2/25/08

Sorry about missing the two days over the weekend. But never fear I am back with something new and exciting. Something that did happen from time to time onboard ship was a “Steel Beach Picnic”. On our ship these were held on the helo deck from around noon until 6pm, or until the food ran out.

We had burgers, hot dogs, and brats along with all the extras. The cooks made these great monster hoagie buns. You could fit 3 patties on them at one time. Then add the beans, coleslaw, and deserts. The only thing missing was a cool beer. When we had a steel beach picnic we would have breakfast and then eat on the helo deck until it was going or everyone was sick. I remember myself eating no fewer than 3 of those triple burgers at one sitting.

On other ships they have similar picnics and some will center activities during such an event. I have heard that carriers have volley ball tournaments. We had a skeet shooting contest during one picnic. This was the only time I ever fired a gun while in the Navy. I shot 10 for 10.

After straight 90 days at sea the steel beach includes everyone’s favorite, 2 cold beers. Stories circulate about people selling their beers to shipmates for hundreds of dollars, but since those are sea stories, they HAVE to be true.

So if you’re sitting around at work and it is a nice day, instead of sitting in the lunch room drop the tail gate on your truck and have your own steel beach picnic.

Starboard is the opposite of port. At one time it was the opposite of larboard, but as you can assume those two were confused rather easily.

The origin of the term comes from old boating practices. Before ships had rudders on their centerline, they were steered by use of a specialized oar. This oar was held by a cocksman located towards the stern (back) of the ship. However, like most of the rest of society, there were many more right-handed sailors than left-handed sailors. This meant that the right-handed sailors holding the steering oar (which had been broadened to provide better control) used to stand on the right side of the ship. The word starboard comes from Old English steorbord, literally meaning the side on which the ship is steered. The old English term steorbord descends from the Old Norse words stýri meaning “rudder” and borð meaning “side of a ship”. The modern term "steering wheel" comes from the same language root as "starboard" or "steer board".

The starboard side of a vessel is indicated with a green navigation light at night.
Here is an easy way to remember "starboard" vs. "port":

• Terms referring to the right side are longer words ("starboard", "right", and "green"), while terms referring to the other side are shorter words ("port", "left", and "red").

• Also remember port and left both have 4 letters, starboard, has a few more than 4.
The starboard side of most naval vessels the world over is designated the 'senior' side. The officers' gangway or sea ladder is shipped on this side and this side of the quarterdeck is reserved for the captain. The flag or pennant of the ship's captain or senior officer in command is generally hoisted on the starboard yard.

It will be very hard to use this around the office, unless you are having a snack or food day. Then you can use this to point out the location on the table for the good food. “The shrimp are on the starboard side of the table Tom.”

2/27/08
Sticking with yesterday today we have Port, as in the port side of the ship.

An archaic version of the term is larboard. The term larboard, when shouted in the wind, was presumably too easy to confuse with starboard and so the word port came to replace it, referring to the side of the ship where cargo is loaded from the port. The term larboard continued its use well into the 1850s by whalers, despite the term being long superseded by "port" in the merchant vessel service at the time. The term was not officially adopted by the Royal Navy until 1844 (Ray Parkin, H. M. Bark Endeavour). Robert FitzRoy, Captain of Darwin's HMS Beagle, is said to have taught his crew to use the term port instead of larboard, thus propelling the use of the word into the Naval Services vocabulary. Another source suggests a different archaic word "portboard" (see the starboard article for further explanation).

In many languages, other than English, the word is derived from a Germanic term akin to "backboard", from the same roots as English "back" and "board".
A port buoy is a lateral buoy used to guide vessels through channels or close to shallow water. The port buoy is one that a vessel must leave to port when passing upstream. If in IALA area A, the port buoys are red. If in IALA area B (Japan, the Americas, South Korea, and the Philippines) then the 'handedness' of buoyage is reversed and black or green buoys are left to port.

