Selected Nautical Terms

To get us in the mood for sailing, here are selected nautical terms (which we may or may not hear on the ship):

Abeam – At a right angle to the ship’s length; off the side of the ship.
Aft – Toward or in the back of a ship.
Ahoy – Greeting between sailors, a call used for hailing.
Astern – Aft or toward the stern (back) of a ship.
Beam – A ship’s breadth at its widest point.
Beaufort Scale – Scale of wind speed ranging from 0 (calm) to 12 (hurricane force).
Berth – A ship’s place at a wharf, dock, pier, or quay; a passenger’s bed.
Bilge – The almost flat part of the ship’s hull below the waterline.
Bow – The forward (front) end of a ship.
Breeze – A hurricane.
Bridge – The operational superstructure of a ship; the navigational and command center.
Bulkhead – A wall or upright partition separating a ship’s compartments.
Davit – A device used to raise and lower lifeboats.
Debark – To leave a ship.
Draft – The depth of water needed to float a ship; the measurement from a ship’s waterline to the lowest point of it keel.
Embark – To go on board a ship.
Fathom – A measure of six feet.
Fore – The front of a ship.
Gangway – Opening in a ship’s bulwark; a bridge laid from ship to shore.
Jetsam – Discarded material thrown overboard to lighten a ship’s load.
Leeward – Toward the side sheltered from the wind.
Manifest – The list of a ship’s passengers, crew, and cargo.
Muster – To assemble the passengers and/or crew on a ship.
Nautical Mile – One-sixtieth of a degree of the earth’s circumference. The international nautical mile equals 6076.1 feet; the US nautical mile equals 6080.2 US feet.
Pitch – Plunging in a longitudinal direction; the up and down motion of a ship.
Pilot – Person licensed to navigate ships into or out of harbors or through difficult waters.
Port – The left side of a ship when facing forward.
Ports-of-call – The places a ship stops during a journey.
Purser's Desk – A ship’s banking and accounting center, usually located in the lobby.
Quay – A berth, dock, or pier.
Roll – Side-to-side movement of the ship.
Starboard – The right side of a ship when facing forward.
Stern – The rear (back) end of a ship.
Stow – To put away belongings and other objects.
Tender – A vessel attending a larger one; used to ferry passengers to and from shore at ports-of-call.
Wake – The track left on the water’s surface by a moving ship.
Windward – On the side from which the wind is blowing.
Yaw – The horizontal movement of a ship from left to right that deviates from the course as set, usually the result of heavy seas.
Zephyr – The west wind; a gentle breeze.