yacht spelling

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Navigating the Spelling of Yacht: A Smooth Sailing Guide

The word "yacht" often raises eyebrows when it comes to spelling. This term, synonymous with luxury and leisure on the water, has a spelling that doesn't quite align with its pronunciation, leading many to second-guess themselves. In this article, we'll set sail through the correct spelling of "yacht," providing you with tips and examples to ensure that your writing journey is as smooth as a serene sea.

Understanding Yacht

A yacht is a type of boat or ship that is often used for pleasure, racing, or cruising. Originating from the Dutch word "jacht," which means "hunt," it was originally used to describe light, fast sailing vessels used to chase pirates. The transformation from "jacht" to "yacht" in English is where the spelling complexity lies.

The Spelling Challenge

The main challenge with "yacht" is its unorthodox spelling compared to its pronunciation. The 'ch' is silent, and there's no hint of the 't' in how it's spoken, which can lead to misspellings like "yatch," "yaght," or "yaht."

Tips for Spelling Yacht

• Remember the Dutch origin: The 'cht' is a common Dutch spelling.
• Silent 'ch': The 'ch' in yacht is not pronounced.
• End with 't': Despite not being pronounced, it's always there.

Examples in Context

Using "yacht" in sentences can help reinforce its correct spelling:

• They spent the weekend sailing on a luxury yacht.
• His dream was to circumnavigate the globe in a yacht.

Spelling Yacht Correctly

To ensure you always spell "yacht" correctly, consider these strategies:

• Link to Its Origin : Remembering its Dutch origin can help with the 'cht.'
• Visual Association : Associate the word with an image of a yacht, reinforcing the spelling.
• Create a Mnemonic : Think of "You Always Can Have Tea" (Y-A-C-H-T).

Summary and Key Insights

Remember, spelling "yacht" correctly is all about understanding its origin and unique spelling pattern. It's a word that might not follow the usual rules, but with a bit of practice, it becomes easy to handle.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a common mistake when spelling "yacht".

A common mistake is spelling it as "yatch," reversing the 'a' and the 't.'

Can "yacht" refer to any boat?

No, a yacht specifically refers to a medium to large-sized boat used for leisure, racing, or cruising.

How can I easily remember the spelling of "yacht"?

Remember the silent 'ch' and the Dutch origin. A mnemonic like "You Always Can Have Tea" can also be helpful.

Why does "yacht" have a silent 'ch'?

The silent 'ch' in "yacht" comes from its Dutch origin, where such spellings are more common.

Is "yacht" spelled differently in other languages?

Yes, the spelling of "yacht" can vary in languages other than English, often aligning more closely with its pronunciation.

Mastering the spelling of "yacht" is like learning to navigate the high seas – it might seem daunting at first, but with the right knowledge and practice, it becomes second nature. Whether you're writing about maritime adventures or luxury travel, getting the spelling right is crucial. And for all your writing needs, from crafting engaging travel blogs to professional content, our expert content writing agency at Strategically is here to help, offering SEO content, unlimited revisions, and more to ensure your writing is as impressive as a sleek yacht gliding over the waves.

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• a vessel used for private cruising, racing, or other noncommercial purposes.

verb (used without object)

• to sail, voyage, or race in a yacht.
• a vessel propelled by sail or power, used esp for pleasure cruising, racing, etc
• short for sand yacht ice yacht
• intr to sail or cruise in a yacht

Discover More

Other words from.

• yachty adjective
• super·yacht noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of yacht 1

Compare Meanings

How does yacht compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• yacht vs. sailboat

Example Sentences

As City News explained it, the bribes were paid not only in cash but through rugs, antiques, furniture, yacht club fees, boat repairs and more.

In Ashburn, Snyder is always lurking in spirit, even if he is on his 305-foot yacht somewhere in the Aegean.

Driving across country in a gigantic land yacht—with its crushed-velour seats and faux wood siding—was more practical than a two-door hot rod.

Host Jason Moore chats with experts who share tips harvested from their real-life experiences, such as a couple who paid off their $70,000 debt to travel full time and a woman who left her corporate job to work on a yacht.

