cloth, follow the edge out, then hold the boat.
UFD (also: BFD, black flag): U-flag or black-flag disqualification at a start. Championship start flags. The sailing instructions say when they apply.
vang (also: kicker): The control that pulls the boom down and tightens the leech. Sheet first, then vang. In the United States we say vang. Some books say kicker. Same control.
wake: The waves a powerboat leaves. Slow down, take them at an angle, hold on. Do not use them as a jump.
weather helm: The boat wants to head up if you let go of the tiller. A little is normal. A lot means you are heeled or overpowered. Lee helm is the opposite: it wants to bear away.
windward: Toward the wind, or the boat closer to the wind. The windward mark is the upwind turning mark. On the same tack, windward usually keeps clear of leeward.

Learn this in Shore School

Sailing glossary

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Sailing glossary

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