Learning the ropes

YOU DONT HAVE TO learn the names of all the ropes immediately you start sailing. Some boat owners like to show off their knowledge by using technical terms that beginners can’t understand. They give the impression that you can’t sail, or even crew efficiently, if you’re not familiar with nautical jargon.

That’s not true, of course. You only have to see the kindergartners sailing the Optimists to know that. In fact, the more a skipper insists on pompous correctitude, the less likely he or she is to be a capable and experienced mariner.

Sailor’s lingo was important in the heyday of sail, when sailing ships had hundreds of lines and sailors had to know each one by name. But those times are past. If you’re a beginner, you can pick up the right terms at your own pace now.

Skippers whose self-importance exceeds their knowledge often insist that when rope is taken aboard a vessel, it becomes line. Not so. There are several kinds of ropes, including bolt ropes and foot ropes. And guess what sailors themselves said of a hand who showed professional competence? They said he “knew the ropes.” No experienced sailor ever boasted that he “knew the lines.”

If you’re a skipper trying to teach someone to sail, it helps if you repeat the correct phrase after giving a simplified one, so that your novice can learn the sailor’s lingo quickly and naturally.

Today’s Thought

To know how to suggest is the great art of teaching.
— Amiel, Journal, 16 Nov., 1864

Tailpiece

“And how’s Mr. Vigor doing this morning, nurse?”
“Much better, doctor. He tried to blow the foam off his medicine.”

 

Where do they get 11 percent?

SAFETY EXPERTS say their rule of thumb for the working load of three-strand laid line is that it should not exceed 11 percent of its tensile strength.

Those experts! Where do they get 11 percent from? It’s one of those statistics that gnaws at the mind. Why not a nice round figure such as 10 percent, or 25 percent?

Eleven percent, besides being a very odd figure, also seems awfully low. That’s using only about one-tenth of the line’s ultimate strength — surely a wasteful and expensive way to go about things.

The fact is that ropes have become so strong in recent years that we choose our sheets for their handling qualities more than their strength. A properly sized sheet would most often be too thin for comfort if you’re using bare hands.

Braided rope, on the other hand, may be pressed into use at 20 percent of its breaking strength. They claim that the core of braided rope is better protected as the rope ages.

I have to say that 25 percent seems to be a perfectly reasonable figure for the three-strand rope, though — with the possible exception of the anchor rode, and the halyard that’s hauling me up the mast in the bosun’s chair.

Today’s Thought
Who can hope to be safe? who sufficiently cautious?
Guard himself as he may, every moment’s an ambush.
— Horace, Odes.

Boaters’ Rules of Thumb, #183
Are your crew or passengers going to be seasick or not? The symptoms of mal de mer often occur in the following order, thus giving the observant skipper a chance to find calmer water or return home before the inevitable happens:
► Frequent yawning
► Slight headache
► Dry mouth
► Wan pallor
► Cold sweat
► Nausea
► Vomiting

Tailpiece
Teacher halted the class in front of the deer enclosure at the zoo.
“Tommy,” she said, “do you know the name of that creature over there?”
“No, teacher.”
“Come on now, Tommy, I’ll give you a clue. It’s what your mother often calls your father.”
Tommy’s eyes opened wide in amazement. “Gee, Miss,” he said, “I never realized a louse was so big.”

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