Craig's windsurfing A to Z

A

Apparent Wind
Combination of true wind and induced wind (created by boards motion) felt by the sailor. The faster you travel the greater the induced wind and thus the greater the apparent wind.
(also see True Wind)

B

Battens
Carbon or glassfibre flexible strips inserted inside long pockets sewn into the sail to create a full rigid shape or camber to the sail, hence enhancing its performance.

Beach Start
From a standing position in the water, offering the sail to the wind and jumping on at the same time. Better and quicker than uphauling, looks a bit more flash too.

Bearing away
Turning the board downwind, in other words changing course to a heading that is further away from the general wind direction.

Beating
Sailing as close to the wind as possible without turning directly into the wind.

Beaufort Scale
Wind speed, based on knots, measured from force 0 (stay at home) to force 12 (suicidal).

Blank
Lump of foam ready to be shaped into something that resembles a windsurfer.

Blasting
When your really shifting well!

Blow Moulding
Very durable, cheap board manufacturing process with an outer skin made from Polyethylene or polypropylene.

Boom
Carbon or steel tube that runs around the sail from the mast to the clew which the sailor holds onto to steer the board.

Buoyancy
Buoyancy is relative to your body weight. The heavier you are the more buoyant a board needs to be, or else you'll sink.

C

Camber
Fullness of the sail.

Camber Inducer
Fits to the end of a couple of the battens to ease rotation of the sail around the mast, keep its rigid shape and improve aerodynamics.

Carve gybe
Changing course by banking the board at high speeds.

Centre of Effort
Point on the sail where wind power is concentrated.

Centre of Lateral Resistance
Balance point of a board on which it turns.

Cleat
Toothed fitting to keep ropes in secure location.

Clew
Back end of sail attached to the boom.

Close Hauled
Sailing up close to the wind.

Cringle
Eyelet in the sail to thread lines through.

Cross-Shore
Wind comes from left to right or vice-versa, according to shore line.

D

Dacron
Woven polyester material used in the manufacture of sail cloth.

Daggerboard
Large central fin used to improve stability in light wind conditions or while sailing close to the wind. Usually retractable for speed sailing.

Deck Plate
Mastfoot socket on mast-track.

Downhaul
Amount of rope tension between sail and mastfoot pulley.

E

Easirigg
Hand saving handle with a cleat used to ease the downhaul procedure.

F

Fin
Or skeg, used at the rear of the board to keep it in a straight line, especially upwind.

Foot
Base of sail.

Footstraps
Board surface mounted straps to put your feet into when blasting.

G

Grunt
Hand saving handle with a cleat used to ease the downhaul procedure.

Gybing
Changing course downwind.

H

Harness
Belt type arrangement used to hook into a harness line on the boom to take the strain from your arms.

Head
Top of the sail.

Head Up
Changing course into the wind.

Hull
Another term for the board without the rig.

I

Intermediate
Sailor in transition period between beginner and expert - learning footstraps, harness and strong wind conditions.

IYRU
International Yacht Racing Union - Responsible for the Olympic Class of windsurfing.

J

Jumping
Generally a short board technique, when the board hits a decent sized wave it leaves the water.

K

Knots
Nautical miles per hour. 1 Nautical mile=1.65km (2,020 yrds).

L

Leash
Rope connecting board to rig in case the two come apart.

Leeward
Side of the board the wind is blowing onto.

Leeway
Amount a board slip sideways.

Leach
Edge of sail between head and clew of sail.

Lifejacket
Precaution to keep you afloat should you get knocked out.

Loop-loop-go
Alternative to cringle or eyelet on sail.

Luff
Front edge of sail, between head and tack.

Luffing
Sailing into the wind.

M

Mast
Glassfibre pole which runs up the height of the sail.

Mast Extension
Used to accommodate larger sails.

Mastfoot
Universal Joint, used to connect the board/deckplate to the rig/mast.

Mast Protector
Padded Protection from impact damage due to rig hitting board.

Mast Track
A method of changing sailing characteristics by moving the deckplate up and down the board by use of a deck mounted pedal.

Monofilm
Transparent film material used to make modern sails.

