Around 4/13/2005 8:18 AM, Jim M wrote:

Hi

I'm starting to read Master and Commander (I didn't see the movie) by
Patrick O'Brian.

I love that series! I highly recommend reading the whole series before
you see the movie, but _do_ see the movie too; it's one of my favorites,
one of those rare movies that is suitable for virtually endless repeated
viewings.

In the beginning it's quite dense with nautical
terms, description of the different parts of the ship, etc. Is there a
website that helps explain some of these terms? I was actually
thinking of the types of book I read when I was younger--big picture
books that would sortof dissect the ship and explain all the various
parts/areas. I was hoping there was an online version of this type of
thing that I could refer to while reading. It's fascinating stuff,
even if I don't understand half of it.

"The Patrick O'Brian Compendium" http://www.patrickobrian.com/ has a
bunch of links to various websites having to do with the series,
including "Royal Navy Diction and Slang of 1775"
http://www.hmsrichmond.org/348test.htm. No illustrations, but it does
give a fairly complete overview of the more obscure terms.


--
~/Garth - 1966 Glastron V-142 Skiflite: "Blue-Boat"
"There is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing
as simply messing about in boats."
-Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows