NAUTICAL TERMS 
Flood Tide: Rising tide. 
Forward: Toward the bow. 
Galley: The ship s kitchen. 
Glory Hole: Stewards' headquarters. 
Hatch: An opening in a deck. 
Hold: The part of a ship below decks reserved for the storing 
of freight or baggage. 
House Flag: The pennant usually flown on the mam mast 
bearing the emblem of the ship's owners. 
Hurricane Deck: A deck with no overhead projection. 
Keel: The centra! longitudinal beam at the extreme underside 
of the vessel. The foundation of the entire construction. 
Knot: A nautical mile. In the United States it is equal to 
6,080.27 feet in length. 
Lead: The mass of lead for taking the depth of the sea. 
Leeward: The side of the vessel away from the wind. 
Log: The instrument towed by the ship to record the distance 
traveled. 
Midship: Toward the middle of the ship. 
Mooring: Securing a ship in position, anchoring. 
Overhang: Portion of hull at the stern projecting over the 
water. 
Pilot: Usually the licensed guide who comes aboard and 
guides th© ship through the local channel. 
Pilot House: Sheltered position connected with the bridge 
from which the ship is steered. 
Pitching: Sea-saw motion of the ship caused by waves. 
Poop: Raised deck toward the stern of the ship. 
Port: The left side of the ship looking toward the bow. 
Porthole: Window. 
Screw: The ship's propeller. 
Scuppers: Drains from the edge of the deck. 
Shaft: Long, round, heavy forging connecting engine and 
propeller. 
Starboard: Right side of a ship looking toward the bow. 
Stern: The bow. 
Stern: The rear end of a vessel. 
Taffrail: The upper part of a vessel's stern. 
Tender: A small steamer for meeting ships in port for taking 
off or putting on passengers. 
Thwartship: Crosswise of a ship. 
Winch: A small hoisting engine. 
Windward: Side of the ship toward the wind. 
Yards: Spars set crosswise on a mast. 
COLOR OF THE SEA 
Absolutely pur© water is a clear blue color because the blue 
rays of sunlight are not absorbed by the water as the red ray* 
are. Thus the open ocean seems intensely blue. 
Two factors contribute largely to the blueness of the Medi- 
terranean: there are few large rivers, which ordinarily bring 
enormous quantities of impurities, flowing into it, and iher® is 
a constant ‘stream of salty water pouring into it from th© 
Atlantic Ocean through the Strait of Gibraltar. 
It Is said by sorf.e oceanographers that the blue of sea water 
bears a direct ratio to its saltiness. As an example of this the 
band of tropical waters extending about thirty degrees on 
each side of the Equator, where there is tremendous evapora- 
tion under a blazing sun is cited. It h true that these waters 
are very salty and an exquisite azure in color. 
On the other hand, th© Arctic and Antarctic waters, which 
are cold and less salty, are vivid green. 
The Yellow Sea derives its golden tints from th© sediment 
brought to it by th© Yellow River and several other stream* 
rising near the desert areas in western China. Scientists also 
believe that the billions of minute living organisms found In 
its waters helped give it its name. 
In January, 1909, a peculiar phenomenon was observed in 
th© Atlantic Ocean. Running parallel with the warm clear 
blue waters of the Gulf Stream from Cape Florida to Cape 
Hatferas, there was a yellow river three miles wide. It lasted 
for a few weeks and then faded away into the surrounding 
ocean. Some cataclysm on the face of th® deep, probably of 
volcanic origin, had evidently set this stream in motion. 
jhe dull reddish tint of the Red Sea is imparted to it by 
millions of microscopic algae. A host of the minute Din©- 
fiagelfata sometimes will redden the ocean for miles. 
The lovely blue of the waters surrounding the coral islands 
ot the South Seas, which have long been famous in song and 
story is said to be due to the calcium carbonate held in 
solution. 
The Saguenay River, a tributary of th® St. Lawrence from 
the north, is sombre and impressive because its waters seem 
almost black. If winds through high hills which shut out th© 
hgnr and its bed is cut 600 feet deeper than that of the river 
into which it flows. 
fn 1901 , the sea oft the California coast turned almost blade, 
th© waters of Santa Cruz Bay becoming particularly inky, but 
no satisfactory explanation has ever been offered of th© oc- 
currence. 
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