The Wreckers

VocabularyChapters 1-2

Chapter 1

1. brig2. topsail3. ledgers4. barometer5. chart6. league7. trough8. helmsman9. skulking

10. bowsprit11. grim12. aloft13. lookout14. ballast15. jib

brig

• A two-masted sailing ship

topsail

• A square sail set above the lowest sail on a mast

ledgers

• A book in which transactions for a business are posted (debits/credits)

barometer

• An instrument used for measuring barometric pressure, for forecasting weather

chart

• A map showing coastlines, water depth, information useful to navigators

league

• A unit of distance equal to 3 miles or 4.8 kilometers

trough

• A long, narrow depression between waves

helmsman

• A person who steers a ship (who is “at the helm” or wheel of a ship)

skulking

• To move about stealthily, or sneakily

bowsprit

• A long spar, or pole, at the front (bow) of a ship

grim

• Dismal, gloomy

aloft

• In/into a high place; at or toward the upper rigging on a ship

lookout

• One who keeps watch (as on a ship)

ballast

• Heavy objects, like stones, placed in the bottom of a ship to keep it stable

jib

• A triangular sail running from the foretopmast to the bowsprit

Chapter 2

1. kelp2. manacle3. barrel stave4. splice5. geyser6. flotsam7. block house8. supine

kelp

• seaweed

manacle

• handcuffs

barrel stave

• one of the thin, narrow, shaped pieces of wood that form the sides of a barrel

splice

• To join together

geyser

• A water spout

flotsam

• Wreckage floating on water from a ship

block house

• A house with solid walls

supine

• Lying on your back with your face upward