I’m afraid I am something of a nerd. A sad but true fact.
The Langorian pirates have invaded my novel Song of Leira, and as a result, I have been doing some seaworthy research. I have always loved the sea… and ships (wooden ships from the age of wind powered sailing!)… and pirates… and anything sea related!
In fact, one of my favorite family vacations ever was a a trip to Mystic Seaport (The Museum of America and the Sea) in Connecticut! We went aboard several ships, including a 19th century whaling vessel, the Charles W. Morgan, the last wooden whaleship in the world. I loved every minute of that trip.
For Christmas this year, one of my presents was a beautiful old copy of Knight’s Modern Seamanship!
Anyway, so when I was researching ships yesterday, I happened upon a glossary of nautical terms in Wikipedia! Needless to say, I was incredibly excited! I think I said something like “Wow, this is so awesome!!!” So my sister asked me what it was and when I told her that I had found a complete glossary of nautical terms, and started expounding upon some of the more interesting ones, she gave me a look which I could only interpret as meaning “How in the world did I end up with such a crazy sister?” :)
But, on the merest chance that there are some sea-loving-nerdy-crazy people out there like me, I am posting a link to the website! Glossary of Nautical Terms
Some of the interesting things I discovered:
Midshipmen (from the 18th century on) were non commissioned officers below the rank of lieutenant – think of the little boy officers in Master and Commander – and were so called because of where their living quarters were positioned aboard ship. The berths of regular seamen were located in the forecastle of the ship – the fo’c’sle. Sailors were referred to as being “before the mast” (i.e. not officers) because their berths were in front of the foremast. Since the fore part of the ship was the roughest place to be while sailing, the nicer quarters in the stern were naturally reserved for officers.
In point of rank, (at least from the 18th century on) Midshipmen came between seamen and regular officers, so their quarters corresponded with their rank, and were located amidship between the seaman’s quarters in the fo’c’sle and the officers quarters in the stern. Thus they were called midshipmen.
Pipe down: Has anyone ever told you to “pipe down there” and be quiet? This phrase is also a nautical one, stemming from the bosun’s pipe signals – the pipe down whistle was the ‘lights out and everybody quiet’ whistle at the end of the day.
Taken aback – She was taken aback by the strange result of her experiment. Believe it or not, this phrase had its origin at sea as well! According to Wikipedia’s Glossary of Nautical Terms, “An inattentive helmsmen might allow the dangerous situation to arise where the wind is blowing into the sails ‘backwards,” causing a sudden (and possibly dangerous) shift in the position of the sails.“
Awesome seafarin’ movies and books:
The Midshipman Quinn Collection by Showell Styles record the exciting tale of the adventures of one unlikely British Midshipman – Septimus Quinn – during the naval battles against Napoleon. Septimus finds himself in a variety of exciting adventures from battling highwaymen to warring with the French, participating in daring escapades into enemy territory, consorting with spies, and striking such dreaded blows against the enemy that he earns a place on Napoleon’s “most hated” list! Septimus meets each strange chance with a “cool hand and spectacled eye.” These are some of my favorite historical fiction books.
Master and Commander – the movie! An exciting movie, again set during the era of Britain’s valiant fight against Napoleon. For Captain Jack Aubrey of the HMS Surprise, what started out as a simple mission becomes a personal quest and a struggle to maintain the balance between pride and duty! A heroic tale full of bravery, exciting battles, and thrilling sea chases, as well as memorable characters! A must see!
And of course, there’s always the Pirates of the Caribbean movies for any time you want to sit down and enjoy an evening of exciting swashbuckling fun full of battles, epic sword fights, hilarious crew, trickery… in short, pirates!
Well, mateys, I’ve already tarried here too long. ‘Tis high time fer me t’get under way again and sail off on an adventure of me own – the quest t’find the endin’ to me novel…
Ready all hands t’put about and sail into the sunset!
~ A Servant of the King
Marian says
I've been wanting to read the Midshipman Quinn series for a long time! It sounds really good. :) I have a hard time finding good sea-story series.
Gillian Adams says
It is really good! I have a hard time too. I love sea-faring stories, but I can't seem to find too many.
My other favorites of course include Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson and the Isle of Swords and Isle of Fire by Wayne Thomas Batson.
The Director says
Good post!
The Horatio Hornblower series by C. S. Forester is amazing– it goes from his time as a midshipmen all the way to when he becomes an Admiral. As well, Master and Commander was based on a series by Patrick O'Brian, a series I consider essential for any nautical geeks :P It's the Aubrey/Maturin series, starting with the book called Master and Commander. :D
And for Christmas I got A Sea of Words, which is a companion (glossary/dictionary if you will) to the O'Brian books.
Sorry, I'm a *massive* 17th Century, British Navy nerd…. I think I might know just a little too much, lol.
Again, good post– I enjoyed it :]
Gillian Adams says
I've heard about the Horatio Hornblower series – just never got around to reading it.
Yeah, I read a couple of the books by Patrick O'Brian and I actually didn't really like them. It was a long time ago, so my opinions may have changed since then. But I just remember being disappointed with it, even though I loved all the detail! I don't even remember necessarily what it was that I didn't like about them… but it's pretty much the only time where I've thought the movie did it better than the book!
I am too! I love 17th century, ships, navy, etc! It's awesome! I want to read more books set in that time period…
Michael says
Gillian, nothing is wrong with being a nerd.
There are some books you might like that I have either read or started. Brian Jacques' Castaways of the Flying Dutchman series comes to mind, though I have them I've never come around to reading them but I know with how much I loved Redwall they would be good books to look into. Another would be the Voyage of The Dawn Treader but I'm sure you're quite familiar with it.
I've really enjoyed your blog, thanks for writing it. Kindred spirits aren't as uncommon as I had once believed.
-Michael
The Director says
Gil, are you looking for things that are more detail and accuracy oriented or are you just wanting to find more stories of the general nautical "genre?" Just wondering….
Gillian Adams says
A little bit of both, I guess. Not for anything specific at the moment – my current WIP novel isn't a seafaring story so I don't necessarily need all the background knowledge – but I love reading about it!