Having a mouth like a sailor!!! Not something your mom would be proud of...unless of course you mean to use proper terminology to communicate aboard ship!!!
I am always happy to learn more about sailing. So when I ran across this book at Black River Books in South Haven, Michigan, you can only imagine my joy. Black River Books, is run by a very nice couple whom I enjoyed chatting with immensily. They are kind, helpful and quite knowledgable. They have turned their passion into a growing business.
Read on if you, like me, enjoy learning nautical vocabulary.
Nautical Terminology taken from The Official Guide to Small Boat Navigation by Charles Farrell, Jr.
ABAFT: Behind or farther aft; astern or toward the stern.
ABEAM: At right angles to the center line of and outside a ship.
ABOARD: On or in a vessel. CLOSE ABOARD means near a ship.
ACCOMMODATION LADDER: a portable flight of steps down a boat’s side.
ADMIRALTY: Part of the law that deals with maritime cases.
ADRIFT: Loose from moorings; or out of place.
AFT: In, near or toward the stern of a vessel.
AGROUND: Resting on or touching the ground or bottom.
AHEAD: Forward of the bow.
AHOY: Term used to hail a boat or a ship, as “Boat ahoy.”
AMIDSHIPS: In the middle portion of a boat, along the line of the keel.
ANCHORAGE: Suitable place for a boat to anchor.
ANCHORS AWEIGH: Said of an anchor when it’s free of the bottom.
ANCHOR BALL: Black shape hoisted in the foreport of a ship to show that ship is anchored in a fairway.
ANCHOR BUOY: A small buoy secured by a light line to an anchor to indicate the position of the anchor on the bottom.
ANCHOR CABLE: Chain, wire or line running between anchor and ship.
ANCHOR LIGHT: White light displayed by a ship at anchor. Two anchor lights are displayed by a ship over 150 feet in length.
ANEMOMETER: Instrument used to measure wind velocity.
ASTERN: Toward the stern; an object or vessel that is abaft another vessel or object.
ATHWARTSHIPS: At right angles to the fore and aft line of a vessel.
AUXILIARY: An assisting machine or vessel, such as an air-conditioning machine or a fuel ship.
AVAST: A command to cease or desist from whatever is being done.
AWASH: So low in the water that the water is constantly washing across the surface.
AYE, AYE: Reply to an order to indicate that it is understood and will be carried out.
AZIMUTH: The azimuth of an object is its bearing from the observer measured as an angle clockwise from true north. Objects on the earth having bearing, but a celestial body has azimuth.
AZIMUTH CIRCLE: Instrument used to take bearings of celestial objects.
BACKSTAY: A stay supporting a mast from aft.
BACKWASH: Water thrown aft by turning of ship's propeller.
BACK WATER: Command given to oarsmen to reverse usual rowing motion.
BAIL: To dip water out of a boat with a bucket.
BALANCED RUDDER: Rudder in which part of the blade surface is forward of the axis to help offset water pressure on the after part.
BALLAST: Heavy weight in the hold of a vessel to maintain proper stability. A ship is in ballast when it carries no cargo, only ballast.
BARGE: Craft used to haul material, as a coal barge; a power boat used by flag officers, as admiral's barge.
BARNACLE: Small marine animal that attaches itself to sides and bottoms of hulls and to piers.
BAROMETER: Instrument that registers atmospheric pressure; used in forecasting weather.
BATTEN: Long strip of steel or wood that wedges the edge of a tarpaulin against the hatch.
BATTEN DOWN: To cover and fasten down; to close off a hatch or watertight door.
BEACON: Conspicuous mark or structure used to guide ships.
BEAM: Width; breadth; greatest athwartships width of a vessel.
BEAR: To lie in a certain direction from the observer.
BEAR A HAND: Speed up the action; lend a helping hand.
BEARING: Direction of an object, expressed in deqrees either as relative or true bearing.
BEAUFORT SCALE: A table of scales indicating various velocities of winds.
BECKET: Circle metal fitting on a block; a rope eye or grommet.
BELAY: To stop, to firmly secure a line.
BELOW: Short for "below decks," below the main deck.
BEND: A general class of knots used to join two lines together.
BEND ON: To secure one thing to another, as bend a flag onto a halyard.
BERTH: Space assigned a vessel for anchoring or mooring.
BILGE: Lower part of a vessel where waste water and seepage collect.
BILGED: Act of staving in the side of a vessel.
BINNACLE: Large stand used to house a magnetic compass and its fittings.
BINOCULARS: Telescopic instrument used for distant seeing.
More coming soon....
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