Author Description

"I beg my dear will not be uneasy at my staying out so long," wrote Admiral Boscawen to his wife in 1756. "To be sure I lose the fruits of the earth, but then I am gathering the flowers of the sea." Filled with 3,700 entries and covering a span of over 5,000 years, The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea offers readers the opportunity to gather also the many flowers of the world's bountiful waters. From the days when man first ventured on the waters in his primitive canoe to the modern age of the nuclear submarine, the hydrofoil, and the ultra large crude oil carriers of half a million tons, this comprehensive Companion brings together the immense field of marine terminology in one easily accessible volume.International in scope, the Companion ranges from the ships and the men who opened up the world with their voyages into the unknown, through the struggle of nations as they developed and recognized that power and prosperity depended on the excercise of sea power, to those who wrote about and painted the sea scene. And within this wide compass lie all sorts of maritime specialties such as the changing designs of ships to meet particular needs, the huge growth of yachting as modern men and women continue to find more and more delight, relaxation, and challenge in the wide spaces of the sea, and the modern developments in navigation which so greatly simplify the art of finding one's way at sea. Also covered is the rich language of the sea, developed over centuries into a well-recognized and accepted vernacular that binds together seamen of many countries making them a breed whose colorful language quickly identifies their trade. Terms such as mizen-mast (the mast of a square-rigged sailing ship or of a three-masted schooner), bucko'mate (the mate of a sail ship who drove his crew by the power of his fists), and six water grog (a punishment in the British Navy often inflicted on seamen found guilty of neglect or drunkeness in which their daily tot of rum was diluted