NIM’S NAUTICAL GLOSSARY
ALOFT: |
Anything above the highest deck of a ship is said to be aloft |
ASTERN: |
Anything directly behind the vessel is considered astern |
BOW: |
The extreme forward end of the ship |
BUCCANEERS: |
The name given to the pirates who plundered Caribbean coasts in the 17th century |
CELESTIAL: |
Pertaining to the sky or stars, especially for navigation |
FATHOM: |
A depth of six feet or 1.8 meters |
FURLING: |
Gathering in the sail and lashing it down |
GALE: |
A strong wind, usually greater than 28 knots |
GANGPLANK: |
The portable bridge that links a ship and the wharf |
HURRICANE: |
A ferocious wind of 64 to 71 knots |
JACOB’S LADDER: |
A rope ladder used to climb aboard or aloft the ship |
KEEL: |
The backbone of a ship, along the centerline of the bottom |
KNOT: |
A measure of speed equal to one nautical mile (6,080 feet) per hour |
LATITUDE: |
A measurement of how far north or south of the Equator a place is located |
LEEWARD: |
The direction opposite the way the wind is blowing |
LONGITUDE: |
The position of any place on earth measured in degrees east or west of Greenwich, England |
MERIDIAN: |
Imaginary lines running north and south around the earth that cross the equator |
PORT and STARBOARD: |
The left and rights sides of the ship, respectively |
STERN: |
The rear of the boat |
| ZENITH: | The point in the heavens directly above the head of the observer |