Book Read Free

True Colours (The Third Book in the Fighting Sail Series)

Page 39

by Alaric Bond

The netting rigged when in action to catch falling debris from above.

  Scarph / Scarphing

  The process of joining wood to build keels, masts and other major items.

  Scavelman

  One who works with ballast at a naval base.

  Schooner

  Small craft with two masts.

  Sconce

  Candle holder, made of tin, usually large and flat for stability.

  Scrag

  SL To be executed by hanging.

  Scran

  SL Food.

  Scupper

  Waterway that allows deck drainage.

  Scuttle-butt

  Bucket with holes for line or leather handles used for water for immediate consumption. SL gossip (the modern equivalent is chatting by the water cooler).

  Seingever

  Dutch. Signalman.

  Selling before the mast

  The act of auctioning off a dead mess mate's possessions.

  Serving mallet

  Mallet shaped instrument with a groove running opposite to the handle, used when serving a line.

  Sew-sew boy

  SL Seaman adept at needle and thread, often made and repaired clothes, in addition to the official tailor (Snips).

  Shakes

  Barrel staves.

  Shakings

  Line waste, common about blocks and tackle.

  Shako

  Marine's headgear.

  Sheet

  A line that controls the foot of a sail.

  Sheet anchor

  Heaviest anchor (although often not much bigger than the bower). Also slang for the seaman's last hope - if the sheet doesn't hold...

  Shellback

  SL An old sailor.

  Ship fever

  Fever common aboard ships usually, though not always, Typhus. Also jail or camp fever (for many years considered to be different illnesses). Carried by body louse infesting dirty clothing.

  Shoe-boy

  SL Lower deck nickname for a servant.

  Shot rolling

  The act of rolling a cannon ball at an officer, usually a sign that mutiny is about.

  Shrouds

  Lines supporting the masts athwart ship (from side to side) which run from the hounds (just below the top) to the channels on the side of the hull. Upper run from the top deadeyes to the crosstrees.

  Slab line

  Line passing up abaft a ship’s main or fore sail, used to truss up the slack sail.

  Slatches

  Large cat's-paws on the water, an indication of strong wind.

  Sloop

  Small craft, usually the command of a commander or junior captain.

  Slops

  SL Ready made clothes and other goods sold to the crew by the purser.

  Slush

  SL Fat from boiled meat, sold by the cook to the men to spread on their biscuit. The money made was known as the slush fund.

  Slushy

  SL The cook.

  Smasher

  SL A carronade.

  Snips

  SL Ship's tailor.

  Snitch stitch

  SL The last stitch when sewing up a dead man in his hammock. It passes through the snitch of the nose to ensure the man is properly dead.

  Spanker boom

  Boom attached to the driver.

  Spindrift

  Spray, from the bows of a fast moving ship, or skimmed from crested waves in a storm.

  Spitkid

  A small bucket or spittoon. If a man is caught spitting on deck, he may be tied to the ratlines with a spitkid about his neck, for the men to take target practice.

  Spring

  Hawser attached to a fixed object that can be tensioned to move the position of a ship fore and aft along a dock, often when setting out to sea. Breast lines control position perpendicular to the dock

  Sprit sail

  A square sail hung from the bowsprit yards, less used by 1793, as the function had been taken over by the jibs, although the rigging of their yards helps to brace the bowsprit against sideways pressure.

  Squaring yards

  The act of squaring the yards on the masts, usually achieved by marks on the braces.

  Stag

  SL To turn against your own.

  Stag horns

  U and V shaped structures inside of the bulwarks used to fix the braces and sheets.

  Stay sail

  A quadrilateral or triangular sail with parallel lines, usually hung from under a stay.

  Step

  The wooden support placed on the kelson, on which a mast rests.

  Stern sheets

  Part of a ship's boat between the stern and the first rowing thwart, used for passengers.

  Stirrups

  Lines hung from a yard to support the footrope.

  Stood/Stand

  The movement of a ship towards or from an object.

  Strake

  A plank.

  Studding sail

  Light sail that extends to either side of main and top sails to increase speed in low winds. Made of the thinnest canvas (No 8).

  Study

  A cooper's anvil.

  Swab

  Cloth, or (SL) officers' epaulette.

  Sweep

  A large oar, usually used to move bigger vessels, such as brigs or cutters.

  Swifter

  Line (or man) stretched between two bars of a capstan to increase the power.

