Antarctica (18 page)
Authors: Peter Lerangis
Davy Jones’s locker
— the sea bottom
dead low
— the absolute lowest point of the tide
deckhouse
— a structure on the upper deck of a ship, which often contains officers’ quarters
dinghy
— a small boat, often carried on a larger boat or ship
doldrums
— an area near the equator characterized by hot weather and a lack of wind
encroach
— to advance more than the usual limits
exposure
— a condition resulting from prolonged contact with severe weather; can result in death
feather (v)
— to turn an oar, at the end of a stroke, so that its blade is horizontal as it pulls back above the water’s surface, reducing wind resistance
flense
— to strip blubber from a whale
flier, take a
— to attempt a reckless act
fo’c’sle
— abbreviation of
forecastle,
the area of a ship under the foresail of a ship; often where the sailors are housed
foremast
— the mast at the bow end of a ship
furl (v)
— to wrap a sail around something
greenheart
— dark greenish wood, known for its durability, from a South American tree
grommet
— a strong eyelet or loop, as on a sail, through which a rope is passed
growler
— a small iceberg
gunwale
— the highest edge of the ship’s hull
guy line
— a rope or wire connected between objects or people and used as a guide
gyre (n)
— a circular movement; a giant circular current
halyard
— a rope used to raise sails
hardtack
— a hard, plain biscuit made of flour and water
heave to
(past tense,
hove to)
— to turn a ship’s bow into the wind and let the ship stay adrift in preparation for a storm
heel (v)
— to lean to one side due to wind or waves
hoosh
— stew
hull
— the frame, or body, of a ship
hummock
— a ridge of ice
hypothermia
— a condition characterized by lower-than-normal body temperature
iceberg
— a large mass of floating ice broken off (or c
alved)
from shelf ice or from a glacier
ice floe
— a flat, floating fragment of sea ice
ice shelf (also shelf ice)
— an ice sheet that begins on land and extends into the water, resting on the sea bottom
jibe
— to move sails from one side to the other while sailing into the wind, in order to change the ship’s direction
jury-rigged
— put together in a makeshift fashion
keel
— the central timber at the bottom of the ship, running from bow to stern
lash
— to bind with a rope
lay (n)
— a share of profit paid instead of wages
lay to
— to bring a ship to a stop in open water, facing the wind
lead (n)
— a path of water through pack ice
lee
— the side sheltered from the wind
maelstrom
— a turbulent, powerful whirlpool
mainmast
— the second mast from the bow after foremast (middle mast on the
Mystery
)
mainsail
— the bottom sail on the mainmast
mast
— the vertical pole that supports sails
Melville, Herman
(1819–1891) —American novelist who wrote
Moby-Dick
mizzenmast
(or
mizzen)
— the sail on the aft end of a ship (the third sail on the
Mystery)
Nansen, Fridtjof
(1861–1930) — famous Norwegian Arctic explorer
oarlock
— a metal U-shaped device that keeps an oar in place
old ice
— ice floes that have remained unmelted from previous seasons, usually dense and hummocky
pemmican
— food made from dried meat and filler such as flour, molasses, or dried fruit
port
— the left side of a ship (as you face bow)
pressure
— the force exerted by two ice floes pushing against each other
pressure ridge
— ice that has been pushed upward between colliding ice floes
Primus stove
— a small, portable metal stove consisting of one burner and a wire platform over it
prow
— see
bow
pudding ice
— see
brash ice
put in
— to enter a port, cove, or harbor
put to
— to head for shore
reel (n)
— a spirited Scottish Highlands dance
rigging
— an arrangement of sails, spars, and ropes
riptide
— a strong crosscurrent caused by the action of water against a shore or edge of an ice floe
rudder
— a plate mounted at the ship’s stern for directing its course, turned by means of a
tiller
runner
— either of two long, thin, parallel tracks of wood attached to the bottom of a vehicle, on which it moves through snow
scuttle
— to sink a ship by means of a hole in the hull
sheet
— a rope attached to the bottom of a sail, used to change the angle of the sail relative to the wind
ship water (v)
— to take in water over the ship’s hull
sledge
— a sled used for transporting loads over the ice
sloop
— a boat with one foreand aft-rigged mast and one staysail
southern lights
— see
aurora australis
spar
— a pole that supports sails and rigging
spindrift
— a sea spray blown by the wind
square-rigged
— an arrangement of square or rectangular-shaped sails
starboard
— the right side of a ship (as you face bow)
stave in
(past tense,
stove in)
— to smash or crush inward
staysail
— a triangular sail supported by a
stay,
or diagonal halyard, as opposed to a mast
stem
— the rear of a ship
stream ice
— pack ice that contains leads
tack
— to change the direction of a ship, usually by turning the bow into the wind
taffrail
— the rail at the stern of the ship
tailwind
— a wind roughly in the same direction as the ship’s motion (a wind blowing from
behind)
tarpaulin
— a waterproof canvas covering
tiller
— a lever with which to turn a rudder and steer a boat
trace(s)
— a strap(s) connecting a harnessed dog to a sledge
trim
— to arrange sails for the optimal speed and direction
unstep
— to remove (a mast)
w
aterline
— the line made by the surface of the water against a ship’s hull
water sky
— a dark streak on the horizon that indicates open ocean
whirlpool
— a circular current of water (see
maelstrom)
winch
— a machine containing a drum around which is curled a rope or wire for pulling or lifting
yaw (v)
— to move erratically off course y
eti
— the legendary snow beast of Nepal; came to be known as the abominable snowman, Sasquatch, or Bigfoot
Alexander, Caroline.
