Photo credit: roguesgallery.com

Nautical is back for Spring / Summer 2010. Some useful terms should you find yourself at sea:

Groggy:  Drunk from having consumed a lot of grog (rum &water).

Avast:  Stop. Cease or desist from whatever is being done.

Aye, aye: Reply to an order or command to indicate that the command is understood and will be carried out.

By and large: “By” means into the wind, while “large” means with the wind. By and large is used to indicate all possible situations “the ship handles well both by and large“.

Under the weather: Serving a watch on the weather side of the ship, exposed to wind and spray.

Dressing down: Treating old sails with oil or wax to renew them.

Jack: A sailor

Mae West: A Second World War personal flotation device used to keep people afloat in the water