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2nd April 2020, 12:46 PM
#1
Landlubbers guide to Seamanship.
Seafaring, like all professions and trades, has over the years developed a rich vocabulary which is often incomprehensible to the outsider. It hoped that this glossary will offer to the non-seagoing reader something of an explanation of the more commonly used terminology, and at the same time provide a touch of nostalgia for former seafarers.
ABOARD - piece of wood
ADRIFT - hazard following heavy snowfall
AFLOAT - petty cash holding by the Purser
AFT - frequently (Scottish)
AGENT- fine fellow (eg our Captain’s a gent)
AHEAD - lavatory on a Royal Navy ship
ALOFT - top part of a house
AMIDSHIPS- when you find yourself surrounded by lots and lots of other ships
ANCHOR - 1960s teen idol
ANCHORAGE - city in Alaska
ARTICLES - features in a magazine or newspaper
ASTERN - opposite to Agent (eg he’s a stern Captain)
A’THWART - doubt (eg a’thwart you ordered the Pilot for 1600 hours)
AVAST - huge
AWASH - basic service provided by local laundrette
BACK SPRING - reverse long jump
BAIL - temporary release of accused person awaiting trial, usually supported by a sum of money
BANK - financial services business
BAR - establishment serving alcoholic beverages
BATTEN - stick used by conductor to direct an orchestra
BEAM - normal reaction on notification of homeward passage
BOARD OF TRADE SPORTS - government sponsored fitness programme
BOAT STATIONS - those at Harwich, Dover, Holyhead etc
BOLLARDS - expletive
BOOT TOPPING - type of polish for footwear
BOW - formal greeting from a ship’s Master
BOW WAVE - greeting from the sharp end of a ship
BRIDGE - card game involving four players in two partnerships
BULWARK - ambling steer
BULKHEAD - hangover
BUNK - seafarer’s yarn
BUNKER - obstacle on golf course
BUOY - junior ordinary seaman
BUREAU - writing desk with drawers
CABLE LENGTH - number of words in a telegram
CAPE - a sleeveless cloak
CAPTAIN’S TIGER - ship’s cat
CAST OFF - removal of plaster support applied to injury after a Fall (which see)
CHANNEL MARKER - tells you to which station your TV is tuned
CHIPPING GANG - part of the galley team
C.I.F. - a household cleaner
CLEW - essential element of a crossword puzzle
COAMING - important part of hair care
COAST - taking things easy
COMPASS - directional information (eg we got to compass the Crosby Light Ship before we enter the Mersey proper)
CONTAINER SHIP - estimate of dimensions (eg this lock should container ship of 20,000 tons)
COUNTER - flat topped fitment in a Bar (which see)
COURSE - similar to Astern (which see) only rougher
CROSS ALLEYWAY - the opposite of a Happy Alleyway
CUNARD FEET - unit of linear measure once found on passenger ships of Cunard Line
D.B.S. - high performance sports car produced by Aston Martin
DECCA - record label which signed The Rolling Stones
DECK - pack of playing cards
DECK-HEAD SURVEY - important inspection of ship construction
DEGREES - lubricant (eg Chief Engineer to Junior Engineer: make sure you put degrees on de bearings)
DEE ESTUARY - de mouth of the river
DEEP TANKS - profound gratitude
DINGHY - sound made by the ship’s bell (eg dinghy-dinghy)
DISPLACEMENT- accidental loss (eg if you can’t find your ship you’ve displaced it)
DOCK - ship’s surgeon
DODGER - workshy member of the crew
DOUBLE DR - two ship’s surgeons
DOUBLE HEADER - heraldic eagle, most commonly associated with the Byzantine Empire
DOWN BY THE HEAD - asleep
DOWN TO HER MARKS - gone shopping at M&S
DRAUGHT - beer served from a cask
DRAUGHT MARKS - frothy deposits on the inside of a beer glass
DRY DOCK - ship’s surgeon (US Navy)
ECHO SOUNDER - street vendor of a local newspaper
E.R. TELEGRAPH - uncertainty when buying a newspaper (eg Er, Telegraph please)
FALL - result of poorly executed Back Spring (which see)
FASHION PLATE - image published in Vogue magazine
FENDER - famous make of guitar
