Year of… Animals??
The language used on tall ships can be very strange to new sailors. There’s lots of unusual names to learn and new lingo to pick up! One interesting quirk of this, is the sheer number of animal names you find on a ship! From Flemish Horses to Dolphin Strikers, Hounds and Cat Heads! Below you’ll find explanations to just some of the creatures you might find aboard your floating menagerie! Plus, I’ve listed many others for you to ponder over – or to ask your crew about when you join your ship! The Flemish Horse This mythical creature you might well expect to be found somewhere in the hold, eating carrots and not enjoying being on a boat! But actually, it’s an integral part of the rigging on the yardarm of any square rigged tall ship. It’s the footrope at the outer end of a yard, giving a crew member something to stand on when working the outer edges of the sail. It’s been suggested that all footropes on a yard were once called “horses.” The term Flemish horse may have arisen because this...