Watch your language…

I remember very clearly my first brush with sailing jargon. I had been invited to attend a weekend cruise (jolly outing) with my Dad's sailing club (friendly collection of boat owners and willing sailors.) However, when I arrived at the marina (boat park) the entrance to the pontoons (walkways) was locked. A quick call on the mobile located the skipper (bloke in charge of that boat) who informed me that I should find the first mate (his missus) who was in the 'heads'…. "The what?" I replied, thinking the telephone reception must be bad so far from London, "The heads," he repeated. Well I had to check again, but that was indeed what he had said. What on earth could the 'heads' be, I puzzled. A collection of marble busts in the nearby clubhouse? Perhaps there was a 'head teacher' type character in the sailing school and she had been summoned for poor results in that evening's knot tying master class? Feeling like the village idiot I enquired further to be informed that the 'heads' were in fact the toilets.

Now according to the Oxford English Dictionary a 'head' is 'the upper part of the human body, or foremost or upper part of an animal's body, containing the brain, mouth and sense-organs'. Nothing about toilets in there. However reading further down the page one discovers that it can also mean 'a seat of intellect'… maybe the lavatorial link lies here! But why not call a loo a loo?

I've since discovered the world of sailing to be a mystifyingly complex web of jargon and terminology that I am still, three years later, getting to grips with. The differences are seemingly endless: beds are bunks; the kitchen is the galley; the lounge is the saloon; the stairs are the companionway. And as for simple ropes…well they can be sheets, lines, halyards, warps etc. I now understand how the Eskimos have 200 words for snow! Bilges, keels and cockpits I can deal with. My everyday life doesn't have these so I see the need for a unique name for these items. However the need to 'stow' 'provisions' in the 'galley' passes me by. Why can't I just put the shopping away in the kitchen?

Well it appears that many of these synonyms have long and distinguished historical roots ('etymology' for those who like jargon!) In fact a few may interest you. I'm told the term 'head' comes from the early days of sailing ships without toilets (shocking!) when the place for the crew to relieve themselves was all the way forward on either side of the bow, the part of the hull to which the figurehead was fastened. Presumably here lies a similar origin for the 'headsail'?

What about the Log Book? Apparently in the early days of sailing ships, the ship's records were written on shingles cut from logs. These shingles were hinged and opened like a book. The record was called the 'log book.' Later on, when paper was readily available and bound into books, the record maintained it name.

A number of terms commonly used in sailing have origins across the Channel in France. Perhaps the most well known, but hopefully least used, being 'Mayday' which is an anglicizing of the French m'aidez, "help me". The word 'port hole' is thought to have originated during the reign of Henry VI. King Henry insisted on mounting guns too large for his ship and the traditional methods of securing these weapons on the forecastle could not be used. A French shipbuilder, apparently named James Baker (not a very French name if you ask me), was commissioned to solve the problem. He put small doors in the side of the ship and mounted the cannon inside the ship. These doors protected the cannon from weather and were opened when the cannon were to be used. Those of you who paid attention during French lessons will know that the French word for 'door' is 'porte' which was later Anglicized to 'port' and later went on to mean any opening in the ship's side, whether for cannon or not.

I recently took a trip to Greenwich and visited the fantastic National Maritime Museum where I spent a very entertaining and informative afternoon learning about the history of maritime exploration. I also learned an innovative suggestion for the origin of the phrase 'dog watch' which I'm happy to impart to anyone at the next club night for a reasonable liquid fee! Alternatively, you'll have to visit this fine museum for yourself. (No, I'm not on commission.)

When I first started sailing I found the use of jargon both baffling and exclusive. I clearly wasn't 'one of the crowd' having no idea what to do when I was asked to tighten the main sheet or trim the Genoa. I felt bewildered and a burden to the remainder of the crew. Looking back I'm certain that a lot of this was to do with the attitude of the skipper and his ability to see beyond his years of sailing experience back to the realms of the land lubber. Those of you who know me will recognise that I'm not normally backwards about coming forwards, but I felt it was difficult to get a toehold on this strange and allusive world of sailing. So I make a heartfelt plea to you all to think about the newcomers next time you're out on the water or, dare I suggest, at the bar following a grand day out on the water. Keep a look out for the quizzical meeting of eyebrows on the faces of those new to the sport and watch your language.

Katie Jeffs