Buccaneer Lingo

Ahoy: Used in hailing other ships.

Aft: The rear quarter of the ship. The aft-castle refers to any above-deck rooms located in the aft of the ship.

Avast: A nautical command to stop or cease, to hold fast.

Belaying Pin: A thick wooden cylinder, with a handle attached, used to anchor one end of a rope to a section of railing where it would otherwise be impractical.

Binnacle: The upper deck "Command post" consisting of the Pilot's wheel, and the above-decks officer's cabinet, containing such items as a compass, and sextant, to ensure accurate execution of the navigator's orders.

Boarding Pike: A short-hafted spear, fitted with a sharpened hook on one side of the blade, used in cutting the ropes other ships would throw across in an effort to grapple two vessels together to allow a boarding action.

Bosun: Typically the Senior Crewman. The man on board a ship held responsible for keeping the shrouds, sails, and masts in good repair.

Bow: The "nose" of the ship.

Buccaneer: Term for pirate historically derived from the word 'Buccan' which was a type of primitive oven used by the outlaw class of the sea to cook their food on uninhabited Carribean islands.

Coal-Kettle: Also called Heaters, these heavy iron pots (Typically about two feet in diameter) would be suspended by a length of chain from the beams belowdecks, filled with burning coals, and *tightly* fixed with an iron lid. This afforded sailors with a measure of warmth, without posing a danger to thier wooden vessels. Several such Kettles would be placed on the ship's living Deck, with more to the rear, where Officer's quarters were located.

Cutlass: A single edged chopping sword. This may seem rather obvious, but the cutlass was a rather new weapon in the age we adhere to on Aether. Most folk would call it either a "Short-sabre," or a "Heavy Scimitar."

Fore: The front quarter of a ship. A Fore-castle (Abbreviated to Foc'stle by sailors) referred not to any buildings, but instead to the fore of the ship itself. Historically Foc'stle guns were small caliber cannon mounted on the front railing of a ship, the heavier guns would be stationed to the rear, or in the case of larger ships, below on a seperate gunnery deck. In the age of Catapults and Ballistae, a more modern Foc'stle gun would be replaced by a small Ballista, or a greek fire spout. Once again, Heavier weapons such as Catapults tended to be stationed closer to the rear.

Gangplank: A broad portable platform used to bridge the gap between the ship's deck, and the surface of a dock. Contrary to popular belief, having a sailor "Walk the Gangplank" would not be at all practical, as the weight of the plank would pull the apparatus off the ship. 'Walking the plank' is more a contemporary myth than a historical precedent. If a sailor was supposed to go overboard, most often they would simply be thrown over a waist-railing.

Gullied: One of many forms of a Sailor's execution...this particularly grisly demise involved hanging a man from the short mast by his own entrails until he died....Most often the victim would be left to hang several hours after death, as an example.

Keel: The measurement from a ship's bow to it's stern. Used mostly by shipbuilders in determining the dimensions of a vessel.

Keel-Hauled: Yet another way to torture a man to death. This method involved securing a rope around a man's torso, just below the arms, and tying the other end of the rope to the bow. The unfortunate victim would then be thrown off the front railing of vessel while it was under full sail, to be dragged beneath the ship eventually either drowning, or mercifully breaking his neck after a minute or so.

Mizzenmast: On larger ships (Two and a half mast or more) the mizzenmast was the mast located nearest to the center of the ship. On smaller ships, it refers simply to the aft-most mast.

Lines: Ropes whose both ends are secured. In other words, almost every rope onboard a ship. For example, a rope running from the ship's railing to a yard-arm would be called a line. A rope left dangling from a sail would be called a plain rope.

Sawbones: Nickname for a Ship's Surgeon. Fifth in the chain of Command.

Scurvy: A disease often caught by sailors that is marked by spongy gums, loosening of the teeth, and a bleeing into the skin and mucous membraines, caused by a lack of asorbic acid which is found in citrus fruits. It is also a term used to insult other sailors. In this context it means one who is disgustingly mean or contemptible. Many sailors will use this word in a more playful bantering context though, calling one another scurvy dogs but without the full intention of slandering.

