The Sailing Lingo Quiz

The largest sail on the boat, when it is running with the wind, the spinnaker is set up before the main sail. The spinnaker is a three-cornered sail that holds a lot of wind and provides plenty of speed for the boat.

The rigging on a sailing ship is all the ropes found on the boat. These are used in a number of ways, from tying up the boat to securing the anchor to raising the sails.

Sailing has many different terms for everyday words that we might use when not at sea. For instance, should you want to go left, the ship would be turned to port. Don't confuse that with port, as in the harbor.

Sailing has many different terms for everyday words that we might use when not at sea. For instance, should you want to go right, the ship would be turned to starboard.

The keel is a large fin that comes out the bottom of the boat. On a sailing ship, this can be fairly large and long. Its primary job is to provide stability for the boat as it sails. This helps to keep it from capsizing.

Generally, if a ship is adrift it is not under control of the crew or whoever is sailing it. This means that it will travel in the direction of the ocean currents or winds.

"Avast" means stop. It comes from the Dutch term, "hou' vast" which essentially means hold on. Certainly not a modern sailing term, but if you were a pirate ...

You've heard the saying, "I like the cut of your jib". Well, actually it's referring to a sail on a sailing boat. It is found in front of the mainsail and does not have a boom of any kind.

Like an island, a boat has a leeward side. Unlike an island, this side will change, depending on the direction of the boat. When a boat is sailing at an angle, the leeward side is always closest to the water.

Tacking involves changing the course of the sailing boat at regular intervals. This involves turning the front of the boat into the wind and letting it fall away. Rinse and repeat!

A sailing boat without ropes is not going to go anywhere! They are used in a number of ways including securing the boat to the dock, securing the anchor and perhaps most importantly, in the rigging for the sails. In sailing lingo, ropes are called lines.

The helm is the best place for the captain to see what is going on, not only with sea conditions but with the ship and crew as well. It is generally a raised area and includes a large wheel from where the captain steers the boat.

Yes, it's not just the left and right-hand parts of a sailing ship that have their own names, but the front and back as well. And now you know, the front is the bow.

Like the front of a ship, the rear section has a name as well. It is called the aft section and generally is where the helm of the ship is found, including the big wheel used to steer the boat.

There are 8 point of sail positions for a sailing boat, each with their own terminology. For instance, a boat at the point of sail position of "in irons" is going straight into the wind.

One of the most important parts on a sailing ship, the mast is the large upright pole that on older sailing ships would be made from wood. And what does it do? Well, its main job is to hold up the sails that are put up. A sailing ship without a mast is useless.

Found at the bottom of the mast, the boom is to be respected on a sailing ship. Newbies tend to get hit by it often. But what purpose does it serve? It has sails connected to it. The boom is moved toward the wind's direction and this helps to drive a sailing ship forward.

Without a rudder, the ship cannot be steered properly, especially when not under sail or driven by a motor. A large wheel is connected to the rudder on large sailing ships while on smaller ships, the rudder is connected to a tiller at the back of the boat.

Like an island, a boat has a windward side. Unlike an island, this side will change, depending on the direction of the boat. When a boat is sailing at an angle, the windward side is always furthest from the water.

If the wind direction needs to be from the other side of the sailing boat than what it is currently, a jib is performed. This means the rear of the boat is moved through the wind to change its direction from one side of the boat to another. This is not performed as much as tacking.

A sailing ship can be alongside many things. Basically this means it is next to something. For instance, a ship that is in the harbor might be alongside a pier, while two sailing ships racing are alongside each other.

Throughout the deck of a sailing boat, you can find hatches that can be pulled open. These are storage spaces for equipment mainly, but some accommodation can be below decks behind larger booby hatches.

Capsizing is a very serious situation. On large sailing boats with big keels, capsizing is virtually impossible, but on smaller boats, where keels are far smaller, it can happen easily. Normally this is as a result of a large wave.

But you knew that, right? To make sure the boat is going in the right direction, it will be equipped with a compass. This is particularly important on journeys where land will be out of sight.

Knowing the draft length, the depth of the keel below the waterline can be handy. A ship with a short draft length is certainly more prone to capsizing than one with a bigger draft length. Note, this can also be spelled draft.

On a sailing ship, the driver is a type of sail. It is flown from the mizzen gaff. This type of sail is only found on large sailing vessels such as schooners or barquentine. These ships generally had six masts.

In sailing and nautical terms, a fathom is a unit of depth. It is the equivalent of 6 feet, which is around 1.8 meters. Often used to measure how deep the ocean floor is in a particular area.

On a normal sailing ship, the helmsman would be the captain. On large sailing boats of old, the helmsman was a specific person but not the captain. On a single sailing dinghy, the helmsman is the only person in the boat!

In days of yore, sailors would often get drunk. In fact, the British Navy used to give their sailors a rum ration each day. If a ship was loaded to the gunwales, it had cargo all the way to the top, and hence this is how it became a way to describe drunken sailors.

Single dinghy-type sailing ships can only take one person. They are steered using a rudder which is connected to a tiller which comes into the dinghy itself. Other smaller ships that hold a few more people are often steered in this way as well.

A ship that has docked in a harbor or possibly against a buoy out in the ocean is said to be moored. Ships are moored as a way to ensure they they do not get taken away by the current or wind.

Admit it, you laughed! No, it's not where the toilet is found. On older ships from a bygone era, there was a raised deck at the back of the ship. This was known as the poop deck.

The beam of a boat is its width. But this is not taken just anywhere. It must be measured at its widest point, which is generally in the middle of the deck.

OK, it's obvious that not all ships have a galley. But sailing boats, those that are for more than one person, probably have a place below deck where food can be prepared. Even a sailor has to eat sometime!

Splicing means that two separate cables or ropes must be put together. This means they form one continuous piece. To achieve this, the frayed ends are intertwined enough so that they join together.