World-speak it seems, is becoming nothing more than a series of
acronyms, and maritime lingo is no different. It is simply loaded
with abbreviations. Hence this reference book.
I mean, we all know that ABYC is Algoa Bay Yacht Club, don t we? Or
that AGM stands for Annual General Meeting? Or that GP is what
happens in the likes of Monaco each year?
Wrong. In this American publication, you ll find American Yacht and
Boat Council, Absorbed Glass Mat (a storage battery feature), and
Geographical Positioning. And although there are many acronyms or
abbreviations with which we are, indeed, quite familiar, there are
some in this publication that are pretty obscure.
Still, if you are into Acro-speak, you ll find this compilation
interesting. If not, well...
*Sailing*
SYWNTB. After paging through Dictionary of Nautical Acronyms and
Abbreviations, by Donald Launer, that s my new acronym for Someday
You Will Need This Book. Count on it.
This book, published by Sheridan House, may keep you and your boat
out of trouble if you don t recognize an unusual notation on a
nautical chart. Or it may end an argument regarding the true
meaning of a familiar and overused acronym. If nothing else, it
will expand your nautical gray matter with useful and trivial
tidbits.
Donald Launer compiled all the relevant nautical acronyms and
abbreviations because he wanted a reference of this type for his
own use. And he was kind enough to share it with the rest of
us.
Don says, today, abbreviations, acronyms, and truncations are being
used with increasing frequency. This is partly due to the
widespread use of more sophisticated equipment on board, along with
their associated complexities, and partly due to the sometimes
mistaken belief that these abbreviations simplify explanations and
identifications.
For those new to boating, he continues, this problem is especially
daunting, since it seems as if they are listening to or reading a
foreign language. While many nautical terms, in themselves, can be
confusing, some of the acronyms and abbreviations can be
bewildering, and the many new abbreviations dealing with modern
electronics can be mystifying, even for old salts.
This book is organized in two parts. The first is an alphabetical
listing of acronyms and abbreviations, as you would expect. It
includes NOAA chart notations (in a much more convenient
organization than the one offered by NOAA, which requires you to
search for a notation such as dk or bu section by section). The dk
means dark, by the way, and bu means blue. Black had already taken
bl. Don lists these notations in italic type, as shown here,
according to NOAA chart protocol.
The second part of this book is an annotated version of Chart No.
1, in case you really do prefer to search for dk section by
section.
This book provides helpful illustrations as well for abbreviations
such as CB for center of buoyancy of a boat or Dec for declination
of a celestial body. What do the words really mean? The
illustrations will come in very handy. In fact, this entire book
will come in very handy when you need it. What did I say? SYWNTB.
Someday You Will Need This Book.
*Good Old Boat*
Donald Launer first recognized the need for a reference guide of
nautical abbreviations and acronyms when he came across a term with
which he was not familiar. Although I have had a USCG captain's
license for 25 years and I have written over 300 articles for
recreational boating magazines, He writes in the introduction, I
was stumped. With his Dictionary of Nautical Acronyms and
Abbreviations, Launer provides a comprehensive work, which attempts
to translate industry and government abbreviations into everyday
speech.
The book is made up of two parts: Part I, Common Acronyms and
Abbreviations, is an alphabetical list of definitions of about 650
abbreviations, some with accompanying illustrations. For example,
Dev, the abbreviation for deviation, is defined as the difference
between a vessel s compass bearing and its true magnetic bearing it
s different for every boat, and changes depending on the boat s
heading and angle of heel. Below the definition, an example of a
typical deviation chart further illustrates how the deviation is
calculated, with an S-shaped line curving east then west.
Part II is a truncated version (around 500 entries) of NOAA s Chart
No. 1, United States of America: Nautical Chart Symbols,
abbreviations, and Terms, and is especially useful as the NOAA
document is no longer in print, points out Launer. Examples include
COL REGS defined as collision regulations, and LWF & C, or low
water full and charge.
*Soundings: An Interdisciplinary Journal*
 |
Ask a Question About this Product More... |
|
