Glossary Archive

The RYA Keelboat Start Racing course introduces sailors to the fundamentals of competitive keelboat racing. Participants learn essential racing rules, starting sequences, and tactics for upwind and downwind sailing. Practical sessions focus on mark rounding, sail trim, and teamwork in race scenarios. By the end, participants will feel confident competing in local or regional keelboat...

A two-masted fore-and-aft rigged sailboat with the aft mast (the mizzen) mounted (stepped) afore (in front of) the rudder.

Line or tackle to pull the boom down to keep it horizontal

Pronounced: key-loh The term for the letter K in the NATO Phonetic Alphabet.

This shape represents the Letter K (Flag Semaphore) and the Number 0 (Flag Semaphore).

International Morse Code sequence representing the letter K.

A unit of speed used in maritime navigation, equivalent to one nautical mile per hour. A knot is a crucial measurement in marine navigation, used to express the speed of vessels through water. One knot is defined as one nautical mile per hour, where a nautical mile is approximately 1.1508 statute miles or exactly 1,852...

A deliberate intertwining of rope or line designed to bind, secure, or attach objects. Knots are essential in marine environments for various tasks, including securing boats to docks, fastening sails, and joining two lines together. A knot's effectiveness depends on its ability to hold under tension, its ease of untying after being loaded, and its...

A local wind that blows from the land towards the sea, typically during the night, caused by the differential cooling rates of land and water. A land breeze is a coastal meteorological phenomenon that occurs when the land cools more quickly than the adjacent sea after sunset. As the land loses heat rapidly during the...

The event of a vessel sighting or reaching land after a voyage at sea. Landfall is a term used in the maritime world to describe the moment when a ship or boat first sights land after being at sea, or when it arrives at a specific coastal destination. This term is significant in navigation, as...