Mr. Midshipman Blithe

ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑦 𝑏𝑖𝑟𝑡ℎ𝑑𝑎𝑦, 𝑯𝒐𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐 𝑯𝒐𝒓𝒏𝒃𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓!💙🌊

Sea Witches - here

Women in ancient seafaring - here

Jacquotte Delahaye and Anne Dieu-le-Veut - Two female pirates - here

Hen Frigate - here

Traditional costumes of the islands Föhr and Amrum and the Halligen - here

How women lived on board - here

Mary Lacy the female shipwright - here

Women at Sea - Books - here

Do not mess with Welsh Women - here

The Women of HMS Goliath and the Aboukir Baby - here

The mysterious Ann Mills - here

Women on board - here

Women on Whalers - Part 1 - here

Women on Whalers- Part 2 - here

The Lioness of Brittany - here

Jeanne Baret - a Jane Tar - here

Gráinne Ní Mháille or Grace O'Malley the irish pirate queen - here

Zheng Yi Sao the Chinese Pirate Queen - here

The sailor named Billy Bridle - here

How did women manage to hide their gender at sea? - here

Hannah Snell “The Woman in Men’s Cloaths” - here

The Chatham Chest - here

William Brown the mysterious Captain of the Foretop - here

Mary Anne Talbot - a female Soldier and Sailor- here

Ingela Gathenhielm the female Privateer - here

Ida Lewis - here

Mary Lacy - female sailor and shipwright, the full post - here

Here is a small collection of slang that is just too short for its own posts.

Anchor or to get one’s ass to an- to sit down.

Ant’ bollock on the beach - something is extremely hard to locate.

At loose ends - there is little to do. The ends of ropes at sea were easily untangled and formed loose ends. So if there was little to do, the captain could instruct the crew to check the ropes for loose ends and repair them.

Beam ends - When the ship is almost at the beam ends, it means that it is capsizing and in danger of sinking, with the deck beams almost perpendicular to the sea surface. Today it means - to be in a hopeless situation.

Bite the bullet - Men who were flogged with the lovely cat were often given a piece of leather and later a bullet to bite on so they would stop screaming in pain. If he did, he was scornfully called a nightingale.

Boom and Mizzen- Cockney rhyming slang for prison.

Brace of Shakes - I’ll be with you in a brace of shakes, literally means I’ll be with you before the sail has time to shake twice, in other words I’ll be with you almost immediately.

Bread hook - finger

Colours tied to the mast - Give up ? Forget it, this one will be fought to the bitter end.

Cranky- She’s hard to sail and unstable. The modern version means awkward, eccentric or hard to understand - often used in connection with women.

Deck Cargo - Breasts

(I’m going to) deck (you) - I’ll punch you so hard in the face that you’ll see the deck up close. But since such acts were forbidden at sea, they waited until the opponents were in port and could settle it there.

Donkey Wallopers - Royal Navy slang for members of mounted cavalry regiments.

Don’t spoil the Ship for a ha'porth of tar - To half-finish a job by not filling the planks properly with hot tar when lapping. Ships will leak if too little tar is applied, so a little extra effort is well worth it.

Goose without gravy - a flogging without blood.

Grass combers - seamen with an agricultural background.

Inspired by @focsle ‘s Whalin Lad Generator  (perchance link here), I made a Dubiously 18th/19th Century Royal Navy Sailor generator, inspired by Master and Commander/the Aubreyad, The Terror and other Age of Sail stuff!

1. Gold earrings from the Greek island of Sifnos, 17th-18th century. 

2. Queen Elizabeth I’s ship pendant necklace, ca 1580

3. English, ca. 1620

4. German, ca 1600

5. English, Second half of 16th century 

6. European/ maybe Venice, probably second half 19th Century

7. German, ca. 1570

Christmas celebrations aboard a warship and a merchant vessel

As we are fast approaching Christmas, I thought I would take a look at how it was practised at sea. Surprisingly, Christmas was usually celebrated to some extent in the 17th and 18th centuries, even though there were many different nations on the ships. One could not, of course, expect a Christmas tree or gifts that were then exchanged among themselves in the Royal Navy. Rather, the morning was spent wishing each other a Merry Christmas, and if time and the situation allowed (during a battle or a hunt this was not possible), a prayer was said after breakfast. After that, everyday life continued, and only at dinner, if the captain was in a good mood, could there be some extra rum or grog or wine, or a special dinner, which usually included meat. The captain usually had dinner with his officers.

On a merchant ship, things were a little different. There, too, after breakfast, a prayer was said and the daily routine was first carried out. But in the evening there was a communal dinner, with everyone. Wine, grog, rum or Christmas punch was drunk and small gifts were exchanged.

You can find the other parts here- Part 3 -  Part 2  - Part 1

Backstay You may remember (only if you have watched Master and Commander) that Captain Aubrey told the Midshipmen to “scratch the backstay and turn three times”. But there is a superstition that scratching a backstay gives you good winds. And if a cat’s paw appears in the water, scratch it again and then stroke the ship’s cat heartly as a thank you.

Black Valise Carrying a black case aboard was bad luck due to its similarities with a doctor’s bag (they must not have really looked because it was not a black bag on board but ashore). Aboard they found a small wooden cupboard) and was considered to be an omen of illness. Conversely, a sailor made himself a hold all from a piece of sail cloth he then painted black, in it he would keep his most treasured possessions. For when he presented this to his lady on land, he asked her to marry him.

Blessing of the Fleet Like a christening, many ship owners take part in an annual blessing ceremony by a religious leader to bless the ships for the year or an important voyage. Similarly, in Venice, the Doge of Venice was symbolically married to the sea on Ascension Day. He threw a gold ring into the water and asked for calm seas, good catches and safe journeys for the ships.

Boot Scottish fishermen who happened to haul in a left boot with their trawl would spit on it and throw it back, as the boot was a bad omen. However, if they caught a right boot, it was a sign of good luck (right has always been the good and blessed side. Left is basically evil), and it was nailed to the mast to guarantee good fishing and good weather. Leaving boots or shoes upside down is bad luck. It is forbidden to put boots or shoes on a table, as this is a sign of death. Sea boots are never worn over the shoulder when entering a boat or ship as this is a bad omen.

Dew Dew on the deck at dawn is a sign that the morning wind will be strong.