NAUTICAL LOG

September 05, 2009: A n update: NAUTICAL LOG is pleased to announce that it's "NAUTICAL LOG PASSAGE PLANNING GUIDE" is now avialable. Several have already been e-mailed as requested. ******************************************************************************* Since the publication of the Posts on 'PASSAGE PLANNING' there have been numerous inquiries to NAUTICAL LOG about how to prepare such a 'PLAN'. At present NAUTICAL LOG is gathering all the relevant information together. Starting with the requirements of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). From this data NAUTICAL LOG will develop a procedure that one can follow to complete the ' PASSAGE PLAN' . This will be particularly useful to the smaller vessels as the big shipping companies already have all this in place. At least they should have all this in place, however judging from the inquiries received at times NAUTICAL LOG wonders if they actually do. The NAUTICAL LOG PASSAG...

BELUGA SHIPPING GMBH is a truly remarkable company. Many of you have accessed NAUTICAL LOG about their transit project of the Northeast Passage across the top of the Russian Federation. Well as it happens just today we received an e-mail from Verena Beckhusen of their Public Relations Department updating the transits. The MS "Beluga Family" sailed from Antwerp to Murmansk and after clearance proceeded to Yamburg to discharge her heavy lift cargo. Once that is completed she returns to Murmansk and then Rotterdam. So she will have completed a western half-transit of the Northeast Passage from West to East and the return. The MS "Beluga Fraternity" and MS "Beluga Foresight" have left Vladivostok with their cargo of heavy lifts, loaded in South Korea, and are now transiting the Northeast Passage. Heading westwards across the top of the Russian Federation bound for Novyy Port/Yamburg in the estuary of the river Ob leading southwards from the Kara Sea. As on...

VERY PISTOL Pistol for launching coloured flares as a signal device. WAIST The midship section of a ship between bow and stern. WARDROOM The officers common room in a Naval vessel and also used in some Merchant ships. WATCH The period of time on duty aboard ship. WILLIAMSON TURN A formal manoeuvre to turn a ship 180 degrees rapidly and return to the same point on the course. Used to recover persons overboard. WORKAWAY A person who works his way on board a ship for a free passage. He is not a crewmember but gets a berth and food. Rare in British Merchant Navy but fairly common in Scandinavian ships. I came from the West Coast of Canada to the Netherlands on a Norwegian ship one time. ZENITH The highest point of a celestial bodies transit. It is the point at which we measure, with the sextant, the Sun to obtain the Latitude. Hope you enjoyed these nautical words. Good Watch.

RATLINES The rungs between the shrouds for going aloft either of rope or metal rods. RED DUSTER The British Merchant Navy ensign, designated so in 1864. It is red bunting with the Union flag in the upper left hand corner. REEMING IRON A tool for cleaning out old caulking from a seam. REGISTER The record of all vessels registered in a nation for legal and business which are entitled to fly its flag. Now known as a vessel's Flag State. RIGHT SAILING Running a course on one of the Cardinal Points so as to change Latitude or Longitude only. RODE The line or chain to an anchor. ROGUES YARN Coloured yarn woven into cordage to identify it's manufacturer. It was used in the British Royal Navy to identify cordage made in the Naval ropewalks to reduce stealing. ROSE BOX A strainer box set into bilge lines on the suction side to prevent blockage. Similar to the 'starting box' for roses which are very popular in England. RUTTER The Navigator's book which contained his...

MAIDEN VOYAGE A vessels first voyage as a new ship. MARCONI Considered the inventor of marine radio by using the continuous wave radio, and its equipment. The Radio Officer was known as 'Sparks' or 'Marconi' aboard European ships. MARLINE SPIKE A tapered and pointed metal tool for splicing wire ropes. MASTER The Legal title of the officer commanding ocean-going and most coastal merchant ships. On warships he was in charge of the vessel under sail but not in command as this was given to the ranking military officer. MATE The deck department officer's below the rank of Master. Older title was master's mates. MESSENGER A light line bent to a heavier one such as a heaving line for passing a mooring line. MONKEY JACKET A short uniform jacket worn originally by seamen and midshipmen. Now used as an evening dress jacket by officers. It can be white or black depending on time of year and climate. NAPIER CARD A diagram giving compass readings on all headings of a...

HALF-DECK A short deck above the Main Deck with a small accommodation house abaft the funnel. This is where the Deck Apprentices on British built ships lived, and the one place where they got relative peace and quiet!! HANDY BILLY A light tackle for a variety of uses, usually rove with two single blocks. HATCH Used for many openings aboard ship. In cargo ships more usually refers to the openings leading below the main deck for cargo stowage. HELM Refers to the actual steering item, be it wheel, tiller, lever or whatever in modern ships. From Old Norse hjalmvoh a rudder handle. HOLIDAY A gap in ones work such as a missed painted area. Definitely will not please the Boatswain HOLYSTONE A block of sandstone used for scrubbing wooden decks. I am an expert from my Deck Apprentice days!! HORSE LATITUDES The latitudes between 30 degrees and 35 degrees North and South. The winds are light, variable or non-existent. There are so many sources given for this one that you get to pick one yo...

