Glossary: A Hitchhikers Guide to Berriland


Alphabetic listing of places, words, phrases and acronyms with their definitions, carefully and skilfully crafted by Alex’s sister, Isabella. Crib for the underlying themes and jokes.

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z
Adak - A city on Adak island (Aleutians, Alaska) and a former US naval base.
Adastra - Adastra Aerial Surveys, Australia - www.adastra.adastron.com
AIS - Automatic Identification System. An automatic tracking system used on ships and by vessel traffic services (VTS) for identifying and locating vessels.
Allen’s Jelly Snakes - Natural fruit-flavoured sweets carried on board.
Alto-Cu - alto cumulus clouds
Amchitka - Amchitka Pass:a strait in the Aleutian Islands, between the Rat Islands group to the west and the Delarof Islands to the east. Amchitka Island was the site of the Cannikin nuclear test – the biggest underground explosion ever conducted by the USA (as far as we know). en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amchitka
Amodino - Steel boat built in NZ and sailed through the North West Passage with us.
AMSA - Australian Maritime Safety Authority
Amukta - A small yet mountainous island in the Islands of Four Mountains group lying between the Fox Islands and the Andreanof Islands in the Aleutian Islands.
Analects - From wikipedia: The Analects, or Lunyu, also known as the Analects of Confucius, is the collection of sayings and ideas attributed to the Chinese philosopher Confucius and his contemporaries, traditionally believed to have been written by Confucius' followers. See a quotation here
Archer's Tool - Strongbow Cider
Arlette’s shortbread - Clearly worth going all the way to the Falklands for!
Arv - Afternoon
Ashes, The - One for the cricket tragics. Google it!
Assy - Asymetric spinnaker
Aunty Gordon's Magic Catalyser - Gordon’s Gin. Nothing else has the same effect.
Autohelm - An electric device that uses the boat’s instruments and direct commands to steer the boat. It can steer a compass course or follow the wind. Both require constant vigilance by the crew.