Going about - what commands?

Serin said:
I presume people still do it, so I wonder what people call it now.
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I've always called it 'stemming the tide'.
On a delivery trip, a poncy jumped up YM Instructor (motor and sail) who was skippering, once informed me that we would ferry glide to pick up a mooring, and added 'but I suppose that you don't know what that means', as I had told him that I hadn't done any RYA practical courses.
 
I grew up sail on rivers so not really up with these convoluted procedures some seem to follow. It was "readyaboutleeho" said as fast as you could as you spotted a tree branch about to foul your mast.

These days I am enjoying the wideopen spaces of Chichester Harbour (!) and a novice crew who doesn't like to be surprised, so it's now:

"I'm going to tack in a minute"
...
...
"Are you ready?"
...
"yes!"
"OK, tacking in 5...
4...
3...
2...
1...
Tacking"

I sometimes throw in a ready about or a lee ho (I'm another another who didn't hear it properly when a kid!), but I don't think they are noticed or appreciated.
 
LadyInBed said:
I've always called it 'stemming the tide'.
On a delivery trip, a poncy jumped up YM Instructor (motor and sail) who was skippering, once informed me that we would ferry glide to pick up a mooring, and added 'but I suppose that you don't know what that means', as I had told him that I hadn't done any RYA practical courses.
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What a foolish instructor.

Ferry glide is a term I have known for many years, and certainly not from any RYA course, but not one I have often had occasion to use - unlike the technique itself. In fact I think using it came long before hearing anyone name it. However, I think it is a slightly more accurate term than "stem the tide", which can simply mean holding the boat still, without necessarily using the tide to move it sideways. Perhaps Jumbleduck's "crabbing" conveys it better.

In general I like the precision of nautical terminology as against the potential clumsiness and ambiguity of day to day language used to describe the same things, actions and situations. Left and right instead of port and starboard is, of course, the classic example. Or, perhaps, the recent trend of referring to "parking" the boat. So, is that anchoring? Mooring? Berthing alongside?........ Of course you can't expect novices to respond until they know the terms and are used to them, but what happened to the pleasures of learning new stuff? That's the stuff of life.

As for going about - I was brought up in dinghies on "ready about" and "lee oh". The process is usually more conversational on our boat, but we do still refer to going about or tacking and gybing. And we never "park". :)
 
Humm, well stemming the tide, ferry glide and lee oh are nautical terms that were around long long before the RYA courses were written up, and probably long before the RYA instructors were thought of.
Each has its own best uses out on the water.
A 'ferry glide' can be used not only to go sideways or crabbing across the current but to go down tide and across the tide at the same time with the advantage of keeping the craft head into the current at all times. Often used when berthing (or parking :-)) ones craft, as one can berth moving side ways into it, very useful when there are craft both ahead and astern of your berth.
Maintaining the craft head into the current, ie stemming the current, will give maximum control over the craft when maneuvering especially in close quarters or fast running current /tide conditions, as a 'safe mode' that can quickly adopted is stationary stemming the tide. Warps etc can be thrown from this position more easily that from a moving craft if necessary.
NB when these nautical terms were originated most craft probably had long keels as the norm as it probably helps if ones craft can be maneuvered in this way.
 
I crew with a skipper who has a large array of volunteer crew and non-sailing friends so each trip out can be a total mixture of new people, old hands and occasional non-sailors. We get all sorts.

Crew 1, at least one other experienced sailor:

Ready about?
What, already? Surely not.
(there ensues an argument of about 5 minutes while we approach the beach at speed)
Oh alright then.
Emergency tack followed by sound of entire cabin contents changing sides (and on one memorable occasion the cutlery drawer joining them)

Crew 2, several non-sailors:

Could you pull that rope there? No, the other one. No, the one down there with the blue bits.
Lee ho.
No don't worry, it wasn't an important rope. I'll get it in a minute. Sorry, was that your foot? Yes the sails often make a lot of noise when they flap like that. No it wasn't your fault, we often have to do it twice.

Crew 3, experienced sailors but not on this boat:
Ready about?
Ready
Lee Ho
(Genoa sheets let go, tack stops)
Sorry, thought I must have missed 'Helms a Lee'.
or the alternative where we heave-to because crew are waiting for 'let go and heave'

Sailing with new people all the time doesn't half teach you about the need for effective communication.
 
Right, I'm going to give this Jack Sparrow malarkey a go. But how would it work on a modern yacht, say at the windward mark:

"Run up the Code 2 ye scurvy scum, or I'll send ye to meet Davy Jones" :confused:
 
bbg said:
Sequence goes something like this

OK. You ready?

I dunno. I think it's a bit early.

