Not a marine-habiting dinosaur: Sea + thesaurus. A sailing lexicon for the different words sailors use for the same things—and the fine distinctions between them.
Sailing learners. While teaching in summer 2022, I often heard, “Oh, I thought that was called…” My reply: “It is, but…” Classroom language doesn’t always match what you hear aboard.
Sailors crossing regions and cultures. Think British spanner, American wrench. A Pacific Northwest sailor called taking up the last few feet of a halyard “stringing the bow”; on Chesapeake Bay, I learned “sweating.” These are usages I’ve heard, not universal labels.
Collect, compare, cross-reference. Corrections and contributions are welcome—especially where, when, and by whom a term is used.
Word origins where illuminating; uncertainty where warranted. Photos, diagrams, and perhaps videos to come.
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A measurement, not a sail.
The angle from the bow to the wind experienced aboard. Boat motion makes apparent wind differ from true wind; AWA helps describe a sail’s working range, but isn’t a sail name. [1]
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A reaching sail developed in offshore racing to fill the gap between a genoa and existing spinnakers. It sailed closer to the wind than a Code 1, earning an earlier slot in the numbered lineup—not a name for “zero wind.” [2]
Genoa + spinnaker. An asymmetric sail combining features of both. Usage sometimes includes a Code Zero; the names aren’t reliably interchangeable. [3] [4]