T is curious to observe, as one reads history, that many an invention, or a practical idea belonging to modern times, has really existed for century and century, though in an undeveloped condition. The modern liquid compass is an excellent instance.
The ocean scarcely heard a human sound.”
But inasmuch as the ship is at the mercy of the sea, and since the sea is a continually undulating entity2, a compass which does not have a corresponding adaptability3 is inadequate4. This fact, as one might naturally suppose, was appreciated by the early navigators. Ford43 quotes Bailak Kibdjaki, an Arabian writer of A.D. 1242, and shows that at least a crude kind of liquid compass was in use by the Oriental navigators. “The captains navigating5 the Syrian Sea,” says Kibdjaki, “when the night is so dark as to conceal6 from view the stars, which might direct their course according to the position of the four cardinal8 points, take a basin full of water; they then drive a needle into a wooden peg9 or cornstick, so as to form the shape151 of a cross, and throw it into the basin of water, on the surface of which it floats. They afterwards take a loadstone of sufficient size to fill the palm of the hand, or even smaller, bring it to the surface of the water, give the hand a rotary10 motion towards the right, so that the needle turns on the water’s surface. They then suddenly and quickly withdraw the hand, when the two points of the needle face north and south. They have given me ocular demonstration11 of this process during our sea voyage from Syria to Alexandria in the year 640 of the Hegira12.”
By the thirteenth century the people dwelling13 along the Mediterranean14 littoral15 had long since become skilled seamen16 if not consummate17 navigators. There is in the British Museum a volume by Francesco da Barberino, entitled “Documenti d’Amore.” The author was born in 1264, and in the ninth lection of this volume has so much to say about nautical18 service that this forms what is really the first work on seamanship that was ever written. Space will not allow more than a cursory20 reference to this, but it contains evidence of the system into which the Mediterranean sea-service had developed. The old custom which was in vogue21 during classical times of limiting the sailing season to certain months was retained. Thus Barberino remarks that the time for navigation was from April to the end of September. Furthermore it was not custom merely, but actual law. For maritime22 legislation had originated during the twelfth century, and was continued in the “Loi de Trani,” the “Code Navale des Rhodiens,” the “Code de la Mer,” and the famous Laws of Oleron. In fact only the lawless, avaricious23 merchant captains ventured to put to sea in the other six months of the year; none but these cared to venture forth24 sailing through the long dark nights, and the fogs, storms, and snow.
152 Before the Iberian peninsula became so intimate with the problems of navigation, Venice was, of course, the great medieval home of the southern sailor, and those in authority saw that the marine26 affairs were properly looked after. The captains of all commercial ships sailing under the Venetian flag were, in 1569, forbidden to leave Alexandria, Syria, or Constantinople any time between November 15 and January 12. Such was the motherly care displayed for the State’s shipping27; but it is only fair to add that before very long such restrictions28 on navigation were removed.
Very interesting, too, is the advice which Barberino gives to pilots. Remember, if you please, that the Mediterranean was the happy hunting ground of professional pirates, and never a merchant ship put to sea on a long voyage but she ran the risk of encountering these corsairs. Therefore all pilots of trading craft were advised to make their ships as little visible as possible. It is well for them to lower the white sail when clear of the land and to hoist29 a small black one. Especially at break of day is it unsafe to lower sail until out of sight of the shore. “Then,” suggests Barberino, “send the top-man aloft to see if an enemy be in sight.” Many another useful “wrinkle” is given, as, for instance, how to act when the rudders carry away. Apparently30 the old classical custom of a rudder affixed31 to each quarter, and both a small and large mast and sail, was still retained. That smaller black sail just mentioned was known among the Venetian seamen by the nickname of “wolf,” from its colour and cunning. The mainmast being carried away, then the smaller one, usually employed for the “wolf,” was stepped and used. And if, in turn, that also went by the board, then the lateen yard was to be used until dawn returned. There are directions, also, to make a jury-rudder by towing a spar astern.
153 During the night, as these ships sailed along over the heaving Mediterranean and Adriatic with a great belly32 of canvas reaching down from the massive lateen yard, strict silence was maintained on board. After dark not even the boatswain was allowed to use his whistle, nor were bells to be sounded—not an avoidable noise of any kind was to be suffered lest the presence of the richly laden33 trading ship should be suddenly revealed to some pirate hovering34 in the vicinity. The earliest Venetian statutes35 affecting ships belong to the year 1172, and these, after being considerably36 amplified37 in the thirteenth century, were again added to in the fifteenth, after the conquest of Constantinople. Every possible detail seems to have been regulated in connection with these merchant ships. The general supervision38 was attended to with the most meticulous39 care. The construction of these merchant ships themselves, the quantity and quality of their cargo40, the number of their crew, their anchors, ropes, and gear generally, all came under this control.