Until Thursday, when federal agents escorted him off a 150-foot yacht moored in Long Island Sound, the word often used to describe Steve Bannon was “irrelevant.”

Instead the money allegedly was spent on luxury cars and a yacht club membership, among other things.

Loeb owns a $100 million penthouse on Central Park West and a $50 million yacht.

Solaire has set up charging capabilities at a project it built at a yacht club in Massachusetts, for example.

On my way back into town, I walked by the fortress of tents surrounding the harbor, readying for the yacht show.

Newly-minted Londoner, Lindsay Lohan, is currently chilling out on a yacht in Italy.

I heard her say to one of the servants once that my father had been lost on a yacht, and that he was oh, ever such a handsome man.

He owned a 54-ton yacht named the Opal, and attributed the wonderful health he enjoyed to his numerous sea voyages.

Another yacht had started from the old boathouse at about the time our friends and their new-fangled craft got under way.

Caermarthen ordered out his wonderful yacht, and hastened to complain to the King, who was then at Loo.

The yacht had long turned the head of the island and was beating down alongshore in the eastern bay.

Related Words

• 1.1 Etymology
• 1.2 Pronunciation
• 1.3.1 Derived terms
• 1.3.2 Translations
• 1.4.1 Translations
• 1.5 Anagrams
• 2.1 Etymology
• 2.2 Pronunciation
• 2.4 Further reading
• 3.1 Etymology
• 3.2 Pronunciation
• 3.4 References
• 3.5 Further reading
• 4.1 Etymology
• 5.1 Etymology
• 5.3 References
• 6.1 Etymology
• 6.3 References
• 7.1 Alternative forms
• 7.2 Etymology
• 7.3.1 Declension
• 7.3.2 Derived terms
• 7.4 Further reading

English [ edit ]

Etymology [ edit ]

Circa 1557; variant of yaught , earlier yeaghe ( “ light, fast-sailing ship ” ) , from Dutch jacht ( “ yacht; hunt ” ) , in older spelling jaght(e) , short for jaghtschip ( “ light sailing vessel, fast pirate ship ” , literally “ pursuit ship ” ) , compound of jacht and schip ( “ ship ” ) .

In the 16th century the Dutch built light, fast ships to chase the ships of pirates and smugglers from the coast. The ship was introduced to England in 1660 when the Dutch East India Company presented one to King Charles II, who used it as a pleasure boat, after which it was copied by British shipbuilders as a pleasure craft for wealthy gentlemen.

Pronunciation [ edit ]

• ( UK ) enPR : yŏt , IPA ( key ) : /jɒt/
• ( US ) enPR : yät , IPA ( key ) : /jɑːt/ , /jɑt/
• Rhymes: -ɒt

Noun [ edit ]

yacht ( plural yachts )

• 1897 December (indicated as 1898 ), Winston Churchill , chapter X, in The Celebrity: An Episode , New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company ; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd. , →OCLC : The skipper Mr. Cooke had hired at Far Harbor was a God-fearing man with a luke warm interest in his new billet and employer, and had only been prevailed upon to take charge of the yacht after the offer of an emolument equal to half a year's sea pay of an ensign in the navy.
• 1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers , chapter VI, in The Younger Set , New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company , →OCLC : “I don’t mean all of your friends—only a small proportion—which, however, connects your circle with that deadly, idle, brainless bunch—the insolent chatterers at the opera,   [ … ] , the chlorotic squatters on huge yachts ,   [ … ] , the neurotic victims of mental cirrhosis, the jewelled animals whose moral code is the code of the barnyard—!"

Derived terms [ edit ]

• motor yacht , motoryacht , MY
• sailing yacht , steam yacht , SY
• yacht person

Translations [ edit ]

Verb [ edit ].

yacht ( third-person singular simple present yachts , present participle yachting , simple past and past participle yachted )

• ( intransitive ) To sail , voyage , or race in a yacht .

Anagrams [ edit ]

• Cathy , tachy , tachy- , yatch

French [ edit ]

Borrowed from English yacht , from Dutch jacht .

