Re: USAGE: Dutch v or f (was: Grimm's Law)

> Van: Peter Collier
> Onderwerp: Re: USAGE: Re: Dutch v or f (was: Grimm's Law)
>
> | Jan van Steenbergen wrote:
> |
> | > We have the same word in Dutch as well: "fok", a noun this time,
> | > meaning - probably - the same sort of sail (I'm not much of a
> | > sailorman, but it must definitely be something like that).
A "fok" ("jib" in english) is the foremost sail on a sailing boat. Unlike
the mainsail, it is hoisted along the forestay and not along a mast. When
winds are really rough, and you have the wind at your back, you can choose
to sail into the harbor only on the jib (or even without any sails, with
just the winds on the mast and boat, for which in Dutch sailing terms, we
use the expression "voor top en takel").

There are several varieties of the "fok", such as a "stormfok", which can be
used in heavy winds, a "genua", a genovese foresail, which has a very round
form, like the old types of parachutes, which is used when sailing with the
wind in the back, or the "botterfok". Some sailing ships have a double
forestay (dutch "voorstag") attached to the bowsprit (dutch "boegspriet"),
so that a second foresail can be attached. In this case, the sprit is called
a "kluiverboom" and the second sail is a "kluiver".

Ok, enough for my short intro into Dutch sailing terms...

Maarten

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