Is "she" doomed?

[Catherine Monaghan]

John,

This is my first day back after a wonderful 2-week sail aboard our beautiful CD32 on the waters of Raritan Bay, New York Harbor, Long Island Sound, Gardiners Bay, Fishers Island Sound, and Block Island Sound and the Atlantic. She took care of us and brought us safely into each port along the way. Yes, she is "she" and will remain so. To call a boat "she" offensive -- whoever heard of such a thing? And the person at her helm has always been the helmsman regardless of their gender. I think that this is one tradition that doesn't need modernizing or "correcting".

I think you should point the authors of the Associated Press stylebook to this thread and let them see what this portion of the sailing community thinks.

I concur, let it be.

Cathy
catherine_monaghan@merck.com
CD32 Realization, #3
Rahway, NJ
Raritan Bay

I have two questions for the erudite Cape Dory users of this board. As a boating journalist and author, I am faced with a mounting campaign to refer to boats as "it," rather than "she." Newspapers all over the country use the Associated Press stylebook, which mandates the use of "it," and several major book publishers have also adopted this rule.

While we all recognize the need to avoid sexist expressions in our speech and writing, isn't this taking things too far? After all, ships and boats have been feminine in English for so long now that nobody remembers how it started. Yet perhaps it's time the practice was stopped. I'd like to know if that's so.

So my questions are these:

* Are there any women Cape Dory sailors who object to seeing and hearing boats referred to as "she" and "her"? Conversely, are there any women who think we should retain the traditional usage? Let's hear your opinions, please.

* Does anyone have a good substitute for the word helmsman? It's the word that gives me the most trouble of all these days. Helmsperson and steersperson are too ugly and cumbersome to contemplate. Pilot is a possibility, but is not yet universally understood. Any suggestions?

John Vigor
CD25D "Jabula"

catherine_monaghan@merck.com

[Bill Scroggins]

I have two questions for the erudite Cape Dory users of this board. As a boating journalist and author, I am faced with a mounting campaign to refer to boats as "it," rather than "she." Newspapers all over the country use the Associated Press stylebook, which mandates the use of "it," and several major book publishers have also adopted this rule.

While we all recognize the need to avoid sexist expressions in our speech and writing, isn't this taking things too far? After all, ships and boats have been feminine in English for so long now that nobody remembers how it started. Yet perhaps it's time the practice was stopped. I'd like to know if that's so.

So my questions are these:

* Are there any women Cape Dory sailors who object to seeing and hearing boats referred to as "she" and "her"? Conversely, are there any women who think we should retain the traditional usage? Let's hear your opinions, please.

* Does anyone have a good substitute for the word helmsman? It's the word that gives me the most trouble of all these days. Helmsperson and steersperson are too ugly and cumbersome to contemplate. Pilot is a possibility, but is not yet universally understood. Any suggestions?

John Vigor
CD25D "Jabula"

A traditional, but little used, name for the helmsman is Timoneer. This dates back to the square-rigged sailing ship days.