General Sea Terms

Weather side	The side against which the wind blows.
Lee side	The opposite to the weather side.
Starboard tack	Sailing as nearly as possible in a direction towards
	the wind, with it blowing against the starboard side
	of the ship, and consequently the starboard tacks
	being in use.

Port tack	Sailing as nearly as possible in a direction towards
	the wind, with it blowing against the port side of
	the ship, and consequently the port tacks being in
	use.
Tacking	Going round from one tack to the other, passing
	head to the wind.
Going about
Staying
Wearing	Going round from one tack to the other, passing
	stern to the wind.
Beating to windward	Proceeding as nearly as possible in a direction to-
	wards the wind, and continually tacking.
To weather	To pass on the weather side of anything.
On a wind	Sailing as close to the wind as possible.
By the wind
Close hauled
Wide abeam	Sailing with the wind directly on one side, or at
	right angles to the keel.
O the wind	Sailing with the wind on the beam or quarter.
Going free
Sailing large
Running
Before the wind	Having the wind exactly aft.
Scudding	Running before a gale of wind.
Conning	Directing the helmsman in steering the ship.
Keep her away	To alter course, turning the ship's head more away
	from the wind.
Bear up
Lu	To alter course, bringing the ship's head nearer to
	the wind.
Steady	To keep the ship's head steady in the same direction
	(used when the ship is sailing close-hauled).
Very well thus

Nothing o		To bring the ship's head nearer to the wind (used
		when the ship is sailing close-hauled).
No higher		Not to bring the ship's head nearer to the wind
		(used when the ship is sailing close-hauled).
Starboard (the helm)		To alter course by putting the tiller or helm to star-
		board, so as to force the rudder and ship's head to
		port when the ship is going ahead.
Port (the helm)		To alter course by putting the tiller or helm to port,
		so as to force the rudder and ship's head to star-
		board when the ship is going ahead.
Hauling to the wind		Altering course, bringing the ship's head as near to
		the wind as possible.
Hove to		Keeping the ship stationary, by making one said act
		against another.
Lying to		Keeping the ship to the wind in a gale with little
		sail.
Making asternboard		Trimming the sails so as to force the ship astern.
Stern way		Going astern.
Lee way		Going sideways away from the wind.
Brought by the lee		When running, if the wind changes from one quar-
		ter to the other
Broaching to		When running with the wind on the quarter, and
		the ship's head comes up towards the wind, in con-
		sequence of a sea striking the stern, or through bad
		steerage.
Gybing a sail		When running nearly before the wind, if the wind
		gets on the lee side of a fore-and-aft sail, blowing it
		over to the other side of the ship.
Weather tide		A tide which will carry the ship towards the wind
		or to windward.
Lee tide		A tide which will carry the ship away from the wind
		or to leeward.
Bearing		The situation of any distant object in relation to
		the ship.

Striking a mast	Sending the mast down on deck.
Housing a mast	Lowering the mast down as low as possible without
	taking the rigging o the masthead.
Single anchor	Having only one anchor down.
Moored	Having two anchors down.
Moorings	Anchors and chains laid down ready for a ship to
	be secured to them.
Short stay	When the cable is nearly straight up and down from
	the ground to the bows of the ship; or when the
	amount of the cable out is a little more than the
	depth of water.
Long stay	When the anchor is some distance ahead, and the
	cable forms a small angle with the ground.
Foul hawse	When moored, if one cable is twisted round another.
To veer cable	To ease away or pay out the cable.
Surging	The hawser slipping up the barrel of a capstand, or
	veering out the cable suddenly.
Warping	Using a hawser to haul the ship ahead.
Kedging	Using a kedge anchor to warp the ship ahead by,
	when there is no place to secure a hawser to.
A spring	A rope led from aft and made fast to the cable, or
	an object a short distance o, in order to turn the
	ship's head round, and present her broadside to any
	required direction.
Woolding	A strong lashing around a spar or spars. After pass-
	ing the turns it is wedged out to tighten them.
Binnacle	A box containing a compass.
Lubber's point	A mark on the foremost side of the compass bowl,
	through which, if a line were drawn from the center
	of the compass, it would be parallel to the keel. It
	shows the helmsman how the ship's head is pointing
	with regard to the compass.

Guesswarp		A rope used to secure or haul a boat ahead with (In
		laying out a guesswarp, the whole hawser is taken
		on the boat, and the end is brought back to the
		ship, the distance being guessed ).
Weighing		Getting the anchor out of the ground and up to the
		bows.
Casting		Trimming the sails in order to turn the ship's head
		round away from the anchor after weighing.
Boxing o		Backing a head sail in order to pay the ship's head
		o if she has approached too near the wind, in
		consequence of bad steerage, or the wind drawing
		ahead.
Backing and lling		Trimming the sails in order to go backwards and
		forwards across a river, letting the tide take the
		ship to windward.
Sued		The condition of a ship when she has run ashore,
		and the water has partly left her. If the water has
		left her two feet, she has sued two feet.
The buoy watching		The anchor buoy being above water.
Setting up rigging		Hauling the shrouds, etc, taut by means of tackles
		on the lanyards.
Swifting in		Steadying the shrouds in their places before putting
		on the ratlines. Also done in a gale of wind when
		rigging becomes slack.
Spar down		Putting spars in the rigging for the men to stand
		upon while rattling down.
Scotchman		A piece of hide, wood, or iron on a rope to prevent
		its being chafed.
Swamped		A boat being lled with water.
Batten down		Closing the hatchways with gratings and tarpaul-
		ings.
Wake of a ship		The track left by a ship in the water.
Bonnet of a sail		An additional part made to lace on to the bottom
		of a trysail or other sail. By taking the bonnet o,
		the sail becomes a storm sail.

Hogging		Scrubbing the ship's bottom under water.
Hogged		The bow and stern of the ship having settled down
		in the water below the level of the midship part.
Sagged		The midship part of the ship having settled down
		below the level of the bow and stern.
Athwart		Lying across any part of the ship.
Sprung		Signi es that a spar is strained, and that some of
		its bers are broken.
Battledore		A moveable iron arm in the cable bitts of most ves-
		sels.

Bibliography

Nares, Sir George S. Seamanship: Including Names of Principal Parts of a Ship; Masts, Sails, Yards, &c., Fifth Edition Portsmouth, England: Gri‑n & Co., 1877.

The Macquarie University Library, Melbourne, Australia. Journeys in Time: 18 ^th and Early 19^th Century Sailing Vessels http://www.lib.mq.edu.au/all/journeys/ships/vessels.html ²

Department of the Navy, Naval Historical Center http://www.history.navy.mil/ 3

Villiers, Captain Alan. Men, Ships, and the Sea. Washington, DC: National Geographic Society, 1973.

PortCities London. Clippers, 1812-1870. http://www.portcities.org.uk/london/server/show/ConFactFile.89/Clippers.html