Chock-a-block

To be packed together so tightly that there is very limited movement. This phrase is thought to originate from the use of the block and tackle system on a sailing ship, referring to when rigging blocks are so tight against one another that they can’t be tightened any further. The word ‘chock’, possibly derived from the Old French word for block – ‘choque’, was a wedge or block of wood used to prevent movement, and ‘block’ refers to the pulleys used in the ship’s rigging, that have one or more grooves over which a line is roved, being used to change the direction of a line or, in pairs, to form a tackle. When a ship’s rigging was pulled as tight as possible and there was no more free rope, the blocks would be tightly compacted and said to be ‘chock-a-block.’

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The Great Storm of 1703

“No pen could describe it, nor tongue express it, nor thought conceive it unless by one in the extremity of it.” – Daniel Defoe, The Storm

The Great Storm Novber 26 1703 Wherein Rear Admiral Beaumont was lost on the Goodwin Sands (18th century).The Great Storm, a force two hurricane with wind speeds of up to 95 miles per hour, hit the south of England and Wales on 26th November 1703, the strong winds finally abating on 28th November. The Church of England declared that the storm was God’s retribution for the sins of the nation and it couldn’t have hit at a worse time. That year saw the greatest concentration of both naval and merchant shipping on the British coast to that date. Due to The War of Spanish Succession merchant ships were forced to travel in escorted convoys for safety against the attacks of French privateers. Three such convoys were anchored in Milford Haven, the Kentish Downs, and the estuary of the Humber when the storm hit.…

Dutch courage

False or foolhardy courage that comes from consuming alcohol. A term believed to have been circulated by English sailors during the Anglo-Dutch wars of the 17th and 18th centuries. A term of derision which accused the Dutch of being cowardly and only able to fight when intoxicated. Conflicts between the Dutch and the English took place 1652-1654, 1665-1667, 1672-1674 and 1780-1784, mainly fought over trade and overseas colonies. Another claim is that the term arose when the Dutch and English were allies. Gin in its modern form was reputedly invented by the Dutch physician Franciscus Sylvius in the 17th century and English soldiers fighting alongside their Dutch allies in the Low Countries appreciated the effects of Jenever, or Dutch gin. Cheap gin was widely available in London by the early 18th century, resulting a period called the gin Craze between 1695 and 1735.

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William Kidd

Captain William Kidd welcoming a young woman on board his ship. Postcard published by The Foundation Press, Inc., 1932. Reproduction of oil painting from series: The Pageant of a Nation.William Kidd, better known as Captain Kidd, had an very unfortunate career. He is believed to have been born into a poor seaman’s family in Dundee, Scotland in around 1654, later settling in New York. Not much else is known about his early life except that he took to the seas like his father before him. Although active in the grey area of privateering, it is likely that he never intended to adopt a life of piracy and was simply a victim of circumstances.

Kidd the privateer

Kidd is thought to have worked on a French privateer frigate, the Sainte Rose, during peace time. He was involved in actions against the Dutch and Spanish, including participating in the failed French attack on the Dutch Guianas. When England declared war on France in 1688, Kidd patriotically became a privateer against the French in American theatre of the War of the Grand Alliance known as King William’s War.…

Sailing Close to the Wind

To take a risky course of action with no margin for error, which could come close to breaking the law or leading to a calamity. In the Age of Sail, it meant to steer the vessel into the direction the wind was blowing from. Doing this would fill the sails and move the vessel along at a faster pace. However, any small error in adjustment would cause the ship change direction and promptly lose speed, it not being possible to sail directly into the wind. Also known as sailing close hauled. The expression was first recorded in A Sea Grammar, a training manual for sailors written by Captain John Smith in 1627, in which he explains the techniques of sailing close to the wind, describing it as sailing against the wind or maintaining one’s course without falling leeward or backward.

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