• IPA ( key ) : /jɔt/ , /jot/ , ( Canada ) /jat/

yacht   m ( plural yachts )

Further reading [ edit ]

• “ yacht ”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [ Digitized Treasury of the French Language ] , 2012 .

Italian [ edit ]

Unadapted borrowing from English yacht .

• IPA ( key ) : /ˈjɔt/ [1]
• Rhymes: -ɔt

yacht   m ( invariable )

• the letter Y in the Italian spelling alphabet

References [ edit ]

• ^ yacht in Luciano Canepari , Dizionario di Pronuncia Italiana (DiPI)
• yacht in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line , Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

Norman [ edit ]

Borrowed from English yacht .

yacht   ? ( plural yachts )

• ( Jersey ) yacht

Norwegian Bokmål [ edit ]

From Dutch jacht , via English yacht .

yacht   m ( definite singular yachten , indefinite plural yachter , definite plural yachtene )

• “yacht” in The Bokmål Dictionary .

Norwegian Nynorsk [ edit ]

yacht   m ( definite singular yachten , indefinite plural yachtar , definite plural yachtane )

• “yacht” in The Nynorsk Dictionary .

Swedish [ edit ]

Alternative forms [ edit ].

yacht   c

Declension [ edit ]

• yacht in Svenska Akademiens ordlista ( SAOL )
• yacht in Svensk ordbok ( SO )
• yacht in Svenska Akademiens ordbok ( SAOB )

• English terms derived from Dutch
• English 1-syllable words
• English terms with IPA pronunciation
• English terms with audio links
• Rhymes:English/ɒt
• Rhymes:English/ɒt/1 syllable
• English lemmas
• English nouns
• English countable nouns
• English terms with usage examples
• English terms with quotations
• English verbs
• English intransitive verbs
• en:Watercraft
• French terms borrowed from English
• French terms derived from English
• French terms derived from Dutch
• French 1-syllable words
• French terms with IPA pronunciation
• French terms with audio links
• French lemmas
• French nouns
• French countable nouns
• French masculine nouns
• fr:Watercraft
• French loanwords with irregular pronunciations
• Italian terms borrowed from English
• Italian unadapted borrowings from English
• Italian terms derived from English
• Italian 1-syllable words
• Italian terms with IPA pronunciation
• Rhymes:Italian/ɔt
• Rhymes:Italian/ɔt/1 syllable
• Italian lemmas
• Italian nouns
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• Norman terms borrowed from English
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• Norwegian Bokmål lemmas
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• Norwegian Bokmål masculine nouns
• nb:Watercraft
• Norwegian Nynorsk terms derived from Dutch
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• Norwegian Nynorsk lemmas
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• nn:Watercraft
• Swedish terms borrowed from English
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• Swedish lemmas
• Swedish nouns
• Swedish common-gender nouns
• sv:Watercraft
• English entries with topic categories using raw markup
• Mandarin terms with redundant transliterations
• Mongolian terms with redundant script codes
• French entries with language name categories using raw markup
• Requests for gender in Norman entries

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Definition of 'yacht'

yacht in British English

Yacht in american english, examples of 'yacht' in a sentence yacht, trends of yacht.

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Yacht - correct spelling, this grammar.com article is about yacht - correct spelling — enjoy your reading.

noun and verb Example: His yacht cost a fortune. noun Example: He likes to yacht throughout the Caribbean. verb

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What does the noun yacht mean?

There is one meaning in OED's entry for the noun yacht . See ‘Meaning & use’ for definition, usage, and quotation evidence.

Entry status

OED is undergoing a continuous programme of revision to modernize and improve definitions. This entry has not yet been fully revised.

How common is the noun yacht ?

How is the noun yacht pronounced, british english, u.s. english, where does the noun yacht come from.

Earliest known use

The earliest known use of the noun yacht is in the late 1500s.

OED's earliest evidence for yacht is from before 1584, in the writing of S. Borough.

yacht is a borrowing from Dutch.

Etymons: Dutch jaght(e .

