Language

Sailorsam101 said:
Do you mean the one that says "look at the size of my bank balance"

or the other one that says "My boat is bigger than yours so i must be better than you at everything"

Can you tell i'm not a boat snob! I can't stand most of the yacht club fashion and poncing around. I've been on the water too long and too much to give a toss what i look like!
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+ 100 to that
 
markc said:
unless they are rich, perceived as a snob, have a bigger boat, wear clothes I don't like, say things I don't like - then of course I can hate as much as I like! #hypocrite
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I trust you understand that this was supposed to be a light hearted thread. No hate for anyone
 
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markc said:
Shouldn't this steaming pile of nonsense be in the lounge?
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Why is it nonsense? It’s actually a good point and something many boaters could take into account.

I am a boat language guy, have done a lot of training and know by port from starboard. However my wife doesn’t and she is my crew 90% of the time.

Mark of Elissar was kind enough to give me some tuition recently on battling the Hamble tide when berthing. And something he said hit the nail on the head. “It doesn’t matter what you call it, as long as you both understand”. So now I use whatever term my wife will know. Left, right, a kittens length, whatever it is, so life is now gooood....

So Dennis, a good post as you’re only as good as your crew and they need to know what the **** to do and vice versa....
 
jcwads said:
Why is it nonsense? It’s actually a good point and something many boaters could take into account.

I am a boat language guy, have done a lot of training and know by port from starboard. However my wife doesn’t and she is my crew 90% of the time.

Mark of Elissar was kind enough to give me some tuition recently on battling the Hamble tide when berthing. And something he said hit the nail on the head. “It doesn’t matter what you call it, as long as you both understand”. So now I use whatever term my wife will know. Left, right, a kittens length, whatever it is, so life is now gooood....

So Dennis, a good post as you’re only as good as your crew and they need to know what the **** to do and vice versa....
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Many thanks

Dennis
 
I don’t think that using nautical terms is ‘a bit snobby’ and having been around boats since I was a kid and having served in the RN I use nautical language without even thinking about it. I agree that it can cause confusion for the uninitiated so I try to use ‘plain English’ when we have non-boaters aboard but as already said, many names have a purpose and in those cases I brief people about what things are called, particularly if sailing.

I will never forget our first trip on the river in our first boat as we entered a lock and I urgently called to SWMBO to ‘fend off port’ - she looked in puzzlement and said words that are best not repeated on here as we scraped along the side of the lock :)

Some people will use specialised language / knowledge as a power thing with the aim of appearing superior but for many it is simply a practical / instinctive thing with no snobby-ness involved. The reaction is, sometimes, inverse snobbery of course :)
 
Praxinoscope said:
A double ‘spurlash’ is usually accompanied with several other sounds when you realise the anchor wasn’t tied on!
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Fairy nuff Prax!
But as a Friend of mine with a distinct 'Midlands' accent (which seemed to ad value at the Time) 'It's when yer mobile phone goes in the drink and yer reach to retrieve it an yer Raybans go in too arr', that's a double Spurlas Arr, innit'
:D
 
Kawasaki said:
Fairy nuff Prax!
But as a Friend of mine with a distinct 'Midlands' accent (which seemed to ad value at the Time) 'It's when yer mobile phone goes in the drink and yer reach to retrieve it an yer Raybans go in too arr', that's a double Spurlas Arr, innit'
:D
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Ah, them ‘Brummies’ do have a way with words.
 
You lot should think yourselves lucky!

My lovely lady does not know her left from right...and i'm not joking either...so no matter what language i use she gets it wrong.

Then to compound the issue she will ignore anything i say and do whats he wants. If i say "fenders for port side to a pontoon please" she will do stbd side with fenders high!

it's a constant battle and people take great joy in hearing the rows we have.

A few weeks ago we rafted alongside a yacht. Done this loads of times...i briefed her as usual...we arrived..she got off. I asked... her to put the line through the fairlead right by her foot....i got a blank stare back.

So i said.."put the line through the oval shaped bright shiny metal loop by your foot"..still silence and a blank stare! i pointed to it...still nothing....i had to go and show her what it was!

So using the right words are the least of my worries!
 
For me, part of boating was to learn all the lingo that goes with it, not a problem for those that don’t but nothing wrong for those that do.
 
Angele said:
I am one of those raggies, and the two biggest problems with using the colour of the rope in the description of which one to pull are:

1) I have lots of light blue ones (6 in total). They all control the sail at the front, but in subtly different ways. "Pull the light blue one" doesn't define which of the six I am talking about.
2) I still remember the colours that the ropes had when I bought the boat 13 years ago. I am told that both "the white one" and "the dark green one" are actually now both "grey" (albeit different shades). As a consequence, "pull the dark green one" tends to yield only a shrug of the shoulders.

:o
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So imagine what it's like for those on square riggers or multi-masted gaffers with dozens, if not hundreds, of ropes, all the same colour! :eek:
 
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