the jibe may instead be accompanied by the instructor screaming 'GET YOUR HEAD DOWN'
There is always a lot of screaming things like "GET YOUR HEAD DOWN" or "HEADS UP" or even "DUCK!" when novices are involved. No matter what the activity is.
Watching the documentaries on the Volvo race are mostly interesting for the various crewmen (always men, I note with some annoyance) talking about what was going on at such-and-such a point. They're not even half as heavy on the jargon as folks who do historically-accurate tall ships, but then, neither is my friend K, who was former Navy so he's not all archaic terms that used to be English and are now sailing-only. Though I do wish the documentaries had included more infographic visuals, instead of just every now and then showing the fleets' placement on a map. There were some references to things happening for which I had to rely on the video (which wasn't always clear) to figure out that they meant the sail had torn, or something had snapped. So, some jargon in there.
But more useful to me are the times they talk about weather conditions and wind, especially cloud formations, rain, squalls, and dead calm. That's the kind of thing that's pretty much unchanged in centuries of sailing (that you have, y'know, weather) even if we understand the causes and science slightly better, now. But despite all the computer equipment below-deck, they still have to rely on a certain amount of guesswork. It's when they describe the guesswork, and what they had to bet on, that I learn the most in terms of the mindset and factors at play, for use in a story. All the jargon in the world, imo, won't save a story if I don't a clue what makes sailors freak the hell out -- and the documentaries are pretty good at letting the sailors speak frankly about where and when they did freak the hell out. *takes notes*
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Date: 6 Dec 2012 05:45 am (UTC)There is always a lot of screaming things like "GET YOUR HEAD DOWN" or "HEADS UP" or even "DUCK!" when novices are involved. No matter what the activity is.
Watching the documentaries on the Volvo race are mostly interesting for the various crewmen (always men, I note with some annoyance) talking about what was going on at such-and-such a point. They're not even half as heavy on the jargon as folks who do historically-accurate tall ships, but then, neither is my friend K, who was former Navy so he's not all archaic terms that used to be English and are now sailing-only. Though I do wish the documentaries had included more infographic visuals, instead of just every now and then showing the fleets' placement on a map. There were some references to things happening for which I had to rely on the video (which wasn't always clear) to figure out that they meant the sail had torn, or something had snapped. So, some jargon in there.
But more useful to me are the times they talk about weather conditions and wind, especially cloud formations, rain, squalls, and dead calm. That's the kind of thing that's pretty much unchanged in centuries of sailing (that you have, y'know, weather) even if we understand the causes and science slightly better, now. But despite all the computer equipment below-deck, they still have to rely on a certain amount of guesswork. It's when they describe the guesswork, and what they had to bet on, that I learn the most in terms of the mindset and factors at play, for use in a story. All the jargon in the world, imo, won't save a story if I don't a clue what makes sailors freak the hell out -- and the documentaries are pretty good at letting the sailors speak frankly about where and when they did freak the hell out. *takes notes*