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Vincent Pica
Chief of Staff, First District, Southern Region (D1SR)
United States Coast Guard Auxiliary
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“Sabby the Lingo?” Maritime Language – XVIII
As noted prior, each discipline has a language and that language conveys competency to the listener. This column is part of a series of maritime vocabulary words. So you can sound like the salty ol’ mariner you are… We’ll run enough of these to get the major concepts and phraseology from Alpha to Zulu in front of you!
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| P – Papa International Meaning: All personnel return to ship; proceeding to sea. |
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- Pad Eye - A loop shaped fitting attached to the deck, spar, boom, etc., used to secure a line or block to some part of the vessel.
- Painter - A line tied to the bow of a small boat for use in towing, securing or tying up
- PAN PAN - An urgent message used on a radio regarding the safety of people or property. A PAN PAN message is not used when there is an immediate threat to life or property, instead the MAYDAY call is used. PAN PAN situations may develop into MAYDAY situations. As with a MAYDAY, PAN PAN messages have priority on the radio channels and should not be interrupted. In the case of a less urgent safety message, such as a hazard to navigation, the appropriate signal to use is SECURITE.
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- Parachute Flare - An emergency signal flare that will float down on a parachute after launch, hopefully improving its visibility.
- Passed West - Died. Perhaps derived from the sun setting in the west.
- Passenger Ship - A ship that is authorized to carry more than twelve passengers.
- Pay Out - To ease out or slacken a line, chain or cable or let it run in a controlled manner.
- Pendant - The line by which a boat is connected to a mooring buoy; a short rope hanging from a spar having at its free end a spliced thimble or a block. Sometimes called "Pennant".
- Pennant - A small tapering flag, which can be used for identification or communication.
- Petty Officer - Rank intermediate between officer and rating, and in charge of ratings; more or less equivalent to the rank of sergeant.
- Pilothouse - A compartment on or near the bridge of a ship that contains the steering wheel and other controls, compass, charts, navigating equipment and means of communicating with the engine room and other parts of the ship. Also known as wheelhouse
- Piloting - Navigation by using visible references, the depth of the water, etc.
- Pinching - Sailing too close to the wind
- Pinnace - Formerly, a small, two-masted sailing vessel sometimes with oars.
- Pitch - (1) The alternate rise and fall of the bow of a vessel proceeding through waves; also called hobby horsing (2) The theoretical distance advanced by a propeller in one revolution. (3) Tar and resin used for caulking between the planks of a wooden vessel.
- Pitchpole - Said of a boat which turns end over end in very rough seas.
- Plot - To mark a course on a chart.
- Point - To sail as close as possible to the wind. Some boats can point better than others, sailing closer to the wind.
- Points of Sail - The headings of a sailboat in relation to the wind, i.e., upwind, close reach, reach, broad reach, downwind.
- Pooped - Hit by a wave over the stern; having a wave wash over the stern of the boat. This can be a very dangerous situation.
- Port - (1) The left side of the boat when facing forward; originally called larboard. The opposite of starboard. (2) - A porthole. A window in the side of a boat, usually round or with rounded corners. (3) A harbor.
- Poseidon - The Greek god of the sea.
- Position Line or Line of Position - A line drawn on a chart, as a result of a bearing, along which the boat is positioned
- POSH - Port Out, Starboard Home ... Used for Cruising Liners years ago for the "BEST" Cabins. Hence the name!
- Preferred Channel Buoy - Also known as a junction buoy. A red and green horizontally striped buoy used in the United States to mark the separation of a channel into two channels. The preferred channel is indicated by the color of the uppermost stripe. Red on top indicates that the preferred channel is to the right as you return.
- Privileged Vessel - A vessel which, according to the applicable Navigation Rule, has right-of-way. Also known as the "stand on" vessel.
- Progressive Flooding - When water from a leak passes successively from one compartment to the next, usually in the absence of watertight bulkheads or watertight doors left open. This is what eventually sank the Titanic. 1
- Prow - The bow and forward part of the vessel above the waterline.
- Puff - A sudden burst of wind stronger than the current wind conditions.
- Pulpit - An elevated guardrail set up at the bow of a vessel. When erected at the stern, it is called a pushpit.
- Pumpout - Removing waste from a holding tank
- Put In - To enter a port or harbor
More in the weeks ahead…!
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BTW, if you are interested in being part of USCG Forces, email me at JoinUSCGAux@aol.com or go direct to the D1SR Human Resources department, who are in charge of new members matters, at DSO-HR and we will help you “get in this thing…”
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