  Swipes

  SL Weak beer.

  Tabling

  A hem sewn around a sail.

  Tack

  To turn a ship, moving her bows through the wind. Also a leg of a journey; relates to the direction of the wind. If from starboard, a ship is on the starboard tack. Also the part of a fore and aft loose footed sail where the sheet is attached or a line leading forward on a square course to hold the lower part of the sail forward.

  Taffrail

  Rail around the stern of a vessel.

  Tampion

  Wooden bung, used to plug the mouth of a gun.

  Tarpaulin

  Tarred cloth or SL used to describe a commissioned officer who came from the lower deck.

  Tattletale

  SL Gossip.

  Throat halyard

  Line that holds the inner end of a gaff.

  Thrumming

  The act of using a sail, that has been half sewn with many small threads, to block leaks in the hull as a temporary repair.

  Ticket men

  SL Those protected from the impress, through some cause or other. Also men carried in press tenders to replace the sailors taken from home bound merchantmen.

  Tiddley suits

  SL Sailor's shore clothes.

  Tight ship

  In good order: watertight.

  Toe the line

  Midshipmen when being disciplined en mass are made to stand in a line behind a plank, (strake), seam.

  Top/ toping the glim

  SL To extinguish a lantern.

  Topping lift

  Line that secures the extreme end of a gaff. Also peak halyard. Also a line leading to the end of the boom to support it when not under sail.

  Trick

  Period of time served by a helmsman, usually an hour.

  Trucks

  The wheels on a standard carriage gun, small with heavy axles.

  Trunnions

  Gun barrel supports, on either side. Cast as one piece to the barrel.

  Tumblehome

  Describes the narrowing of a ships hull as it rises, making the beam of upper decks shorter than that of the lower.

  Turnpike

  A toll road; the user pays for the upkeep. Usually major roads.

  Under threes

  Referring to a captain of under three years seniority, and only allowed to wear one epaulette, on the right shoulder (after 1795).

  Vakantie

  Dutch. Vacation.

  Vangs

  Lines that hold the side to side movement of a gaff or
boom, leading to rails on each side of the deck.

  Veer

  Wind change, clockwise.

  Verspieden

  Dutch. Reconnoitre.

  Voorplecht

  Dutch Forecastle.

  Wadhook

  Cannon serving tool rather like a giant corkscrew, used for removing debris, charges etc.

  Wales

  Reinforcement running the length of the ship, under the gunports.

  Warm

  SL When describing a person, rich.

  Warping

  To move a ship by towing it against solid objects, trees, posts etc. Similar to kedging (towing against anchors).

  Washboards

  SL The lapels of the uniform coat that denotes a Lieutenant

  Watch

  Period of four (or in case of dog watch, two) hour duty. Also describes the two or three divisions of a crew.

  Watch bill

  List of men and stations, usually carried by lieutenants and divisional officers.

  Wearing

  To change the direction of a ship across the wind by putting the stern of the ship through the eye of the wind.

  Weather helm

  A tendency to head up into the wind. A well trimmed ship is often said to have slight to moderate weather helm. The opposite of lee helm.

  Windward

  The side of a ship exposed to the wind.

  Wormed, parcelled and served

  Standing rigging, which has been protected by a wrapping of canvas and line.

  Yellow Jack

  SL Yellow Fever or Black Vomit.

  Alaric Bond

  author of

  His Majesty’s Ship

  The Jackass Frigate

  True Colours

  Alaric Bond was born in Surrey, England, but now lives in Herstmonceux, East Sussex, in a 14th century Wealden Hall House. He is married with two sons.

  His father was a well-known writer, mainly of novels and biographies, although he also wrote several screenplays. He was also a regular contributor to BBC Radio drama (including Mrs Dale’s Diary!), and a founding writer for the Eagle comic.

  During much of his early life Alaric was hampered by Dyslexia, although he now considers the lateral view this condition gave him to be an advantage. He has been writing professionally for over twenty years with work covering broadcast comedy (commissioned to BBC Light Entertainment for 3 years), periodicals, children’s stories, television, and the stage. He is also a regular contributor to several nautical magazines and newsletters.

  His interests include the British Navy 1793-1815 and the RNVR during WWII. He regularly gives talks to groups and organizations and is a member of various historical societies including The Historical Maritime Society and the Society for Nautical Research. He also enjoys Jazz, swing and big band music from 1930-1950 (indeed, he has played trombone for over 40 years), sailing, and driving old SAAB convertibles.