Additional to the crew there were carried a couple of scribes on each of these trading ships, for the purpose of keeping an exact account of the freights. The skipper, or padrone, was compelled to be on board his ship by the hour of departure, and was not allowed to quit his ship till she reached her port. The accommodation for passengers and crew was probably but primitive41, and they apparently catered42 for themselves; for each man, whether one of the crew or the passengers, was suggestively permitted to bring with him a mattress43 and cushion, a trunk for his belongings44, a flask45 of wine, a flask of water, together with flour and biscuit. Even in the early seventeenth century the men on the Spanish warships46 used to cook each for himself, in contradistinction to the English seamen, who had their meals prepared by the ship’s cook. Though154 the Venetian ships up till the fifteenth century did not dare to venture out into the “Green Sea of Darkness,” as the Arabs termed the Atlantic, yet we cannot afford to despise ships and men who regularly traded between the Adriatic and the Levant. Even a modern sailing ship would have some difficulty in beating the passage which one of these craft made in the year 1408, when she sailed from Venice to Jaffa in thirty-three days, calling at various ports on the way.
Venice might have continued to hold the supreme47 position on the sea had not Portugal and Spain taken to the ocean, and studied the problems of navigation on a much grander and more scientific scale. The discovery of America, and the doubling of the Cape48 of Good Hope, the opening up of a sea route to India, all combined to take away from Venice her commercial prestige, at any rate afloat. Relying partly on the newly adopted magnetised needle, partly on their crude astronomical49 instruments and tables of the movements of sun and moon; trusting also to the most careful observations of weather, colour of the sea, seaweed, tree branches and other objects found floating on the surface of the ocean; noting carefully by night, as mariners52 for centuries before them had been careful to notice, the north star and other stellar bodies; but at the same time lacking reliable knowledge of ocean currents and trade winds—the Portuguese53 discoverers were able to keep the sea for months, independent of and out of sight of land, an achievement which had not been brought about since the days when the Ph?nicians circumnavigated Africa. Venice had had her day; just as Egypt, Ph?nicia, Greece, and Rome before her, just as Spain, England, Holland, and France later on were to become great maritime Powers.
And so we come to that prince of navigators, that155 consummate seaman19, that greatest of all maritime discoverers, Columbus, and we shall proceed to learn from contemporary accounts the kind of seamanship and navigation which he employed on his memorable55 voyages, the life which he and his companions lived in those historic cruises into the unknown. Happily Columbus’s log is still preserved to us. Even though it is somewhat mutilated, yet it is full of illuminating56 information, and must be regarded as “the most important document in the whole range of the history of geographical57 discovery.” The methods, the instruments, even the ships employed by Columbus were merely typical of the best which then were used. Emphatically they were not otherwise. Therefore if we note carefully the ways of the Santa Maria, the Pinta, and Nina, we are really focussing the most expert seamanship and navigation of the fifteenth century. There were certainly ships afloat as good as, if not better than the Santa Maria; but what is to be remembered is that those illustrious explorers of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries were really expert navigators, and not merely daring seamen, astute59 traders, or courageous60 soldiers. Columbus, Drake, Davis, and so on were, according to their times, really scientific men. I wish to emphasise61 this because the world is wont62 to admire their valour and enterprise while forgetting their mental abilities and achievements. As we shall see presently, Columbus’s navigation was always better than that of the skippers of the Nina and Pinta. Drake was an excellent navigator, especially in regard to astronomical navigation. Davis, as anyone who cares to read his works may see for himself, was most learned in the theory of finding one’s way across the trackless sea.
In the light of modern knowledge, modern practice, and modern nautical instruments, some of the errors in156 navigation of those days may seem to us ridiculous, until we recollect63 that these men were really fumbling64 in the darkness with nothing to guide them except moderate knowledge, inefficient65 aids, and their own natural instincts. Long before Christopher Columbus set out to the westward66 he had studied cosmography and astrology at the University of Pavia. He had also visited Lisbon, whither the fame of the achievements of Prince Henry the Navigator’s illustrious captains had attracted other capable seamen, among whom were such men as Da Gama, and his own elder brother Bartolomeo. At this time Lisbon was still the centre of all nautical and geographical enterprise. Here Bartolomeo was working as the head of a school of cartography, and here Christopher had every opportunity for studying the charts and logs of the greatest living sea captains after Bartolomeo had returned home. He had the dual67 advantage of learning all that both Genoa and Lisbon could teach him. Furthermore, he was a practical seaman, and had already sailed as far to the north as Iceland.