Ships and aircraft carry a red light on the port side and a green one on the starboard side, plus a white light at the rear.
There are a number of tricks used to remember port and starboard:
• Port is to the left facing forward; "port" and "left" each have four letters.
• Similar to above, all are short words ("port", "left", and "red") while other side long words("starboard", "right", and "green")
• The phrase "Is there any port left?" (Referring to port wine )
• The red light is on the port side; port wine is most commonly red in color.
• At a formal dinner, it is traditional that one passes the bottle of port to the left. (This is also offered as an alternative origin for the phrase)
• How much Port is there Left in the bottle gives both the color (as above) and which side.
• The term "Posh" is sometimes said to have its roots as an acronym for "Port Out, Starboard Home", referring to the idea that on ships bound from Europe to the Far East and back, the land-side cabins were more desirable. While the origins of the word are dubious, it does serve as a useful mnemonic device.

So again to using this one it can be a simple as with starboard. “The cheese dip is on the port side of the buffet Jane.”

Today we take a trip way back to the age of sail.

A loblolly boy in 18th and 19th century warships was essentially a non-professional assistant to the ship's surgeon. The hero of Tobias Smollett's novel The Adventures of Roderick Random, the first novel to describe Royal Navy life in detail, was shortly after entering the navy made a loblolly boy before eventually receiving his warrant as a surgeon's mate. The rating has also been mentioned in C. S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower novels, as well as Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin novels. Stephen Maturin's loblolly boy, Padeen, is involved in important subplots spanning several of O'Brian's books.

Because of the novels and movies, the loblolly boy is popularly thought to be crewmember of the Royal Navy, and indeed the term appears in the Royal Navy as early as 1597. However, the rating of loblolly boy also was given in U.S. Navy warships in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, until 1861 when the name was changed to surgeon's steward, reflecting higher training requirements. The name was changed to apothecary in 1866, and changed again in the 1870s to bayman, until medical science at the turn of the 20th century improved enough to make the position much more skilled, renaming it Hospital Corpsman. Across the Atlantic, the Royal Navy name for the rating changed to sick berth attendant in 1833, with the nickname Sick Bay Tiffy (Tiffy being slang for Artificer) gaining popularity in the 1890s.

The name itself comes from the serving of loblolly -- a thick, goopy porridge, sometimes with chunks of meat or vegetables -- to sick or injured crewmembers to speed their recovery. Loblolly, in turn, probably comes from the fusion of lob, a Yorkshire term meaning to boil or bubble, and lolly, an archaic English word for a stew or soup. Loblolly itself eventually came to mean anything sticky and goopy, such as a swamp or bog, and terms such as the Loblolly pine were coined from the muddy habitat of the tree rather than any (dubious) culinary value of the tree's parts.

The loblolly boy's duties included serving the aforementioned loblolly, but also anything that a ship's surgeon was too busy (or of too high of station) to do. This ranged from holding down patients during surgery, obtaining and cleaning tools, disposing of amputated limbs, and carrying out what is euphemistically today called "bedpan duty". Additionally, the loblolly boy performed inventory control of herbs, medicines, and medical supplies.
This one opens up a good deal of possible uses. Just about any one could be loblolly boy. So maybe one of those young gopher types around the plant could be the loblolly boy. “Look at young Henry, he sure is one heck of a loblolly boy isn’t he?”

I have enjoyed the last few, great port/sb summary, lots of new info for me! ...and you gotta love O'Brian's novels! The Horatio Hornblower movies are not bad either, if you can find them..cheers! James

James,

Glad you have liked these last few. It is difficult finding "clean" phrases some times. I had actually never heard of the Loblolly boy before.

Hornblower movies can be found at Net Flix. Your location depends on them being available. I have the last two made in the A&E series and the Gregory Peck movie. I need to add the others to my que.

2/29/08
Silders are something served onboard ship that can make a sailor wish he was eating an MRE. Seriously sliders are not all that bad. Silders are hamburgers or more correctly cheese burgers. They were served every Thursday onboard our ship. There are jokes the meat was totally made from soy beans, but that did not help their bad name.

Sailors will cover them with everything they can get their hands on to make them a little more bearable. I would normally use lettuce, mayo, pickles, and ketchup. We were always served them as doubles and from time to time we could get them with bacon or mushrooms or even chili. One time our cook made the mixture of jalapeños, onions, and mushrooms to cover them.


