The first of hopefully many Game Guides. These are meant as system-agnostic guides that can help you flesh out your game world.
This issue is Sailing Jargon. Make your salty seadogs sound even saltier! Sailing is a specialized world full of unique words. Keep your players off-balance while they’re on-board ship by having the crew talk authentically.
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G |
| H | I | J | K | L | M | N |
| O | P | Q | R | S | T | U |
| V | W | X | Y | Z |
| A | |
| Able Seaman | Knowledgeable/experienced sailor. |
| Afore | To the front of the vessel. |
| Aft | At, near or towards the stern, or rear, of the boat. |
| Aloft | High in the masts or rigging. |
| Amidships | In the middle of the vessel. An order of “Rudder amidships” means to bring the rudder centered (neither port nor starboard). |
| B | |
| Ballast | Weight in the keel of a boat, to add stability. |
| Beam | A term used to describe a boat’s width. |
| Bear Away/Off | See Head Down. |
| Beating | To sail a zigzag course into the wind. |
| Bilges | Bottom compartment of ship, usually filled with waste water. |
| Block | The nautical term for a pulley. |
| Boarding Nets | Nets strung out from ship’s side to stop boarding. |
| Boom | A pole or spar extending horizontally from the mast, which holds the base of the mainsail. |
| Bow | The front of the boat. |
| Bowsprit | Spar at the front of a ship. |
| Box Haul | Sharp turning of a ship. |
| Brace | Rope used to hold direction of a sail. |
| Brigantine | Two-masted ship. |
| Bring To | Slowing a ship so that it almost stops by heading it into the wind. |
| Bulkhead | Internal partitions of ships. |
| By the Lee | Sailing downwind with the wind blowing over the leeward side of the boat, increasing the possibility of an unexpected gybe. |
| C | |
| Cable | Heavy rope. |
| Cable (Length) | 240 yards (219.5m). |
| Capstan | Large cylindrical device that sailors inserted poles into to help haul up cables. |
| Careen | Lying a ship on its side to allow its hull to be cleaned. |
| Close Hauled | Sailing as directly into the wind as possible. |
| Cutter | Single-masted small ship. |
| D | |
| Downwind | Sailing with the wind behind you. |
| Draught | Vertical distance from water line to bottom of keel. Vessels with smaller draughts can navigate shallower waters (and usually get closer to shore). The downside is they tend to be less stable in heavy winds. |
| E | |
| Easterly | A wind blowing from the east. Can be similarly applied to the other points of the compass. |
| Eight Bells | Aboard Navy ships, bells are struck to designate the hours of being on watch. Each watch is four hours in length. One bell is struck after the first half-hour has passed, two bells after one hour has passed, three bells after an hour and a half, four bells after two hours, and so forth up to eight bells are struck at the completion of the four hours. Completing a watch with no incidents to report was “Eight bells and all is well.” Sailors couldn’t afford to have their own time pieces and relied on the ship’s bells to tell time. The ship’s boy kept time by using a half-hour glass. Each time the sand ran out, he would turn the glass over and ring the appropriate number of bells. |
| En Flute | A warship without some, or all, of its cannons. |
| F | |
| Fore | Front of a ship. |
| Foredeck | The area of a boat’s deck that is in front of the mast. Also a crew position. |
| Forestay | A mast support that runs from the top of the mast, or near the top of the mast, to the bow. |
| Furl | To fold or roll a sail and secure it to its main support. |
| G | |
| Gaff | Yard supporting top of a sail. |
| Gooseneck | The joint connecting the boom and the mast. |
| Gybe | To change a boat’s course so that the stern moves through the wind. |
| H | |
| Halyard | Rope used to hoist or lower sails. |
| Head Down (Fall Off) | To turn the boat away from the wind. |
| Headsail | Sail flown between the mast and the bow of the boat. The headsail is attached to the forestay and acts like the boat’s gears – the lighter the wind, the bigger the headsail. |
| Heel | The action of the boat leaning over due to the pressure of the wind. |
| Helm | The mechanism, a wheel or tiller, used to move the rudder and thus steer the boat. The skipper can also be called the helm. |
