Hull – the sides of a ship which sit in and above the water.
Hull down – a vessel when it is so far away from the observer the hull is invisible owing to the shape of the earth’s surface. Opposite to hull up.
Jack Ketch – the hangman. To dance with Jack Ketch is to hang.
Jollyboat – a small boat, a dinghy.
Jolly Roger – the pirates’ flag, called the jolie rouge – although its original meaning is unknown. The hoisted flag was an invitation to surrender, with the implication that those who did so would be treated well – and no quarter given to those who did not.
Keel – the lowest part of the hull below the water.
Keelhaul – an unpleasant punishment – the victim is dragged through the water passing under the keel, either from side to side or bow to stern.
Knot – one nautical mile per hour.
Landlubber or lubber – a non-sailor.
Langrage – jagged pieces of sharp metal used as shot. Especially useful for damaging rigging and killing men.
Larboard – pronounced larb’d; the left side of a ship when facing the bow (front). Changed in the 19th century to ‘port.’
Lee – the side or direction away from the wind i.e, downwind.
Lee shore – the shore on to which the wind is blowing, a hazardous shore for a sailing vessel particularly in strong winds –can easily be blown on to rocks etc.
Leeches – the vertical edges of a square sail.
Letter of Marque – Papers issued by a government during wartime entitling a privately owned ship to raid enemy commerce or attack enemy warships.
Lubberly – in an amateur way, as a landlubber would do.
Luff – the order to the helmsman to put the tiller towards the lee side of the ship in order to make it sail nearer to the direction of the wind.
Maroon – a punishment for breaking a pirate ship’s articles or rules. The victim was left on a deserted coast (or an island) with little in the way of supplies. Therefore, no one could say the unlucky pirate had actually been killed by his former brethren.
Mast – vertical spar supporting the sails.
Molly Boy – a homosexual prostitute.
Oakum – a material used to waterproof seams between planks on deck etc. Made of strong, pliable, tarred fibres obtained from scrap rope which swell when wet.
On the Account – or the Sweet Trade; a man who went ‘on the account’ was turning pirate.
Piece of eight – a Spanish silver coin worth one peso or eight reales. It was sometimes literally cut into eight pieces, each worth one real. In the 1700s a piece of eight was worth a little under five shillings sterling, or 25p – this would be about £15 today. One side usually had the Spanish coat of arms, the other two lines symbolising the limits of the old world at the Straits of Gibraltar, the exit into the Atlantic Ocean from the Mediterranean. In later designs two hemispheres were added between the lines representing the Old and New Worlds. Pieces of eight were so widely used that eventually this sign was turned into the dollar sign – $.
Privateer – an armed vessel bearing letters of marque, or one of her crew, or her captain. A privateer is theoretically a law-abiding combatant.
Quarterdeck – the highest deck at the rear of a ship where the officers stood and where the helm is usually situated.
Quartermaster – usually the second-in-command aboard on a pirate ship. In the Royal Navy, the man in charge of the provisions
Rail – timber plank along the top of the gunwale above the sides of the vessel.
Rake – when a ship sweeps another with a broadside of cannon.
Ratlines – pronounced ratlins; ropes beneath the yards on which sailors would stand while adjusting the sails.
Reef – (1) an underwater obstruction of rock or coral. (2) to reduce the size of the sails by tying them partially up, either to slow the ship or to keep a strong wind from putting too much strain on the masts.
Rigging – the ropes which support the spars (standing rigging) and allow the sails to be controlled (running rigging).
Round shot – iron cannon balls.
Rudder – blade at the stern which is angled to steer the vessel.
Run – sail directly away from the wind.
Sails – in general each mast had three sails. See diagram at the front.
Sail ho! – ‘I see a ship!’ The sail is the first part visible over the horizon.
Scuppers – openings along the edges of a ship’s deck to allow water to drain back to the sea rather than collecting in the bilges.
Scuttle: 1 – a porthole or small hatch in the deck for lighting and ventilation, covered by the ‘scuttle hatch’. Can be used as a narrow entrance to the deck below.
Scuttle: 2 – or scupper – to deliberately sink a ship.
Sheet – a rope made fast to the lower corners of a sail to control its position.
Sheet home – to haul on a sheet until the foot of the sail is as straight and taut as possible.
Ship’s Biscuit – hard bread. Very dry, can be eaten a year after baked. Also called hard tack.
Ship of the Line – a war ship carrying at least 50 guns.
Shrouds – ropes forming part of the standing rigging and supporting the mast or topmast.
Sloop – a small, single masted vessel, ideal for shallow water.
Spanker – a square sail wide at bottom and narrow at top attached to a boom that projects straight back from the mizzenmast along the axis of the ship.
Spar – a stout wooden pole used as a mast or yard of a sailing vessel.
Spritsail – pronounced sprit’sl; a sail attached to a yard which hangs under the bowsprit.
Square-rigged – the principal sails set at right angles to the length of a ship and extended by horizontal yards slung to the mast.
Starboard – pronounced starb’d. The right side of a vessel when you are facing toward the bow.
Stay – strong rope supporting the masts. Stem – timber at very front of bow.
Stern – the back end of a ship.
Swab – a disrespectful term for a seaman, or to clean the decks.
Sweet Trade – see On the Account.
Sweeps – long oars used by large vessels.
Tack / tacking – to change the direction of a vessel’s course by turning her bows into the wind until the wind blows on her other side. When a ship is sailing into an oncoming wind she will have to tack, make a zigzag line, in order to make progress forward against the oncoming wind.
