Category Archives: Sailing Trivia

by Tradewinds Instructor Ian Joseph Although a fathom is now a nautical unit of length equal to six feet, it was once defined by an act of the British Parliament as “the length of a man’s arms around the object … Continue reading →

Posh, an adjective describing stylish items or members of the upper class. A popular story derives the word as an acronym from “port out, starboard home”, referring to first class cabins shaded from the sun on outbound voyages east and … Continue reading →

Tides (from low-German ‘tiet’ = ‘time’) are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon and the Sun and the rotation of the Earth. Most places in the … Continue reading →

Sailing Trivia by Tradewinds Instructor Ian Joseph The vast majority of modern sailing boats, including the Tradewinds fleet are sloops. A sloop (from the Dutch word sloep, in turn from the French chaloupe) is a sailboat with a fore-and-aft rig … Continue reading →

Between 1958 and 1987 the 12mR class was used for the America’s Cup, the oldest and most prestigious trophy in sports. But even before that, the Twelves had been quite popular among the rich and famous owners of racing yachts … Continue reading →

Q. What is a burgee? A. A burgee is a distinguishing flag, regardless of its shape, of a recreational boating organization. Yacht clubs and their members may fly their club’s burgee while underway and at anchor, day or night, but … Continue reading →