THE GLOSSARY: HOW TO SPEAK THE LANGUAGE

Port: Left.

Starboard: Right.

Windward: Where the wind’s coming from.

Leeward: Where the wind’s going.

(Now that you understand that, here’s the basic rule of sailing: A boat on starboard tack--the wind coming over its right side, opposite its mainsail--has right of way over a port-tack boat. If both are on starboard tack, the leeward boat has right of way. Keep reading. You’re almost an expert.)

12-meter: A boat conforming to the limits of the America’s Cup formula involving length, girth, ballast and sail area. Very complicated.

Forward/Bow: The front of the boat. The pointy end.

Aft/Stern: The back. You don’t like to see this part of the other guy’s boat.

Beam: The side of the boat. Also what sailors do when they win.

Keel: The big heavy thing on the bottom that keeps the boat from tipping over.

Sheets: Those big white things, right? Wrong. They’re the lines (never say “ropes”) that control the sails.

Headsail/Jib: The front sail.

Mainsail: The back sail.

Spinnaker: The pretty, parachute-like sail they use downwind.

Mast: The 90-foot vertical pole in the middle of the boat.

Boom: The horizontal pole over the back of the boat.

Headstay, backstay and shrouds: The cables (front, back and side) that hold the mast up.

Speaders: The struts sticking out from the mast.

Jibe: Sailing downwind, to turn a boat so that the boom crosses over. Don’t forget to duck.

Tack: Pay attention here. This can be (a) the front, lower corner of a sail, (b) the direction a boat is sailing, as in port or starboard tack, (c) the act of turning a boat across the wind so that the sails change sides or (d) the rations of a poverty-stricken 12-meter crew (as in “hard”).

Clew: Don’t call Sherlock Holmes. It’s the lower rear corner of a sail you’re looking for.

Head: (a) The top of a sail or (b) the bucket on board any 12-meter.

Halyards: The lines up the mast that hoist the sails. Oldtimers used to yell “Haul yards!” to raise the yardarms that carried the sails. Draws a lot of laughs sometimes.

Luff: (a) The front part of a sail or (b) to sail so close to the wind that the sails flutter, sometimes a tactical maneuver to force a windward opponent to tack. Prompts a lot of colorful conversation.

Mark: A buoy or other floating object marking the course to be sailed.

Cover: To position your boat so as to disturb the opponent’s wind or, when you have a big lead, just to stay between the opponent and the next mark.

Knot: A nautical mile-per-hour. A nautical mile is about 6,080 feet.

Beat: To sail upwind. Also, how the crew feels after a tough race.

Point: To sail as close to the wind as possible.

Pinch: To sail too close to the wind so that the boat slows down. Very tricky.

Run: (a) To sail downwind or (b) the best way to get a seat at a pub when the boats come in.