The Luff, the Leech, and the Clew
An admittedly incomplete linguistic primer for wanna-be sailors.
By John Knapp and Mike Seely
Handicap Racing: Allows boats of different designs to compete against one another. Most common system is PHRF (Pacific Handicap Racing Fleet), which relies on observed performance and speed potential when calculating a given boat's rating.
One-Design Racing: Scratch system where boats of identical design compete against each other without handicap, as in elite events such as the Olympics or America's Cup.
Hull: The frame or body of a ship.
Knots: Boat speed equivalent of miles per hour. 100 knots = 115.2 mph.
Bow or Bowman: Crew member on the front of the boat who, among other duties, raises and lowers jibs and spinnakers as well as handling the spinnaker pole on gybes.
Mast: Crew member responsible for pulling sails up and helping the bow.
Pit: Crew member in the cockpit who raises and lowers halyards as well as adjusting control lines.
Trimmers: Crew members who adjust jibs and spinnakers to proper angles with wind so as to maximize speed.
Helm or Helmsman: Crew member who steers the boat.
Tactician: Crew member responsible for tactical positioning of the boat during a race.
Marks: Temporary, anchored, inflated markers used during buoy races.
Gybing: Turning the boat from one side of the wind to the other while sailing downwind.
Tacking: Turning the boat from one side of the wind to the other while sailing upwind.
Clear Air: Position that results from not being in the wind shadow of another boat.
Disturbed Air: The opposite of clear air, wherein positioning is turbulent and hinders power of sails.
Dirty Air: Positioning one's boat upwind of another's to put them in one's wind shadow.
Tacking Duel: A showdown that occurs between two boats trying to put one another in dirty air.
Sail Trim: Proper shaping and angle adjusting of sails.
Halyard: Tension-based device used to raise and lower sails.
Sheets: Line that adjusts sail angle in and out, as in "ease the sheet."
Boom Vang: Device that pulls down on the mainsail boom.
Outhaul: Device that pulls out on the back corner of the mainsail.
Cunningham: Device that pulls down on the front edge of the mainsail.
Luffing: Undesirable fluttering of sails.
Draft: The curvature of the sail one observes from below.
Jib: A triangular fore-and-aft sail.
Aft: Situated at or toward the stern or tail of a boat.
Head: The top corner of a sail.
Tack: The front corner of a sail.
Clew: The back corner of a sail.
Luff: The front edge of a sail.
Leech: The aft edge of a sail.
Foot: The bottom edge of a sail.
Sloop: 1. Traditional type of sailboat with one mast, a mainsail, a jib, and a spinnaker. 2. Popular Ballard tavern/workaday yacht club that serves 34-ounce tankards of beer.
Bow Sprit: Nontraditional boats that utilize an asymmetrical spinnaker and a retractable pole extending forward from the bow.
PFDs: Personal flotation devices, aka life jackets.
OPBs: Other people's boats.
Swiftsure: Famously grueling Memorial Day weekend distance race that originates in Victoria, B.C.
Mount Gay: 1. Leading brand of rum among sailors. 2. Slang term referring to the grassy plateau that separates Dave Marod's living quarters from Puget Sound.
Meyer's Rum: A close second to Mount Gay as the rum of choice among sailors.
John Knapp serves as tactician for Minor Threat, the 35-foot One Design sailboat featured in the accompanying story.