Tackle – (pronounced ‘taykle’) An arrangement of one or more ropes and pulley-blocks used to increase the power for raising or lowering heavy objects.
Taffrail – upper rail along the ship’s stern.
Tompions – muzzle-plugs to protect the bore from salt corrosion etc.
Transom – planking forming the stern.
Trim – a term used for adjusting the sails as the wind changes.
Waist – the middle part of the ship.
Wake – the line of passage directly behind as marked by a track of white foam.
Warp – to move a ship by hauling or pulling her along on warps (ropes); also the name of the ropes which secure a ship when moored (tied up) to a jetty or dock.
Weigh anchor – to haul the anchor up; more generally, to leave port.
Widow maker – term for the bowsprit.
Windward – the side towards the wind as opposed to leeward.
Yard – a long spar suspended from the mast of a vessel to extend the sails.
Yardarm – either end of the yard.
About the Author
Helen Hollick lives in London with her husband and adult daughter. In between researching the background information for her historical novels, and her pirate series about Jesamiah Acorne, she spends most of her time helping with her daughter’s horses as chief groom and general run-around. She has a university diploma in early medieval history – and a passion for pirates.
For up-to-date information,
you are invited to visit www.helenhollick.net
Also by Helen Hollick
The Pendragon’s Banner Trilogy
The Kingmaking: Book One of the Pendragon’s Banner Trilogy
Pendragon’s Banner: Book Two of the Pendragon’s Banner Trilogy
Shadow of the King: Book Three of the Pendragon’s Banner Trilogy
The Saxon 1066 Series
A Hollow Crown (UK edition title)
The Forever Queen (US edition title)
Harold The King (UK edition title)
I Am The Chosen King (US edition title)
The Sea Witch Voyages
Sea Witch: The first voyage of pirate Cpt Jesamiah Acorne
Pirate Code: The second voyage of Cpt Jesamiah Acorne
Bring It Close: The third voyage of Cpt Jesamiah Acorne
Ripples In the Sand: The fourth Voyage of Cpt Jesamiah Acorne (published autumn 2011)
Find out more about Helen Hollick and her writing at www.helenhollick.net
Praise for Helen Hollick’s novels
Hollick’s enormous cast and meticulous research combine to create a convincing account of the destructive reign of the hapless Edward and the internecine warfare that weakens England as William prepares to invade. Thanks to Hollick’s masterful storytelling, Harold’s nobility and heroism enthrall to the point of engendering hope for a different ending to the famous battle of 1066
Publisher’s Weekly
Don’t miss Helen Hollick’s colourful recreation of the events leading up to the Norman Conquest in Harold The King.
Daily Mail
An epic re-telling of the Norman Conquest
The Lady
If only all historical fiction could be this good
Historical Novels Review
Hollick joggles a cast of characters and a bloody, tangled plot with great skill
Publishers Weekly
Most impressive
The Lady
Acknowledgements
Priority for appreciation must go to my family, husband Ron and daughter Kathy (otherwise known as Cutlass Kate) who dresses up as a superb pirate. To Mal for his unswerving support, and for his professional help to James L. Nelson, author of the Brethren of the Coast series and Revolution At Sea Saga – among other excellent maritime books. Unlike myself, Jim (also known as Black Jake) is an experienced sailor; he was so patient with answering my naive questions about sailing and ships. However, I must take full credit for any errors – they are all my own work!
My gratitude to Jo and Michaela for their copy-editing and proofreading skills and our ‘interesting’ telephone discussions, and to Kelly for being my ‘reader’; I appreciate your time and enthusiasm, thank you.
Thank you, also, to everyone who has helped me create Sea Witch Her initial launching sailed through a bit of a rough sea, but a firm hand on the tiller has now steered us to clear waters with Helen Hart and her team at SilverWood Books – based in Bristol, where everything nautical is ‘Shipshape and Bristol Fashion’.
My thanks, for this edition go to ‘crew’ old and new: to Jansy, Sue, Adrienne, Caz, Connie and members of the (now sadly in dry dock) P.O.C. Interactive. Also to Nathan for his humour, Yolanda, Fran and Merle for their aid with Dutch, French and German and to Karen who explored the Sebastian Inlet State Park on my behalf. I would have liked to have undertaken my own research here – but unfortunately the Florida Coast is a little too far for a day-trip excursion from London!
I am especially grateful to historical fiction authors Elizabeth Chadwick, Sharon Kay Penman and Bernard Cornwell for their support and friendship.
My appreciation also to the staff of the Whydah Exhibition Centre, the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, and those aboard the Cutty Sark and H.M.S. Victory – and to Google. Where would writers be without the Internet for those urgent and obscure research questions that must be immediately answered?
Finally, thank you to Johnny Depp for his wonderful role as Captain Jack Sparrow – without him the exciting world of pirates would not have been rekindled and my Jesamiah would never have been created.
Helen Hollick
2011
Table of Contents
Title Page
To My Readers
Copyright
Map Image
Ship Diagram
Jesamiah
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Nineteen
Twenty
Twenty One
Twenty Two
Twenty Three
Twenty Four
Twenty Five
Twenty Six
Twenty Seven
Twenty Eight
Twenty Nine
Thirty
Thirty One
Tiola
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Nineteen
Twenty
Twenty One
Twenty Two
Twenty Three
Twenty Four
Twenty Five
Twenty Six
Twenty Seven
Twenty Eight
Twenty Nine
Thirty
Thirty One
Author’s note
Glossary
About the Author
Also by Helen Hollick
Praise for Helen Hollick’s novels
Acknowledgements
Sea Witch Page 39