Part 13 (2/2)
Head: The bathroom aboard a naval s.h.i.+p. The term comes from the days of sailing s.h.i.+ps when the place for the crew to relieve themselves was all the way forward on either side of the bowsprit, the part of the hull to which the figurehead was fastened.
Holystone: A piece of sandstone used for scrubbing teak and other wooden decks. It was so nicknamed by an anonymous witty sailor because, as its use always brought a man to his knees, it must be holy!
Keelhauling: A naval punishment. A rope was pa.s.sed under the bottom of the s.h.i.+p, and the punishee was attached to it, sometimes with weights attached to his legs. He was dropped suddenly into the sea on one side, hauled underneath the s.h.i.+p, and hoisted up on the other. When he had caught his breath, the punishment was repeated.
Pea Coat: A heavy topcoat worn in cold, miserable weather by seafaring men. Sailors who have to endure pea-soup weather often don their pea coats but the coat's name isn't derived from the weather. It was once tailored from pilot, or ”P” cloth a” a heavy, coa.r.s.e, stout kind of twilled blue cloth. The garments made from it were called p-jackets or p-coats, later changed to pea jackets or peacoats.
Powder Monkey: Boys or young teens who carried bags of gunpowder from the powder magazine in the s.h.i.+p's hold to the gun crews aboard wars.h.i.+ps.
Scrimshaw: Carved or incised intricate designs on whalebone or whale ivory.
Scuttleb.u.t.t: Nautical parlance for gossip and rumour. In the navy, a water fountain is still called a ”scuttleb.u.t.t,” from the days when crews got their drinking water from a ”scuttled b.u.t.t” a” a wooden cask (b.u.t.t) that had a hole punched in for the water to flow through. (Sinking a s.h.i.+p by punching in its hull is called scuttling.) As they waited for their turn for a drink, crew members chatted and exchanged news, just like people still do at an office water cooler or school drinking fountain.
s.e.xtant: A navigational instrument for determining lat.i.tude and longitude by measuring the angles of heavenly bodies in relation to the horizon.
S.O.S.: Contrary to popular notions, the letters S.O.S. do not stand for ”Save Our s.h.i.+p” or ”Save Our Souls.” They were selected to indicate distress because, in Morse code, these letters and their combination create an unmistakable sound pattern.
Starboard: The right side of a s.h.i.+p. The Vikings called the side of a s.h.i.+p its board, and they placed the steering oar or ”star” on the right side. Because the oar was on the right side, the s.h.i.+p was tied to the dock at the left side. This was known as the loading side, or ”larboard.” Later, it was decided that ”larboard” and ”starboard” were too similar, especially when trying to be heard over the roar of a heavy sea, so larboard became the ”side at which you tie up in port” or the ”port” side.
Tar or Jack Tar: A slang term for a sailor. Early sailors wore overalls and broad-brimmed hats made of tar-impregnated fabric called tarpaulin cloth. The hats, and the sailors who wore them, were called tarpaulins, which may have been shortened to tars.
Watches: Divisions in a naval day. Traditionally, a 24-hour day is divided into seven watches. These are: midnight to 4 a.m., mid-watch; 4 to 8 a.m., morning watch; 8 a.m. to noon, forenoon watch; noon to 4 p.m., afternoon watch; 4 to 6 p.m., first dogwatch; 6 to 8 p.m., second dogwatch; and, 8 p.m. to midnight, evening watch. The half-hours of the watch are marked by striking the bell an appropriate number of times.
Acknowledgements.
I would like to thank Nik Burton of Coteau Books for giving me the opportunity to bring a fun book to life and Ms. Laura Peetoom for being the editor of my dreams!
The author wishes to acknowledge the Alberta Foundation for the Arts for their kind support in the writing of this book.
About the Author.
Jacqueline Guest is the author of more than a dozen books for young readers, specializing in sports themes or historical fiction. Her books have received numerous Our Choice and Young Readers Choice citations. Jacqueline Guest lives and writes in the Rocky Mountain foothills of Alberta.
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