Some years ago, on a yacht returning to Sydney after the Hobart race, two new terms were coined by our crew. The first was ‘vulture position’, namely the act of hovering close to the person on the helm and waiting, not always patiently, for a turn at steering. The second was given to the woman who was hogging the wheel. We called her Araldite*, the goddess whose hands were obviously glued to the wheel.
These terms have not been included in The Language of the Sea because it is where you can learn the nautical terminology commonly used by the yachting fraternity worldwide. Where there are regional differences, these have been noted, but in most cases it is an international language.
*a variation of Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and beauty.