FERRY - popular vocalist with Roxy Music
FIDDLE - musical instrument
FLYING BRIDGE - card game favoured by Royal Navy aircrew
F.O.B. - type of Watch (which see)
FO’C’SLE - reference to family (eg better write home soon or the fo’c’sle wonder where you are)
FOREPEAK - feature of uniform cap
FORETOP - one of the Motown vocal group
FREEBOARD - gratuitous hotel accommodation
GAFF - residential accommodation ashore between voyages
GRIPE - to complain
GROYNE - part of one’s anatomy
GYRO REPEATER - very active disco dancer
HATCH - composer of theme tunes for Crossroads and Neighbours etc
HAUL - area just inside entrance door of one’s Gaff (which see)
HAWSE PIPE - sore throat
HAWSER - brother of Hengist in Anglo-Saxon legend
HEAVE HO - hughie, mal de mer etc
HEEL - part of a shoe
HELM - tree common to the East End of London
HOLD - to grip or grasp
HOOK - maritime character in Peter Pan
HOVE TO - route from Brighton’s near neighbour
HULL - important North Sea port
HULL DOWN - unfavourable local half time score
INDENTURE - procedure offered by a Dentist
JERQUE NOTE - sound of a sharp, sudden movement
JUMPER STAY - canine command (eg Jumper - stay. Good dog)
JURY RIGGED - illegal method of obtaining a favourable verdict in court
KEEL - a University in the West Midlands
LAUNCH - midday meal aboard ship
LEE - town in Lancashire
LIFEBOAT TICKET - a recommended advance purchase
LOG EXTRACT - useful sap (eg resin, latex)
LIST - composer of classical music
LOCK - mechanism for securing a door
LOCKER - person who secures a door
LOOM - machine on which Shoals (which see) are weaved
MANIFEST - clear or obvious
MASTER (THE) - arch villain in Doctor Who
MATE - non-vegetarian sandwich filling
MONKEY ISLAND - attraction at Knowsley Safari Park
MOOR - persons required to make up a docking party (eg the moor the merrier)
MOORED - subject of Victorian parlour song
NAVIGATE - labourers entrance
NEAPS - turnips (Scottish)
NUMBER 10s - aspirations of senior politicians
OUTTURN - action occuring at closing time
PAINTER - ship’s artist
PEGGY - abbreviation of Margaret
PIER - member of the upper House of Parliament
PIER HEAD - scan the horizon over the sharp end
PITCH - venue for cricket match, football match etc
PLIMSOLE MARK - footprint left by a pair of pumps (trainers)
PLOT - sequence of events in a play or novel
PORT- a multi-purpose word (eg wine, arms drill, computer feature)
PUMP ROOM - shoe locker on a tanker
QUAY - instrument for opening or closing a Lock (which see)
RADAR - character in the television series M*A*S*H
RAKE - garden implement
REVIE - former manager of Leeds United FC
ROLL - bread item from the galley
R.P.M. - abbreviated reference to the First Lord of the Treasury (eg RPM is Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson) *
RUNNING LIGHT - jogging down to your ship in a pair of shorts
SAIL - store event where items are at reduced prices
SAILING - 1970s international hit for Rod Stewart
SAMSON POST - a Biblical command (eg Delilah: Samson post this letter on your way to the barbers please)
SHALLOW DRAUGHT - short measure at the Bar (which see)
SHEER - garden implement
SHIPPING THEM GREEN - carriage arrangements for unripe bananas
SHIPWRIGHT - maritime article published in a magazine or journal
SHOAL - garment worn by female seafarers on chilly nights
SHORT STAY - quick turnround in port
SINGLED UP - one’s situation after receiving a Dear John letter
SKEG - seaside town on the east coast of England
SLING - bandage-like support for injury to arm following a Fall (which see)
SPARKS - loyalty card introduced by M&S
SPRING OFF - not a good long range weather forecast for next year
STABILIZER - substance which prevents the breakdown of emulsions
STEAMING TIME - period during which the ship’s bar is open
STEER - bovine quadruped
STEERING GEAR - approved clothing worn by the helmsman
STOKER - author of Dracula
STOW - public school in Buckinghamshire
