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