Popular sailing terms and concepts worth knowing

If you're planning your first sailing holiday, it's worth familiarizing yourself with the basic terms used on board. It's good to know what more experienced travel companions are talking about before they seriously instruct you to gather the wake or reef the bowsprit! Don't let yourself become the object of friendly teasing and get acquainted with basic sailing terminology.

Bowsprit – a spar protruding forward from the bow of a vessel horizontally or slightly ascending, aiming, among other things, to move the rigging forward to gain space for the sails.

Reef – to reduce the sail area by tying its lower part to the boom.

Wake – is not any part of the boat. It's simply the sailing term for the trail on the water left by a moving yacht (or  motorboat).

Boom – a movable, horizontal pole attached to the mast. The lower edge of the mainsail is attached to it.

Mainsail – the main, largest sail

Jib – the front sail

Sheet – a rope for furling and unfurling sails

Galley – the kitchen on a boat

Locker – the storage area where yacht equipment or crew belongings are kept

Saloon – the room where meals are usually eaten, and the crew can spend time together and socialize

Tack – performing a maneuver to change the yacht's position relative to the wind

Rigging – a general term for the rigging and movable gear of the sails.

No-sail zone – such an angle of the yacht relative to the wind that makes sailing impossible (the wind blows directly into the bow and does not generate sufficient lift on the sail)

Order – tidiness on the boat

Safety harness – a harness that allows crew members to attach themselves to a line stretched along the deck. It is used, for example, in adverse weather conditions to prevent falling overboard.