Nearby entries

• yabber, v. 1841–
• yabbering, n. 1839–
• yabble, n. 1827–
• yabble, v. 1808–
• yabbler, n. 1901–
• yabby, n. 1887–
• yabby, v. 1941–
• yabbying, n. 1934–
• yabu, n. 1753–
• yacca, n. 1843–
• yacht, n. a1584–
• yacht, v. 1836–
• yacht basin, n. 1929–
• yacht broker, n. 1882–
• yachtdom, n. 1901–
• yachter, n. 1828–
• yachtery, n. 1861–
• yachtian, n. 1842–
• yachtie, n. 1874–
• yachting, n. 1836–
• yachting, adj. 1847–

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Meaning & use

Pronunciation, compounds & derived words, entry history for yacht, n..

yacht, n. was first published in 1921; not yet revised.

yacht, n. was last modified in July 2023.

Revision of the OED is a long-term project. Entries in oed.com which have not been revised may include:

• corrections and revisions to definitions, pronunciation, etymology, headwords, variant spellings, quotations, and dates;
• new senses, phrases, and quotations which have been added in subsequent print and online updates.

Revisions and additions of this kind were last incorporated into yacht, n. in July 2023.

Earlier versions of this entry were published in:

OED First Edition (1921)

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OED Second Edition (1989)

• View yacht, n. in OED Second Edition

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Citation details

Factsheet for yacht, n., browse entry.

Yacht or yatch?

Correct spelling, explanation: this word comes from the Dutch word jacht , which means hunt . It’s sail- or power-driven vessel, used for racing or for recreation. As you can see, the English spelling is similar to the Dutch one – only -j changes to -y . That’s why the only correct form is yacht , not yatch .

Definition of yacht : noun, a medium-sized sailing boat equipped for cruising or racing. I want to be so rich that I can afford a yacht . Harry was sailing around the world in his yacht .

Collocations with yacht : Some most commonly used collocations include: luxury yacht , motor yacht , racing yacht , royal yacht , and sailing yacht .

Incorrect spelling, explanation: this word is a misspelling. There is no reason to write it like that. When we look at its etymology, we can clearly see that -ch should appear before -t , not the other way around. The pronunciation indicates that as well. Therefore, the only correct form is yacht , not yatch .

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2 thoughts on “Yacht or yatch”?

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Hey there! I simply want to offer you a big shout out for the great help you’ve got right here on the English dictionary. I’ll be returning to your website for further information in the future.

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SailingEurope Blog - Sailing, Yacht Charter and Beyond

The Yacht – The Meaning and the Origin of the Word

In my language there are a few words for a floating object, or a vessel. According to the size and the purpose of the vessel, those words could be translated as “dinghy”, “yacht”, “boat” or “ship”. Some types of vessels have international names, for example “catamaran” or “hovercraft”.

What Does Yacht Mean?

However, when you say “ yacht” in my language, everyone know exactly what it is about. The word “yacht”, unlike other terms, has certain connotations. It always links with something classy, fancy, wealthy, elegant, and even glamorous.

For example, if you say that you have spent a week aboard a sailing boat , the recations of people will be more or less neutral. On the other hand, if you say that your week aboard a yacht was excellent, many people will become jealous. They will imagine you in a scene from a James Bond movie : aboard a massive white yacht in Monte Carlo , having a cold martini (shaken, not stirred)…

I wanted to share with you this language introduction because I found an interesting story about the word “yacht” and its origin. The word “yacht” became an English and an international term after an event that happened a long time ago.

How Do You Spell ‘Yacht’?

This word comes from the Dutch word “jacht”, which means “hunt”. Furthermore, “ j achtschepen” was the name for narrow, light and very fast sailing boats that the Dutchmen were using for intercepting larger and slower boats and ships.

One of the ‘hunters’ was given as a present to the British king Charles II . In His Majesty’s free time this vessel was not used for intercepting. Instead, was using it for fun. That is why the word “yacht” eventually became the term for vessels/boats made for pleasure.

I would highly appreciate comments from the native speakers of the  English and Dutch languages. Especially since I am not one of them. No matter whether this story is true or not, it still sounds interesting to me.

Find out more about sailing quotes and phrases here .