| Holystone | Teak, and other wooden decks, were scrubbed with a piece of sandstone, nicknamed at one time by an anonymous witty sailor as the “holystone.” It was so named because since its use always brought a man to his knees, it must be holy! |
| Hull | The body of the boat. |
| J | |
| Jib | Another name for a headsail. |
| Jibe | See Gybe. |
| K | |
| Keel | A weighted piece (wood or metal) running underneath the vessel, that acts to balance it. |
| Knot | A fastening made by looping a piece of string on itself and tightening it. Also, unit of speed equivalent to one nautical mile per hour (1.15 mph or 1.85 km/h). |
| L | |
| Landsman | Inexperienced sailor. |
| Larboard | Same as Port, but since it sounds so similar to Starboard, it isn’t used as often. |
| Leech | Trailing edge of the sail. |
| Leeward | The side of the boat away from the direction from which the wind blows; the side sheltered from the wind. The opposite side is windward. |
| Luff | To change course towards the direction of the wind; also the leading edge of the sail. |
| M | |
| Mainsail | The large triangular sail behind the mast. |
| Mast | Vertical spar that holds up the sails, also known as the rig. |
| Mizzen | Rear of a ship. |
| Mizzenmast | A mast located at the rear of the ship. |
| N | |
| Nautical mile | One minute (ie one sixtieth) of a degree of latitude; approx. 6076 feet – about 1/8 longer than the statute mile of 5280ft (1852m). |
| O | |
| Ordinary Seaman | Sailor with limited experience. |
| Orlop deck | The lowest deck on a vessel. |
| Overboard | Over the side or out of the boat, as in “Man Overboard!” |
| P | |
| Pinnace | A ship’s boat. |
| Plying | Turn to windward. |
| Port | The side of the ship that is on the left when one is facing forward. Opposite of starboard. |
| Port Tack | When a boat is sailing with the wind blowing on its port side. Opposite of starboard tack. |
| R | |
| Ratlines | Ropes attached to a ship’s shrouds that are used as ladders. |
| Reaching | Sailing across the wind. |
| Reef | To reduce the area of sail available to the wind. |
| Rig | General term used to describe a boat’s mast and sail combination. |
| Rudder | A flat blade hanging vertically below the waterline near the rear of the boat used for steering. |
| Runner | Sailing downwind, with the wind directly behind you. |
| S | |
| Sheet | Rope attached to the lower corner of the sails. |
| Sheet in/out | Tightening or slackening of the sheets to adjust the shape of the sails. |
| Shrouds | Support ropes attached to the masts. |
| Spar | A thick, strong pole used for a mast or yard on a ship. |
| Starboard | The right side of the boat when facing forward. |
| Stern | The rear of the boat. |
| T | |
| Tack | Way of a ship zig-zagging into the wind or turning it by steering to winward. |
| Tender | A small boat used to transport equipment and crew from shore to a larger boat. |
| Tiller | The stick or tube attached to the top of a rudder and used to turn it. |
| Trim | To adjust the sails depending on the position and or strength of the wind. |
| Topgallant | Highest of the three spars used to make a mast. |
| U | |
| Upwind | Sailing towards/into the wind. |
| V | |
| Victualling | The restocking/resupplying of a ship at sea. |
| W | |
| Watches | Traditionally, a 24-hour day is divided into seven watches. These are: midnight to 4 a.m. [0000-0400], the mid-watch; 4 to 8 a.m. [0400-0800], morning watch; 8 a.m. to noon [0800-1200], forenoon watch; noon to 4 p.m. [1200-1600], afternoon watch; 4 to 6 p.m. [1600-1800] first dog watch; 6 to 8 p.m. [1800-2000], second dog watch; and, 8 p.m. to midnight [2000-2400], evening watch. The half hours of the watch are marked by the striking the bell an appropriate number of times. |
| Wake | A trail of disturbed water left by a ship. |
| Wear | Turn a ship by moving prow in direction of the wind. |
| Weather Helm | The natural tendency of a sailboat to turn toward the wind, which the helmsman feels as the tiller tries to turn to leeward. |
| Winch | A device used to move sheets quickly and efficiently. |
| Windward | Facing the wind or the side of the boat facing the prevailing winds. Opposite to leeward. |
| Y | |
| Yard | Horizontal spar that holds up the sails. |
| Yardarm | Outer sections of the yard. |
| Z | |
| Zephyr | A gentle breeze from the west. |
great post, thanks for sharing