We need not stop to inquire whether Columbus was aware that already many years before his time the Vikings had discovered North America. It is at least most improbable that he was aware of this fact. What is certain is that, fortified68 with all the nautical lore58 obtainable from the greatest living Peninsular sea captains, he set out with a firm conviction that the world was a sphere, and he was hoping to prove that conviction. Himself a gifted cartographer, he would make his charts as he went along. From Palos, then the most flourishing port of Andalusia, a village that contained little else among its inhabitants than some of the finest seamen-explorers in the world, he set sail with a fair wind on August 3—a Friday—1492, in the Santa Maria. Accompanying her were the two smaller157 craft Nina and Pinta. “Carabela” was not then applied69 to a particular species of ship, but only to certain vessels70 of medium tonnage suitable for the diverse purposes of fishing, coasting, and exploring.44 In the Columbine Library at Seville there is a map of Espa?ola drawn72 with a pen. In two places are seen outline sketches73 of three sailing craft. Competent critics affirm that these sketches were made by Columbus, and depict74 his squadron of three during his first voyage to the West in 1492. If this opinion be correct, then it is certain that the first ship was three-masted, so was the second—doubtless the Santa Maria, the biggest of the three—but the third ship is only two-masted. The first and second ships have a small square foresail on the foremast; square mainsail and topsail on the main, with a lateen on the mizzen. But the third ship has a lateen on both masts.
The Santa Maria carried a crew of seventy, together with artillery75 and stores enough for one year. In addition she had a large amount of merchandise, which she could barter76 with the natives. Her displacement77 has been estimated as about 200 tons, and some modern writers have suggested that this was all too small a ship to cross the Atlantic. Columbus, however, thought otherwise; for on his second voyage he had demanded smaller vessels, his reason being that those of his first expedition, on account of their size and draught78, had caused him so much anxiety. As to the canvas which the Santa Maria carried, this matter is instantly settled by reference to Columbus’s own log. If we refer to his entry dated Wednesday, October 24, we find that: “I remained thus with little wind until the afternoon, when it began to blow fresh.158 I set all the sails in the ship, the mainsail with two bonnets80, the foresail, spritsail, mizzen, maintopsail, and the boat’s sail on the poop.” (The bonnets were additional pieces of canvas laced on to the foot of the sail)45.
The time on board was evidently kept by hour-glasses of half or a whole hour. Thus under date of Tuesday, January 22, when homeward bound, his log reads: “They made 8 miles an hour during five glasses ... afterwards they went N.E. by N. for six glasses.... Then during four glasses of the second watch N.E. at six miles an hour.” But the reader must be cautious not to accept the speed given as conclusive81. One of the greatest drawbacks to navigation in those days was the absence of any instrument which would record the speed through the water. The log had yet to be invented, and the mariner51 could only make a conjectural82 estimate of the ship’s speed by looking over the side and noting the time it took the bubbles to come aft from the bow, or by throwing a piece of wood overboard from the bows and noticing how long it took for the stern to be abreast83 of that object. Many a steamship84 traveller gambling85 on the ship’s speed does the same thing to-day; many a fore25-and-aft sailorman with no patent log still employs a similar method.
Columbus’s journal shows the kind of helmsman which he had to put up with. On September 9, when the ship’s course was west, the narrator on board wrote: “The sailors steered86 badly, letting the ship fall off to N.E., and even more; respecting which the Admiral complained many times.” On September 13 Columbus observed a variation in the compass. “On this day,159 at the commencement of the night, the needles turned a half point to N.W., and in the morning they turned somewhat more N.W.” For up till then no one had observed the variation of the needle.
Fifteenth-Century Caravel.
Drawn from a woodcut after a delineation87 by Columbus in the Latin translation of his letter dated March 1, 1493, to Don Raphael de Sanxis (Treasurer of the King of Spain), in the Library at Milano.
(See next plate.)
