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 Red
Light, Green Light
by Mark King
Picture this: It is a breezy day; not quite
small craft warning weather, but a stiff breeze is blowing. A newer
32-foot cruiser pulls up to the transient dock at your local marina.
Skipper Anxious is at the helm, with a slightly frantic look twisting
sun and wind-burned features. First Mate Eager to Please is on the
bow listening over the breeze that rustles past ears making normal
conversation from helm to bow more difficult than usual.
Approaching the dock, Skipper has devised a plan.
The breeze will push the bow off the dock, at an angle. If First
Mate gets the bow line tied to the dock, backing down with the wheel
hard over will force the stern into the dock. Skipper barks the
orders across the bow. Half the volume is carried away in the breeze
but First Mate nods an understanding.
"When I get close enough, jump onto the dock and
take the rope on the front and tie it around the large cleat on
the dock," Skipper has stated with all-knowledgeable authority.
As the boat inches forward First Mate seizes an
opportunity and leaps for the dock, rope in hand.
Skipper can't see over the bow but can see that
First Mate is making motions of tying the rope.
First Mate looks up and gives the thumbs up and
moves to the finger dock to catch the stern as it arrives. Unfortunately,
this is First Mate's second trip and First Mate has had no training
by Skipper Anxious or anyone else.
As Skipper backs down, the rope begins to pay out.
Too late Skipper realizes First Mate has taken the anchor rode and
tied it around the service column on the dock.
After all, it was the heaviest rope on the bow
and shouldn't the largest thing on the dock be the sturdiest? The
anchor hooks onto the bow rail and all that's left to find out is
which is attached better, the service box or the bow rail.
Spend enough time around marinas and sooner or
later you too will see examples like this.
It helps illustrate two points: first, there is
no substitute for education and practice, and second, that all boaters,
skippers and their guests alike, must understand basic terminology
used in boating activities.
While incidents like the above result in arguments
for the crew involved and amusement for all on the dock, the serious
side is what our hapless friends might have done in an emergency.
At no time is correct terminology more important
than in an emergency situation.
If I hollered at you to grab the line on the right
side of the boat and tie it to the end of the anchor rope, would
you understand what I said? Does right mean right facing aft as
I am when I am yelling the instructions to you, or does it mean
right when we are both facing forward? And which end of the anchor
rope did I want you to tie the line to? And which line on the right
side? There are three there!
How about if I told you we were going to rescue
the man overboard using the yellow rope thingie with the red floatie
thing hanging up behind the back seat? Would you know I meant the
heaving line stored abaft the stern cockpit seat?
Emergencies are no time to have to spend precious
moments explaining what we mean. There is too much to do then. Besides
reviewing actions in our heads, we must concentrate on ensuring
our guests are safe, assigning tasks to our guests as necessary
and dealing with whatever problem has been presented. As part of
the Boating Course Standard developed by the Office of Boating Safety,
certain terminology is mandatory for boaters to know.
In the last column we looked at two of those terms,
wake and wash. How many of the following can you adequately describe
to your crew? Abaft, ahead, astern, beam, bilge, draft, port, starboard
and underway.
As well as some clearly stated definitions that
need to be learned and understood by pleasure craft operators as
part of the Boating Course Standard, there are many more involved
in boating and safety requirements that you must learn and understand.
If you are in an emergency situation and are talking
to the Coast Guard on your VHF and they ask if you are near any
aids to navigation, or what was the last aid you remember, will
you know what they are asking or will you waste time requesting
an explanation?
Like any other occupation and pursuit, language
used on the water has developed over the passage of time. The development
of nautical terms is a fascinating study in itself. But, correct
use of the terminology is not just an opportunity to show you know
some nautical history. It is an essential element of boating. It
can mean the difference between making a tricky maneuver effortless
or making it costly. It can, in the worst case, mean the difference
between life and death.
Before heading out on the water, you might want
to learn more terms and spend time explaining them to your crew,
whether or not you think they will ever need to know.
(Lifeline is produced through the Safe Boater Training Program,
a certification program for recreational boaters.)
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