Posted on Saturday, 21-Nov-98

Author's Note: This story is based on a program I did this summer called Sea Education Association. I got to spend a month on their brigantine, the Corwith Cramer. If anyone is interested, you can check it out at www.sea.edu.

I hope that most of the sailing lingo stuff will explain itself, but feel free to ask me if I lose you. One thing I'm not planning on explaining is this: The terms "watch" and "mate." Watch can mean one of four things. Because someone must be paying attention at all times, a ship's company is divided into "watches," in this case there are three of them: A, B and C watches. At any given time of the day, one of these watches is "on watch" or on duty. Also, the day itself is divided into blocks of time called watches--Dawn Watch, Morning Watch, etc. So you could say "B watch is on watch for Evening Watch." Finally, on this ship each person in a watch is assigned to a particular station: deck watch (sailing, navigating, etc), lab watch (science), assistant engineer, and "dish b**ch." Sorry that has to be so confusing. It's pretty easy once you get used to it.

OK, each watch is lead by a "mate." But in this case we have two watch leaders, one for lab and one for deck. So mate refers to the person leading deck watch. Mates report to the captain. The assistant scientist leads lab watch and reports to the chief scientist. Obviously, there are three of each of these. Finally, someone might say to someone else, "he was my watchmate." This could either mean, "he was on my watch," used like "shipmate" or "roommate." Or it could mean "he was the mate for my watch." Again, this is contextual, but I'll try to stick with "watchmate" for the "shipmate" sense, and "watch mate" for the licensed sailor sense. OK, now that you're all baffled, you know how Darcy feels!

Posted on Wednesday, 02-Dec-98

If you're baffled by the lingo in "The Call of the Running Tide," this is for you...

This is a picture of the Corwith Cramer, the ship I sailed on this summer. The Pride of Austen looks much the same. I borrowed the shot from the SEA website, so thanks to everyone there for this and everything else I've pirated. ;)

Definitions:

The "bowsprit" is that pole sticking out of the front. As I said, they string that rope netting out below it so you can go out there and handle sail. You can see where Lizzy and Jane were sitting, watching dolphins riding the bow wake.

Okay, the ship has two "masts". Those are the really tall vertical poles.

The "mainmast" is the one towards the back.

The big sail that sticks out to the right is the "mainsail"-- attached to the mainmast.

The "foremast" is the one further forward. You can't really see it very well here, since there are so many sails set, but to give an idea, the two sails that attach to the end of the bowsprit also attach to the top of the foremast.

Now, the foremast is what we call "square-rigged." Think of a pirate ship, or the Mayflower, or something (for the non-Americans, Cutty Sark, perhaps?). Those ships have big square sails that run perpendicular to the length of the ship, as opposed to the triangular "fore-and-aft" sails you see on most sailboats today.

Square sails hang from poles called "yards" that run perpendicular to the mast and perpendicular to the length of the ship.

In this case, the "topsail" (the squaresail that you can see in this picture) hangs from the upper yard, making it the "topsail yard," and the "course" (not set in this picture) hangs from the lower yard, making it the "course yard." Logical, right?

Now in order to handle these sails, you have to climb up there and go out on the yard. So they string ropes from the end of the yard to the mast that you walk along. They hang just below the yard, so it comes about to your waist and you can lean against it. In chapter four, Lizzy is out on the course yard and Charles and William are standing below her, by the port rail.

Whew! That was complicated! Now to confuse you further, here are some basic term that may come up...

bow = front of ship

stern = back of ship

amidships/midships = in the middle of the ship

forward/fore = toward the front

aft = toward the back

doghouse = chartroom

helm = wheel

quarterdeck = the part of the deck furthest aft--where the helm is

main deck = section of the deck upon which it meets the mainmast

foredeck = section of the deck upon which is meets the foremast (each deck is separated by a step, the foremast being the lowest and the quarterdeck the highest)

galley = kitchen

head = bathroom, or the toilet itself

sole = floor

below or belowdecks = downstairs

on deck or abovedecks = upstairs

set = put up a sail

strike = take down a sail

Okay, now for the inside

Posted on Wednesday, 02-Dec-98

This ship is 134 feet long, which is pretty big as boats go, but then again not so big if you have any enemies on board.

I guess there are technically two floors belowdecks, but only one that people actually live in. The second floor down is mostly storage and "intestines," so to speak. Half of the engine room is down there, there is a hold for food storage, a hold for science gear storage. (I almost fell right in that one getting out of my bunk one day!), two holds for sails, fenders and the like, and a pump room. The rest of the second floor down is tanks--fresh water, "grey water" (dirty dishwater, etc.), "black water" (sewage), and salt water ballast tanks (you pump water into them in heavy weather to make the ship more stable). Most of the areas "below below" are very cramped and claustrophobic.

The living space, (just one "below") is generally quite comfortable, once you get used to it. Students sleep in bunks along the sides. Many of these are in the main salon, which is very loud because everyone eats there. Others are in the forecastle (pronounced foke-sl), which is forward, so it's rough, and others are aft, near the engine room, so it's hot. But, you get tired enough not to care once you've been on watch from 2300h (11pm) to 0300h, or from 0300h-0700h. The crew sleeps two to a cabin, which, IMHO, is much worse than a bunk because they are totally tiny and not really your own space. But they don't seem to mind much. I haven't really thought about who's rooming with who on the Austen. The main salon is big, with two long bench tables to eat at, settees around the edges to sit on, a big armoire-looking thing that we called "the hutch" where there is always food available (that's where Lisa-Michelle got her saltines). The galley is roomy and hyper-organized to expedite cooking for 36 people when tilted at 15 degrees. There are three heads and two sink/shower rooms (showers are cold and salty). There is a little library (little being operative here) with reference books and several computers for writing up research projects. The captain and the chief scientist get the posh accommodations--a big cabin aft that they share--it has drawers, benches, even a desk and chairs. The fixtures--bunks, tables, companionways (staircases, that is) are all varnished wood, light colored, so very cheerful. Everything is spotlessly clean, since the belowdecks gets a scrubbing once a day.

Did that help??? Yikes, sure hope so!

~Lu