Silder day was not missed much when we were in port. Pretty much the entire ships crew would stay on board to eat a slider. Then we would all crawl off to our berthing compartments to sleep before heading back to work.

Using slider is easy if you live near a White Castle, since those are know as sliders as well. So stop in any burger join and order a slider, fries, and a Coke.

3/1/08
Alright now back to finding your way around the ship.
The forecastle of a ship, commonly seen spelled as foc'sle to reflect the truncated pronunciation used by mariners, is the area where sailors sleep and congregate while off duty. The foc'sle is located in the forward part of the ship, also called the bow, and in front of the main mast. The foc'sle serves as accommodations for regular sailors, while officers of the ship are housed in other areas.

The term “before the mast,” which has come to refer to regular sailors, is also a reference to the foc'sle. Individuals knowledgeable about sailing history are familiar with the tradition of housing sailors in the forward part of the ship, or “before the mast.” The term has become familiar in the popular imagination because of the writing of Richard Henry Dana, Jr. who spent two years as an enlisted sailor and wrote about the experiences in a popular 1840 book called Two Years Before the Mast.

The term forecastle has been in use to describe the forward part of a ship since the 1400s, when ships commonly had a raised deck in the front of the ship for use in battles. This raised deck was known as the castle, because it resembled a fortified castle, and the deck area in front of the castle came to be known as the forecastle. As well as providing quarters and a social area, the foc'sle is also a crucial observation point, and sailors are often stationed there to keep an eye out for navigational hazards. During the anchoring process, the foc'sle is usually alive with activity as sailors maneuver the heavy anchors.
Machinery related to the operation of the ship along with spare ropes and sails are also stored in the foc'sle. The anchor windlass used to wind up the anchor chains is commonly on the forward part of the foc'sle, along with the anchors themselves. In addition, weapons are kept in a locker on the foc'sle to be readily accessible in case of need. The foc'sle is also used as a social area, and ships with more room forward will sometimes make accommodations for this.

Quarters within the foc'sle are often divided depending on specialty. The rigging crew, answerable to the boatswain or bosun, would bunk in a separate area of the foc'sle along with the other regular sailors. Marines, sailors hired to protect the ship in event of attack or to act as an offensive force, were usually berthed in another part of the foc'sle. In the early days of sailing, mixing between regular sailors and marines or between enlisted sailors and officers was not encouraged, and divided sleeping quarters emphasized this.

I guess you could use this on your fishing boat. “Go sit up there in the Foc’sle and watch for logs.” That does sound a little funny, but isn’t that the point?

3/2/08

“I’m going to the head.” Everyone knows what it means, but where did it come from?
The expression going to the head comes from Navy and Coast Guard jargon for 'bathroom'. Sailors, marines and Coast Guard members call their facilities heads while land-based military personnel call them latrines. Naval ships actually have the word head stenciled on the watertight doors leading to the cramped but serviceable facilities.

The origin of hit the head can be traced back to ancient sailing vessels. Sailors who needed to relieve themselves would make their way to a designated area under the deck near the bow or front of the ship. This area was selected for several reasons. First of all, the odors would be dissipated into the air before reaching the main living and work areas. Secondly, the constant spray of ocean water would act as a natural sanitizer and keep the area relatively clean.

Since this area was also close to the carved figurehead on the bow, it became known informally as the head. The term stuck even as shipbuilders incorporated indoor plumbing and other modern conveniences to military ships. Generations of sailors have since adopted the phrase hit the head as a euphemism, and eventually the term became part of popular culture as these men and women assimilated back into society.

How many out there actually use this term or a similar phrase. I hear a good deal of non-sailors use the term head when referring to the bathroom.

3/3/08
Sick call. Our ship never had an official announcement fro sick call, but it is a normal morning routine all over the Navy. When there is a large group of people all in close proximity to one another sickness can spread fairly quickly. Then again when you just got in from a liberty call, sickness can spread quickly as well.

