Sailing into the clear blue waters of Jamaica’s Kingston Harbour, Port Royal comes immediately into view. It’s hard to imagine that this quiet Caribbean village was once regarded as one of the largest cities on earth. In the late seventeenth century its alleyways and taverns rang incessantly with the riotous behaviour of some of the most vicious pirates and notorious privateers of the era.
There are an inordinate amount of nautical phrases in everyday use. Here are just a few:
One of my favourite expressions is often used whilst waiting for slow children (now in their 20’s but still slow!) to hurry up and leave the house. This was a term used to describe the wind when it blew in flaws. A flaw is an unexpected gust of wind. It was said to faff about and thus faffing about is used to describe aimless behaviour.
This galley recipe – Red Flannel Hash originates from New England and the name refers to the red and white plaid cloth that is popular in that part of the world. It was traditionally a breakfast using up the leftovers from the previous evening’s meal and has many variations. The main ingredients are corned beef, potatoes and beetroot, yes beetroot. An unusual addition I hear you cry, but it works surprising well. The potatoes and corned beef will be a cheap staple on any provisioning list and because this is a left-overs recipe then you could add anything that needs using up in the galley. With the added bonus of being quick to make this is one of those one-pot recipes that will be used again and again.
There was a time when it was difficult to find free wifi and we struggled to get online whilst out and about. I remember having to constantly seek out McDonalds whilst touring the US in an RV just so that I could download maps. Now you can’t go 10 yards without your phone searching for the next available public network. But how safe is public/free wifi?
Lovesail Newsletter Sprummer 2019. Yes, Sprummer is a word! The transition period between Spring and Summer. There are two updates to the site to mention this Sprummer.
I wanted to give this boat jumble a special mention as it’s the first one they have held here and it’s to raise money for restoration work to Northwood House and Park, Cowes, Isle of Wight.
Lovesail Newsletter Spring 2019 – We are excited to announce that the new Lovesail platform has been up and running for a few weeks now. I think you will agree it is a vast improvement on the last platform in many ways.
Why it’s the dialect or accent of people from Liverpool I hear you cry! Yes, you are correct but it is also a type of beef or lamb stew and is indeed why inhabitants from Liverpool are known as Scousers.
There are hundreds of expressions and words we use in everyday conversations that have nautical origins. Here are just a few. For more see our related posts: Nautical Sayings and their origins; Nautical Terms and Sailing Terms.
