Voyage of Midnight (29 page)

bend
—to join two ropes together, or to join a rope and an object together. New sails are bent (joined) to the yards.

bilge
—an enclosed section at the bottom of a ship where seawater collects.

binnacle
—the housing of a ship’s compass and lamp.

block
—a rounded wooden case that houses a pulley, used for lowering and lifting heavy loads. A line through a block forms a tackle.

bo’sun
—a petty officer on a merchant vessel or a warrant officer on a warship, in charge of equipment and crew.
(Bo’sun
is short for
boatswain
and is pronounced BO-sun.)

bow
—the front of a ship (rhymes with “cow”).

bowsprit
—a large wooden pole (spar) extending off the bow.

brig
—traditionally a two-masted vessel, square-rigged on both masts.

brogans
—heavy hobnailed shoes, sometimes reaching above the ankle.

brogue
—an Irish accent in the pronunciation of English.

bulkhead
—a wall-like structure in a ship. It separates a vessel into cabins and compartments.

bulwarks
—the built-up side walls above the deck of a ship.

capstan
—a barrel-like mechanism designed for hauling in heavy loads such as an anchor. The capstan is rotated by pushing the long handles that extend like spokes out of the top.

carbine
—a short-barreled, lightweight rifle.

carronade
—a wide-mouthed, short-barreled cannon, capable of firing heavy shot. Accurate only at close range.

cat-o’-nine-tails
—a short whip having nine knotted cords, each cord fixed to a larger rope that was then used as a handle. Sailors were flogged with a cat-o’-nine-tails, a frequent punishment usually carried out by the bo’sun.

caulk
—to plug the seams of a boat with waterproof materials; to make the ship watertight.

clipper
—a term meaning any fast sailing ship.

companionway
—a stairway or ladder leading from one deck to another.

cruiser
—a ship employed to monitor a specific tract of sea, with the intention of finding and engaging enemy vessels believed to be in the area. The name comes from the cruiser’s activity of “cruising” back and forth.

cutwater
—the portion of the bow of the ship that “cuts” through the water.

ebb tide
—the flowing of water back into the sea, resulting in a low tide onshore (the opposite
of flood, which results in a high tide).

fathom
—a nautical unit of measure equaling six feet.

flood tide
—the flowing of water toward land, resulting in a high tide onshore (the opposite of ebb, which results in a low tide).

fob
—a pocket intended to hold a watch.

fo’c’sle
—the forward area of a ship, directly behind the bow and in front of the foremast.
(Fo’c’sle
is short for
forecastle
and is pronounced FOKE-sul.)

footrope
—the horizontal rope suspended under a yard, upon which sailors stand while reefing or furling the sails.

fore, forward
—toward the bow of a ship. The foremast would be the mast closest to the bow.

fortnight
—a period of two weeks.

furl
—to roll a sail to a yard.

galley
—the cooking area, or kitchen, of a vessel.

gangway
—an opening at a ship’s side where people embark and disembark.

gunwale
—the upper edge of a ship’s side (pronounced GUN-ul).

halyard
—a rope or line used to hoist sails, yards, flags, etc.

hatch
—an opening in a ship’s deck.

hatchway
—the vertical space between one hatch and another, for passage between the decks of a vessel.

head
—to set the course of a vessel (e.g., to head a ship southward).

heading
—the particular direction in which a vessel is sailing. (e.g., “The vessel sailed on a heading of west northwest.”)

helm
—the steering apparatus of a vessel.

hogshead
—a large barrel or cask.

hull
—the main body of a ship.

inboard
—inside a vessel’s bulwarks.

jibboom
—an additional spar that extends beyond the bowsprit.

keel
—a timber that acts as the “spine” of the ship, running fore and aft (from bow to stern). The frame of the ship is attached to the keel, much as ribs are attached to the spine.

knightheads
—two large timbers that help support the bowsprit.

knot
—a measure of speed equal to one nautical mile per hour. One nautical mile equals 1.1508 land miles.

larder
—the food supply.

lines
—the ropes of a vessel, used for various purposes.

longboat
—the largest boat carried by a sailing ship. Longboats could carry many men and be propelled by oars or sail.

long guns
—cannon.

lubber’s hole
—a hole in the
top
through which one could climb rather than going out and over it. (A landlubber is someone who has never shipped before and has yet to learn his duties.)

luff
—to turn a ship close to the wind so that the sails shake and momentum is slowed.

main
—the principal or most important part in a three-masted vessel; thus, the center mast is called the
mainmast
, the center hatch is the
main hatch
, and so on.

marine
—a naval soldier.

masthead
—the top of a mast.

mess
—the place where meals are regularly served; also the group of people with whom one regularly eats (messmates); also the meal itself (the afternoon mess).

midships
—approximately halfway between the bow and the stern.

oakum
—a fiber obtained by untwisting old ropes. Used in caulking a ship’s timbers.

packet ship
—a passenger boat originally employed by the government, also carrying mail and goods.

pinrail
—a rail usually mounted on the inside of the bulwarks. The pinrail holds the belaying pins, which are used to secure the lines.

port
—the left side of a vessel when facing forward.

privateer
—a vessel with governmental authority to attack and pillage ships of enemy nations, including merchant ships. Privateers were used during wartime.

quarter
—a word with many meanings in nautical terminology, but in this context it refers to the sides of the vessel aft of amidships.

quarterdeck
—the deck aft of the mainmast.

quid
—one pound sterling.

rakish
—describing when the masts are not purely vertical but lean aft. Gives the appearance of speed.

reef
—to reduce the amount of sail in operation.

rigging
—the lines and ropes of a vessel, used to support the masts and work the yards and sails.

schooner
—in this instance, a two-masted vessel with the mainmast being taller. Both
masts were rigged differently than on a square-rigged vessel, allowing for a smaller crew and enabling the ship to sail closer to the wind.

sextant
—a navigational instrument used to determine latitude and longitude.

sheets
—lines connected to the lower corners of the sails, used to control the sails.

shoal
—a sandbar that projects near or above the surface of the water.

shroud
—a rope, usually one of a pair, that stretches from the top of the mast (the masthead) to the sides of a vessel. Sailors climbed the shrouds if they needed to go aloft. The shrouds had horizontal rope rungs called
ratlines
(pronounced RAT-lunz).

slack tide
—the transitional tide between ebb and flood, where the water is neither going in nor going out. There is high-water slack and low-water slack.

sounding lead
—a lead weight attached to a rope, used to determine depth.

spar
—a beam or pole, such as a mast or yard, that supports rigging.

squall
—a sudden, violent wind sometimes accompanied by rain or snow.

starboard
—the right side of a vessel when facing forward.

stay
—a line that supports the masts or spars.

stays’l
—a smaller, triangular sail set between the square sails. Intended to maximize wind power and used only in moderate weather and light winds.
(Stays’l
is short for
staysail
and is pronounced STAY-sul.)

steerage
—a large space belowdecks. On packet ships, it was usually reserved for passengers who could not afford a private cabin.

stern
—the back of a ship.

top
—the semicircular platform located just above the lowest yard of each mast. Tops are named after the mast to which they belong: foretop, maintop, mizzentop.

topgallant
—the sail above the topsail (pronounced tuh-GAL-unt).

topsail
—the sail immediately above the lowest sail on a square-rigged vessel (pronounced TOP-sul).

trick
—a period of time in which a crewman is on duty at the helm.

yard
—a horizontal beam attached to a mast to support a sail.

yardarm
—the end of a yard.

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