If you didn’t grow up sailing, how long did it take you to figure out what sailors mean when they say “put the bow down?” After hearing from newer sailors that the language of racing is hard to decipher, we decided to create a glossary of racing terms and phrases.
We chose racing terms and phrases that are likely to be obscure to newer sailors. To keep the list manageable, we did not include basic sailing terms, words defined in the racing rules, or racing terms applicable to big boats.
Our list is generally organized alphabetically, with a few related terms clustered.
Racing Terms and Phrases for Newer Sailors
| Term | Synonym | Definition | More Info |
| Angle of attack | Angle of incidence | The angle between the apparent wind and the chord line of the sail. | Learn more |
| Apparent wind | The direction and speed of the wind as measured from a moving boat. | Learn more | |
| Bail out | Tacking away from other boats to obtain clear air. Often used for starting situations. | ||
| Barging | In starting, a boat that sails on starboard tack down towards leeward boats on starboard to try to create room. Barging violates Rule 11 of the Racing Rules of Sailing. | Learn more | |
| Bladed out | Flattened | A sail that has been made flatter (less camber) with the use of sail controls. | |
| Blocker | Starboard blocker | Tactical positioning to windward of a starboard boat. Decreases the chance that a port tack boat will establish a lee bow position. | Learn more |
| Boom vang | Kicker, kicking strap (UK term) | Block and tackle (or hydraulic ram on big boats) to control the horizontal angle (rise) of the boom. | Learn more |
| Bow down | Low mode, foot | Steering away from the wind slightly for more power, | |
| By the lee | Sailing downwind with the wind blowing over the leeward side of the boat. | Learn more | |
| Camber | Depth, fullness | The depth of a sail, measured from the chord line to the deepest point. | Learn more |
| Chord line | | The chord line of an airfoil is the straight line between the leading and trailing edges | |
| Connect the dots | Strategy to sail from puff to puff while sailing on the lifted tack as much as possible. | | |
| Course Lines and Terms | Rhumb line | The straight-line course from one mark to the next. | See image |
| Course Lines and Terms | Layline | Upwind: the line that lets you sail close-hauled to the windward mark (or a start/finish line mark) without pinching. Downwind: the line you would sail to a leeward mark at your optimum VMG angle. | See image |
| Course Lines and Terms | Long tack/gybe | The tack (or gybe) that lets you sail the most distance without getting to the layline. Sail the long tack first is a strategy rule of thumb. | See image |
| Course Lines and Terms | Overstood | A boat that has sailed past the layline and thus sails extra distance to the mark. | See image |
| Cover | Loose cover, tight cover | Tactical positioning to stay between your opponents and the next mark. | Learn more |
| Cunningham | Sail control to tension the leading edge (luff) of the sail. Sometimes incorrectly called downhaul. | Learn more | |
| Dip and tack | Tack and duck | Maneuver to escape being pinned by a boat close to windward, by bearing off to create separation, then tacking and ducking. | Learn more |
| Draft position | Draft forward/aft | The point of maximum depth of a sail, measured in percentage of distance from the leading edge. | Learn more |
| Ease, hike, trim | Basic puff response technique. | Learn more | |
| Entry shape | | The profile of the leading edge of the sail, either flat or rounded. | Learn more |
| Favored end | Line bias | Starting line: the end of the line that is further upwind. Finish line: the end of the line that is further downwind on an upwind finish. | Learn more |
| Favored side | Advantaged side | The side of the course that gets you to the next mark faster, due to more wind, favorable shifts, less current, smaller waves, etc. | Learn more |
| Feathering | Allowing boat to head slightly closer to the wind during a puff. This is an additional component to the ease, hike, trim technique | Learn more | |
| Fetching | Laying | A boat that is sailing on the layline toward a mark. | |
| Foot | Bow down, low mode | Sailing upwind at a heading slightly further off the wind than VMG mode. | Learn more |
| Gain/lose bearing | Make or lose gauge, making or losing trees | A measure of gain or loss against another boat. With a hand-held compass, the change in the compass bearing from one boat to another over time. Without a compass, gains or losses can be measured by the change in the angle between the boats to a distant shore reference, such as trees. | Learn more |
| Geographic shift | Shore effects | Wind shifts due to geographic features, such as nearby shore, points of land, obstacles. | Learn more |
| Helm | Helm balance, weather helm, neutral helm, lee helm | Helm refers to the tiller. Helm balance refers to the pressure felt on the tiller when sailing in a straight line. Helm balance is often shortened to helm, as in weather helm, lee helm, neutral helm. | Learn more |
| In irons | No-go zone | Boat is stopped or moving slowly heading into the wind (the “no-go zone”). | |
| In the groove | Keep it on the wind, point | Sailing close-hauled with the sail trimmed in and the heading such that the sail is neither luffing or stalling. | |
| Ladder rungs | Concept that upwind progress can be visualized as a series of lines (ladder rungs) perpendicular to the true wind direction. Also applies downwind. | Learn more | |
| Lane | Clear lane | A path you can sail on one tack (either upwind or downwind) without encountering other boats or disturbed air. | Learn more |
| Lee bow | Safe leeward position | Sailing upwind with a boat positioned just behind and to windward. The boat ahead and to leeward is advantaged, since the windward boat is not in clear air. | Learn more |
| Leech shape | | The profile of the trailing edge of sail, either flat, open, or closed. | Learn more |
| Leeway | Distance or angle a boat drifts off course due to the sideways force of the wind. | Learn more | |
| Leverage | A boat that is laterally separated from other boats is said to have leverage, and will gain the most from a favorable shift, but lose the most from an unfavorable shift. | Learn more | |