The routine is simple, if you feel sick you still get up and take part in your regular morning routine. Then around 8:30 those who feel they are too sick to work head to the “Doc’s” office. The Doc on a small ship is just a corpsman, sort of like a paramedic. He will check you out and either give you some Navy cure all, aspirin, maybe let you hit your rack, or if you are in port send you to the real doctors.

People will use every and any excuse to get out of work. Most will just avoid sick call and work, others seem to be sick all the time.

I went twice during my Naval career, once for a scratched eye and once for extremely sore knees. My eye did take a while to heal and they gave me 800mg Motrin for my knees.

If at work you have a person who is always sick or pretends to be sick, have them head over to sick call at the local doctors office.

The crews' Head on the Charles Morgan


The Captains' head on the Charles Morgan

Beware the scupper trout!

3/04/08
Side Boys

Side boys are a part of the quarterdeck ceremonies when an important person or Officer comes on board or leaves a ship. Large ships have side boys detailed to the quarterdeck from 0800 to sunset. When the side is piped by the BMOW, from two to eight side boys, depending on the rank of the Officer, will form a passageway at the gangway. They salute on the first note of the pipe and finish together on the last note.

In the days of sail, it was not uncommon for the Commanding Officers of ships sailing in convoy to convene aboard the flagship for conferences. It was also not uncommon for COs to invite each other to dine aboard their vessels. Unfortunately, there was no easy way to bring visitors on and off a ship while underway. And there was no dignified may for a high ranking officer to scurry up or down a rope ladder hanging down the side of a ship.

Often the boatswain's chair, a rope and wood sling, would be used to hoist the guest onto and off the ship. The Boatswain's Mate would control the heaving by blowing the appropriate commands with a whistle known as a Boatswain's Pipe. The number of "strong backs" needed to bring the visitor aboard depended upon the size of the "load" being hoisted. Somewhere along the line, it was noted that the more senior the visitor's rank, the more Sailors were needed to "man the side." Over time, the need to hoist visitors onto and off of Navy ships went away, but the custom of mustering the Sideboys and piping distinguished visitors aboard ship remains.

If you watch the movie, “In Harms Way” they will call side boys when John Wayne comes on board his old cruiser. Our ship never did call for Side Boys while I was on board. We did have the admiral in charge of the Atlantic Fleet come on board, but we were already manning the rails when he stopped by to see us off on our Med Cruise.

If you have a person in your office who thinks they are all important maybe you could say something like, “Call the side boys here comes David.”

3/5/08
Chit

Stop before you report me for vulgar words. Read on and be enlightened.

One tradition carried on in the Navy is the use of the word "chit." It is a carry over from the days when Hindu traders used slips of paper called "citthi" for money, so they wouldn't have to carry heavy bags of gold and silver. British sailors shortened the word to chit and applied it to their mess vouchers.

It’s most outstanding use in the Navy today is for drawing pay and a form used for requesting leave and liberty, and special requests. But the term is currently applied to almost any piece of paper from a pass to an official letter requesting some privilege.
We use a request chit to ask for just about everything from leave to requesting to grow a mustache. In boot camp we were given a booklet with chits in it. These were used as out money while we were in boot camp. They were only good at the exchange on base.

When you take your vacation slip to the bost to get it signed say, "Here is my vacation chit." Just be ready to explain you language.

3/6/08
How does a Big Chicken Dinner sound? Chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, and biscuits. Well, if you are a sailor a big chicken dinner is not something you want. It is slang for a Bad Conduct Discharge, BCD. Since sailors like to changes things around so they sound a little better. Of course getting a BCD is not a funny matter. In order to get one, a sailor needs to be a real looser.

We had one guy who hated the Navy so much he kept leaving the ship. He finally came back and the Captain offered him two different ways out, either an Administrative separation, or a BCD. The Admin would take up to 8 weeks, and the BCD could be done in 2 weeks. He took the BCD, what a fool.

So if you have a real looser at work you can slide this one in fairly easy on them. ”If you don’t stop messing up Billy you are going to get a Big Chicken Dinner.”

