Fair Winds and Following Seas...

 

Fair Winds & Following Seas..

By

Vivek Hande

The sea, often evokes emotions of awe, fear and fascination. The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder, for life. John Masefield, immortalized the lure of the seas through his evocative words in the poem Sea Fever,” I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky and all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer by”. Today is a very appropriate day to be washed by matters nautical as we wish two young Naval Lady officers fair winds and following seas as they embark on the ambitious and gruelling sailing expedition around the globe, navigating nearly 40000 km over eight months braving high seas and extreme weather conditions..

With the illustrious history of seafaring, it is indeed remarkable how so many nautical terms have sailed into common usage. You really don’t want to deal with too many loose cannons, unpredictable persons out of control. The origin is from large guns/ cannons mounted on the ship’s deck which have become loose from its moorings and rolling on the deck and posing a significant danger to the crew & the ship.

Beware of Loose Cannons

 To do a job well, you have to know the ropes, which means you have to understand or be familiar with the task at hand. Ropes, especially on ships of yore were essential for hoisting, controlling sails, steering ships and anchoring. It was critical for sailors to be familiar with the ropes and today one has to know the ropes to make a mark in any job! And if you are stuck in a grind or with a difficult boss, one has to tide over the phase- get through a difficult phase till things get better. Ships would need to ride out the tide or the rise and fall of sea levels, until it was safe to sail again..

You Have to Know the Ropes

Sometimes things are touch and go and situations make you feel blue. Life may bring you down a peg or two and everything may not be hunky dory. You may be forced to eat humble pie. You may have to recalibrate; fathom out the situation; wipe the slate clean and emerge stronger and am sure things will become OK!

May Have to come down a peg or two

Touch & go refers to something possible but not certain; iffy and something which might be achieved with the slightest margin. The heart stopping feeling when the bottom of the hull touches ground in shallow water. One might find oneself stuck or find oneself high and dry once the tide goes out or one might just touch and go on and continue to sail. Feeling Blue is to be sad or depressed and ships at sea would hoist a blue flag and paint a blue line around the boat’s hull if the ship lost its Captain at sea. This was indicative of a ship in mourning. One might be brought down a peg or two or be humbled. An Admiral would fly his personal standard/flag at the highest point of the mast attached by rope to one of a series of pegs at its base. If a more senior Admiral came on board, the original standard would be brought down a peg or two to make room for the new flag. Hunky Dory is something good and satisfactory and has its possible origin from Honkai Dori, a street in the port town of Yokohama , Japan where many pleasures of different kinds awaited sailors! Umble refers to the intestines of deer. The senior lot on the ships were fed Venison – meat of deer; the servants serving on the ships had to eat Pie made of Umble and that’s why one has to eat Humble pie at times. Fathom out is to understand or find a solution to a problem or work out something.  Fathom refers to depth of water in the sea of approximately six feet and the need for the vessel to gauge that. A Log slate was used to record courses, distances sailed on ships. The first watch would record observations and then transcribe them into a Log book before the next watch. If there were no problems, the next watch would disregard the old record and start recording on a clean slate. OK, in all likelihood, has its origin from the French , Au Quai – meaning in port and safe..

Sailors, often drank liquor in quayside and port taverns on credit. Liquor was served in Pints & Quarts. The inn keepers would keep a record of the Ps & Qs and if the sailors were drunk and not mindful of their Ps &Qs, some extras would be logged against their name! Breakfast and Lunch on the older ships was frugal and mainly comprised bread and a beverage, The main meal of the day was dinner, served on Square platters, which could be more easily secured on a rack rather than round dishes. Having a Square Meal was a square platter filled with meat and food till the edges. Rarely, if rations were surplus, they would have three square meals a day and if the entire crew got three square meals, it was regarded as Fair and Square!!  

Minding the Ps& Qs

Often, one has to shed the Monday Blues(punishments were traditionally handed out to erring sailors on Mondays) and be willing to turn a blind eye to certain things , in order to be footloose and happy. Turn a blind eye to something comes from the Battle of Copenhagen 1801, where Admiral Horatio Nelson pretended  not to  see a signal from the flagship to retreat by putting his glass eye to the telescope! The bottom of the sail is called  the foot-when, not tied to a boom, it is footloose/ loose footed and dancing freely in the wind with no restriction!

Turning a Blind Eye..

Truly, there is something magical and inspiring about the sea. Limitless and Immortal, the waters are the beginnings and end of all things on earth. With every drop of water you drink, every breath you take, you are connected to the sea. The sea and the seafarer’s lexicon are a part of your every day, in so many ways…

All beginnings & Endings with the Sea