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nautical terms


Tony B

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Plane sailing, yes spelt that way. A chart because it drawn on a projection mostly Mecator, on large charts the scale of distance in diffrent on each part of the chart. So when measuring you always use the side scale nearest to your course. When you are in a small area chart that does not apply the chart is drawn on a Plane.

 

Three sheets to the wind. The sheets are the lines to control the sails, slack off three sheets the sail just flaps and blows about.

 

Knocked into a cocked hat- Taking bearings from a moving boat is of course difficult. the result is normally on the chart you have three lines meeting leaving a triangle in the middle that is the 'Cocked hat'

 

Taken hard aback is to get hit by an unexpected wind shift so stopping a sail boat dead.

 

Left standing. If you turn into the wind and trim sails so that the wind pushing backwards = current pushing forward, the vessel stops, or to mess up a gybe or tack and loose the wind.

It is suprising how much of the english language is derived from Naval or maritime terms and of course to loose the plot- Your position is marked on a chart as 'The Plot' so to loose it.......

 

Tony - this was too good a post to be lost in another thread so have moved and given it its own thread.

Cheers.

Jack.

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Great post Toney - I love this stuff.

 

When we were on the Victiry once the guide was telling loads of terms in everday life that came from that era.

 

Freezing the balls of a brass monkey

Square meal and 'nipper' seems to stick in my mind!

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Great post Toney - I love this stuff.

 

When we were on the Victiry once the guide was telling loads of terms in everday life that came from that era.

 

Freezing the balls of a brass monkey

Square meal and 'nipper' seems to stick in my mind!

 

 

 

 

 

"Freezing the Balls Off the Brass Monkey," a Navy Phrase about Cannon Balls-Fiction!

 

 

 

 

bd14565_.gifSummary of the eRumor

This piece of alleged history explains that in the olden days of sailing ships, cannon balls were stacked on the decks on brass plates called "monkeys." The plates had indentions in them that held the balls on the bottoms of the stacks. Brass, however, expands and contracts with the temperature and if it got cold enough, the cannon balls could fall...giving real foundation to the phrase "cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey!"

 

bd14565_.gifThe Truth

According to the United States Navy Historical Center, this is a legend of the sea without historical justification. The center has researched this because of the questions it gets and says the term "brass monkey" and a vulgar reference to the effect of cold on the monkey's extremities, appears to have originated in the book "Before the Mast" by C.A. Abbey. It was said that it was so cold that it would "freeze the tail off a brass monkey." The Navy says there is no evidence that the phrase had anything to do with ships or ships with cannon balls.

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So why do pawnbrockers put blankets over their signs in cold weather? :box: There was alot of politacal hand wringing over the expression 'Nitty gritty', having got a lecture on this for using it, Supposedely used in the slave trade insulting to ... etc ... etc.... . I determined to find out where the expression came from. The first reference appears to be 12th Century. At that time Oats were the primary grain grown in England. Oats have a Awn, that is a spike on the seed. On wild Oats this sawn is black tipped. When the grain is stone ground a great skill is the gap of the stones. If to much the grain is untouched, if to much the stone is ground off, hence you get Grit. So if poor quality wild oat contaminated grain was used the little black awns looked like Nits as in hair lice, and you got grit in the flour hence the description Nitty Gritty for the last poorest quality flour.

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Guest catweazle (Banned Member)
Taken hard aback is to get hit by an unexpected wind shift .

This happened to me recently after a very good curry.

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Guest catweazle (Banned Member)
Curry and I have understanding, I leave it alone and it never worries me :shake: But you are letting slip the secret of Gee's recent succeses. :-D

Thats not half bad:rofl:

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Guest catweazle (Banned Member)
My Favourite Nautical nemonic. Tired Virgins Make Dull Company. Any gusess?

Alternative mnemonic - Tough Virile Men Don't Cry. :cool2:

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Guest catweazle (Banned Member)
I like mine better :-D Shall we put the rest out of thier misery?

Don't get it wrong - otherwise we'll all fall about laughing!

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The nemonic is for working out a course. T rue +/- V aration, dependent on where you are in the world = M agnetic course steered +/- D eveation , effect on compass of magmnetic interference from structures etc. dependent on course to be steered and the individual Vessel. = C ompass course. See Easy. :yay:

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Guest catweazle (Banned Member)
The nemonic is for working out a course. T rue +/- V aration, dependent on where you are in the world = M agnetic course steered +/- D eveation , effect on compass of magmnetic interference from structures etc. dependent on course to be steered and the individual Vessel. = C ompass course. See Easy. :yay:

Correct - that's very good but mnemonic starts with an m - the other ones are Irish garden ornaments! :nono:

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The nemonic is for working out a course. T rue +/- V aration, dependent on where you are in the world = M agnetic course steered +/- D eveation , effect on compass of magmnetic interference from structures etc. dependent on course to be steered and the individual Vessel. = C ompass course. See Easy. :yay:

 

Yeah yeah....you just copied that of Google :n00b: :rofl:

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Nope, mis spent yoof, if not on the back of a horse in a boat. The joys of living on an island, if you wnat to get off, your arms get tired flapping and its a long swim. So planes and boats are intregal to life. We had one old boy, Mr Le Marcier, he was about 80 when I was a kid. He was one of the original Marconi Operators. He always insited the marine radio was for saving life. He also made sure that all us kids knew how to make a Mayday call.

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Still looking for some of the photos I took at the festival of a thousand ships at Portsmouth a few years ago ! I remember seeing the only U.S.Navy ship named after a non American there :???! OOPs just looked at the ships website and have discovered that the info on the day was incorrect and that the U.S.navy has four ships named after Englishmen ! SORRY !

Edited by AndyFowler
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Guest catweazle (Banned Member)
Top of the class CW ! I am surprised at the strange way of spelling mnemonic ! :-D Wonder where the word comes from ?

Originally from the Greek - mnemon - mindful c18th century. :yay: or from the Irish at closing time - no more mick. :rofl:

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One memory I have as a kid. The Sates were bulding a new power station at a place called la Collette. The armature had to be brough in but was at the time to big for the port facillities to handle. So Wynn's brought it over in a L.S.T. my dad took me down to se ethe L.S.T. as she was beached at La Haule slip, waiting the tide. I remeber being awe struck at the size of the thing. These are the modern equivalents.

The abiding memeory of the 60th, the Marine RSM walking up to me after the Garrison had fired the officail 21 gun salute. he shook my hand and said 'Bloody well done, really proffesional'. I was walking on air.

jersey lib 076.jpg

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