No navigator could have been more careful than Columbus. Ever on the alert, he was far too anxious about the safety of his fleet to neglect one single precaution. As they voyaged, the difference in the saltness of the sea was noted88; and though for eleven days the wind blew steadily89 from aft so that the sails required no trimming, yet all the while Columbus was busy with astrolabe and sounding lead endeavouring to fix his position in regard to the land which they had long since left. From Wednesday, February 13, till the following Saturday, he never slept a wink90, being far too anxious to leave the navigation to others. The pilots of the Nina and Pinta on the voyage out used to work out their positions for themselves. On September 19 the Nina made the Canaries to be 440 leagues astern, the Pinta estimated the distance as 420, but on board Columbus’s ship the reckoning was 400 leagues, and this was the most correct of the three. (It should be added that Columbus used Italian miles, reckoning four Italian miles to one league.) He compared notes with the pilots under him, and man?uvred his ship so that the captain of the Pinta was able to pass his chart on board the Santa Maria at the end of a line. Columbus, after conferring with his own pilots and mariners, plotted on the chart the position of the ship. Here and there all the way through Columbus’s journal, both in those lines written by his own hand and in those in another handwriting, there rises up, quite clearly, evidence of the knowledge which this man had been collecting before setting out. “The admiral was aware,” says the Journal, “that most of the islands held by the Portuguese were discovered by160 the flight of birds.” Just as the Viking seamen had discovered land in exactly the reverse manner—by letting loose birds from the ship.
Nor are there lacking plenty of references to the seamanship of these times—the kind of seamanship, we may not unjustly assume, that was employed alike by the Spanish traders who crossed the Bay of Biscay, and sailed up the English Channel to Flanders, and those who went exploring to the southward. No one better than these medieval and Elizabethan sailormen appreciated the importance of having a ship that would heave-to in bad weather or at night. You will remember that dramatic incident at the end of Columbus’s first voyage across the Atlantic, when the distant light, as of a candle going up and down in the hand of someone proceeding91 from one house to another, indicated that at last the new land had been found. “At two hours after midnight,” says the log, “the land was sighted.” Then (continues the narrative92), “they shortened sail, and lay by under mainsail without the bonnets. The vessels were hove-to waiting for daylight.”
And again, when on the homeward voyage after the loss of the Santa Maria the Nina was caught in a heavy gale93 of wind, we find from her log that she stowed canvas, but “carried the mainsail very closely reefed, so as just to give her steerage-way, and proceeded thus for three hours, making 20 miles.” During that same dreadful night, when they all but foundered94, Columbus kept showing lanterns to the Pinta, which answered back by the same method. “The want of ballast increased the danger of the ship, which had become light owing to the consumption of provisions and water,” so they filled with sea water the barrels which had contained wine and drinking water, and employed these to steady the vessel71. “Afterwards,”161 continues the same narrative, “in the showers and squalls, the wind veered95 to the west, and they went before it, with only the foresail, in a very confused sea for five hours. They made 2? leagues N.E. They had taken in the reefed mainsail, for fear some wave of the sea should carry all away.” And when the weather presently moderated, Columbus “added the bonnet79 to the mainsail.”
The Santa Maria, with her high poop and forecastle, was not a particularly dry ship. On September 8, when outward bound, her log admits that near Teneriffe she “took in much sea over the bows.” But whether that was through bad seamanship or bad luck one cannot say. It is certain that, at any rate, the crew were very far from perfect in their art; otherwise the Santa Maria would never have been wrecked96 in that totally inexcusable manner. It was not the fault of Columbus. He had not had any rest for two days and a night, and those of us who have been ceaselessly on watch for that time, know how great a strain it puts on a man’s eyes and nerves and physical endurance. So, as the wind was very light, Columbus went below at eleven o’clock that night. It was so beautifully fine, and the sea was so calm, that the steersman also was tempted97 to sleep; and, giving the tiller in charge of a boy, he shut his eyes and dozed98 off. This was distinctly contrary to Columbus’s orders, for the boys were forbidden ever to touch the helm. At midnight, you will remember, there was a flat calm, but still imperceptibly the poor Santa Maria was being carried on to a sandbank by the current. Very gently she took the ground, but when the boy noticed that the helm refused to move, but that the tide was rushing by the ship and tumbling over the shoal, he became alarmed and cried out. Up came Columbus from his cabin under the poop, who, taking in the situation at a162 glance, began to give his orders in a cool and seaman-like manner. The first command showed that he knew his business, when he had ordered a boat on the poop to be lowered, and the crew to “lay out an anchor astern,” as the log states, to haul her off. But the men in the boat, being less anxious for the safety of the ship than for their own bodies, paid no regard to the kedging of the Santa Maria, but rowed off to the next ship. Then, finally, Columbus was compelled to order the masts to be cut away, and the ship to be lightened; but it was of no avail. The water rose inside, and her timbers opened. But right to the end Columbus the discoverer showed that he was every bit as fine a seaman as he was a clever navigator.
