Terminology

[sorehead]

A few weeks ago I was at the helm when the skipper asked me to "Steer the boat to within a cable of the north cadinal".

Despite him repeatedly saying "That's good", what was he talking about?

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[Twister_Ken]

608 feet

10 cables = 1 nautical mile
6080 feet = 1 nautical mile

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[vyv_cox]

Was he so terrifying

that you couldn't ask him what he meant? Nobody knows everything and there is no such thing as a stupid question.

There have been several air crashes that were attributed to the extreme grumpiness of the captain, such that the crew felt unable to question his decisions. Not too likely in a yacht but the principle holds.

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[jimi]

He was probably advising you to keep clear of the power lines/forums/images/icons/laugh.gif

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[tcm]

The "boat" is the big white floating pointy thing that you were almost certainly on at the time. And when they say "steer", you would have had to turn the round wheel thing, probably nearish to the back, to make the "boat" go one way or the other.



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[Mirelle]

Or 202 yards, or 101 fathoms

Or slightly fewer metres; it depends on your age. The North Cardinal is the buoy with a black top and a yellow base and two arrow shapes pointing skywards on the top of it.

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[jimi]

The helm is an old fashioned hard hat or classic helmet.Some skippers have been known to use an upturned helm as a piss pot ..what were you doing with the helm that the skipper liked so much ?

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[oldharry]

Re: Get a new skipper...!

Dunno! Why not ask him. If thats not possible, then get yourself a new skipper.

At least then you will a) survive, and b) get to learn a bit more about whats happening.

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[Aeolus_IV]

You forget he might have had a stick to steer with in which case you need to point the stick in the wrong direction to steer....

Jeff.

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[MADFISH]

It probrably had handlebars.

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[Sybarite]

I heard a skipper give instructions to the new helm : "See the red light and the green light at the front. Steer for the mid point between them."

John

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[sorehead]

<<He was probably advising you to keep clear of the power lines>>

No. He wanted me to keep clear of a broaching Oceanis 331. Come to think of it, I read a post on here that your boat broaches quite a bit.

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[jimi]

At least it comes upright after a broach ... unlike some others I can think of .. did'nt the earlier Beneteau's sometimes have a problem there? Only really broached the once ..

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[sorehead]

dunno. never been on one that's broached

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[tcm]

It only happens at high speed. No dangerof broaching if you stay on the pontton for month after month, or plan to go on a long trip, but then don't.

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[Peppermint]

Re: Yer Viking roots are showing again.

Why was the helm upturned?

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[Twister_Ken]

Only broaches when the S*nsail Chute is up.

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[Ohdrat]

Re: Terminology - Broaching

Is this when you pin a bejewelled lump of metal on your sails to attact attention?

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[tcm]

Re: oops!

we weren't counting that!

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[Twister_Ken]

Re: Terminology - Broaching

No, that's brooching - a kettle of fish of an entirely different colour.

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