Biture, staysail, getting off… often, we use expressions or words from sailing but without knowing the true definition. We asked a sailor from the Rouen Armada for an explanation.
Getting off… everyone knows the expression but doesn’t use it wisely. It comes from the world of sailing and we have to go back to the time when we used as a unit of measurement: the foot (which is equivalent to approximately 33 cm).
Pierrick, a sailor from the Etoile Molène, who participates in the Armada, explains the context to us. “The sailors went to get their wages on board, the coins were spread over a foot in height.”
You were asked the question about the docks of the Armada and you unanimously answered “drink a lot of alcohol”. But here too the origin is maritime: the term “biture” is a way of storing a rope by making “8” so that it unwinds without getting tangled.
Pierrick tells us ” 20 steps to go to the bar and 200 to return“because a drunk person will tend to walk in a zigzag like the shape of a biture.
A “branle” refers to a hammock hung in the steerage of tall ships of the past and served as a bed for the sailors’ rest. When the boat was going to be attacked, each sailor had to unhook his hammock without delay.
The branles thus relaxed, plated close to the embrasures, also served as splinter guards before the fight.
Many bars bear this name but the staysail is “a small heavy weather sail” located at the front of the boat.
If you don’t want to go overboard, never say the word “rabbit” on a boat. A superstition that has persisted for centuries banishes the pronunciation of the animal with the big ears.
Legend has it that in the days when live animals were taken on board, rabbits on board the boats caused damage. The ropes were made of hemp. But the rabbits ate them.
Their feasts are said to have caused many accidents at the time. It is therefore the pet peeve of sailors!
#Rouen #Armada #funny #marine #words