  IF YOU ENJOYED THIS BOOK,

  YOU’LL LOVE ALL OF THE BOOKS

  IN ALARIC BOND’S

  FIGHTING SAIL SERIES

  His Majesty’s Ship

  by Alaric Bond

  The First Book in the Fighting Sail Series

  A powerful ship, a questionable crew, and a mission that must succeed.

  In the spring of 1795 HMS Vigilant, a 64 gun ship-of-the-line, is about to leave Spithead as senior escort to a small, seemingly innocent, convoy. The crew is a jumble of trained seamen, volunteers, and the sweepings of the press; yet, somehow, the officers have to mold them into an effective fighting unit before the French discover the convoy’s true significance.

  Based on historical fact, His Majesty’s Ship will take you into the world of Nelson’s Navy, and captivate you all the way to it’s gripping conclusion.

  "Bond has an extraordinary talent for describing the sights and sounds of an 18th Century man-of-war. When you finish this book you genuinely feel like you have been there—and no novel can receive higher praise than that."

  The Jackass Frigate

  The Second Book in the Fighting Sail Series

  December 1796. It was a time of unrest and discontent for Britain, made even worse by the war with Revolutionary France and the possibility of imminent invasion. Fresh from the dockyard, HMS Pandora, a 28-gun frigate, is about to set sail to join the Mediterranean Fleet.

  For Captain Banks the harsh winter weather and threat of a French invasion are not his only problems. He has an untried ship, a tyrant for a First Lieutenant, a crew that contains at least one murderer, and he is about to sail into one of the biggest naval battles in British history—the Battle of Cape St. Vincent.

  True Colours

  The Third Book in the Fighting Sail Series

  The Royal Navy is immobilised by mutiny, and the only thing that’s standing in the way of an invasion is a commander who is communicating with a fleet that isn’t there.

  While Great Britain’s major home fleets are immobilised by a vicious mutiny, Adam Duncan, commander of the North Sea Squadron, has to maintain a constant watch over the Dutch coast, where a powerful invasion force is ready to take advantage of Britannia's weakest moment.

  With ship-to-ship duels and fleet engagements, shipwrecks, storms and groundings, True Colours maintains a relentless pace that culminates in one of the most devastating sea battles of the French Revolutionary War—the Battle of Camperdown.

  Alaric Bond has stepped into the first rank

  of writers of historic naval fiction.

  All Fireship Press books are available directly through our website, amazon.com, via leading bookstores from coast-to-coast, and from all major wholesalers in the U.S., Canada, the UK, and Europe.

  ———————————-

  DON’T MISS ALL OF THE EXCITING

  BOOKS IN THE SIR SIDNEY SMITH SERIES

  BY

  TOM GRUNDNER

  THE MIDSHIPMAN PRINCE

  How do you keep a prince alive when the combined forces of three nations (and a smattering of privateers) want him dead? Worse, how do you do it when his life is in the hands of a 17 year old lieutenant, an alcoholic college professor, and a woman who has fired more naval guns than either of them? The first book in the Sir Sidney Smith nautical adventure series.

  HMS DIAMOND

  After surviving the horrors of the destruction of Toulon, Sir Sidney is given a critical assignment. British gold shipments are going missing. Even worse, the ships are literally disappearing in plain sight of their escorts and the vessels around them. The mystery must be solved, but to do that Sir Sidney must unravel a web of intrigue that leads all the way to the Board of Admiralty.

  THE TEMPLE

  Napoleon is massing ships, troops, and supplies at Toulon and a number of other ports. He is clearly planning an invasion; but an invasion of who, where, and when, no one knows. The key is a captured message, but it’s encoded in a way that has never been seen before. From a dreary prison in Paris, to an opulent palace in Constantinople, to the horror of the Battle of the Nile—The Temple will take you on a wild ride through 18th Century history.

  AND DON’T MISS THE FOURTH BOOK

  IN THIS THRILLING SERIES COMING IN 2010

  ACRE

  From Fireship Press

  www.FireshipPress.com

  All Fireship Press books are available directly through our website, amazon.com, via leading bookstores from coast-to-coast, and from all major wholesalers in the U.S., Canada, the UK, and Europe.

  Table of Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Acknowledgements

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

&n
bsp; Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Author’s Note

  Glossary

  About the Author

  Other Fine Books by Alaric Bond

 

 

 


‹ Prev