Shackleton’s Legendary Antarctic Expedition.
Alfred A. Knopf, 1999. Includes excellent reproductions of Antarctic photos taken by master polar photographer Frank Hurley.
Armstrong, Jennifer.
Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World: Shackleton’s Amazing Voyage.
Crown Publishers, 1998.
Bickel, Leonard.
Mawson’s Will.
Avon
Books, 1977.Thrilling survival story;
Douglas Mawson walked 320 miles
across Antarctica after a companion
and all his dogs and equipment fell into
a crevasse.
Cherry-Garrard, Apsley.
The Worst Journey
in the World.
Carroll & Graf, 1989.
Robert Falcon Scott’s fatal voyage to
the South Pole.
Huntford, Roland.
Scott & Amundsen
G. P.
Putnam’s Sons, 1980. The race
between Scott and Amundsen for the
South Pole, with photos and maps.
Lansing, Alfred.
Endurance: Shackleton’s
Incredible Voyage,
Carroll & Graf, 1986. The most exciting account of the Shackleton expedition.
Maloney, Elbert S.
Chapman Piloting.
Hearst
Marine Books (various ed.). Good book for basic sailing information.
Shackleton, Ernest.
South.
Carroll & Graf,
1998. A memoir of the voyage of the
Endurance
by its legendary leader. Full
of interesting details.
Worsley, F. A.
Shackleton’s Boat Journey.
W. W. Norton & Company, 1977.
Written by the captain of the
Endurance,
an account of what many
call the greatest boat journey in the
world, by Shackleton, Worsley, and
four other men, across the Drake
Passage on a modified 22-foot
lifeboat.
www.terraquest.com/antarctica/index.html
.
Excellent introduction to Antarctica;
good photos.
www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/shackleton
.
Excellent web documentary of
Shackleton’s fabled transantarctic
voyage, contemporary adventures, and
lots of good general information about
Antarctica. Video clips.
Working seaports and seaport museums in the U.S.A.:
Mystic Seaport,
P.O. Box 6000, 75
Greenmanville Avenue, Mystic, CT
06355-0990 (Visitor Information
860-572-5315, toll free 1-888-SEA
PORT),
http://www.mysticseaport.org/
South Street Seaport Museum,
207 Front
Street, New York, NY 10038 (212-748
8600),
http://www.southstseaport.com/
I began researching this book while waiting long hours to be selected as a juror, so my first thanks go to the New York City criminal court system. Anne Fadiman, my good friend and an avid Antarctica buff, provided great enthusiasm and much research material from her amazing personal library. The real Peter Mansfield, whom I’ve had the good fortune of knowing for twenty-five years, helped enormously with nautical terminology. I thank the real Larry Walden for his patient tutelage during several summer afternoons sailing on Casco Bay, and his thorough evaluation of this book for sailing authenticity. And my mother, Mary Lerangis, who sent me to Greek school when I was a kid and shouldn’t have had to correct all my Greek language mistakes, nevertheless did so with great joy.
Efharistò, s’aghapò.
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
copyright © 2000 by Peter Lerangis
cover design by Angela Goddard
978-1-4532-4519-4
This edition published in 2012 by Open Road Integrated Media
180 Varick Street
New York, NY 10014
FROM OPEN ROAD MEDIA
Available wherever ebooks are sold