STROP - ill temper (eg don’t go near him, he’s got a right strop on)
TACK - equipment for horse riding
TIDE - domestic laundry detergent
TOPPING LIFT - expression of appreciation for high class elevator (eg what a topping lift)
TRIM - a light haircut
TRIP - stumble over an object on the deck
TRUCK - medium to large road haulage vehicle
UNDER WAY - incorrect measurement by local trader
UNION PURCHASE - financial transaction with staff group
WAKE - recover to consciousness, especially after conducting a Deck-Head Survey (which see)
WARP - hyperspace propulsion system pioneered by Dr Zefram Cochrane
WARPING WINCH - faster than light travel device
WATCH - a small timepiece, worn on the wrist or on a chain in the pocket
WHARF - the Klingon officer in Star Trek
WHEELHOUSE - original name given to a caravan
WINDLASS - very calm day
WRECK (CONSPIC) - how you look after a night out with the boys
YARD - enclosed exterior area of Gaff (which see)
ZULU TIME - application of GMT in parts of southern Africa
Made me laugh
{terry scouse}
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2nd April 2020, 01:59 PM
#2
Re: Landlubbers guide to Seamanship.
Well Terry, now you've sowed the seeds of Confucious
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2nd April 2020, 02:06 PM
#3
Re: Landlubbers guide to Seamanship.
western ocean roll
Seafood panini from Greggs.
R635733
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3rd April 2020, 10:06 AM
#4
Re: Landlubbers guide to Seamanship.
To remember that lot Terry you have to have been off the Booze for bloody weeks.
Good luck mate.
Graham R774640
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3rd April 2020, 01:00 PM
#5
Re: Landlubbers guide to Seamanship.
Originally Posted by
Graham Payne
To remember that lot Terry you have to have been off the Booze for bloody weeks.
Good luck mate.
Graham you don't realize how right you are m8. Never spent as much time on this site for years. p.s. The Long haired one has got a cough I told her we have to be 2 meters apart for 3 months doctors orders I cant wait for bloody last orders to come back. I am still recovering from last week
{terry scouse}
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4th April 2020, 12:55 AM
#6
Re: Landlubbers guide to Seamanship.
Hi Terry.
Get the Grand kids to write them all down on the bedroom wall if they get isolated.
Des
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4th April 2020, 04:58 AM
#7
Re: Landlubbers guide to Seamanship.
Terry mate we have land here, plenty of it.
If you want o isolate her there is big desert not far from us plenty of room there LOL.
Happy daze John in Oz.
Life is too short to blend in.
John Strange R737787
World Traveller
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4th April 2020, 07:47 AM
#8
Re: Landlubbers guide to Seamanship.
#7 No room in the desert anymore, your PM has told all visitors to go home to their own countries. Rather difficult when a lot of airports are shut down worldwide
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5th April 2020, 04:30 AM
#9
Re: Landlubbers guide to Seamanship.
HI Ivan
One of the more stupid things our PM has said out of many the last few weeks. Australia has relied on backpackers. and tourists, plus overseas students to the tune of $85 Billion a year to the benefit of our economy, this is year on year, he now wants to send them all packing, A flight out of Aus now costs $thousands, all that in order to shed himself of doing something positive. Like organizing transport and sending them out to the farms that are desperate for labour, at least until things get back a a bit of normality.
Des
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5th April 2020, 11:39 AM
#10
Re: Landlubbers guide to Seamanship.
Des, Wait until this is all over and they get the bill we will all be chewing grass.
{terry scouse}
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