From the Boathouse: The difference between sailor and sailer
Ahoy!
Most of you will be reading this column while enjoying the Labor Day weekend, and this weekend typically signals the end of the summer season across the nation.
Summer in Southern California has been great for boating, with mostly moderate temperatures, only a few hurricane swells reaching our waters and fair afternoon winds blowing for the rag-boaters, er, sailboat sailors.
Notice the reference sailboat sailors? Keep in mind that using the reference sailors does not automatically signify someone on a sailboat being powered only by the wind upon the sails. According to Webster’s Dictionary, a sailor is defined as a person who makes his living by sailing, member of a ship’s crew, a traveler, a seaman, a traveler by water, or a stiff straw hat with a low flat crown and a straight circular brim. The last reference is very curious and does not seem to be a nautical definition.
Try not to confuse sailor with sailer — the “er” changes the reference to vessels having specified sailing qualities, a very loose definition. To complicate the matter further, sailing is a term to be used more generally than I usually hear in the harbors that I visit on the Pacific Coast.
Sailing is the technical skill of managing a ship, the method of determining the course to be followed, riding in a sailboat, or a departure from a port. So, the next time you head out to sea begin by telling your shipmates that you are all sailors sailing on a sailer.
Let me sail back from this nomenclature tangent and note that this is one of the busiest boating weekends of the year, along with the Fourth of July. I will be enjoying the extended weekend at the closing ceremonies of the Lake Arrowhead Yacht Club, located a mile high from sea level in the nearby San Bernardino Mountains.
As I frequently mention in my columns and speaking engagements, we are fortunate in Southern California to be at a latitude that allows boating and outdoor activities to continue basically year-round. Lately, we have had only a few winter time souwesters causing the need to seek shelter, but hopefully this winter season, we will have a few rain storms to fills our lakes.
As you can imagine with decades of delivery yachts up and down the Pacific Coast, I have experienced my fair number of storms while underway. I have been pounded falling off the tops of swells, windows blown out in the middle of the Pacific, and ripped off mooring cans while seeking shelter in a cove or harbor.
However, our weekend weather and sea conditions will be great for being on the water. The air temperature will be warm and patchy fog in the mornings. You will experience a mixed set if your venture into the ocean with a 2-foot west and a 2-foot south. rag-boaters will have good winds blowing 10 to 15 knots in the afternoons.
However, the Hawaiian Islands are keeping an eye on Hurricane Lester that should pass just to the north of the chain. Lester was a major Hurricane at the beginning of the week and decreasing in intensity. Hence, a contributor of our 2-foot southern swells.
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Tip of the week: I want everyone to play it safe on the water this weekend, especially in congested harbors. Labor Day weekend will be very busy in our local harbors and off our coastline if King Neptune does not kick up the seas.
The No. 1 tip that I can give to boaters is to be aware of your surroundings. Boaters need to lose the tunnel vision of just looking forward, but frequently turn heads to look 360 degrees around their boats.
A majority of accidents occur because of the skipper’s inattentiveness to what is happening around their vessel. As such, collisions occur when skippers turn their boats without looking to see if another boat is approaching from behind. Personal Water Crafts (PWCs) have a high accident rate attributable to an inexperienced rider making a turn and getting hit by someone from behind.
Boat safe, boat smart, and wear your life jacket. Lastly, please boat responsibly. I cannot emphasize enough to look behind you before you turn your vessel.
The original boating program, “Boathouse TV & Radio Shows,” has stretched from coast to coast for more than two decades. See the details at boathousetv.com, facebook.com/boathouseradio and twitter.com/boathouseradio.
Safe Voyages!
MIKE WHITEHEAD is a boating columnist for the Daily Pilot. Send marine-related thoughts and story suggestions to mike@boathousetv.com or go to boathousetv.com.