http://deepseanews.com/2009/05/nautical-termphrase-wednesday-on-your-beam-ends/ All the news on the Earth's largest environment. Wed, 23 May 2012 14:14:36 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 http://deepseanews.com/2009/05/nautical-termphrase-wednesday-on-your-beam-ends/comment-page-1/#comment-6810 Karen James Sat, 16 May 2009 19:04:38 +0000 http://deepseanews.com/?p=4383#comment-6810 From Fitzroy’s journal, 13th January, 1833: 'Soon after one, the sea had risen to a great height, and I was anxiously watching the successive waves, when three huge rollers approached, whose size and steepness at once told me that our sea-boat, good as she was, would be sorely tried. Having steerage way, the vessel met and rose over the first unharmed, but, of course, her way was checked; the second deadened her way completely, throwing her off the wind; and the third great sea, taking her right a-beam, turned her so far over, that all the lee bulwark, from the cat-head to the stern davit, was two or three feet under water...' and in a footnote wrote, 'The roller which hove us almost on our beam ends, was the highest and most hollow that I have seen, excepting one in the Bay of Biscay, and one in the Southern Atlantic; yet so easy was our little vessel that nothing was injured besides the boat, the netting (washed away), and one chronometer.' From Fitzroy’s journal, 13th January, 1833: ‘Soon after one, the sea had risen to a great height, and I was anxiously watching the successive waves, when three huge rollers approached, whose size and steepness at once told me that our sea-boat, good as she was, would be sorely tried. Having steerage way, the vessel met and rose over the first unharmed, but, of course, her way was checked; the second deadened her way completely, throwing her off the wind; and the third great sea, taking her right a-beam, turned her so far over, that all the lee bulwark, from the cat-head to the stern davit, was two or three feet under water…’ and in a footnote wrote, ‘The roller which hove us almost on our beam ends, was the highest and most hollow that I have seen, excepting one in the Bay of Biscay, and one in the Southern Atlantic; yet so easy was our little vessel that nothing was injured besides the boat, the netting (washed away), and one chronometer.’

]]> http://deepseanews.com/2009/05/nautical-termphrase-wednesday-on-your-beam-ends/comment-page-1/#comment-6764 eddie Thu, 14 May 2009 23:25:00 +0000 http://deepseanews.com/?p=4383#comment-6764 It's not widely known but RLS's Treasure Island was much longer as it contained explanations of nautical jargon and other wisdom. It was edited for length before publication. Much of the wisdom came in the form of Long John Silver showing Jim Hawkins 'the ropes'. As an example; the ship visited an island with a bitumen lake and animals trapped in the mire. LJS explained "it's tar jim lad". On another occasion LJS was teaching JH the theodolyte; "see that star jim lad". Sorry. I'm practising for TLAPday. It’s not widely known but RLS’s Treasure Island was much longer as it contained explanations of nautical jargon and other wisdom. It was edited for length before publication.
Much of the wisdom came in the form of Long John Silver showing Jim Hawkins ‘the ropes’. As an example; the ship visited an island with a bitumen lake and animals trapped in the mire. LJS explained “it’s tar jim lad”.
On another occasion LJS was teaching JH the theodolyte; “see that star jim lad”.
Sorry. I’m practising for TLAPday.

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