Voyage of Ice (23 page)

i.
John R. Bockstoce,
Whales, Ice, and Men: The History of Whaling in the Western Arctic
(Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1986), 29, 165–166.

ii.
Ibid., 91.

iii.
Murray Lundberg, “Thar She Blows! Whaling in Alaska and the Yukon,” ExploreNorth,
http://www.explorenorth.com/library/yafeatures/bl-whaling.htm
.

iv.
Nathaniel Philbrick,
In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship
Essex (New York: Viking, 2000), 200.

v.
Chester S. Howland,
Thar She Blows! Thundering Adventures of Whaling and Mutiny
(New York: Wilfred Funk, 1951), 95–96.

vi.
Ibid., 227.

vii.
Albert Cook Church,
Whale Ships and Whaling
(New York: W. W. Norton, 1938), 17–18.

viii.
Bockstoce,
Whales, Ice, and Men
, 35–37.

ix.
New Bedford Whaling Museum,
http://www.whalingmuseum.org
.

x.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “Imprint of the Past: The Ecological History of New Bedford Harbor,”
http://www.epa.gov/nbh/html/whaling.html
.

xi.
International Whaling Commission,
http://www.iwcoffice.org/iwc.htm
.

aback
– with the wind on the forward side of the sails, causing sails to be driven backward against the mast. Can happen accidentally or can be executed on purpose to stop a vessel's forward momentum.

abaft
– toward the stern of a vessel; to the rear of. The word “abaft” is used in relation to an object—for exam-ple, “abaft the mainmast” or “abaft the beam.”

aft
– toward the stern of a vessel. The opposite of “ahead.”

aloft
– above the deck of the ship.

amidship shelter
– an unenclosed flat-roofed shelter that provides a somewhat dry workspace. Spare whaleboats are stored on top.

amidships
– in the center of the ship.

avast
– to stop. “Avast hauling!” means “to stop hauling.”

bark
– a bark is usually a three-masted sailing vessel, with the fore-and mainmasts square-rigged and the mizzen fore-and-aft rigged.

beat
– to make way to windward by zigzagging through a series of tacks.

binnacle
– the housing of a ship's compass and lamp.

block
– a rounded wooden case housing a pulley, used for lowering and lifting heavy loads. A line through a block forms a tackle.

bo'sun's chair
– a flat seat
attached to ropes, used to hoist sailors aloft to repair rigging. (Bo'sun is short for
boatswain
and is pronounced BO-sun. The bo'sun was responsible for maintaining the rigging, sails, and hull.)

bow
– the front of the ship (rhymes with “cow”).

bowline
– a sailor's knot used to form a loop in a line (pronounced BO-lin).

box the compass
– to recite the thirty-two compass points in order and to understand their meaning.

brogan
– a heavy leather shoe.

bulkhead
– an interior partition or wall in a vessel.

bulwarks
– the built-up side walls above the deck of a ship.

capsize
– to overturn.

chantey
– a song sung by sailors while at work. There are different chanteys for different types of work.

chocks
– grooves in the forwardmost part of a whaleboat's bow through which the whaleline runs.

companionway
– a stairway or ladder leading from one deck to another. On the main deck, the entrances to the companionways are sheltered in small raised housings, complete with doors to keep out the elements.

cooper
– one who makes or repairs wooden tubs. The cooper was a vital part of a whaling crew, as he was responsible for making airtight casks that would hold up under extreme conditions.

courses
– the large square sails that hang on a ship's lower yards.

crow's nest
– a canvas shelter at the topgallant masthead. Used during the Arctic whale fishery, it protected sailors from the shoulders down from the wind.

cuddy
– a small room or cupboard in a boat.

cupola
– a raised observation room built on top of a roof, usually circular.

dipper
– a metal bucket used to remove the oil from the trypots and pour it into the adjacent cooling tank.

dogwatch
– the divided watch between four and eight in the evening, the first
dogwatch being from four to six, the second from six to eight. Except for the helmsman and lookout, the men from both watches are allowed to relax during the second dogwatch.

doughboy
– a heavy boiled dumpling often made with the meat of blackfish or porpoise.

duff
– a boiled or steamed dumpling made with flour, lard, sugar, and dried fruit.

fall
– the loose end of a rope and tackle.

fluke
– one of the broad winged portions of a whale's tail.

fo'c'sle
– the forward cabin of a ship, directly behind the bow and in front of the foremast. The crew's sleeping quarters are in the fo'c'sle. (Fo'c'sle is short for
forecastle
and is pronounced FOKE-sul.)

fore and aft
– in a line parallel to the length of the ship.

foremast
– the mast closest to the bow.

forward
– toward the bow of the ship.

furl
– to roll a sail to a yard.

gally
– to frighten.

gangway
– an opening at a ship's side where people embark and disembark. In a whaler, the cutting stage was erected off the gangway.

greenie
– someone who has never shipped before and has yet to learn his duties. Also called a landlubber.

grog
– an alcoholic beverage, especially diluted hot rum mixed with lemon juice and sugar.

grommet
– a ring used to fasten a sail to its stay (the line used to support the mast).