What a fool indeed, he basically is guaranteed to get turned down for every single city/state/federal job he applies to. Oh well, Natural selection at the human level

He sure was. Also to get his BCD he also had to do 3 days in the brig on bread and water. He did that and was out of the Navy in I think a total of 10 days.

You meet some of the best people in the military and you also meet some of the biggest dirt bags around.

3/7/08
There is no nice way to say this, but here goes, dirt bag. We all know these people because no matter where you go there they are. They don’t have to be a dirty bottom dwelling type of person they can be from any walk of life. The military has them just as every place in civilian life has them.

In the Navy we had our share of dirt bags. They normally had dirty unkempt uniforms. Boot with little or no polish on them. They also always seemed to need a shower and a shave. During my A-School we had a special room where the dirt bags lived. Their lockers were pushed back against the walls so they had no privacy. They were required to keep their room clean and ready for inspection at all times. They also had extra dress inspections once a week. This may seem a little harsh, but this is the US Navy and they own you.

These guys were pretty much kept in the dark and given the worst jobs they could handle. I guess that is the way civilians handle them as well. Since we all know about them it won’t be hard to sue the term in your day to day speak. Of course there are colorful terms for dirt bags, but this is a family site.

LOL my virgin won't catch fire. met to many dirt bags both messy and the other half as well. It is unfortunate that we have to deal with people like that.

3/08/08
Fruit Salad, something everyone likes sliced fresh fruit mixed together and served with every type of meal. Well, not that kind of fruit salad, the kind worn on military uniforms. I am refereeing to the ribbons worn on military uniforms. The term comes from the fact the ribbons are multicolored and when worn together look like a bunch of mixed up fruit.
When you first enter the Navy you will see sailors with one or two ribbons while others have 2 or 3 rows of ribbons. These are all awarded for different reasons. In some services you will get a ribbon just for graduating boot camp, but not the Navy. Of course the longer you are in the more you will receive. I actually met one person who had served during World War II. His Reserve unit was called during Desert Storm and he had gotten hurt while on active duty. His set of ribbons was monster sized. He served in World War II, Korea, Viet Nam, and Desert Storm.

The higher on your stack of ribbons you wear one the more important it is. Ribbons are worn with the most senior, important, to the top left and the most junior on the bottom right.
Most people won’t every have a change to use this in their day to say speak. But if your company gets awards from customers you can maybe slip it in. “Well the sales department got another slice of apple to add to their fruit salad.”

3/10/08
Winter working blues is the name for the Navies everyday winter uniform, it is also called the Johnny Cash. This uniform consists of a pair of Navy blue pants, a long sleeve Navy blue shirt, and a Navy Blue tie. Since everything has the appearance of being black that is where the nickname Johnny Cash comes from. This uniform is rather simple and basic. It is worn anytime during the winter uniform period that your dress uniform is not needed to be worn.

It is a fairly simple uniform and easy to wear properly. However there have been times when people have totally messed up this uniform. The trouble comes from the nickname of this outfit, Johnny Cash. People have been known to confuse the term winter working blues and Johnny Cash and wear the wrong uniform for inspection.

The winter working blues is your everyday outfit to wear out in public when not crawling around in the engine room.

3/11/08
UA

Since I used this word/phrase the other day I guess I should give you a run down on its Navy meaning. The Army, Air Force, and Marines use AWOL for a person who pretty much ran away. The Navy uses, UA. Unauthorized absence. This is for up to 30 days after that it is considered desertion. It is also short for unauthorized. Sailors like to get extra milage out of words and phrases, it just makes thing easier when you have 50 or more alarm settings to remember in each engine room and way too many down in central control.

It is a pretty easy term to remember because you can slide it into your everyday usage and hardly miss a blink. “Mike, those girly pictures in your tool box are UA.” “Looks like Tom is UA again today.”

This one will come in handy around the shop.

10 UAs in the Reserves and you are out (ADMIN SEP), we have seen a LOT of "UA strikeouts" last couple years.

I see student UA in every class I teach

We still use the term on my job. Unauthorized Absence get marked with a red pen on time sheets. (not used too often, as we get plenty of sick and vacation time to use, but some fools still can't count)