[Paddlewise] Nomenclature

Jolie wrote:
>Reality check, John.  I think the objections were more to do with your
>attitude than your words.

Reality check? Attitude? Moi?

QTPi wrote:

>Ooopps - I may not be too smart and this may be off
>the topic  but there's no such word as 'dumming'. Try
>'dumbing'. Happy paddling!

With a handle like "Cutie Pie" one should have no trouble seeing humour in
the spelling in context with the sentence. Subtle, I know but this is a
subtle group.

Richard wrote:

>A Great Lakes Freighter is a boat, not a ship, despite what the designers
might
>say.

Ahh Yes, but only if it remains on the Great Lakes. Once it passes out of
the lakes and into the ocean it grows up and becomes a ship.  This explains
why many salt water sailors look down their collective noses at fresh water
sailors. A very inappropriate distinction as anyone who has ever sailed on
the lakes knows. Incidentally, sailors do not consider one a true shellback
until you cross the Equator (Great celebration when you cross for the first
time).

Those of you who have read Joseph Conrad's "Mirror of the Sea" will know how
important language is to the seaman. The distinction subtle meaning in the
term "departure" has  beauty all its own. Newspaper writers (landlubbers)
who "cast" the anchor (you "let go" the anchor on a ship) just about drove
Conrad around the twist. No doubt the destruction of the seafaring language
will continue but I can see no reason to embrace its demise.

For those who like this kind of thing, where I went to school a ship differs
from a boat in that you can load a boat on a ship but cannot load a ship on
a boat. This gets confusing when dealing with floating dry docks large
enough to hold ships. Is a floating dry dock a ship or a dry dock? :-)


Jackie wrote:

>Naw... trudge on, Sir John.  There's a dragon out there that needs
>slaying and it's too early in the game to give up yet.  That's not
>your style :-)

Give up? You surely jest. I live by that famous rallying cry "REMEMBER THE
SPONSONS" . Can you recall those heady days when Ralph and I were killing
children or lamenting our abused childhoods. Fairly makes the heart pound
with patriotism.

Cheers,

John Winters
















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