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CRUISE SPEAK


Cruising has a vocabulary all of its own - and here are some examples of just this from fellow passengers aboard Prow's Edge....
FROM: "Constant Cruisers" : Here are a couple more great "measuring" words that some first time cruisers might not know. These are the sort of words we hear often, take for granted, pretend we understand but could never define.
fathom = a measure of six feet - usually of water depth
draft = the depth of water (from the waterline to the bottom of the ship) needed to float a ship

NEW INPUT . . . FROM: Melanie Conrad, New Orleans – Yes, I can weigh in (forgive the pun!) How often don’t we use the term “as the crow flies” to indicate a straight line between two points. Some references say the phrase was first used in 1767 and meant the birds were not prevented from flying a straight line by mountains. But a more interesting (and romantic) version claims that in the early days of sailing, ships would release a caged crow if they were unsure of their location in coastal waters. The crow would fly towards the nearest land giving the sailors a sense of direction. That’s why the tallest lookout platform on a ship is known as the crow’s nest.

NEW INPUT . . .FROM: Another Melanie (this one in San Diego) – What about the saying “knowing the ropes”. Although some claim it had its origin in the world of opera where ropes were used to raise the scenery, there are several seafaring origins, the most common of which is that sailors had to learn which rope raised which sail in the rigging so an experienced seaman “knew the ropes”.

FROM: Kirstin Carter, England: On my last cruise, when the Captain announced a whale sighting on the port side, several folks looked baffled and then dashed off in the wrong direction. They missed the whales. Life on the ocean wave is a lot easier when you know the terms. Here are a few to begin with.
starboard = right
portside = left
aft = towards the stern
stern = rear; fore = towards the bow; bow = front ; leeside = the side away from the wind;
midships = the middle of the ship

EDITORS NOTE: SEE OUR CRUISE ADVICE PAGES FOR CRUISE SPEAK

FROM: Olaf Rhinespeck : Another word that seems to have folks baffled is "knot" and what it actually means. A knot refers to the speed of one nautical mile per hour. And a nautical mile is slightly more than the mile as we landlubbers know it. (2025 yards instead of 1760 yards, or 1.852 kilometres instead of 1.609 kilometres. Therefore, if the ship is travelling at 60 knots, it is cruising at 60 nautical miles per hour.

FROM: Geoff Hall, Florida : For those confused about some of the nautical terms used by the captain when he makes his daily report, the following may be useful:
1 league = 3 nautical miles
1 nautical mile = about 6078 feet/1.15 statute miles
1 knot (a measurement of speed) = 1 nautical mile/hour

FROM: Helen Carter : It is also interesting to find that there are some words and phrases that we use in everyday language, which, at first glance, don't seem to have anything to do with the sea, but which have their origins in the language of the sailors. The expression, "the whole nine yards" for example, originates from the sailing ships. If all the square sails were flying for maximum power, the ship had the "whole nine yards" meaning that the sailors were giving it everything they had. "Minding your Ps and Qs" an expression of due care being taken originates with sailors who were told to watch that their "pea" jackets would not be marked by the queues (or pigtails) which were traditionally gelled with tar. And my favourite - the expression "three sheets to the wind" used now to describe someone drunk and out of control, is said to originate from the use of three sheets controlling a small boat. If all three sheets are flying wildly in the wind, the boat is out of control. I'd be interested to know if any other readers have some more of these expressions.

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