Ship jargon buster

Seafarers have long been associated with language deemed peculiar and confusing by us ‘landlubbers’. Stereotypical phrases such as ‘ahoy there me hearties’, ‘scrub the deck’ and ‘shiver me timbers’ are these days mostly confined to Johnny Depp stumbling around a film set or old tales of Blackbeard, but modern seafarers still use vocabulary far removed from our everyday language. So called ‘Jackspeak’ covers normal things and places, as well as nautical-specific terms, and when at sea you’ll still be laughed at if you refer to your cabin as your bedroom.

Generic ship terms are of course commonplace: left and right become port and starboard, front and back become forward (where the bow is) and aft (the stern of the ship). The word ‘starboard’ is derived from the old word for a rudder, ‘steer board’, which would usually be placed on the right side of the ship, and to avoid crushing this against the dock the ship’s left side would be against the port.

The inside of the ship is made of decks (floors), deckheads (ceilings), and bulkheads (walls) with portholes (windows). Sleeping is known as ‘inspecting the deckhead’. Food is prepared and served in the galley (kitchen) and taken to eat in the mess- which it certainly can be in rough seas. 

The galley on the James Cook

Some sayings used on land are derived from nautical terms. For example, at sea drains are known as ‘scuppers’, thus ‘scuppered’ being synonymous with the common saying ‘gone down the drain’. ‘Cabin fever’ also probably originated at sea, from sailors reactions to being confined to the ship for long periods of time.

Seafarers also tended to be very superstitious- perhaps a side effect of cabin fever? Bad luck was associated with allowing women, clergymen and bananas on board. Whistling was thought to be a challenge to the winds, that could either bring down catastrophic weather, or encourage the winds to push the ship onwards. Good luck comes from having a black cat aboard, and individual luck grows with each tattoo a sailor gets.

Communication between the ship’s crew and scientists is vital to acquiring our data (knowing the difference between port and starboard is a minimum). The new terminology adds an extra challenge to our work, particularly for those who may already get confused between right and left, though at least we don’t have any bananas on board giving us bad luck!

The Bridge- the command centre of the ship

A few more nautical terms...

Doing dhobi = washing your clothes (dhobi dust= washing powder)

Whammy = a bit of rope

Bunkers= fuel

Forecastle = top front deck of the ship, pronounced ‘folks-all’

Poop deck=high open deck at the aft of the ship (when this was swamped by high waves, the ship was 'pooped')

Bridge= Deck high on the ship where navigation and steering takes place, home to the Captain and his officers

Old man= the Captain

Monkey island= Deck above the bridge (usually the highest on the ship), named so because sailors used to have to climb rigging like a monkey to reach it.

Deadlight= porthole cover

AB= Able seaman

Alleyway= Corridor

There are thousands more slang words and phrases- this is just the tip of the iceberg!