Ripples in the Sand (The Sea Witch Voyages) (38 page)

Glossary

Aback
– a sail when its forward surface is pressed upon by the wind. Used to ‘stop’ a ship.

Account
– see ‘On the Account’.

A-cockbill
– having the tapered ends turned upward. Said of the anchor when it is hanging ready from the cathead.

Aloft
– up in the tops, at the masthead or anywhere about the yards or the rigging.

Articles
– Each man when coming aboard ‘agreed the Articles’. Some pirate ships were run on very democratic lines. The crew elected their captain, agreed where to sail, divided the ‘spoils’ fairly
etc.
Most rules were sensible things like no naked flame below deck, each man to keep his weapon clean and ready for use; and no fighting aboard ship.

Bar
– a shoal running across the mouth of a harbour or a river.

Bare poles
– having no sail up – the bare mast.

Belay
– to make fast or secure. Also: ‘Stop that’. ‘Belay that talk!’ would mean ‘Shut up!’

Belaying pin
– a short wooden rod to which a ship’s rigging is secured. A common improvised weapon aboard a sailing ship because they are everywhere, are easily picked up, and are the right size and weight to be used as a club.

Bell (Ship’s bell)
– used as a clock, essential for navigation as the measurement of the angle of the sun had to be made at noon. The bell was struck each time the half-hour glass was turned.

Best bower
– the larboard (or port) side anchor. There are usually two identical anchors on the bows of a vessel, the second one is the small-bower.

Bilge
– the lowest part of the ship inside the hull along the keel. They fill with stinking bilge water or ‘bilge’. Can also mean nonsense or foolish talk.

Binnacle
– the frame or box that houses the compass.

Bo’sun
– short for boatswain. Usually a competent sailor who is in charge of all deck duties.

Bow
– the front or ‘pointed’ end of the ship.

Bowsprit
– the heavy slanted spar pointing forward from the ship’s bow.

Brace
– rope used to control the horizontal movement of a square-rigged yard.

Brig
– a two-masted vessel square-rigged on both masts.

Brimstone
– formerly the common name for sulphur.

Broadside
– the simultaneous firing of all guns on one side of a ship.

Bulkheads
– vertical partitions in a ship.

Bulwark
– interior wall of ship.

Cable
– a long, thick and heavy rope by which a ship is secured to the anchor.

Cable’s length
– a measure of 120 fathoms or 240 yards.

Capstan
– drum-like winch turned by the crew to raise or lower the anchors.

Careen
– the process of beaching a ship, heeling her over to her side and cleaning the underside of weed, barnacles and worm; making essential repairs to the part of a ship which is usually below the waterline. A careened ship will go faster and last longer than one that is not.

Cathead
– vertical beam of timber protruding near the bow, used for hoisting the anchor.

Cat o’nine tails
, or ‘cat’ – a whip with many lashes, used for flogging.

Caulk
– to seal the gaps between planks of wood with caulking (see Oakum).

Chain shot
– two balls of iron joined together by a length of chain, chiefly used to destroy, masts, rigging and sails.

Chandler
– a merchant selling the various things a ship needs for supplies and repairs.

Chanty/shanty
– a sailor’s work song. Often lewd and derogatory about the officers.

Chase
– or Prize. The ship being pursued.

Cleat
– wooden or metal fastening to which ropes can be secured. Can also be used as a ladder.

Clew
– the lower corners of a sail, therefore
Clew Up
– to haul a square sail up to a yard.

Close-hauled
– sailing as close to the direction of the wind as possible with the sails turned almost ninety degrees.

Cordage
– rope is called cordage on board a ship.

Colours
– the vessel’s identification flag, also called an ensign. For a pirate, the Jolly Roger!

Courses
– lowest sails on the mast.

Crosstrees
– wooden platform partway up a mast to keep the shrouds spread apart.

Dead-eyes
– a round, flat, wooden block with three holes through which a lanyard, or rope can be thread to extend the shrouds.

Dolphin Striker
– a short perpendicular gaff spar under the cap of the bowsprit for guying down the jib-boom. Also called a martingale.

Doubloon
– a Spanish gold coin.

Drang
– a narrow passageway between buildings.

Drashed
– Devonshire word for thrashed.

Fathom
– a measure of six feet of water.

Fore
or for’ard
– toward the front end of the ship, the bow.