“ORDERED ... THE CREW TO LAY OUT AN ANCHOR ASTERN.”
If we would endeavour to fill in the details to our163 mental picture of the Santa Maria, we can find much that is interesting. We have already been thinking of her as a three-masted caravel. Let us step on board and tread her single deck at the waist between the foremast and main. As we examine the gear we shall find it rough but strong. The cordage is of hemp99, the masts are serviceable, but only rudely finished. The mainmast measures 2? feet in diameter, whilst the yards—like the yard of the lateen-rigged craft—follow the historic custom of the Mediterranean of being made of two pieces lashed100 together at the centre. Aloft flies the admiral’s flag of Columbus, and this he always carried in his hand when going ashore101 to take possession of newly discovered territory.
The hull102 seems to have been constructed somewhat roughly, and iron nails are already showing their rusty103 contact with the sea water. There is precious little ornamentation, too, for there was not much decoration expended104 on ships in those days, and certainly not on a Flemish merchantman. The hull was painted with tar7, whilst below the water-line it was greased so as to minimise the friction105 through the water. To do this it was customary to beach the ship, and on two occasions during his voyage Columbus saw that this was done. On deck a couple of hatchways led to the hold. The quarter-deck extended from about midships to the stern, and above this rose the poop-deck. On the latter were the quarters of the admiral. We know from this journal that Columbus’s bed was draped in red, and that there was certainly room for several persons to be seated in this cabin. There was a press for his clothes, a stool, a couple of chairs, and a dining-table for two persons, the furniture being all fashioned in the Gothic style which was then prevalent. Add to this inventory106 charts and books, as well as an astrolabe, and you have the picture of his cabin complete.
164 When getting under way, the Santa Maria shipped her anchor by means of the fore yard-arm. In those days there was of course no steering107 wheel, but the tiller came right in under the quarter-deck, and a bar was attached to the forward end of the tiller. There is and has been for so many centuries such a close relation between ships and hammocks that it is interesting to observe that hammocks were introduced by Columbus and his companions after contact with the West Indians, who were accustomed to use them. We cannot, indeed, envy the life of the seamen on these Columbine ships. There was certainly a galley108 made of brick with an iron cross-piece, but the food, which consisted of bacon, beans, salt fish, cheese, and bread, was, thanks to the heat and damp of the hold, in a very bad condition.
We shall speak in greater detail on a later page concerning the astrolabe, but whilst we are considering these fifteenth-century ships and the surprisingly good landfalls which Columbus made, it is worth while to remember that observations were frequently made only with great difficulty. “The North Star,” says the log, “appeared very high, as it does off Cape St. Vincent. The Admiral was unable to take the altitude either with the astrolabe or with the quadrant, because the rolling caused by the waves prevented it.” We cannot be positively109 sure of all the crew which sailed on board the Santa Maria, for some of the papers which could have helped the historian are missing. But, in addition to Columbus, she carried one master, two pilots, a surgeon, a quartermaster, a clerk, an interpreter, a carpenter, a caulker110, a cooper, a steward111, a gunner, and a bugler112, as well as the gentlemen adventurers, their servants, and the seamen.
Fifteenth-Century Caravel.
This is the same ship as in the preceding plate, but shows mizzen set.
There was a never-failing fear of fire on these ships, and stringent113 rules forbade lights after dark, except one165 for the helmsman and one below deck when carefully protected by a lantern. Columbus’s ship carried a lantern at the stern, mica50 being used at first and subsequently glass. There was a strong religious atmosphere that must not be lost sight of in considering the ship life as exhibited on board Columbus’s fleet. Dominating the whole expedition was the intention to glorify114 God, to spread His kingdom on earth. As you read through this log you find the crew mustering115 to sing the “Salve” before the statue of Our Lady—“Stella Maris.” On her festivals, and on such historic occasions as when he made land, Columbus was wont to dress ship. So, too, before the expedition left the mother-land for the Indies, every man made his will and went to confession116 and communion, so that he might come on board in a state of grace. And there were stringent rules on board to prevent blasphemy117, excessive gambling, or doing anything to the dishonour118 of the king.