Mylar
Polyester film material used in the manufacture of sail cloth.

N

Neoprene
Rubber, waterproof material used for making wetsuits.

Non-slip
Rough coating on top surface of board to improve foot traction.

O

Offshore Wind
One to avoid if you're inexperienced. The wind blows straight out to sea and requires a good upwind technique.

Olympic Board
The Mistral One Design is the official Olympic board.

One Design
Used in racing, i.e the Mistral 'One Design'. All sailors competing have exactly the same kit which eliminates any technical advantage.

Onshore Wind
A safe wind for beginners because if you get into difficulties you will eventually be blown back to shore. Stronger onshore winds can made it a bit wavy.

Outhaul
Line that connects the clew to the end of the boom.

Overpowered
Using a sail that too big for the wind conditions your in. It may be better to use a smaller sail.

P

PBA
Professional Boardsailors' Association.

Planing
Skimming across the waters surface, rather than moving through it.

Pointing
If you're sailing upwind, you're pointing higher than if you were sailing downwind.

Polypropylene
Hard wearing plastic used on outer skin of blow-moulded boards.

Polyurethane
Foam core used in board manufacture.

Port
Left when looking forward. Indicated by the colour red
(opposite to Starboard).

Powered up
Enough wind in the sail to get you planing.

Pumping
Pushing and pulling on the rig to create wind in the sail, this gets you going faster or gets you planing.

Q

Quiver
A full quiver of sails should contain a sail for virtually any wind condition.

R

Rail
Edge of the board.

Reaching
Beam Reach is when you're sailing at right angles to the wind, Broad Reach is when the wind is partially coming from behind you.

Rig
The Sail combined with the boom, mast, mastfoot etc.

Rip
A fast flowing current.

Roach
The outside edge of the sail between the head and clew.

Rotational Sail
A rotational sail has battens that run along the width of the sail to create an efficient aerofoil shape.

Running
Sailing directly downwind, slow and unstable though.

S

Simulator
A board on dry land mounted on a turntable stand, used to teach beginners the basics of windsurfing.

Skeg
Another word for a fin.

Slot
Space between foot of sail and deck of board. Closing up the slot makes the boards speed increase.

Slot flusher
Stops water squirting through the daggerboard slot and also reduces drag by having two strips of flexible plastic covering the slot on the underside of the board.

Soft Sail
Sail unsupported by full length battens. Light weight but unstable in stronger winds.

Starboard
Right when looking forward. Indicated by the colour green.
(opposite to Port).

Steamer
One piece wetsuit, usually with zip up the back.

T

Tack
The bottom corner of the sail.

Tacking
Changing course with the boards nose turning through the eye of the wind.

Teardrop
Recent development in board planshape featuring a long drawn out nose and a majority of the volume in the middle and rear of the board.

Tide
Sea movement induced by gravitational pull of the sun and moon. Always check tide times, characteristics and tidal range (sometimes its a long walk back if you finish at low tide).

Towing Eye
A hole in the nose of the board.

True Wind
Wind you feel while stationary
(also see Apparent Wind).

U

Underpowered
When the wind is too light for your sail. A larger sail would catch more wind.

Universal Joint
Rubber or mechanical coupling attached to the mastfoot and clipped into the deckplate, for free, easy movement of the rig.

Uphaul
Piece of rope attached to mast/boom to enable you to lift the sail up out of the water.

V

Volume
A boards volume is a measurement of it's buoyancy and its weight carrying ability.

W

Waterstart
Technique mostly used in short boarding, whereby the sailor, while in the water flies the rig into the wind which pulls him or her out of the water onto the board and away!

Wetted area
Area of the board in contact with the water. The less the wetted area the faster the board.

Wide Point
The widest point of the board.

Windsurfer
The name 'Windsurfer' refers to the original Windsurfer invented by Hoyle Schweitzer, otherwise it's windsurfer (without the capital W).

Windward
The side of the board the wind is blowing onto.

World Cup The most prestigious title in windsurfing (sometimes referred to as World Tour), lots of prize money for course racing, slalom, and wave sailing. Run by the PBA

XYZ

Err, yeah, mmm, can't think of any windsurfing terms beginning with x,y or z!