Glossary

A named sea area used in the UK Shipping Forecast, surrounding the Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic.

The forecast area takes its name from...

Favourable or clear when describing weather, and smooth or continuously shaped when describing a vessel’s surface or line.

A fair wind assists...

A named sea area used in the UK Shipping Forecast, around Fair Isle between Orkney and Shetland.

The area takes its name from the island...

A fitting that guides a rope, wire or cable along a required lead or through a change of direction.

Fairleads include smooth eyes, horns,...

A navigable channel or recognised route through a harbour, river or other confined waterway.

A fairway is normally the part of the waterway...

A safe water mark used to identify a channel centreline, approach or landfall.

Under the IALA buoyage system, the mark has red-and-white...

To alter course away from the wind.

Falling off is also called bearing away. Sail trim must normally be eased as the apparent wind moves aft,...

A named sea area used in the UK Shipping Forecast, south of Ireland around Fastnet Rock.

The area takes its name from Fastnet Rock, southwest...

A unit of length equal to six feet, or 1.8288 metres, traditionally used for water depth and cable length.

Older charts and sounding records...

An International Code of Signals flag whose single-letter meaning is “I am disabled; communicate with me.”.

The Foxtrot flag may be displayed...

An expression meaning to feel sad, dispirited or melancholy.

A frequently repeated maritime story connects the phrase with blue flags or...

A resilient buffer placed between a vessel and a berth or another vessel to reduce contact damage.

Portable fenders may be inflatable,...

A board placed between a vessel's fenders and a rough or widely spaced berth face to spread contact loads.

It bridges piles or irregular...

A technique for crossing flowing water by pointing the vessel into the stream so the current carries it sideways across the channel.

The...

The uninterrupted distance of open water over which wind blows in a broadly constant direction.

Fetch is measured along the upwind water...

A tapered tool used to open rope strands and assist with splicing and ropework.

A traditional fid is commonly wood or metal and is pushed...

A stopper knot formed by passing the working end around the standing part and back through the resulting loop in a figure-eight path.

It...

A qualifier used in seabed descriptions to indicate material with a small particle size.

It is abbreviated with a lower-case f and must be...

An RYA first-aid course addressing common emergencies afloat and the constraints of delayed professional assistance.

It covers initial...

An International Code of Signals substitute pennant repeating the first flag or pennant in the same hoist.

Substitutes allow a signal group to...