The Silver Swan (14 page)

Rowlocks:
Semicircles of brass that hold the oars in place in a rowboat. Pronounced ‘rollicks'.

Rudder:
A long plank or fin, turned in the water by the tiller or wheel, which steers the ship.

Schooner:
A fast, narrow ship with two masts. Usually gaff-rigged with a large sail on the mainmast and a headsail and jib attached to the bowsprit. Rafe Swann's lost ship, the
Black Swan
, was a schooner.

Scimitar:
A North African sword with a long curved blade. Lily's sword is a scimitar.

Scurvy:
The disease that killed thousands of sailors on long voyages, because they didn't eat fresh fruit or vegetables. Scurvy is caused by a lack of Vitamin C.

Sheets:
Ropes attached to the bottom corners of sails, which you pull to adjust their tightness and direction.

Ship of the line:
A warship powerful enough to take its place in the line of battle. The Royal Navy classified its ships by rating them according to how many cannon they carried. There were six levels of rating, and any ship rated three or over (meaning it had more than 64 guns) was a ship of the line. The biggest and best were the first-rates. A ship of the line carried hundreds of crew and had two or three gun-decks. They often sailed in fleets with smaller, faster frigates, and in battle sailed in towards the enemy in a line, firing sideways.

Shrouds:
Tarred ropes that support the mast.

Six bells:
Three o'clock in the afternoon. Time on a ship is marked by the ringing of a bell, to change the watch. The
half-hour, and there are eight ‘bells', one for each half-hour of a four-hour watch.

Skiff:
Light, narrow rowboat.

Sloop:
A small speedy ship with one mast, sometimes gaff-rigged, with a huge mainsail, and an equally vast triangular foresail fixed to a long bowsprit. The
Mermaid
is a sloop, and so are many modern yachts.

Slow match:
Slow-burning fuses used to set off gunpowder and fire cannon.

Spar:
Long timber pole (such as a yard).

Spritsails:
Sails at the very front of a ship — above the bowsprit.

Square-rig:
Ship rigged with square or rectangular sails that are arranged across the width of the deck. Admiral Nelson's flagship, HMS
Victory
, was a first-rate square-rigged ship with 102 cannons on three gun-decks. See
Ship of the line
.

Starboard:
The right-hand side of a ship or boat, as you look forward.

Stays:
Part of the standing rigging, stays are ropes that run forward from a mast, to help support it.

Staysails:
Triangular fore-and-aft sails attached to the stays.

Stern:
Rear or back of a ship.

Swab:
A mop or cloth used to wash the decks. ‘Swabber' is a slang word for a sailor.

Tack:
To change the ship's direction, by turning the bow through the wind.

Tar:
A thick, black liquid painted onto standing rigging to protect it. It is also used to make pitch, painted on canvas for waterproofing. Sailors who had served in the Navy were called ‘tars' because they spent so much time tarring the ropes.

Thwart:
A seat, made from planks set across the boat.

Tiller:
The wooden lever or bar used to direct the steering gear. Larger ships are controlled by a wheel.

Tops:
The platform at the masthead, used for a lookout. In warships, a large platform holds several sharpshooters — these are called ‘fighting tops'.

Topsail:
A sail above the gaff, or on a topmast.

Trim the sails:
Making sure the sails are placed to get the most speed out of any wind.

Watch:
The crew were rostered on duty in groups, or watches — one watch worked while the other slept and ate. To be on watch is also to be on the lookout for danger or other ships.

Weigh anchor:
To lift the anchor clear of the water.

Winds:
A wind is named according to the point of the compass from which it blows. For example, a wind blowing from the north is a north wind. Some seasonal winds in the Mediterranean Sea have traditional names based on the compass points, like the springtime south-easterly, which blows across from North Africa, called the
xlokk
in Malta, but more famous in Italian as the
sirocco
.

Windward:
The direction the wind is coming from (‘leeward' is the direction the wind is going). Also means the side of the ship facing the wind.

Yard:
A timber pole or spar set across a mast to carry a sail.

Yardarm:
The ends of a yard.