I wish you a calm sea, a fine wind and a strong mast!

8 thoughts on “The Yacht – The Meaning and the Origin of the Word”

I looked up the origin of the word yacht, and it said it is a mid 16th century, Early Modern Dutch word from ‘jaght,’ from ‘jaghtschip’ meaning “fast pirate ship,” from ‘jaght’ which means “hunting” + ‘schip’ meaning “ship”.

I like the story of King Charles. It makes sense that that is why a yacht has the definite aura of wealth and pleasure!

Almost but not 100%. Actually the verb ‘jagen’ to hunt goes back to middle high German,i.e. Deutsch not Dutch, and before that it was ‘jagon’ in lower high German. But it seems that it all started with Greek and travelled North.

I guess that mid 16th century, the Dutch word jaght or jaghtschip was the word that got picked up. Not the earlier middle high German word where it came from.

Today it is jacht in Dutch, meaning hunting and it also the word for a luxury sailing boat.

In German Jagd is the word for hunt. Germans use the Dutch or English Jacht or Yacht for the boat.

Did the Germans design the original schooners? I think not! Since some Netherlanders speak a form of the Deutschland language, this word is shared (jacht/Dutch—jagd/German: meaning to hunt). It was the Dutch (Netherlanders) who designed the “flyut” or flute sailing ships, l-o-n-g before any British ever thought of such a ship—and—any German. The schooner grew out of the basic designs of the Dutch flute sailing ship (known for it’s speed). The Dutch economy relied heavily on trade and shipping, and were, thus, cutting edge innovators in ship building. Their engineering skills, was and is, plainly seen in their dike system, as well.

My father built a beautiful wooden replica of the”yacht” referred by the author (“Yacht Mary”) which was a present from the city of Amsterdam to King Charles II of England in 1660. They wrecked the ship a few years later (already too much partying on yachts, perhaps?)

I noticed the plaque that came with the model ship spelled the name as “Yatch” Mary. First, I thought, maybe, it was old English or Dutch spelling but it looks like it was just an error.

Nice, We have made an eplainermovie about this subject!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3HDZHF8w2E

In my head yogurt used to be spelled yoghurt and yacht used to be spelled yaught. Am I completely mis-remembering?

Dear Margaret, you are quite right for the spelling of the word yogurt that used to be, and sometimes still is, spelled with its old spelling yoghurt. However, there are no traces of the word yacht to have ever been spelled as yaught, but it would be best to take an etymology expert’s word for it.

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The strange case of the word ‘yacht’

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6 thoughts on “ The strange case of the word ‘yacht’ ”

What serendipity!

Tonight I was reading to LittlePaperMover and the word yacht came up. I thought the word was fascinating from a SP point of view, and tried to work out the sound representations. (I am with your pupil's as i thought it was Y-a-cht, for the same reason they did. )!LittlePaperMover was incredibly unimpressed with the phonics lesson and put her head under the duvet and la-la-lahd until I shut up and got on with the story.

Tomorrow I shall tell her that not only is she an ungrateful small person but that yacht is a pirate word. She does love a pirate. She might learn how to spell yacht.

Hi Papermover, Serendipidous indeed! 'Yacht' is pretty low frequency I would have thought but it does have a habit of popping up in children's stories. If it appears in the middle of a bedtime story, I would definitely leave it until the following day to talk about. As a way of doing it, you might word build it, which would leave the spelling cht for /t/ until last – setting LittlePaperMover up for success. Then, when you've built the word, point to the a and say that it is /o/ as in words like 'was', 'swan', 'swallow', etc. When you point to the cht, you tell her that it's a one-off spelling of the sound /t/. And, then you can talk about derivation or pirates, a technique which is often a useful mnemonic. Similarly if it comes up in the middle of a lesson at school, where at KS2, for example, the focus would probably be on comprehension. The teacher should supply the word and return to it later or on the following day in a phonics session. Anyway, thanks for telling us about your experience. I look forward to some follow-ups.

You and I mean different things by “decodable”.

For me, a decodable word is one which can be read aloud (“decoded”) even if it has never been seen before. On this definition, yacht is not decodable.

