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The Collaborative International Dictionary
Topsail

Topsail \Top"sail`\, n. (Naut.) In a square-rigged vessel, the sail next above the lowermost sail on a mast. This sail is the one most frequently reefed or furled in working the ship. In a fore-and-aft rigged vessel, the sail set upon and above the gaff. See Cutter, Schooner, Sail, and Ship.

Topsail schooner. (Naut.) See Schooner, and Illustration in Appendix.

Wiktionary
topsail

n. 1 (context nautical English) A sail or either of the two sails rigged just above the course sail and supported by the topmast on a square-rigged sailing ship. 2 (context nautical English) In a fore-and-aft -rigged sailing boat, the sail that is set above the gaff at the top part of the mast.

WordNet
topsail

n. a sail (or either of a pair of sails) immediately above the lowermost sail of a mast and supported by a topmast

Gazetteer
Wikipedia
Topsail

A topsail is a sail set above another sail; on square-rigged vessels further sails may be set above topsails.

Topsail (electoral district)

Topsail is a provincial electoral district for the House of Assembly of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. As of 2011, there are 11,080 eligible voters living in the district.

Topsail lies on eastern shore of Conception Bay and includes parts of the city of Mount Pearl and the towns of Conception Bay South and Paradise. The residential mix is suburban and sometimes rural, although many residents commute to St. John's.

Topsail was created in a 1995 redistribution, incorporating much of Conception Bay South.

The 2007 redistribution changed the district significantly. Fifty-four per cent of it was retained, 32 per cent moved to Conception Bay South, 10 per cent moved to Mount Pearl North and four per cent shifted to Conception Bay East-Bell Island. The district also gained 16 per cent of both Waterford Valley and Conception Bay East-Bell Island. (CBC Electoral District Profile)

The district was represented by Liberal Ralph Wiseman, from 1999 till 2003. Wiseman was defeated by Progressive Conservative candidate Elizabeth Marshall in the 2003 general election, Marshall was re-elected in 2007 garnering 83% of the vote. In January 2010 Prime Minister Stephen Harper appointed Marshall to the Canadian Senate.

In the by-election held on March 16, 2010 Progressive Conservative candidate Paul Davis held on to the seat for the governing Tories, winning over 81% of the vote.

Topsail (disambiguation)

A topsail is the second square sail up a mast in a sailboat. Topsail may also refer to:

Usage examples of "topsail".

It was emphasized by her slow speed - she was already down to double-reefed topsails so that she did not outsail the convoy.

I remember right, Plaice was operated on in a close-reefed topsail breeze.

He shook the reefs out of his courses and topsails, set his staysail, and brought the Principessa round a touch more so the wind was coming in slightly further forward.

They released the braces and the Principessa, down to topsails only, slowed immediately.

In this chair, wrapped in his cloak, he spent the long moonlit night, rising at every bell to walk along the gangway to the forecastle and out along the bowsprit to peer at the Spartan with his night-glass between the spritsail course and its topsail.

Now the spritsail topsail followed, while to ease her plunging they hauled up the mainsail, giving all the wind to her forecourse: she sailed easier yet, with no slackening in her pace, clearly outrunning the Dutchman, although he had shaken out his foretopsail reef.

A mainsail, topsail, and topgallant sail on each mast, and a spritsail on the bowsprit.

Jack set their old-fashioned spritsail topsail, edging away another half point.

Surprise spread more canvas: studdingsails alow and aloft, royals, the rarely-seen but useful spritsail topsail, all the jibs that would set and a cloud of staysails.

Going aloft to rig the topsail was out of the question, so Ruark trimmed the ship on course and had Gaitlier lash the wheel in place.

And then the one with her topsail atrip, that they are making such a cock of trimming -Judas Priest, what a Hornchurch fair!

Why--why--no wonder old Babbitt looked as if the main topsail yard had fell on him.

I really believe we should have had her, if both main and fore topsails had not blown out of their boltropes at the same moment.

With only the main and fore topsails drawing, the Bucephalas crunched into the side of the Penchester Castle.

He glanced up to where a cluster of sailors, standing on the topsail footrope with one arm each about the yard, were awaiting the command to break out the topsail.