A boating resource of daily words with historical interest as they
relate to boating. A daily series.

Ahoy!! (nautical salutation)

Normally thought to be the proper nautical salutation when greeting
another ship or nautical colleagues, it may have been derived from an
ancient Viking Battle Cry.

Alexander Graham Bell once believed that Ahoy would be the appropriate
salutation for answering the telephone.

Adjacent to Ahoy is the term Yo-Ho! a slight twist on Ahoy.

Victorian writers used Yo-Ho's to add spice to their characters and
songs. Operattas by Gilbert and Sullivan such as "The Mikado" - "The
happiest hour a sailor sees - Is when he down - At an inland town - With
his Nancy on his knees - YO HO!!

Another intersting use of Ahoy is Ahoy-Hoy - an affectation used by the
social hoity-toity. Ahoy-hoy is also a running joke on the cartoon show
"The Simpsons" as a greeting by the ancient and ever so miserly Mr. Burns.