Nim's Island - Nim's nautical glossary

Anything can happen on Nim's Island, a place where everything runs wild, especially imagination. Starring Abigail Breslin, Jodie Foster and Gerard Butler, Nim's Island is released in UK cinemas by Universal Pictures on 2nd May 2008. Learn some essential nautical terms with Nim's helpful glossary!

ALOFT: Anything above the highest deck of a ship is said to be aloft

ASTERN: Anything directly behind the vessel is considered astern

BOW: The extreme forward end of the ship

BUCCANEERS: The name given to the pirates who plundered Caribbean coasts in the 17th century

CELESTIAL: Pertaining to the sky or stars, especially for navigation

FATHOM: A depth of six feet or 1.8 meters

FURLING: Gathering in the sail and lashing it down

GALE: A strong wind, usually greater than 28 knots

GANGPLANK: The portable bridge that links a ship and the wharf

HURRICANE: A ferocious wind of 64 to 71 knots

JACOB’S LADDER: A rope ladder used to climb aboard or aloft the ship

KEEL: The backbone of a ship, along the centerline of the bottom

KNOT: A measure of speed equal to one nautical mile (6,080 feet) per hour

LATITUDE: A measurement of how far north or south of the Equator a place is located

LEEWARD: The direction opposite the way the wind is blowing

LONGITUDE: The position of any place on earth measured in degrees east or west of Greenwich, England

MERIDIAN: Imaginary lines running north and south around the earth that cross the equator

PORT and STARBOARD: The left and rights sides of the ship, respectively

STERN: The rear of the boat

ZENITH: The point in the heavens directly above the head of the observer