The Sailor S Word

Almost 800 pages . 12,764 Definitions. The Most Complete Reference of Its Kind It's one thing to compile a dictionary of nautical terms from the Age of Sail; but it's quite another when the people doing the compiling actually lived them. That is exactly the situation in The Sailor's Word. William Henry Smyth (1788-1865) was in the Royal Navy for over 25 years, rising from a ship's boy on a West India merchantman to a Royal Navy Admiral. In addition to commanding several Royal Navy ships, he became world famous as a hydrographer (some of his charts were still in use in the 1960's), and as an astronomer (he eventually became president of the Royal Astronomical Society). The last years of his life, however, were spent compiling The Sailor's Word from his vast storehouse of nautical experience; but he died before he could see it published. His family decided to go forth with the publication of his final work. Their selection of an editor couldn't have been better: Sir Edward Belcher (1799-1877). Sir Edward was a Royal Navy officer with even more experience than Smyth. In his 40 years of service he captained numerous ships and generated a well-deserved reputation as a naval surveyor. His final command was of the unsuccessful expedition to find the missing and ill-fated explorer, Sir John Franklin. A cousin of Frederick Marryat, it can be plausibly argued that his novel, Horatio Howard Brenton, was the real model for C.S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower. If you want to understand modern nautical fiction, you have to understand the language they used and the way they actually used it-not the way you think they used it.

Embark on a thrilling voyage through the vast maritime world with 'The Sailor's Word-Book', a book by a distinguished British admiral from the mid-19th century. Delve into the language of sailors, sailing, and the boundless sea as this alphabetical digest unravels the mysteries of nautical terms. Discover not only the essentials for seasoned seafarers, but also intriguing military and scientific jargon, as well as ancient expressions from early explorers that have withstood the test of time. Whether you're a seasoned mariner or a landlubber curious about the hidden language of the ocean, this fascinating little book promises to be an illuminating and indispensable guide.

Dewey Lambdin's lovable but incorrigible rogue, Captain Alan Lewrie, Royal Navy, is back to cut a wide and wicked swatch through the war-torn Caribbean in an entirely new high seas adventure. It's 1798, and Lewrie and his crew of the Proteus frigate have their work cut out for them. First, he has rashly vowed to uphold a friend's honour in a duel to the death. Second, he faces the horridly unwelcome arrival of HM Government's Foreign Office agents (out to use him as their cat's-paw in impossibly vaunting schemes against the French). And last, he must engineer the showdown with his arch foe and nemesis, the hideous ogre of the French Revolution's Terror, that clever fiend Guillaume Choundas! We know Lewrie can fight, but can he be a diplomat, too? He must deal with the newly reborn United States Navy, that uneasy, unofficial "ally", and the stunning, life-altering surprise they bring. For good or ill, Lewrie's in the "quag" up to his neck, this time. Can sword, pistol, and broadsides avail, or will words, low cunning, and Lewrie's irrepressible wit be the key to his victory and survival, as even the seas cry "Havoc"?