Scuppers: Holes or gutters round the edge of the ship's deck to let water run off.

Scuttlebutt: A large barrel containing a supply of fresh water. Several are typically placed belowdecks. The modern term Scuttlebut (which has gained the meaning of 'Rumors') derives from sailing days, when sailors would gather around the fresh water to drink and trade gossip.

Shantyman: A member of the crew who composes amusing (and often lewd) songs for the amusement of his fellows. Can recite or improvise endless verses to the question 'What to do with a drunken sailor.'

Ship's Bells: A half hour period of a watch on shipboard is indicated by the strokes of a bell. One ring for 12:30, 4:30, or 8:30, two for 1:00, 5:00, 9:00, three for 1:30, 5:30, 9:30, four for 2:00, 6:00, 10:00; five for 2:30, 6:30, 10:30; six for 3:00. 7:00, 11:00; seven for 3:30, 7:30, 11:30; and eight for 4:00, 8:00, 12:00.

Short Mast: A half size mast (Thus ships so equipped might be referred to as "Two-and-a-half mast vessels") whose function is to add a great measure of aid in steering large vessels. Ships so equipped would be capable of very sharp turns. Such a mast is fitted with a long triangular sail.

Shrouds: The myriad of lines which run from the top of a mast to the ship's frame. These absorb the shock of winds strong enough to move a 12 ton vessel, and prevent the mast snapping. When the shrouds are damaged sails must be furled, otherwise, the masts *will* break. They also provide the "rope ladder" used by sailors to reach the sails.

Starboard: The right-hand side of the ship when looking towards the bows.

Stern: The back end of the ship. The most stable area when the sea gets rough .

Steward: The on board attendant of the officers. In most cases, the captain did not own his ship (Pirates being an exception to this), and the steward would serve as a liason between the captain and the Ship's owner, in addition to his base role.

Tack: To sail towards the wind in a zig-zag course; can also mean "food", especially as "hard tack" or ship's biscuit.

Tar: A sailor. The name was derived from the standard practice of sailors saturating thier hair and overcoats with the adhesive tar found out to sea. This would greatly improve the water resistance of garments, as well as making them warmer when the night winds started howling. Drylanders consider the practice of tarring hair vile, however tar kept the hair clean (dirt would cling to it, and would be scraped out with the tar every week or so), manageable, and it's oily smell drowned out the man's own odor .

Tarpaulin: A strong, tar-covered piece of sail cloth that is used as protective covering for all kinds of objects.

Tiller: The large lever used to move the steering rudder. Large ships have a wheel that turns the ruddern into the correct position mechanically.

Top: The uppermost part of the mast.

Veer: To slacken or lower a sail or spar.

Watch: A ship's crew is divided into two watches, one of which sails the ship while the other is off-duty resting or sleeping. One is the starboard watch and the other the port watch.
Each span of duty lasts 4 hours or 8 bells and is also called a watch. Ther is a middle watch, which lasts from midnight until 4 am. Then comes the early morning watch from 4 until 8 am, also called Diana, followed by the morning watch until noon. The afternoon watch is from midday until 4 pm. So that each group or watch does not always come on duty at the same time, the 4-8 pm watch is divided into two, which are called dog-watches.

Weather-deck: The top deck of a ship, the name is predictably derived from the fact that this was the only deck exposed to the weather of the ocean. Also known as 'Above-decks.'

Yard-arm: The "arms" of a mast, these are the long beams to which the edges of the sails are secured. "Hanging from the Yardarms" Was (yet another) means of torture applied to disloyal crewmen. If, after a day of baking in the sun, the subject was still alive, they would be released...usually.

Yaw: To lurch, to be tossed about by winds or currents

Special thanks to Marco for supplying the bulk of these terms and definitions