So, I have what I’m sure is a VERY silly question to someone who’s actually sailed, but I’ve tried about a dozen google searches and cannot for the life of me figure out the answer: If you were on a ship, how would one give the command ‘turn the ship to the right?’ I just need this one line for a writing project I’m doing, but Im having so much trouble figuring out what would be accurate! Im so sorry to bother you about something so simple, and I appreciate any guidance you have. Thanks so much!
So, sailboats and sailing ships turn by tacking (if the desired course is upwind, i.e. into the wind), which turns the ship’s bow (front) so that the side from which the wind blows changes, or by jibing (also called “wearing” on square-riggers) if the desired course is downwind, which turns the ship’s stern (rear end) through the wind, also changing the side the wind is blowing from. Either will turn the ship 90 degrees. One of the things about sailing is you always have to be aware of wind direction to figure out how to get where you want to go.
“Ready about” is the order to notify the crew that they will be tacking. The crew responds “Ready”, and the helmsman (the person at the wheel) will say “helm’s a lee”’ or “Lee O” to indicate they’ve started turning.
Then, once the skipper is happy with the direction the ship is heading, the order is “trim to course.”
Tl;dr: “Ready about! Helm’s a lee!” is probably what you’re looking for.
If everything I just said sounded like a giant pile of WTF, please let me know! I’m happy to try to re-explain.
