Glossary Archive

This shape represents the Letter A (Flag Semaphore) and the Number 1 (Flag Semaphore). The presumed signals are letters. The signaller must use the 'Numerals (Numbers to Follow)' signal to indicate the next signal should be interpreted as a number. The signaller uses the Letter J (Flag Semaphore)--Letters to Follow--to revert to letters.

International Morse Code sequence representing the letter A.

All at sea is a nautical term for a situation where a ship or boat is adrift or lost at sea without any clear direction or sense of location.

A position above the deck, typically in the rigging or on the masts of a ship. Aloft is used to describe any position above a vessel's deck, particularly in relation to the masts, rigging, or sails. When sailors go aloft, they climb up into the rigging or onto the masts to perform tasks such as...

The position or location next to a vessel, dock, or quay where a ship can be moored or secured.  The term alongside is a fundamental concept in maritime operations, referring to the act or state of positioning a vessel parallel to another structure or vessel. When a ship comes alongside, it is manoeuvred carefully to...

Aloof originally had a different meaning than its modern-day use to describe someone emotionally distant. In maritime language, Aloof comes from the Middle English phrase “a luff,” where “luff” refers to the act of steering a ship’s bow into the wind (closer to the wind). The term describes keeping a boat at a distance or...

Pronounced: AL-far Letter "A" in the phonetic alphabet system.

Pronounced: AL-far Letter "A" in the phonetic alphabet system.

A method of transmitting information by varying the strength (amplitude) of a carrier wave in proportion to the signal being sent. Amplitude Modulation (AM) is a technique used in marine radio communications to encode audio or data signals onto a carrier wave by altering its amplitude. The frequency of the carrier remains constant, but the...

A US-based organisation that provides sailing education, certification, and accreditation for sailing schools and instructors.  The American Sailing Association (ASA) was founded in 1983 to promote safe and competent recreational sailing through standardised education and certification. It offers a structured curriculum covering various skill levels, from basic keelboat sailing to advanced offshore passagemaking. ASA-certified schools...