Forecastle
– pronounced fo’c’sle; raised deck at the front of ship.

Fore-and-aft rig
– sails set lengthwise not at right angles (square-rigged)to the hull.

Flukes
– the broad parts or palms of the anchor.

For-and-aft
– the length of a ship.

Forestay
– the rope leading from the mast to the bow.

Fother
– to seal a leak by lowering a sail over the side of the ship and positioning it so that it seals the hole by the weight of the sea.

Futtock
– ‘foot hooks’.

Futtock
shroud
– short pieces of rope which secure lower dead-eyes and futtock plates to the top mast rigging.

Galleon
– a large three-masted square-rigged ship used chiefly by the Spanish.

Galley
– ship’s kitchen.

Gasket
– a piece of plait to fasten the sails to the yards.

Gaol/gaoler
– pronounced ‘jail’ and ‘jailer’.

Grape-shot
– or grape, small cast iron balls bound together in a canvas bag that scatter like shotgun pellets when fired.

Grenados
– early form of hand grenade.

Gunwale
– pronounced gun’l; upper planking along the sides of a vessel. ‘Up to the gunwales’ – full up or overloaded.

Halliard or halyard
– pronounced haly’d. The rope used to hoist a sail.

Hard tack
– ship’s biscuit. Opposite is soft tack – bread.

Hatch
– an opening in the deck for entering below.

Hawser
– cable.

Heave-to
– to check the forward motion of a vessel and bring her to a standstill by heading her into the wind and backing some of her sails.

Heel
– to lean over due to action of the wind, waves, or greater weight on one side. The angle at which the vessel tips when sailing.

Helm
– the tiller (a long steering arm) or a wheel which controls the rudder and enables the vessel to be steered.

Hold
– space below deck for cargo.

Hull
– the sides of a ship which sit in and above the water.

Hull cleats
– the ‘ladder’ or steps attached to the hull via which entry is gained to the entry port.

Hull down
– a vessel when it is so far away from the observer the hull is invisible owing to the shape of the earth’s surface. Opposite to hull up.

Jack Ketch
– the hangman. To dance with Jack Ketch is to hang.

Jollyboat
– a small boat, a dinghy.

Jolly Roger
– the pirates’ flag, called the jolie rouge – although its original meaning is unknown. The hoisted flag was an invitation to surrender, with the implication that those who did so would be treated well – and no quarter given to those who did not.

Kedge
– a small anchor used for mooring to keep the vessel secure and clear of her mooring ropes while she rides in a tidal harbour or river. Also used to warp (haul) a ship from one part of the harbour to another by dropping the kedge anchor, securing a hawser to its wooden or iron stock and hauling the line in.

Keel
– the lowest part of the hull below the water.

Keelhaul
– an unpleasant punishment – the victim is dragged through the water passing under the keel, either from side to side or bow to stern.

Knot
– one nautical mile per hour.

Landlubber
– (or lubber) a non-sailor.

Langrage
– jagged pieces of sharp metal used as shot. Especially useful for damaging rigging and killing men.

Larboard
– pronounced larb’d; the left side of a ship when facing the bow (front). Changed in the nineteenth century to ‘port.’

Lead line
– (pronounced ‘led’) a length of rope used to determine the depth of water.

Lee
– the side or direction away from the wind i.e, downwind.

Lee shore
– the shore on to which the wind is blowing, a hazardous shore for a sailing vessel particularly in strong winds –can easily be blown on to rocks
etc.

Leeches
– the vertical edges of a square sail.

Letter of Marque
– Papers issued by a government during wartime entitling a privately owned ship to raid enemy commerce or attack enemy warships.

Lubberly
– in an amateur way, as a landlubber would do.

Luff
– the order to the helmsman to put the tiller towards the lee side of the ship in order to make it sail nearer to the direction of the wind.

Maroon
– a punishment for breaking a pirate ship’s Articles or rules. The victim was left on a deserted coast (or an island) with little in the way of supplies. Therefore, no one could say the unlucky pirate had been killed by his former brethren.

Mast
– vertical spar supporting the sails.

Molly Boy
– a homosexual prostitute.

Oakum
– a material used to waterproof seams between planks on deck
etc.
Made of strong, pliable, tarred fibres obtained from scrap rope which swell when wet.