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Nautical Trivia

20K views 194 replies 37 participants last post by  Giulietta 
#1 ·
Since I am totally locked out of my server and cannot work, I thought I would really waste a bit more time and throw out some nautical trivia. Hopefully I do not screw any of these up, but I am sure the very friendly folks at Sailnet (er, hm) will be happy to point out my errors.

Ok, why is the Head called the head?

Where did the words Starboard and Port originate from and why?

Halyard? Anyone know that one?

Feel free to throw out others. I will give a small hint, they all originated from the old, wooden, ships...
 
#31 ·
S.H.I.T - seems like that's a load of old Johnny (crapper that is).

Oxford English Dictionary
****:-ORIGIN Old English scitte 'diarrhoea', of Germanic origin; related to Dutch schijten, German scheissen (verb). The term was originally neutral and used without vulgar connotation. (Acronyms did not become a widely used part of the English language until the 20th century.)

As for Thomas Crapper he was the real deal and there is considerable support for the claim that Crapper did indeed come from his brand of toilets although it's highly doubtful that he invented the thing. I think, (if we are talking flushing variety) that it was the Moors who invented modern plumbing and flushing toilets. They certainly had them in the Alhambra which is a Moorish castle in the south of Spain built in the 14th century. Sadly for Thomas Crappers supporters this is just one more urban myth. From Middle English we get 'Crappe' a "grain that was trodden underfoot in a barn, chaff." It is quite possible that the expression crapper came from Thomas's toilet bowls as suggested earlier. Thomas did take out a patent on a contraption not far removed from a modern cistern with the lever and ball arrangement.

Oh , and the GOLF thing is likewise so much. Apparently the word has been around for centuries with various spellings. The OED points out it derives from the Scottish 'gouf' which comes from Middle Dutch 'colf ' meaning a stick or bat. Just to complete this and cement my reputation as a party pooping smart arse (from the German arsch, by the way) the Scots also came up with futbol.

Here's one - What's a 'Captains Daughter' ?
 
#32 ·
I have some doubts about the manure bit... I believe that Methane (CH4) is considerably lighter than air and as such, normally rises. That is the primary advantage of CNG, which is primarily methane.
 
#33 ·
Spin a good Yarn did he Arggg.

The whole nine yards: Yards are the spars attached at right angles across a mast to support square sails. (Yardarms are either side of a yard.) One a fully rigged three-masted ship there were three major square sails on each mast. So if the nine major sails were all employed at the same time, the whole nine yards were working.

Start over with a clean slate: A slate tablet was kept near the helm on which the watch keeper would record the speeds, distances, headings, and tracks during his watch. If there were no problems during the watch the slate would be wiped clean so that the new watch could start over with a clean slate.

Son of a Gun: When in port, and with crew restricted to the ship for any extended period of time, wives and ladies of easy virtue often were allowed to live aboard along with the crew. Occasionally children were born aboard and a convenient place for this was between the guns on the gun deck. If the child's father was unknown, the child was entered in the ship's log as Son of a Gun.

As the crow flies: When lost or unsure of their position in coastal waters, ships would release a caged crow. The crow would fly straight toward the nearest land, thus giving the vessel some sort of a navigational fix. The tallest lookout platform on a ship came to be known as the crow's nest.

And the Capt'n Daughter was a Cat O Nine.

Remember, amateurs built the Ark, professionals built the Titanic.

Bill
 
#34 · (Edited)
Umm... Aristotle is attributed to using "Tabula Rasa" (Clean Slate). Although the term probably did originate from wiping a slate clean, it is more likely to have been used onshore first before being used offshore.

the Nine yards etymology is quite disputed as well and the sailing interpretation doesn't rank among the top 5 generally accepted sources. I think the top 4 are from Cement, Cloth, Football and MG-belts.

But it makes good storytelling... I've heard a lot of different explanations of the origins of "Okay" but can't recall a nautical one - any takers for a good tale?
 
#36 ·
I suppose this is nautical trivia, since it came about from the need to carry & store libations . . . essential for sailors at the time.

The US gallon derived from the use of English gallon wine bottles by the early colonists in this country - the volume of which is still used today. At that time, the English used a different measure adapted from their ale gallon bottles, eventually changing it to the Imperial gallon.
 
#37 ·
OK, here is the version I was told by a teacher, (that had been a Royal Navy Engineer), I had when I was at the University.

He told me that once the first setlers came to America on ships like the Mayflower and such, each family would be given a leather bucket (1 gallon), whose bottom was made with a wood disk.

As they sailed, and used their bucket to carry water, and other nasty liquids, the buckets were washed with salt water. From the constant weting and drying the leather shrunk, so when they arrived in America, the 1 gallon bucket carried much less liquid.
 
#41 ·
kwaltersmi said:
Anyone know the first to solo (single-handed) circumnavigate WITHOUT stopping? Correct me if I'm wrong, but Slocum made a stop (New Zeland, was it?).

Here's a hint: It occurred in 1968-69.
Robin Knox-Johnston, the first solo round-the-world race, on "Suhali" a Westsail 32-ish type of double ender.

Motessier also competed, but decided, when in the lead, to abandon the race and carried on around the horn to the South Pacific.

This was also the race where Donald Crowhurst pulled off his crazy fraudulent stunt.(which ended in suicide)
 
#43 ·
Have any of you ever seen this about why a ship is called "she"? I apologize to any women who don't like the below text:

"A ship is called "she" because there is always a great deal
of bustle about her; there is usually a gang of men about',
she has a waist and stays; it takes a lot of paint to keep
her looking good; it is not the initial expense that breaks
you, it is the upkeep; she can be all decked out; it
takes an experienced man to handle her correctly, and
without a man at the helm, she is absolutely uncontrollable.
She shows her topsides, hides her bottom and, when coming
into port, always heads for the buoys."

I understand all of it except "...a waist ans stays." How does the word "stays" refer to a woman?
 
#45 · (Edited)
There was a competition put on by someone like the Times of London with a reward for who ever sailed first around solo. Donald Crowhurst entered along with Knox Johnson and Motessier. But all he did was sail around in mid Atlantic and then tried to return to England ahead of Knox Johnson.

I forget now how he got caught but he was rather badly shamed leading to his demise.

Motessier was in the lead but as has been said earlier, just went straight on instead of turning to Larboard and claiming the prize.

Gary
 
#46 ·
And Another Story

Back in merry old medieval England when the peasants were basically slaves, they were totally controlled by their liege lord who of course represented the King. All aspects of their life were in his hands. Even the decision to have a family. You had to go before the Lord and ask permission. If it was granted the they put a sign on your front door.

Fornicating
Under
Consent of the
King
 
#47 · (Edited)
Cruisingdad said:
Don't know the story... what did Donald do?
Crowhurst entered the race on a trimaran, and was hyped as a favourite, esp considering the heavy cruisers the others were using. He set sail and his radio reports had him well in front, including details of what he did, the weather he was experiencing etc.

At some point, when he "was well along in the race" his reports stopped. After a lot of concern, his boat was found adrift in the Atlantic. There were two logs on board, one that he radioed the details of, and the other of what he actually did, which was to sail circles around the Atlantic. He was not on board. The story goes that he was unable to pull off the deceit and chose to step over the side.

"The strange voyage of Donald Crowhurst" is the title of the book. It's a good read.
 
#51 · (Edited)
Bill Mc said:
The whole nine yards:
Also, and this came from my Dad who was a Bomber pilot in WWII; Their ammo belts aboard the B24's were 27 ft long ( 9 yds ) when they shot down a enemy plane or strafe an enemy ship they would say give them " The whole Nine Yards "
 
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