Whisker pole

A light spar temporarily set between the mast and the clew of a poled-out jib to hold it square and keep it drawing when running.

Test your knowledge

Know your nautical terms? Play the free SkipperCheck daily maritime quiz — COLREGs, navigation, VHF radio, seamanship. Earn points, climb the global leaderboard.

Play the Daily Quiz →

Related W-terms

Watermaker

A reverse-osmosis desalinator that forces seawater through a semi-permeable membrane at hi…

Weather routing

The practice — today usually software-assisted using GRIB forecasts and the boat's polars …

Working sheet

The leeward sheet carrying load — the one actually trimming the sail at that moment.

Windward side

The side of the boat facing the wind.

Waypoint

A position — latitude and longitude — stored in a GPS or chartplotter and used as a step i…

Working sails

The mainsail plus the standard (working) jib — the boat's all-round sail wardrobe for mode…

← Back to full glossary