CROWS NEST The lookout at the highest practical point aboard ship. DASHER BLOCK Small block on the gaff peak for an ensign halyard also known as a jewel block. DAY'S WORK The Navigator's calculations from noon sight and position to the next day's noon. DEAD HORSE The period of time during which the crew are working off their wages 'advance' after signing on. In British ship's the crew got an advance to pay off debts on sailing day. They also got 'channel money' on arrival in home port prior to paying off the next day. This enabled them to have some money to go ashore the first evening. DEMURRAGE The delay of a vessel beyond the Charter Party terms for handling cargo. Also used for the charges the shipowner or charterer would have to pay. DIOPTRIC LIGHT Beam of light from a lighthouse concentrated by a Fresnel prism lens. From the Greek dioprikos meaning refraction. DUBBING The shaping of a ship's timbers using an ADZE. Anglo-Saxon word dubbe...

As many of you will know over the weekend there was a tragic mid-air collision between a small plane and a helicopter in New York/New Jersey airspace. The incident occurred off Hoboken, NJ and both aircraft crashed into the Hudson River. Now NAUTICAL LOG knows very little about flying but does know about incident investigations. So it was that the lady who gave a clear and concise news conference today caught our attention. As it turns out we have written about her in previous Posts. She is Deborah A. P. Hersman who on July 28, 2009 was sworn in as Chairman of the NTSB for a two year term. For those of you who have read the NAUTICAL LOG Posts about the MS "Cosco Busan" you may recall her lone dissenting opinion to the disgraceful NTSB report of that incident. In that dissent she showed a clear understanding of how ships are navigated, or should be, in narrow waters under Compulsory Pilotage. Her presentation of the latest information about this air incident was well presen...

Here we go again! BUCKLER A plate covering the hawse pipe to prevent water washing aboard in head seas. BUM BOAT A small trading boat that was very common from Suez onwards through the Middle and Far East. Great relationships were sometimes established. I have traded with some as a Deck Apprentice on through to Master. BUNTING Loosely woven material used at sea to make flags. BURGEE A house flag used to indicate the vessel's ownership. It may be squared or triangular in shape. The term is now used for private flags of boating clubs. Also greatly bandied about in misuse. BURGOO An oatmeal porridge, easily made in heavy weather to feed the crew. From Arabic burgbul served in North Africa. BUY-BALLOTS LAW A rule-of-thumb for figuring the location or at least direction of a storm centre. CABOTAGE Coastal trading in which Customs and Excise did not board regularly. However one was required to keep a "Cabotage Book" recording cargo's and ports. This was taken to the...

This morning NAUTICAL LOG received one of the its most interesting and informative letters ever. Recently in OLD SALT BLOG there was a Post about a proposed voyage by Beluga Shipping GMBH of Breman, Germany. Not of the usual passage from Korea southwards through the South China Sea, Indian Ocean, Suez Canal, Mediterranean and up to Europe. Instead they were going northwards across the top of Russia via the Northeast Passage. This definitely peaked my interest and I wrote an e-mail inquiring about the transit. Clearly it is a third of the southward distance and pioneering passage making. This morning I received their reply in a long and detailed e-mail which even attached an ice report and numerous e-mail addresses for continued information. The Beluga Shipping GMBH Geschaftsfuhrender Gesellschafter Niels Stolberg had his staff sent all possible details of the passage, the vessels involved, their cargo capacities and even the number of crew manning the vessels. Finally having done all...

Try this lot; A-1 This was Lloyds best rating for ship Insurance. The alpha was hull condition, the numeric gear and rigging condition. Initiated in 1756, made Law under the British Marine Act of 1876, it was a world standard from 1833. ADZE Long handled axe but has the blade at right-angles to the shaft. Used for shaping planks in shipbuilding. Anglo-Saxon word spelt adesa. A-HULL Under bare poles, no sail, helm lashed alee in heavy weather. Not a good situation. AGONIC LINE Line of charted points with zero magnetic compass variation. From Greek agonos meaning no angle. ALIDADE Used for taking bearings. From Arabic al idadah meaning turn in radius. ANNUNCIATOR A device for transmitting orders from the Bridge to docking stations for line handling. From Latin annutilatus to announce. And no its NOT the Engine order 'Telegraph'. ANTIPODEAN DAY The day gained or lost crossing the International Date Line. It should be entered in the Logbooks as such for a legal record. Fro...

Reading through the Posts and comments in various maritime blogs, particularly OLD SALT BLOG and BITTER END, my personal favourites, it occurred to NAUTICAL LOG that the traditions and terms of seafaring are being misused, or improperly used, or being forgotten altogether. While of course there are different traditions in different countries most languages have words and terms that are uniquely used by seafarers or at least were. Most particularly this occurs in English so NAUTICAL LOG thought it would be fun to explain some, their correct usage and add to them from time to time in the future. Of course I am sure this will stir up other opinions on the definitions, which is always fun, keeps ones mind active and we can publish those also - if correct!! Looking at the paintings of Hans Breeman just this morning reminded me most of the ships were of the type I sailed in when starting my sea career in 1953. Coming from a family seafaring since the 18th. Century, with service in both...

Today NAUTICAL LOG received a letter from BP VENTURES with regard to the Post - MS "COSCO BUSAN"- AN UPDATE. Also copied us were letters to Judge Susan Illston and Clerk of the Court Richard Weiking, and SB 817 was also mentioned. Unfortunately, due to a power loss at just the wrong moment, the letter was deleted and not recoverable. The letter was much appreciated as NAUTICAL LOG tries to make its Posts interesting, informative, instructive and truly 'teachable moments'. NAUTICAL LOG would be happy to receive this letter again for our files. Good Watch