Simondjuk
Well-Known Member
And won't it be a jolly old world once everything is standardised.
Commands for going about.
- Thread starter BlueSkyNick
- Start date
dleroc
Well-Known Member
Some 25 years ago the RYA instructor used the 'Ready about', Lee Ho / Gybe Ho terms. I still use that and the thought of anything else is confusing.
prv
Well-Known Member
This is bizarre. Has something gone wrong with the forum threading software? Most of the replies to my posts, however valid they may be on their own, seem to be complete non-sequiteurs against the posts they're quoting.
Pete
BlueSkyNick
Well-Known Member
mmmm. Just as I thought when I started the thread - a complete mish mash of answers and no 'norm' .... and long may it continue !!
Poignard
Well-Known Member
Just like Communist China when everyone had to wear blue boiler suits. But human nature being what it is, some expressed their individuality by decorating theirs with a selection of biro pens in the top pocket!
maby
Well-Known Member
mmmm. Just as I thought when I started the thread - a complete mish mash of answers and no 'norm' .... and long may it continue !!
I'm not sure that is true - of those that admit to any relatively formal set of calls, they seem to settle on a relatively small set of phrases, though there is disagreement about spelling and origin. Then you have a group that either don't bother at all, or go in for something more informal like "Get your ruddy head down" - the number of contributors has been far too small to come to any conclusions about the relative sizes of the two (three?) groups...
shaunksb
Well-Known Member
Allan
Well-Known Member
I've only read the first and last pages of this thread.
Normally I use "ready to tack" wait for responses then "tacking now".
Recently, on a club cruise, I found a new call:-
Me. "tack then tea or tea then tack dear?"
Crew. "let's tack first and enjoy our tea afterwards"
Me. "would you like to do ropes or helm?"
Crew. "I'll do the helm this time if that is OK?"
Me. "yes certainly, there you are, I'll put the kettle on before we tack"
Me. "OK kettle's on, I'm ready to tack"
Crew. "right off we go".
Not sure how that would work in a racing situation!
Allan
Normally I use "ready to tack" wait for responses then "tacking now".
Recently, on a club cruise, I found a new call:-
Me. "tack then tea or tea then tack dear?"
Crew. "let's tack first and enjoy our tea afterwards"
Me. "would you like to do ropes or helm?"
Crew. "I'll do the helm this time if that is OK?"
Me. "yes certainly, there you are, I'll put the kettle on before we tack"
Me. "OK kettle's on, I'm ready to tack"
Crew. "right off we go".
Not sure how that would work in a racing situation!
Allan
DanTribe
Well-Known Member
I took a young lad for go on my boat. He had no experience but did seem to have a natural affinity.
He soon developed his own version of tacking commands ;
"Heads up, turning"
May not have been very nautical, but we all knew what was happening.
He soon developed his own version of tacking commands ;
"Heads up, turning"
May not have been very nautical, but we all knew what was happening.
jordanbasset
Well-Known Member
Bru
Well-Known Member
True but, and this is entirely a historical curiosity in truth, in the era where the already much discussed commands to tack a ship (and I'm firmly in the "ready about", "helm a lee", "lee ho" (for "let go and haul") camp) the term "gybe" was not in use, they would "wear ship"
I think "gybe ho" came about simply because in small craft when tacking "helm a lee" went out of use and "lee ho" became associated with the act of putting the helm over. In due course, people began to use "gybe ho" as the equivalent when gybing
Not that any of it matters really in a modern context provided everybody on a particular boat knows what the routine is on that boat but it has some historical interest for those of us interested in such things
st599
Well-Known Member
Lee Ho is definitely an abbreviation for Let Go and Haul
Gybe Ho is the command to Haul following a Gybe
Gybe Ho is the command to Haul following a Gybe
Flying Penguin
Well-Known Member
Well yes, but throwing more 'plain English' versions in the mix doesn't help anything! Even the arguments here are around a relatively small set of base words
For 'plain English', read 'sloppy, imprecise and requiring a degree of mind reading'
webcraft
Well-Known Member
prv
Well-Known Member
Yep - the only real split seems to be whether "lee oh" means the start of the turn or the point at which the crew should release the jib; if it's the latter then naturally something else has to be inserted to mark the start of the turn.
Pete
lotusman
Well-Known Member
Well yes, but throwing more 'plain English' versions in the mix doesn't help anything! Even the arguments here are around a relatively small set of base words
For 'plain English', read 'sloppy, imprecise and requiring a degree of mind reading'
I agree.
Taking action as a result of sloppy, imprecise guesses has high potential for damage to crew and equipment.
Language does of course evolve, but let's make the test for survival of the fittest language reasoned and thoughtful rather than experimental.
And bear in mind that what suits a racing dinghy may be insufficient for a cruiser or a large powerful racer.
Lakesailor
Well-Known Member
Not if you are sailing with me. You won't hear any quaint old salt type terminology. You'll just hear me say what I propose to do. If you have half a brain that's all you need to know what to do yourself.Well yes, but throwing more 'plain English' versions in the mix doesn't help anything! Even the arguments here are around a relatively small set of base words
For 'plain English', read 'sloppy, imprecise and requiring a degree of mind reading'
I see from another post that some people only tack 2 or three times a day so it perhaps becomes a big occasion. Maybe that's why the procedure seems so laboured.
Flying Penguin
Well-Known Member
Which works for small boats, familiar crews in calmish conditions.
If it's rough as a badgers nadger the boat is bigger or you have crew that don't quite yet complete each others sentences, the precision of language becomes important.
It doesn't matter if the etymology of the word has old salt roots or whether it's the name of an agreed Grammy nominee, as long as everyone on the boat knows what it is and it can't be mistaken for anything else. The problem with "plain English" type commands is that they are, well.. plain English. If you say "I'm going to tack", do you mean now? later? after that headland etc? Are we having a conversation or are you giving an instruction? Conversely, using "Ready about!" or "Prepare to tack!" or "Justin Beiber!" (or whatever the agreed standard is on that boat) is pretty damn unambiguous and can't be readily mistaken for the continuation of the conversation you were having before the tack.
Don't mistake precision for blind tradition, even if the words can trace their roots to traditional usage.
lotusman
Well-Known Member
Again, I agree with Flying Penguin and wonder why Lakesailor doesn't seem to?
Why disparage the links to a glorious romantic heritage, an understanding of which is enriched by the use of the language, adding immeasurably to the pleasure of time afloat.
maby
Well-Known Member
And how does anyone here think langauges evolve? Very few of the words that have been used in this thread are less than 500 years old - have they all worn out and become due for replacement?