Since you think yacht is decodable, you must have a different definition of “decodable”. What is it?

A second example: take the word fleury. A real word, but I expect you haven’t come across it before. The correct way of breaking it up is f l eu r y. But even though I have told you that, I don’t think you will be able to read it aloud correctly. That shows that it is not decodable (in my sense).

Best wishes,

Hi Max, We certainly do have different understandings of the word decodable. For you, 'a word is decodable if it can be read aloud even if it has never been seen before'. For a child in reception, the word 'vet' may not be decodable if, for example, the child has not yet been taught that v represents the sound /v/. So, the ability to decode partly depends on the level of code knowledge a child has. I say 'partly' because decoding ability also depends on the skills a person brings to their reading. Can they segment and blend proficiently enough to be able to use their code knowledge efficently? And then there's the question of a person's understanding of how the code works. So, do they understand that sounds can be spelled with more than one letter, that sounds can be spelled in (often) multiple ways, and do they also know that many spellings can represent different sounds? Given that all of these aspects of decoding have been well taught, I would fully expect some Y2 children and very many Y3 and above pupils to be able to decode 'yacht' successfully, although they may well baulk a little when it came to thinking about remembering how to spell it. That's where the teaching come in! I am also a little surprised you patronise me by assuming I wouldn't be familiar with the word 'fleury' or be able to read it. But, you know what, even if I hadn't been reading words like this since I was in primary school, I would almost certainly be able to decode the word because of the similarity with other spellings of /er/. Of course, it goes without saying that any pupil learning French would be able to handle it after learning 'travailleur', 'meilleur', or, perhaps, the more obvious 'fleur'.

I agree with you John … I like the first Y-ach-t and thought that straight away … probably because I am of the right age to be a big U2 fan. I'll tell my children about "Achtung Baby" to help them remember :).

Thanks again John for making English decodable …

Hmm. Actually, yacht isn't a "pirate ship" word, it's a "hunter of pirate ships" word. (Today's mega-yachts might be considered private pirate ships, but that too iw a whole nother story.)

The only stange thing about the word "yacht" is that it is considered a "strange case." Your first point is well-taken: The English language can easily incorporate pretty much any loan word from any language . This is a strength/asset of the language, not a weakness. It's what makes English the most widely used language in the world. However, there are a number of words, mostly personal and place names, whose Alphabetic Code correspondences follow the loan word history. So if the name of a city or person is written as Jaeger , it could be spoken as yayger, yogger, jayger, or jogger. And the pronunciation of the "er" would vary depending upon whether it was BritSpeak, YankSpeak, or some other Speak. The "assignment" of the correspondences is by convention, but the word is decodable whatever the convention, and once you know the convention, it's "no problem."

Had history gone differently, we could be writing "yacht" as "jacht," and if we are txtg, keying the word as "yot" is OK. The Correspondences are the link between the written and spoken language, but the action is in the Correspondences, not in the sounds or the symbols per se.

Your second point: having analysed the word in the way suggested above, children are far more likely to remember how to spell it in the future is arguable.

1. Some kids will have encountered the word in spoken or written communication and will be able to read it without any additional instruction. For those who can't, saying, "The pronunciation here is 'yot.'" is the the only " reading instruction" needed.

2. Kids are rarely going to have occasion to spell the word, and when they do, there are many alternative words they can use. "Ship" would work for them in most situations.

The nautical Technical Lexicon is large, and there is much more ambiguity in the definition of the word "yacht" than there is in its Alphabetic Code correspondences. Is a dinghy a yacht? How about a cruiser? Is a yacht a boat or a ship? These distinctions are relevant to composition instruction and to Thesaurus use, but they are unproductively redundant in reading instruction.

The broader point is that all English words are decodable. If a word isn't decodable, it's unintelligible. Fxjk is not decodable. F**k, though is decodable, given that you know some specific conventions beyond the Alphabetic Code. Those conventions are no more complicated than those entailed in punctuation marks, or in contractions, abbreviations, and wingdings. But if you haven't been taught the conventions, you will encounter difficulty in reading the text.

