seafaring
Life at sea
Seafaring describes life, work, or travel on the sea.
A seafaring nation has a strong maritime tradition.
A seafaring man makes his living as a sailor.
The word carries a literary or old-fashioned quality, evoking wooden ships and long voyages rather than modern container shipping.
One who commands
- navigatorRoute-directing crew member
- helmsmanOne who navigates vessels
- bosunShip's deck crew chief
- deckhandShip's manual laborer
shipmate · mariner · sailor · quartermaster · first mate · cabin boy · coxswain · purser
Large historical sailing ship
- clipperFast ship or trimmer
- schoonerMulti-masted sailing craft
- brigantineTwo-masted mixed-rig vessel
- caravelSmall Portuguese exploration ship
longship · dhow · junk · frigate · sloop · ketch · yawl · barque
Device showing cardinal directions
- sextantMaritime angular measurement device
- astrolabeAncient altitude-measuring instrument
- chartData shown visually
- longitudeEast-west angular distance
latitude · celestial navigation · dead reckoning · bearing · heading · course · trade winds · North Star
Ropes controlling ship sails
- keelHull's structural base
- hullOuter covering or frame
- mastVessel's sail support
- bowspritForward-projecting ship pole
mainmast · mizzenmast · jib · mainsail · topsail · anchor · rudder · capstan
Civilian ships for commerce
- cargoTransported goods
- freightGoods being transported
- spice tradeHistorical exchange of aromatics
- trading postRemote commerce station
port · harbor · wharf · quay · dockyard · stevedore · customs · contraband
Complete journey around something
- ColumbusOhio's seat of government
- Age of DiscoveryEuropean maritime expansion era
- New WorldWestern Hemisphere landmasses
- uncharted watersUnexplored or unfamiliar territory
Magellan · terra incognita · cartography · expedition · discovery · landfall · passage · spice route
Journey by sea
- passageSegment of text
- berthSleeping space on transport
- hammockHanging fabric bed
- hardtackImperishable unleavened wafer
grog · shanty · watch · shore leave · port of call · provisions · rationing · saltwater
Vehicles under unified command
- warshipArmed naval vessel
- battleshipArmored naval capital vessel
- destroyerOne that ruins completely
- submarineUnderwater naval craft
carrier · cruiser · corvette · admiral · commodore · ensign · convoy · blockade
Net-dragging fishing method
- nettingInterlaced open fabric
- longliningMulti-hook commercial fishing method
- whalingHunting large sea mammals
- crabbingPursuit of crabs
lobstering · fishing grounds · catch · haul · fisherman · fishing fleet · drift net · harpoon
captain
One who commands
deckhand · shipmate · mariner · sailor · quartermaster · first mate · cabin boy · coxswain · purser · steward
galleon
Large historical sailing ship
- clipperFast ship or trimmer
- schoonerMulti-masted sailing craft
- brigantineTwo-masted mixed-rig vessel
caravel · longship · dhow · junk · frigate · sloop · ketch · yawl · barque · brig
compass
Device showing cardinal directions
- sextantMaritime angular measurement device
- astrolabeAncient altitude-measuring instrument
- chartData shown visually
longitude · latitude · celestial navigation · dead reckoning · bearing · heading · course · trade winds · North Star · chronometer
rigging
Ropes controlling ship sails
bowsprit · mainmast · mizzenmast · jib · mainsail · topsail · anchor · rudder · capstan · windlass
merchant marine
Civilian ships for commerce
- cargoTransported goods
- freightGoods being transported
- spice tradeHistorical exchange of aromatics
trading post · port · harbor · wharf · quay · dockyard · stevedore · customs · contraband · smuggling
circumnavigation
Complete journey around something
- ColumbusOhio's seat of government
- Age of DiscoveryEuropean maritime expansion era
- New WorldWestern Hemisphere landmasses
Magellan · uncharted waters · terra incognita · cartography · expedition · discovery · landfall · passage · spice route · Cape Horn
voyage
Journey by sea
hardtack · grog · shanty · watch · shore leave · port of call · provisions · rationing · saltwater · horizon
fleet
Vehicles under unified command
- warshipArmed naval vessel
- battleshipArmored naval capital vessel
- destroyerOne that ruins completely
submarine · carrier · cruiser · corvette · admiral · commodore · ensign · convoy · blockade · engagement
trawling
Net-dragging fishing method
- nettingInterlaced open fabric
- longliningMulti-hook commercial fishing method
- whalingHunting large sea mammals
crabbing · lobstering · fishing grounds · catch · haul · fisherman · fishing fleet · drift net · harpoon · Grand Banks
shipwreck
Destroyed vessel at sea
mutiny · piracy · reef · shoal · doldrums · maelstrom · capsizing · foundering · running aground · Davy Jones
- AustronesianPolynesian, Melanesian, Micronesian, Maori, Hawaiian
- maritime studiesseamanship, marine navigation, oceanography, hydrography, celestial navigation
- piracysoftware piracy, pirates, torrents, book piracy, buccaneers
- explorationexploration, explore, expedition, expeditions, voyage
- maritimeships, ship, boat, boats, anchors
- Age of ExplorationColumbus, Marco Polo, exploration, explorers, expeditions
seafaringlandlocked
Having no sea access
landlubbing · land-based · overland · landbound · inland
seafaringsedentary
Characterized by much sitting
stationary · settled · homebound · stay-at-home · rooted
- seafaring lifeLiving at sea
- seafaring adventuresJourneys undertaken by ship
- seafaring traditionInherited maritime customs
- seafaring talesNarratives of ocean voyages
- British seafaringUK's oceanic naval history