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
Tater Du - Cornwall's most recently built lighthouse (completed in 1965)
Taupo - A region in New Zealand but here referring to Taupo Radio, a NZ radio station for sailors with long range capability.
TCR - TasCoast Radio in Tasmania
Tell-tales - Ribbons tied to the shrouds to show the relative wind direction. See Magic. Photos here (Isabella Whitworth's website)
Telstra - The Telstra Corporation is an Australian Telecommunications Company dominant in the area of land lines, mobile phones and Broadband, amongst other services
tfn - ‘till further notice’
The Lizard - The most southerly point of the British mainland.
The Needles - A row of three distinctive stacks of chalk that rise out of the sea off the western extremity of the Isle of Wight, UK. The Needles lighthouse stands at the end of the formation.
The Solent - Strait separating the Isle of Wight from the mainland of England.
Titan Arum - Big plant that flowers once a decade and smells like rotting flesh. Amorphallus titanum (known as the Corpse Flower for its attractive smell), and relationship to seaboots.
Titan Uranus - Advice in times of maritime stress. Derived from the name of a ship known to Berrimilla.
Tommy - Melville, Tommy: Isabella asked Alex who Tommy was after seeing his name in the log. She received this (edited) answer:“Tommy was the owner of Jacqui, the boat I first set out in for Cape Horn in 1982. Great guy, rough as they come, magnificent seaman, not into bullshit of any sort and someone I really liked and trusted. He left the boat with me when we got back, so I had this lovely boat to play with for a few months as well. He died a few years ago and I didn't know, sadly, until recently. He owned a shipyard and tugboat in Brisbane. ... He'd have loved this.”
Tractor - The engine - as in “running the tractor”. The Kubota engine by Witchard Marine was described by Alex as being “made of tractor parts, not expensive marine parts”.
Trades - Bands of NW and SW winds either side of the equator that blow with more or less constant speed and direction all year.
Trindade - Trindade and Martim Vaz is an archipelago located about 1,200 kilometers (740 mi) east of Vitória in the Southern Atlantic Ocean, belonging to Brazil. More in Wikipedia
trisail - A tiny storm sail that is set on the mast instead of the mainsail. Full explanation here
Tristan da Cunha - A remote volcanic group of islands in the south Atlantic Ocean. It is the most remote inhabited archipelago in the world. Tristan da Cunha is part of the British overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. More on wikipedia.
TRS - Tropical Revolving Storms
Turbine - Acquair turbine, consisting of a generator which hangs from the pushpit, 40 metres of line, and a towed 1-metre long metal impeller.
Turner - Turner, John Mallord William (1775 - 1851); one of the founders of English watercolour painting renowned for his studies of sea and sky in every weather
Twin Poling - An explanation from Malcolm: It is quite normal for a yacht to 'pole out' its jib (the foresail) on the opposite side of the boat to the mainsail when running downwind - this is called goosewinging'. A spinnaker pole is attached to the mast at one end and the back corner (clew) of the jib at the other. That holds the jib at the right angle so that it catches the wind. On Berri they've found that they can often get good performance and a comfortable ride by taking the mainsail right down and setting a second jib poled out on the opposite side to the first.
Tyhina - A boat that went through the NW Passage east to west at the same time as Berrimilla. We spoke to them often on the radio but never saw them. We passed in opposite directions on August 16th 2008 .