Equally illustrative of the ways and methods of the seamen at the end of the fifteenth and the beginning of the sixteenth centuries are Columbus’s letters dealing119 with his subsequent voyages. One of these letters he concludes thus: “Done on board the caravel off the Canary Islands,” and signs himself “The Admiral.” Some idea of the speed of his ship during his second voyage to the West Indies may be seen from the letter addressed to the Chapter of Seville by Dr. Chanca, physician to the fleet, in which he states that in two days, with fair wind and weather, they made fifty leagues. But the Capitana was such a slow sailer that many times the others had to shorten sail. On the first voyage the Nina similarly had to wait for the Pinta to catch her up, and this lack of homogeneity in the fleet certainly lost them much time.
In order to ensure a careful look-out being kept, a handsome reward had been promised to the first man166 sighting land. This was claimed “on the first Sunday after All Saints, namely, the third of November, about dawn,” when a pilot of the Capitana cried out: “The reward! I see the land.” Of all the ship’s company, Columbus himself excepted, the pilots were the smartest and most skilful120 men, who “could navigate54 to or from Spain” “by their knowledge of the stars.” We see Columbus on his third voyage displaying all those characteristics of the cautious manner which had distinguished121 him already. There was little enough that he left to chance. When he was entering a strange haven122, he used to send a boat out ahead in order to take soundings. (His ship the Santa Maria had a large boat about 30 feet long which was usually towed astern, and a smaller boat about 10 feet long which was hoisted123 on deck.) “I passed thirty-three days without natural rest,” he writes in connection with his second voyage.
Speaking of his navigation during the third voyage, he tells us that “at the end of these eight days it pleased our Lord to give me a favourable124 east wind, and I steered to the west, but did not venture to move lower down towards the south, because I discovered a very great change in the sky and stars.... I resolved, therefore, to keep on the direct westward course in a line from Sierra Leone, and not to change it until I reached the point where I had thought I should find land.” On the return journey he writes: “As to the Polar Star, I watched it with great wonder, and devoted125 many nights to a careful examination of it with the quadrant, and I always found that the lead and line fell to the same point!” And as he sailed he wondered in his mind. Where never a ship, never a man had voyaged before Columbus had gone. What, after all, was the shape of this earth? “I have always read,” he says, “that the world comprising the land167 and water was spherical126, and the recorded experiences of Ptolemy and all others have proved this by the eclipses of the moon, and other observations made from east to west, as well as by the elevation127 of the pole from north to south. But ... I have come to another conclusion ... namely, that it is not round as they describe, but of the form of a pear.”
Three-Masted Fifteenth-Century Caravel.
Drawn from a woodcut after a delineation by Columbus in the Latin translation of his letter dated March 1, 1493, to Don Raphael de Sanxis (Treasurer of the King of Spain), in the Library at Milano.
Sixteenth-Century Caravel at Sea.
After the woodcut of Hansen Burgmair, in the History of Emperor Maximilian the First, compiled by Marx Freithsauerwein in the year 1514.
For his fourth voyage he had most favourable weather. He got from Cadiz to the Canaries in four days, and thence to the West Indies in sixteen days. But then a great storm came down and lasted eighty-eight days, during which “my ships lay exposed, with sails torn, and anchors, rigging, cables, boats, and a great quantity of provisions lost.” Finally, on January 24, his ship broke both her cables and her bollards. “I departed in the name of the Holy Trinity, on Easter night, with the ships rotten, worm-eaten, and full of holes” ... “and in this condition I had to cross 7000 miles of sea.” “My ships were pierced with worm-holes, like a bee-hive.” “With three pumps, and the use of pots and kettles, we could scarcely with all hands clear the water that came into the ship, there being no remedy but this for the mischief128 done by the ship worm ... the other ship was half under water.” But Columbus never lost heart, never failed to believe in scientific navigation. Where had he got to; whither had his ship attained129? “I ascertained130, however, by the compass and by observation, that I moved parallel with the coast of terra firma.” “There is a mode of reckoning,” he observes, “derived from astronomy which is sure and safe, and a sufficient guide to anyone who understands it.”
And there are two very interesting comments which he makes as a seaman rather than a navigator that ought certainly to be noticed. The first occurs in his initial voyage across the Atlantic; the second in a168 letter dealing with this last cruise. “Many times the caravel Nina had to wait for the Pinta,” runs the narrative, “because she sailed badly when on a bowline,46 the mizzen being of little use owing to the weakness of the mast.” ... “The India vessels do not sail except with the wind abaft131, but this is not because they are badly built or clumsy, but because the strong currents in those parts, together with the wind, render it impossible to sail with the bowline, for in one day they would lose as much way as they might have made in seven; for the same reason I could make no use of caravels, even though they were Portuguese lateens.”
