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Sunday, 14 September 2025

But ask the person in the water first



‘Man overboard’ is offensive term, says Royal Yachting Association


The phrase “man overboard” is an offensive term that should be avoided, the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) has said.

The national governing body for sailing, which was founded in 1875, has suggested that it should instead be replaced with “person in water” in an inclusive language guide.

It is one of a number of recommendations issued by the RYA to use language that “honours and values” women and non-binary people within the sport and recreational activity.


It could be more appropriate to ask "what are your pronouns?" before risking a more proactive attempt to describe the situation to others.

4 comments:

dearieme said...

"What are your pronouns?"

"How dare you? I am non-binary."

"OK, I'll treat you as a mermaid. So swim off!"

Timbotoo said...

I’m sure that Monty Python would have made hay of ludicrous notion that if a person were drowning, then being referred to in a politically correct manner would be a priority.

James Higham said...

Ach ... beat me to it. Ready to post here, tomorrow now, link to you, dear sir.

A K Haart said...

dearieme - "You insisted on being referred to a 'they' so what have you done with the others?"

Timbotoo - yes, it's not difficult to image a Monty Python sketch with people on the boat arguing about the correct term to use.

James - oops, bound to happen, these stories jump out of the screen.