The standard definition of "decodable" can easily be checked by googling the term. (The definitions matches your definition.) However, there are "non-standard" definitions of "decodable, such as Max's. When the referents for the term are clear, as in this thread, there is "no problem." But there are big communication problems with non-standard terms in general and with the term "decodable" in particular. Few texts that are proffered as "decodable" actually conform to the standard definition.

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New York Today

Model-boat sailing returns to central park.

I tried operating a boat on Conservatory Water, the pond famous for model boating. It’s harder than it looks.

By James Barron

Good morning. It’s Wednesday. We’ll look at the return of model boating in Central Park for the first time since the pandemic. We’ll also get details of the penalty that Donald Trump was ordered to pay for breaking the gag order in his criminal trial .

And then I crashed the boat.

It wasn’t my fault. Really, it wasn’t. A puff of wind came out of nowhere and drove the boat into the stone wall I had been steering it toward. Gently. Smoothly.

The vessel I was captaining was not a cruiser with an engine whirring below deck — it had no engine at all. Mine was a miniature sailboat on the model boat pond in Central Park, the setting famous from E.B. White’s story “Stuart Little.”

Model boats are being rented on the pond for the first time since 2019, the last full year before the coronavirus hit. The concessionaire is new: Rocking the Boat, a nonprofit from the Hunts Point section of the Bronx. The organization also teaches teenagers how to build full-size boats for rowing and sailing and how to pilot them on Long Island Sound.

Jasmine Benitez, who is managing Rocking the Boat’s operation at the boathouse east of the pond, said that the transition from the Sound to the diminutive world of the model boat lake (officially, Conservatory Water) had not been difficult. “The physics is exactly the same as on a big boat,” she said.

Physics? Yes, physics, said Sue Donoghue, the parks commissioner, adding that Rocking the Boat’s workshops introduce “the importance of STEM in a fun way,” referring to science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Teams from Rocking the Boat assemble the three-and-a-half-foot-long model vessels from components. The group plans to conduct workshops to teach people how to build their own.

Adam Green, the founder and executive director of Rocking the Boat, said that the operation in Central Park was a departure for the group — its first venture in Manhattan. Rocking the Boat is charging Manhattan prices, $15 for 30 minutes of sailing. The price was $13 in 2019, he said, adding, “We thought it was obvious that everything is more expensive now.”

Green said that he was counting on model boats to boost the name recognition of Rocking the Boat and to bring in revenue for the organization’s programs. Starting today, Rocking the Boat will rent sailboats on Wednesdays and Fridays from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Next month, it will add Thursdays and Saturdays to the schedule, and in July, the operation will expand to five days a week, from Wednesday to Sunday. The rentals are separate from races organized by the Central Park Model Yacht Club on Saturdays, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

People can also bring their own boats during Rocking the Boat hours, but they need a $15 permit from the city’s parks department.

Green, 50, grew up on the Upper West Side and said that, when he was a child, he climbed all over the Alice in Wonderland statue just north of the pond. But he did not pay much attention to what was going on in the boathouse that Rocking the Boat is now using by Conservatory Water.

“As a New Yorker,” he said, “you never think about something like this existing here.”

The boathouse was built in the 1950s. Conservatory Water, one of the man-made wonders that Calvert Vaux and Frederick Law Olmsted created, dates to the 19th century. Despite its age, the pond is not littered with (model) shipwrecks — it is not terribly deep. But boats can capsize.

I did not want that to happen when Benitez handed me the remote-control device used to control the miniature sailboat that she and Myah Recinos had placed in the water. The device looked something like an Xbox controller.

“I’m more of a PlayStation girl myself,” said Recinos, a Rocking the Boat veteran who is renting the boats and, as she put it, “helping people get them going.” People like me.

I had also read that the winds on the model boat basin are typically 3 to 6 knots, but at that moment there was not even a whisper. “Patience is key to dealing with these boats,” Recinos counseled. “When the wind dies out, you have to be patient.”

So I waited, and after a minute or two, a breeze carried the boat out. I maneuvered the controls. The boat zipped along nicely. I worked the remote control to turn the boat to head back.