gunwale
– the upper edge of the ship's side (pronounced GUN-ul).

harponeer
– the crewman who tosses, casts, darts, or pitches the harpoon. (One never
throws
a harpoon.) Only landlubbers call the crewman a harpooner.

harpoon
– a barbed iron spear especially used for hunting whales. Commonly called an iron in the whaling industry.

hatch
– an opening in the ship's deck.

hatchway
– the vertical space between one hatch and another, for passageway between the decks of a vessel.

heave to
– to trim a vessel's sails aback so that it no longer makes headway.

helm
– the steering apparatus of a vessel.

hold
– the storage area of a vessel.

hull
– the main body of the ship.

iron
– a whaleman's term for a harpoon.

lance
– a spearlike iron pole.

leeward
– the side of the ship away from the direction of the wind (opposite of windward).

lifeline
– a line stretching the length of a ship to which the crew can hang on when the weather is rough.

loggerhead
– a cylindrical piece of wood in the stern around which the whaleline is wound.

luff
– to turn a ship close to the wind so that the sails shake and momentum is slowed.

main
– the principal, or most important part. In a three-masted vessel, the center mast (mainmast), the center hatch (main hatch), and so on.

marlinspike
– a pointed iron tool about 16 inches long, used to separate strands of a rope.

masthead
– the top of a mast.

mess
– the place where the officers and harponeers take their meals.

mizzen
– the third mast, or aftermast, on a three-masted vessel (short for
mizzenmast
).

oilskin
– canvas cloth made waterproof by soaking in linseed oil. Sailors wore raincoats and trousers made of oilskin.

old man
– the term sailors use when referring to their captain (never in the captain's presence, however!).

pawl
– an iron stop used to keep the windlass from turning back.

port
– the left side of the vessel while facing forward. Also the designation of one of the watches.

Pull two!
– this command tells the two oarsmen whose oars are on the port side to row.

ratlines
– the horizontal ropes attached to the shrouds to form a rope ladder (pronounced RAT-lins).

rigging
– the lines and ropes of a vessel, used to support
the masts and work the yards and sails.

royal
– the sail immediately above the topgallant sail.

rudder
– a hinged, vertical blade located on a ship's underside at the stern. A ship's course (right, left, or straight) depends on the orientation of the rudder in the water.

scupper
– an opening cut in the bulwarks to drain seawater.

scurvy
– a disease caused by vitamin-C deficiency, characterized by swollen and bleeding gums.

shipkeeper
– one of the people left behind to man the ship while the crew chases whales.

shoal
– a sandbar that projects near or above the surface of the water.

shroud
– a rope, usually one of a pair, that stretches from the masthead to the sides of the vessel to support the mast.

slop chest
– a small store of much-needed goods managed by the captain. Sailors purchased the goods—wool socks, mittens, extra tobacco, boots, etc.—often at inflated prices. The cost was usually deducted from their wages.

sou'wester
– a hat made of oilskin, shaped with a broad brim to keep the sailor's face and neck dry while still allowing him to see.

spar
– a beam or pole, such as a mast or yard, that supports rigging.

splice the main brace
– a slang term meaning “to receive a ration of grog.”

starboard
– the right side of the vessel when facing forward. Also the designation of one of the watches.

steerage
– the living quarters of the shipkeepers and harponeers, usually forward of the officers' quarters.

stem to stern
– from front to back.

stern
– the back of the ship.

Stern all!
– the order to row the whaleboat backward away from danger.

steward
– the crewman responsible for the captain's cabin, the officers' quarters, and the serving of the meals.

stove
– smashed or crushed, as a boat or ship (past tense of
stave
).

stow
– to store.

tack
– to change a boat's direction by bringing it head to wind.

tackle
– an arrangement of blocks fitted with ropes, used to lift heavy loads.

tiller
– a movable bar used to operate the rudder.

topgallant
– the sail above the topsail.

topsail
– the sail immediately above the lowest sail on a square-rigged vessel.

trypots
– enormous iron kettles used for boiling whale blubber.

tryworks
– brick structure housing the trypots with water-cooling tanks beneath. Located abaft the forehatch.

tub oarsman
– the crewman who sits on the starboard side, fourth from the bow. Oarlock is on the port side. Responsible for wetting the whaleline to prevent it from burning from friction.

tundra
– a treeless plain of the Arctic and sub-Arctic regions, with a sublayer of soil that is permanently frozen.

wear ship
– to bring a ship around, stern into the wind, until she sails in the opposite direction.

whalecraft
– the assorted iron tools used in the whale fishery, such as harpoons, lances, and blubber knives.

whaleline
– the rope that leads from the tub to the harpoon, eventually connecting the whale to the whaleboat.

whaler
– a whaling ship or bark.

windlass
– a horizontal barrel around which a rope or chain is wound. The windlass is turned with a crank and is used in raising heavy loads, such as whale blubber or an anchor.

windward
– the direction facing the wind (opposite of leeward).

yard
– a horizontal beam attached to a mast to support a sail.

yardarm
– the end of a yard.