According to Origins of Sea Terms, by John G. Rogers, Lubber’s Lines are marks in the bowl of a ship’s compass, aligned for dead ahead, astern, and abeam. The origin of the term may be that an experienced helmsman did not need these aids to ascertain the ship’s heading, and to use them was considered lubberly.

Sailing Lingo aims to test your knowledge of the peculiar and sometimes indecipherable language of sailing. We pose a question and see who can answer it most accurately in the comments section of the post. Be sure to check the blog for the correct answer the following day. Good Luck!

In sailing, wing and wing is the most efficient use of the sails when sailing downwind. In sailing wing and wing, the main sail is let all the way out, and the jib is allowed to catch the wind on the other side of the ship. This allows for optimum wind on both sails, and the vessel is pushed forward.

Sailing Lingo aims to test your knowledge of the peculiar and sometimes indecipherable language of sailing. We pose a question and see who can answer it most accurately in the comments on the post. The following day we’ll post the answer to the question and save you some Googling.

Right sailing refers to running a course on one of the cardinal points of a compass, only altering the latitude or longitude. An early meaning still often used is straight.

Sailing Lingo aims to test your knowledge of the peculiar and sometimes indecipherable language of sailing. We pose a question and see who can answer it most accurately in the comments on the post. The following day we’ll post the answer to the question and save you some Googling.

The carrick bend is a knot used for joining two lines. It is particularly appropriate for very heavy rope or cable that is too large and stiff to easily be formed into other common bends.  It will not jam even after carrying a significant load or being soaked with water. The Carrick bend’s aesthetically pleasing interwoven and symmetrical shape has also made it popular for decorative purposes. This knot’s name dates back to at least 1783 when it was used by M. Lescallier in Vocabulaire des Termes de Marine.

Sailing Lingo aims to test your knowledge of the peculiar and sometimes indecipherable language of sailing. We pose a question and see who can answer it most accurately in the comments on the post. The following day we’ll post the answer to the question and save you some Googling.

Also known as pit logs pitometers are devices used to measure a ship’s speed relative to the water. They are used on both surface ships and submarines. Data from the pitometer log is usually fed directly into the ship’s navigation system.

Pitometers date back to days of sail when sailors tossed a log attached to rope knotted at regular intervals off the stern of a ship. The sailors would count the number of knots that passed through their hands in a given period of time. Today sailors still use the unit of knots to express a ship’s speed. The speed of the ship was needed to navigate the ship using dead reckoning, which was standard practice in the days before modern navigation instruments like GPS. During World War II, pitometer logs were often interfaced directly into warship fire control systems. This interface was necessary to allow gunnery and torpedo fire control systems to automatically track tar.

Sailing Lingo aims to test your knowledge of the peculiar and sometimes indecipherable language of sailing. We pose a question and see who can answer it most accurately in the comments on the post. The following day we’ll post the answer to the question and save you some Googling.