 |
|
|
Abenaki
Native tribe of western Maine and Quebec. One member of the Wabanaki Confederation.
|
 |
|
|
Able-bodied seaman
One who performs all regular and emergency duties required in the deck department of a merchant ship. The rating was made legal and the requirements standardized in Britain in 1894 and in the U.S. in 1915. See also “ordinary seaman.”
|
|
|
|
Adze
A long-handled cutting tool, with a blade at right angles to the shaft. Originally a shipbuilding tool.
|
|
|
|
Aft
Towards the stern, or rear, of a vessel.
|
|
|
|
Ague
Illness characterized by chills and fever, sometimes associated with malaria
|
|
|
|
Aids to navigation
Aids to navigation are artificial aids that have been created or built to aid the navigator. Buoys and lighthouses are examples.
|
|
|
|
Albatross "Albertross"
A large, web-footed sea bird with long, slender wings for gliding. The albatross is among the largest sea birds.
|
|
|
|
Alewives
Anadromous fish of the herring family about 12 inches long. Fished commercially in the spring when they run upriver to spawn. Catch is now a third of what it was in the 1970s. Offshore they are caught by midwater trawlers. Once smoked and pickled, now mostly used as lobster bait. See http://www.maine.gov/dmr/rm/alewife.html.
|
|
|
|
Aluminum
Used in lightweight ship and boat construction. Began to be used in America's Cup yachts like Defender of 1895, which was crewed by fishermen from Deer Island.
|
|
|
|
America's Cup
A sailing race held around the Isle of Wight in England in 1851 for The Hundred Guineas Cup, was won by the schooner yacht America. The Cup winners renamed it The Americas Cup and established it as perpetual international yacht race series, the oldest formal international competition in sport. It is still an intensely competitive series of races between one defending yacht and one challenging yacht from another country.
|
|
|
|
American Indian
Christopher Columbus mistakenly believed that the Caribbean island on which he had landed was the subcontinent of India, so he called the inhabitants Indians. Eventually, that name was applied to almost all the indigenous, non-European inhabitants of North and South America
|
|
|
|
American Seamen's Friend Society
Established in New York City in 1826. "To improve the social and moral condition of seamen, by uniting the efforts of the wise and good in their behalf; by promoting in every port boarding houses of good character, savings banks, register offices, libraries, museums, reading rooms and schools; and also the ministrations of the gospel, and other religious blessings." In 1857 began the loan library program seriously and by 1930 had sent out over 30,000 libraries for use on shipboard. The society was dissolved in 1986.
|
|
|
|
Anadromous fish
Fish that seasonally leave the sea to swim up-river to spawn in fresh water; examples include alewives, smelts, shad, salmon, striped bass, bluebacks, and sturgeon.
|
|
|
|
Anchor
A device for mooring a floating object to the sea bottom.
|
|
|
|
Anglican
Of or characteristic of the Church of England or any of the churches relatd to it, such as the Episcopal Church.
|
|
|
|
Aquaculture
Growing fish or shellfish in a controlled environment at sea or in tanks or lagoons on land. Fish grown in such an environment are said to be farm-raised.
|
|
|
|
Arnold, Benedict Benedict Arnold
1741-1801. Arnold was a general in the Continental Army during the American Revolution. He is best known for his attempt to surrender the American fort at West Point, NY, to the British, thus splitting the colonies in half. Arnold was opposed to the colonists' alliance with France. He defected to the British Army. Before this his contributions to victory for the Colonies was crucial, with his defense of Lake Champlain against the British in 1776, delaying the British attempt to split the Colonies in half, and laying the ground work for victory the following year in the Battle of Saratoga, in which he was the Colonies' field leader. A prime reason for his defection was the lack of credit he got from the Continental Congress for his major contributions.
|
|
|
|
Articles Shipping Articles
The short name for “Shipping Articles,” the master contract between members of a crew and the owners of the vessel. Required on American merchant vessels from the late 19th century.
|
|
|
|
Astern
Backwards; behind the vessel.
|
|
|
|
Astor, John Jacob John Jacob Astor
1763-1848. Richest American of his time. He made money first in the fur trade, and he established the town of Astoria, Oregon. He engaged in import and export trade and owned his own shipping lines.
|
|
|
|
Astrolabe
The seaman's astrolabe is a graduated ring or disc fitted with a sighting rule pivoted at the center. The instrument was suspended so that it hung vertically. The user then turned the sighting rule so that the sun or star could be sighted along it and the altitude read off the ring. It dates back to ancient Greece and was heavily used in the Islamic world. The first records of a seagoing version date to around 1481.
|
|
|
|
Auger
A tool used to bore holes in wood. These holes were usually meant to receive trunnels.
|
|
|
|