It will be remembered that the Nina had started out originally as a lateener, but this triangular-shaped sail was changed at Grand Canary to a squaresail before crossing the Atlantic. To “sail on a bowline” was to sail on a wind. In those days, when the cut of the squaresail was very bad, bowlines were really necessary for stretching the sails so that they set a flat surface without too much belly. The Pinta was apparently all right when running before the wind, but not much good close-hauled, owing to the fact that the mizzen-mast could not endure the strain. And similarly with reference to the second statement, Columbus makes it perfectly132 clear that these vessels had to be sailed “ramping full,” as we should say nowadays; it was useless to try to “pinch” them.
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adaptability
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| n.木栓，木钉；vt.用木钉钉，用短桩固定 | |
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10
rotary
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| adj.(运动等)旋转的；轮转的；转动的 | |
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demonstration
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| n.表明，示范，论证，示威 | |
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12
hegira
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| n.逃亡 | |
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13
dwelling
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| n.住宅，住所，寓所 | |
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14
Mediterranean
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| adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的 | |
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15
littoral
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| adj.海岸的；湖岸的；n.沿（海）岸地区 | |
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16
seamen
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| n.海员 | |
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17
consummate
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| adj.完美的；v.成婚；使完美 [反]baffle | |
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18
nautical
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| adj.海上的，航海的，船员的 | |
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19
seaman
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| n.海员，水手，水兵 | |
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20
cursory
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| adj.粗略的；草率的；匆促的 | |
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21
Vogue
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| n.时髦，时尚；adj.流行的 | |
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22
maritime
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| adj.海的，海事的，航海的，近海的，沿海的 | |
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23
avaricious
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| adj.贪婪的，贪心的 | |
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24
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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25
fore
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| adv.在前面；adj.先前的；在前部的；n.前部 | |
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26
marine
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| adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵 | |
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27
shipping
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| n.船运（发货，运输，乘船） | |
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28
restrictions
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| 约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则） | |
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29
hoist
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| n.升高，起重机，推动；v.升起，升高，举起 | |
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30
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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31
affixed
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| adj.[医]附着的，附着的v.附加( affix的过去式和过去分词 )；粘贴；加以；盖（印章） | |
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32
belly
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| n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛 | |
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33
laden
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| adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的 | |
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34
hovering
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| 鸟( hover的现在分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫 | |
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35
statutes
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| 成文法( statute的名词复数 )； 法令； 法规； 章程 | |
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36
considerably
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| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
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37
amplified
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| 放大，扩大( amplify的过去式和过去分词 )； 增强； 详述 | |
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38
supervision
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| n.监督，管理 | |
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39
meticulous
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| adj.极其仔细的，一丝不苟的 | |
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40
cargo
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| n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物 | |
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41
primitive
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| adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物 | |
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42
catered
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| 提供饮食及服务( cater的过去式和过去分词 )； 满足需要，适合 | |
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43
mattress
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| n.床垫，床褥 | |
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44
belongings
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| n.私人物品，私人财物 | |
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45
flask
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| n.瓶，火药筒，砂箱 | |
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46
warships
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| 军舰，战舰( warship的名词复数 )； 舰只 | |
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47
supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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48
cape
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| n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风 | |
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49
astronomical
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| adj.天文学的，（数字）极大的 | |
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50
mica
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| n.云母 | |
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51
mariner
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| n.水手号不载人航天探测器，海员，航海者 | |
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52
mariners
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| 海员，水手（mariner的复数形式） | |
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53
Portuguese
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| n.葡萄牙人；葡萄牙语 | |
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54
navigate
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| v.航行，飞行；导航，领航 | |
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55
memorable
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| adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的 | |
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56
illuminating
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| a.富于启发性的，有助阐明的 | |
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57
geographical
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| adj.地理的；地区(性)的 | |
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58
lore
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| n.传说；学问，经验，知识 | |
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59
astute
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| adj.机敏的，精明的 | |
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60
courageous
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| adj.勇敢的，有胆量的 | |
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61
emphasise
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| vt.加强...的语气，强调，着重 | |
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62
wont
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| adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯 | |
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63
recollect
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| v.回忆，想起，记起，忆起，记得 | |
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64
fumbling
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| n. 摸索,漏接 v. 摸索,摸弄,笨拙的处理 | |
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65
inefficient
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| adj.效率低的，无效的 | |
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66
westward
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| n.西方，西部；adj.西方的，向西的；adv.向西 | |
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67
dual
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| adj.双的；二重的，二元的 | |
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68
fortified
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| adj. 加强的 | |