| Lift, header/knock | A wind shift that allows you to change heading without changing sail trim. Upwind, a lift lets you sail closer to the windward mark and a header (knock) makes you sail further away from the mark. Downwind, a lift makes you sail further from the mark and a header (knock) lets you sail closer to the mark. | ||
| Line sight | Transit | An aid to judging distance to the starting line, by finding a shore reference that aligns with an end of the line. | Learn more |
| Luff, Luffing | Backwind, bubbling | 1) The leading edge of a sail 2) Heading up toward the wind (luffing up) 3) The bubbling or fluttering of a sail when sailing too close to the wind. | |
| Marshmallow | A less skilled sailor. Some experts advise starting next to a marshmallow. | ||
| Mast bend | Bending the mast from a straight line, either fore and aft or laterally. Mast bend is used to shape the sail. | Learn more | |
| Mast rake | Rake forward/aft | The fore or aft angle of the mast compared to a horizontal reference. Often measured by the distance from the tip of the mast to the transom. Mast rake affects steering balance and sail power. | Learn more |
| Outhaul | Sail control to tension the foot of the sail. | Learn more | |
| Pin a boat | Sailing close to windward of a boat to prevent it from tacking. | ||
| Pinch | High mode | Sailing upwind at a heading closer to the wind than VMG mode. | Learn more |
| Pressure | Velocity | Slang term for true wind velocity. | |
| Rigging terms | Standing rigging, running rigging, shrouds, stays, sheets | Learn more | |
| Roll tack/gybe | Using weight to roll the boat, minimizing rudder use and accelerating after the sail crosses. | Learn more | |
| Sail in clear air | Strategy to sail in wind that is undisturbed by other boats. | Learn more | |
| Sail the boat on its lines | Angle of heel | Sailing with the optimum angle of heel. The design of the boat (its “lines”) dictates the optimum heel angle. | Learn more |
| Sail the headed gybe | Strategy to minimize distance sailed downwind by staying on the gybe that points you closer to the mark. | Learn more | |
| Sail the lifted tack | In phase, out of phase | Strategy to minimize distance sailed upwind by staying on the tack that points you closer to the mark. If you sail the lifted tack and change tacks when the opposite tack becomes lifted, you are in phase with the shifts. | Learn more |
| Shifts – Oscillating | Wind that is shifting back and forth around an average direction. | Learn more | |
| Shifts – Persistent | Wind that shifts in one direction, either progressively, or one time during a leg. | Learn more | |
| Skewed course | Unbalanced legs | A course in which the long tack is significantly longer than the opposite tack. A skewed course is not square to the wind. | |
| Slam dunk | A boat on starboard tack (S) crosses just ahead of a port tacker (P) and then tacks as P is ducking her. If S does this right, she will end up with control, to windward and slightly ahead of P. | Learn more | |
| Spinnaker terms | Symmetric, asymmetric, code ratings, sheet, guy, pole, dousing | Learn more | |
| Stalling | Separation of air flow from the leeward side of a sail. Also, separation of water flow from a foil (centerboard, lee board, rudder). Stalling occurs when the angle of attack of the sail or foil is too large for the flow velocity. | ||
| Tacking angle | When sailing close-hauled, the angle between the boat’s headings on port and starboard tack. Normally roughly 90 degrees but changes by +/- 10 or more degrees in light and heavy wind. | Learn more | |
| Take a hitch | Tactical maneuver to tack away from a boat ahead and then tack back to obtain clear air or more wind. | ||
| Take height | | Sail more closely to the wind, as a result of extra speed. Not exactly the same as pinching, which is sailing closer to the wind but accepting a small loss in speed. | |
| Telltales | Shroud tales, luff tales, leech tales | Shroud telltales – ribbons or yarn placed on the side stays (shrouds) to indicate the apparent wind. Luff telltales (or sail tales, woolies, ticklers) – ribbons or yarn placed behind the luff of the sail to indicate airflow over the sail. Leech tales – ribbons placed on the trailing edge (leech) of the sail to indicate air flow. | Shroud tales Luff tales Leech tales |
| Tiller towards trouble | Expression to help new sailors sail in the groove. Move the tiller toward the luff telltales that are fluttering. | ||
| Traveler | Control to change the sheeting angle of the mainsheet. | Learn more | |
| True wind | The direction and speed of the wind over the water, as measured from a stationary reference. | ||
| Twist | Twisted, untwisted | The change in angle of attack from top to bottom of a sail. | Learn more |
| Up in the lulls, down in the puffs | Soak low, heat it up | Downwind technique to maintain boat speed and maximize downwind VMG. Head up in a lull (heat it up) and head down in a puff (soak low). | Learn more |
| Vang sheeting | Tensioning the vang so that the boom moves to leeward but not up when easing the mainsheet in a puff. | Learn more | |
| Veer, back | Wind shift, righty, lefty | Veer – a true wind shift to the right when facing upwind. Back – a true wind shift to the left when facing upwind. | |
| Velocity Made Good | VMG | Measure of the rate at which you are making progress directly upwind or downwind. | Learn more |
| Velocity shift | Velocity header/lift | A change in the apparent wind direction due to an increase or decrease in the velocity (not direction) of the true wind. | Learn more |
| VMG mode | Sailing at the heading that maximizes the VMG, upwind or downwind. | Learn more | |
| When in doubt, let it out | Let the sail breathe, ventilate | Expression that reminds us to avoid over-trimming the sail. Applies in light air, in a lull, or when the boat is going slower than it should for the wind speed. | Learn more |
| Windex | Wind vane, wind finder | Rotating wind indicator at the top of the mast. | Learn more |
Related Content
Sailing Terms from L-36.com – comprehensive list of terms, not limited to racing terms
Nautical Language – Expressions from Our Seafaring Roots – not limited to racing terms
No mention of ‘Banging the corner’?
Good one.