June 16, 2003
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Sailing Newbies
Matt is learning to sail. We went sailing together for the first time last week, and I was kind of surprised at how much he didn’t know. For example, he didn’t know that you can go into the wind and still move forward under sail power. I, too, can remember when I thought one could only go downwind under sail power. So, he was confused when I told him to “head up”.
I have to remember to be patient with him, because sailing terminology, at least in English, isn’t always what it seems.
For example, I can remember the first time someone told me to “fall off”.
I was like, “WHAT?”
“FALL OFF!”
How the heck are you supposed to know what that means? Surely that didn’t mean to purposefully jump off the boat!
Anyway, so I explained to Matt that it means to point the boat DOWNWIND. He goes, “Why can’t they just say that then? Turn downwind.” His theory is that sailors are stubborn about tradition, and don’t want to change it so that it makes sense to normal everyday people.
Then there’s the term “Head Up”. I am very familiar with the terms “DUCK!” (boom coming across!!!) or “Heads Up!” or “Fore!” (golf ball coming at your head) But “Head Up”?
To “head up” refers to “heading upwind” — the opposite of “falling off”. Why we can’t just say “point upwind”, I dunno.
Anyway, so Matt borrowed my sailing books and now he knows why a sailboat goes faster perpendicular to the wind than it can go downwind. “It’s the same theory as airplane wings,” he says. “I understand that.”
Yay!
Comments (2)
Well, that’s still more than me. I just do whatever I’m told. Don’t need to understand. Not that I’ve even set foot on a boat since December, but that’s besides the point.
i remember the first time i sailed a boat. i didn’t know you couldn’t sail to windward, so i did it anyway and went backwards for about 3 minutes before my instructor told me to push my sail out and backwind it. head up, fall off, i was lost that whole first class. sailing terminology is hard! of course i was only 10 at the time, so everything was complicated.