ship's log
Captain's voyage record
A ship's log is the official record of a vessel's voyage, documenting navigation details like position, speed, course, and weather conditions, along with notable events that occur aboard.
Originally kept in a physical logbook by the ship's captain or officers, modern vessels often use digital systems.
The term derives from the early practice of measuring speed by dropping a log attached to a knotted rope overboard.
The captain noted the storm in the ship's log.
- entriesItems logged or submitted
- journalRecord of daily events
- chronometerPrecision timekeeping instrument
- binnacleNautical compass housing
- compassDevice showing cardinal directions
date and time · sextant · latitude · dead reckoning · longitude · incident report · logline · logs · weather report · bearing · record · ink and paper · nautical chart · course · nautical miles · knots · high seas · trade winds
- nautical termsahoy, afloat, aye aye, aye-aye, becalmed
- written documentsnewspaper, diary, journal, manuscript, scroll
- Royal NavyRoyal Navy, admiral, warship, HMS Victory, battleship
- captain's quartersbunk, desk, porthole, wardrobe, sea chest
- ship recordscaptain's log, log book, cargo manifest, passenger lists, passenger list
- navigationcompass, compass rose, signs, charts, navbar
ship's logpersonal diary
Private record of thoughts
diary · memoir · secret diary · autobiography · confessional