Maybe. But we've only got two guys to the right and the rest of the fleet is going left. Better to cover the fleet. We're far enough right already.

Maybe a few more boat lengths.

Not long, though.

(Pause)

Right, that's a header, we should go.

Yeah, let's go.

(helm down, tack completed in silence)
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Absolutely a verbatim repeat of the chatter on my boat that occurred frequently throughout this past summer. The difficulty for me is that I was singlehanded.
 
Capt Popeye said:
Often used when berthing (or parking :-)) ones craft, as one can berth moving side ways into it, very useful when there are craft both ahead and astern of your berth.
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On a mooring at Burnham on Crouch recently I sat and watched a fleet of open keelboats (not sure of the class) return to their tightly packed moorings just ahead of me after their race. One after another they rounded up abreast of, and close to, their moorings and used the last of their way to ferry glide across to an effortless and perfect pick up (every time) A real pleasure to watch and excellent entertainment for the half hour immediately after the sun had gone over the yardarm. :)
 
Capt Popeye said:
Humm, well stemming the tide, ferry glide and lee oh are nautical terms that were around long long before the RYA courses were written up, and probably long before the RYA instructors were thought of.
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Reminds me of decades ago when I took my cousin, a Queens Guide, out in my dinghy. She was curious to know how I had learnt those "Guide knots"!

Mike.
 
Serin said:
On a mooring at Burnham on Crouch recently I sat and watched a fleet of open keelboats (not sure of the class) return to their tightly packed moorings just ahead of me after their race. One after another they rounded up abreast of, and close to, their moorings and used the last of their way to ferry glide across to an effortless and perfect pick up (every time) A real pleasure to watch and excellent entertainment for the half hour immediately after the sun had gone over the yardarm. :)
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Humm, yes a great sight to see such Yachtsmanship in action, especially when one appreciates the skill and knowledge required of thous dinghy sailors :-)
 
Ubergeekian said:
Some things are perfectly sensible. Port and starboard, for example, are independent of the way someone is facing. Some are OK but not strictly necessary - "Ted, can you go up to the front and be ready with a fender" seems just as good to me as "Ted, can you go forrard (or to the bow) and be ready with a fender". And some terms are, to me, just irritatingly pretentious. Veering some scope instead of letting out some chain, for example, or snottledog instead of bung.

And while we're on the subject, where did ferry-glide come from? Twenty years ago nobody used the term: now every other article in every sailing magazine wears it proudly on its sleeve.
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It's rather funny. I had never heard the term until I saw it on this forum a couple of years ago. I successfully guessed what it meant. I wonder why its used so much its certainly not intuitive to the uninitiated.

I don't know if this is the origin or not.
Once upon a time long ago.
There was an Infamous D.O.T examiner in Liverpool who when conducting Oral exams.
Liked to ask at least one potential 2nd Mate Candidate.
How to berth a single screw ship. In a Tight spot. On a berth in a River?
When they would inevitably fluff the answer. He would kick them out the exam room, giving until after lunch to find out or he would fail them.
When the unfortunate young man came out the door. The office lady, would say "its alright dear just go down to the Ferry take a round trip and ask to speak to the Captain."
On exam Days,
The Captain of the Mersey Ferry was well used to young men in their Sunday best coming for a trip to learn a bit of ship handling.
They would return to the D.O.T office after lunch and their certificate would be waiting for them.

I don't know if this is the origin of the term but knew a few 2nd Mates from Liverpool. I heard this tale over 30 years ago. The Original Examiner and Ferry Captain must be long gone.
I wonder If still done.
 
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Uricanejack said:
It's rather funny. I had never heard the term until I saw it on this forum a couple of years ago. I successfully guessed what it meant. I wonder why its used so much its certainly not intuitive to the uninitiated. Like most Slang it will go out of use again. Like "Fab".
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Do ferries glide?
 
Uricanejack said:
glide? I'm not sure.

I think they can "side slip".:)
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The former Rothesay ferry, the Saturn, had twin Voith-Schneiders and used to go sideways a treat. It was particularly good fun at the Wemyss Bay end - she'd head full tilt for the shore, stop about a length away and then whizz into her berth sideways. First timers would get visibly twitchy as she approached the shore. He successors, the Argyll and the Bute, have pods and aren't anything like as manoeuvrable - the Saturn could do a return trip every hour and the best they can manage is every ninety minutes.

771126318.jpg
 
Maybe I dreamt this but I'm sure I remember there being a ferry across the river Severn. It consisted of a cable suspended across the river, the ferry boat was tethered to a pulley block that ran on the cable. The ferry crossed the river by being angled to the flow of the current. There was no engine/oars involved. It wasn't very big, only for a few foot passengers.
 
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