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69
applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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70
vessels
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| n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人 | |
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71
vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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72
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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73
sketches
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| n.草图( sketch的名词复数 )；素描；速写；梗概 | |
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74
depict
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| vt.描画，描绘；描写，描述 | |
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75
artillery
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| n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队) | |
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76
barter
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| n.物物交换，以货易货，实物交易 | |
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77
displacement
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| n.移置，取代，位移，排水量 | |
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78
draught
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| n.拉，牵引，拖；一网（饮，吸，阵)；顿服药量，通风；v.起草，设计 | |
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79
bonnet
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| n.无边女帽；童帽 | |
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80
bonnets
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| n.童帽( bonnet的名词复数 )；（烟囱等的）覆盖物；（苏格兰男子的）无边呢帽；（女子戴的）任何一种帽子 | |
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81
conclusive
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| adj.最后的，结论的；确凿的，消除怀疑的 | |
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82
conjectural
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| adj.推测的 | |
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83
abreast
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| adv.并排地；跟上(时代)的步伐，与…并进地 | |
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84
steamship
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| n.汽船，轮船 | |
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85
gambling
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| n.赌博；投机 | |
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86
steered
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| v.驾驶( steer的过去式和过去分词 )；操纵；控制；引导 | |
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87
delineation
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| n.记述；描写 | |
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88
noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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89
steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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90
wink
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| n.眨眼，使眼色，瞬间；v.眨眼，使眼色，闪烁 | |
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91
proceeding
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| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
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92
narrative
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| n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的 | |
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93
gale
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| n.大风，强风，一阵闹声（尤指笑声等） | |
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94
foundered
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| v.创始人( founder的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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95
veered
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| v.（尤指交通工具）改变方向或路线( veer的过去式和过去分词 )；（指谈话内容、人的行为或观点）突然改变；（指风） （在北半球按顺时针方向、在南半球按逆时针方向）逐渐转向；风向顺时针转 | |
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96
wrecked
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| adj.失事的，遇难的 | |
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97
tempted
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| v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词） | |
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98
dozed
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| v.打盹儿，打瞌睡( doze的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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99
hemp
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| n.大麻；纤维 | |
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100
lashed
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| adj.具睫毛的v.鞭打( lash的过去式和过去分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥 | |
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101
ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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102
hull
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| n.船身；(果、实等的)外壳；vt.去(谷物等)壳 | |
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103
rusty
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| adj.生锈的；锈色的；荒废了的 | |
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104
expended
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| v.花费( expend的过去式和过去分词 )；使用（钱等）做某事；用光；耗尽 | |
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105
friction
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| n.摩擦，摩擦力 | |
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106
inventory
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| n.详细目录，存货清单 | |
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107
steering
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| n.操舵装置 | |
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108
galley
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| n.（飞机或船上的）厨房单层甲板大帆船；军舰舰长用的大划艇； | |
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109
positively
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| adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实 | |
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110
caulker
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| n.填塞船缝的人或器具 | |
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111
steward
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| n.乘务员，服务员；看管人；膳食管理员 | |
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112
bugler
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| 喇叭手； 号兵； 吹鼓手； 司号员 | |
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113
stringent
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| adj.严厉的；令人信服的；银根紧的 | |
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114
glorify
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| vt.颂扬，赞美，使增光，美化 | |
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115
mustering
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| v.集合，召集，集结（尤指部队）( muster的现在分词 )；（自他人处）搜集某事物；聚集；激发 | |
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116
confession
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| n.自白，供认，承认 | |
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117
blasphemy
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| n.亵渎，渎神 | |
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118
dishonour
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| n./vt.拒付（支票、汇票、票据等）；vt.凌辱，使丢脸；n.不名誉，耻辱，不光彩 | |
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119
dealing
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| n.经商方法，待人态度 | |
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120
skilful
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| (=skillful)adj.灵巧的，熟练的 | |
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121
distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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122
haven
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| n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所 | |
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123
hoisted
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| 把…吊起，升起( hoist的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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124
favourable
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| adj.赞成的，称赞的，有利的，良好的，顺利的 | |
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125
devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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126
spherical
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| adj.球形的；球面的 | |
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127
elevation
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| n.高度；海拔；高地；上升；提高 | |
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128
mischief
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| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 | |
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129
attained
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| （通常经过努力）实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况） | |
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130
ascertained
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| v.弄清，确定，查明( ascertain的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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131
abaft
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| prep.在…之后；adv.在船尾，向船尾 | |
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132
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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