How to Speak Yachtie is an essential guide to a language spoken by those who sail competitively or for fun. Essential for those absolute beginners who don't know their sheets from their tails, it will also entertain fluent Yachtie speakers and those who aspire to greater mastery of the language, and be a vital companion for all those following - and trying to make sense of - New Zealand's challenge for the 2007 America's Cup. Seemingly impenetrable to the uninitiated, the language of Yachtie is rich in words and phrases borrowed from nautical history and popular slang, expressions that have completely unexpected meanings and multiple names for objects and actions. How to Speak Yachtie explains the meanings and origins of more than 200 such words and expressions. From parts of the boat and basic sailing terms to racing jargon and commentator-speak, the book offers practical yet humorous definitions. In the style of a foreign language phrasebook, it also offers advice on what to say when, as well as what not to say.