Sailor Talk –“Kissing the Gunner’s Daughter” and “Sucking the Monkey”
One of my particular frustrations with the “Talk-Like a Pirate Day” folks is that even if one ignores the very nasty nature of pirates, historical and modern alike, a second and perhaps even great...
View ArticleThe Holy Ground – Songs, Sailors, and Women of Easy Virtue
I am every fond of the Irish sea song “Holy Ground”. The song is about a sailor bound for sea, leaving his lady love and hoping to return. “And still I live in hope to see the Holy Ground once more..”...
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Sailors’ and Fishermans’ Superstitions
Martin Evans on the Marine History List posted a collection of sailors’ superstitions from the current issue of “Fishing Boats”. Never start a trip on a Friday. Some fishermen would not sail if they...
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“A Collision at Sea…” the Most Famous Thing Thucydides Never Said
Thucydides is often said to have first written, “A collision at sea can ruin your entire day, ” in his epic history, The Peloponnesian War. While the statement is unquestionably true, Thucydides never...
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An Historic Hull on Hallowed Ground: a Brigantine, a Brig, A Snow, a Schooner...
The Brig not the Brigantine Niagara There was an amusing bit of bantering and ballyhooing about ship jargon in the New York Times yesterday. In an article about the remains of ship found in the...
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Do They Serve Canned Meat on the USCG Harriet Lane?
USCG Canned Meat? I will admit to doing a double take when I saw the USCG press release announcing “Coast Guard Cutter Harriet Lane returns home after 9-week patrol.” I wondered, who would name a...
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Of Painting Forth Bridge, Paddles and Creeks, Sand and Tides
The Forth Bridge - Painted at Last I recently learned a new figure of speech – “like painting the Forth Bridge,” which refers to a job which is never completed. Or at least it used to mean that. The...
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Was Shakespeare a Sailor?
Charles Spencer, writing for the Telegraph, had a hunch. After reviewing the Royal Shakespeare Company’s trilogy of Shakespeare’s “shipwreck” plays last month, he found himself wondering whether the...
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OMG ! Admiral Jacky Fischer was Ahead of His Time!
Admiral Fischer – Ahead of his time, OMG! Admiral of the Fleet John Arbuthnot “Jacky” Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher of Kilverstone, is considered by some to be the second most important figure in British...
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On May Day, a Look at Mayday
Happy May Day! May 1st is a traditional day of celebration of the coming of spring with May poles and dancing and general carrying on. In Europe it is also a day of solidarity with labor, similar o the...
View ArticleBon Voyage to Captain Stanley Paris and the Kiwi Spirit
A few hours ago, Stanley Paris, 76, at the helm of the 63′ custom yacht, Kiwi Spirit, sailed from the sea-buoy at St. Augustine, Florida, bound out on a solo, non-stop un-assisted voyage around the...
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The Nautical Bulwer-Lytton Winners
I am a huge fan of the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest. The contest is a whimsical literary competition that challenges entrants to compose the opening sentence to the worst of all possible novels. If...
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SSV Oliver Hazard Perry Seeking Crew
The SSV Oliver Hazard Perry is looking for crew for their December-April season in Florida, Bahamas, and Bermuda. From their announcement of their website: After a successful first season underway, we...
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On Labor Day — When Sailors Struck the Topsails in 1768
Happy Labor Day! While many nations celebrate workers on May 1st or May Day, US and Canada both celebrate workers rights in early September. It seems a good time to look at the nautical origin of the...
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Are Ships She, He, or It, and Does it Matter?
There has been a minor hub-bub of late over the decision by the Scottish Maritime Museum to use gender-neutral references to ships after vandals have scratched out references to “she” several times on...
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