Bad idea. At least the stern had what Recinos called a “nose,” a rubbery cone designed to absorb the shock of a slow-speed mishap.

“You cannot control the wind,” Recinos told me later. “You thought you were doing really bad when I didn’t think you were. I remember you crashing into the wall, and I was like, That’s pretty much bound to happen at some point.

Expect a cloudy day with temperatures in the high 60s. At night, the clouds will linger, and temperatures will drop to the low 50s.

ALTERNATE-SIDE PARKING

In effect until tomorrow, Holy Thursday (Orthodox).

The latest New York news

Arrests at Columbia : Police officers in riot gear arrested protesters occupying a building at Columbia University. The school said that the building had been “vandalized and blockaded,” leaving officials “no choice” but to call in the police for the second time in less than two weeks.

Abuse lawsuits: About 150 people filed lawsuits against New York City agencies, saying that they had endured abuse while in the city’s custody as minors in juvenile detention centers and on Rikers Island.

More scrutiny of judges? : A criminal justice group that led the fight against Gov. Kathy Hochul’s first choice to lead the state’s highest court last year is pressing for closer scrutiny of judges.

Sentenced for funding terrorism : A 44-year-old woman was sentenced to 18 years in prison on Tuesday for funding terrorism by using cryptocurrency. Prosecutors said that she had sent funds to Bitcoin wallets controlled by a terrorist training group operating in Syria.

Tied for the most Tony nominations: The semi-autobiographical Alicia Keys musical “Hell’s Kitchen” and “Stereophonic,” a play about a group of musicians struggling to record an album, each got 13 Tony nominations .

For Trump, a $9,000 fine for violating a gag order

The judge in Donald Trump’s hush-money trial held the former president in contempt and fined him $9,000 for violating a gag order with his social media posts.

Judge Juan Merchan also warned Trump of “incarceratory punishment” if he were to flout the gag order from now on — meaning jail.

For Trump, $9,000 is not much money. Merchan said so himself, in an eight-page decision. The penalties for repeatedly violating the gag order “unfortunately will not achieve the desired result” when the person penalized can easily afford the fine, Merchan said.

The judge ordered Trump to remove nine “offending posts” from his Truth Social account and his campaign website. In doing so, Merchan rejected claims by Trump’s lawyers that the former president had simply reposted messages written by others. Merchan called the idea that such reposts do not count as violations of the gag order “counterintuitive and indeed absurd.”

The jury heard from Keith Davidson, the lawyer who represented two women who claimed to have had sex with Trump: Stormy Daniels, a porn actress, and Karen McDougal, a Playboy model. Davidson’s testimony has pulled back the curtain on the negotiations for the hush-money payments made to both women ahead of the 2016 presidential election.

METROPOLITAN diary

Passing it on

Dear Diary:

Whenever I finish reading a magazine and it is in clean condition, I face a dilemma: Recycle it or leave it on a park bench or subway seat for someone else to enjoy?

By leaving it somewhere, I could be doing a public service. Or I could just be making trash for someone else to clean up.

One day not long ago, the question was answered for me as I watched.

I was sprinting to make a transfer at Columbus Circle when the magazine I had been reading flew out of my coat pocket and fell to the ground. Wanting to make my train, I decided not to stop to pick it up.

As the doors closed, I watched sheepishly while people streamed past my litter.

But just before the train pulled out, I saw a woman stop and examine the cover. Then she bent down, picked up the magazine and slipped it into her bag.

— Ryan Kailath

Illustrated by Agnes Lee. Send submissions here and read more Metropolitan Diary here .

Glad we could get together here. See you tomorrow. — J.B.

P.S. Here’s today’s Mini Crossword and Spelling Bee . You can find all our puzzles here .

Francis Mateo, Rachel Gomes and Ed Shanahan contributed to New York Today. You can reach the team at [email protected] .

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James Barron writes the New York Today newsletter, a morning roundup of what’s happening in the city. More about James Barron

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English pronunciation of yacht

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(English pronunciations of yacht from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus and from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary , both sources © Cambridge University Press)

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a name someone uses instead of their real name, especially on a written work

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