Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1914-04-16
LINGO OF THE
SEA AND What
It SIGNIFIES

/ l. Iu'.rica3 lungUag" has nor fur-
ri~hcd - viii >o many expressions
as nh" le.La,:;,a:- o. rt1..~ ,u,!iNgs.
mlr,n.N.S 20 ~.n.rIalIy-, ui!"d words
and DIs!aSt-o i must at least b" given
credit Tor holding the I-odjMg position
j IL versatility and force
"L"arming the Eop"> contains
,lpuIuIt m'2ujug TO any lumGsmun
Who ha> ever attempted To- master the
Lead Of :hr standing aud running rig
giug OF a Squararigged Sailing vessel;
the universal Application of this
phrase in everyday language is too
! apparent 70 need commenting on. The
word "mainStay" is very expressive;
it conveys a depth Of meaning. In a
] gale OF wind a sailing ship may los
! her fore and mizzen masrs. and still
BE- in no especially alarming danger;
Her safety depends in the long run on
her ability to carry her maintOpsaiI.
! If the mainStay should part. then all
| is lost
! Very few people connect the COM
! mon phrase "bracing up" with its
nautical origin, though the connection
is very close. When the wind hauls
ahead little it is, of course, neCeS-
sary to brace up" the square-rigger' S
yards. to enable her to stand up under
the new conditions. In this the con-
nection lies Landsmen commonly use
the expression taken aback" to mean
taken by surprise. No sailorman will
allow the wind to get on the wrong
forward) side of his sails if he can
| help it, The masts are not stayed to
! stand much Of a strain from forward.
and when the wind comes out ahead,
blowing the sails flat against the
masts, the mate of the vessel is deep
! ly alarmed and Immediately uses all
his seamanship to "fill away" Here
! again we have another common
phrase; backing and filling" And
its meaning has direct reference to
the wind being first on the wrong side
and then on the right side of the sails
The expression has a common meta
| phorical meaning ashore. At sea it
means bOX-hauling, lacking or wear
| ing ship. Wearing is a play Of lever
! age, by the force of the wind on the
after part of the ship is eased. and
the force of the wind on the forward
Fart is used to haul the vessel around.
| The miZzen braces are Of course, haul
ed from aft and the fore and main
| braces from forward. 1t is usually
done when watches are changed, so
| that the mates have the use Of both
watches.
"Leeway," while it has twin
meaning at sea, is in both cases a
very similar word to its land analogue.
When a ship is lying so close to the
wind that her yards are braCed sharp
up, one component of the winds total
force acts to drive her ahead while the
other sends her steadily sidewise down
wind. This latter effect is called lee
way" The word also means the
amount of departure allowed to one
side or the other of a given course
that will still leave a reasonable mar
gin of safety. In this sense the word
has the same meaning ashore.
"Adrift" has the same meaning
aflOat and ashore. SO has weather
ing" and keep your weather eye
open" So is bringing up with a
round turn" At sea or on board
ship. rather, since it nearly always
happens in harbor, a line which is
being paved out with considerable
force pulling at the cupboard end may
be checked quite easily by taking a
"round turn" of the slack around the
bits or a pin. or anything on deck
that is strong enough. The length Of
the line subjected to an imprOvised
friction brake amounts to about four
times the diameter Of the pin or post
on which it is wound, and thus an Or
binary man can control weight or
Strain of mary tons