W.B.Kurgan Posted January 17, 2007 Share Posted January 17, 2007 I hope you good people can help me! I'm absolutely sure I used to know another term for "wrecking" (the practice of taking valuables from a shipwreck which has foundered near or close to shore), that implied that the ship had been deliberately lured into danger, for example by faking the signals from lighthouses: A sort of Piracy without the Pirate ship! Any ideas what this practice was known as? Yo Ho! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William Brand Posted January 17, 2007 Share Posted January 17, 2007 I'm uncertain if there is a term other than wrecking, but here is a site on the subject of wrecking. http://keyshistory.org/wrecking.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hurricane Posted January 17, 2007 Share Posted January 17, 2007 It was known as wrecking and the people who did it were wreckers. You can visit the Wrecker's Museum or the Wrecker's Historeum in Key West - they have artifacts and the complete history. Wrecking was the main reason Key West flourished and at the time was the richest city in America, largely through the ruin of many ship captain's careers. "Reap the Wild Wind" with John Wayne is a pretty good movie about it too. And yes, false lights were used to lure the ships onto the reefs, rather than away from them. -- Hurricane -- Hurricane ______________________________________________________________________ http://piratesofthecoast.com/images/pyracy-logo1.jpg Captain of The Pyrates of the Coast Author of "Memoirs of a Buccaneer: 30 Year Before the Mast" (Published in Fall 2011) Scurrilous Rogue Stirrer of Pots Fomenter of Mutiny Bon Vivant & Roustabout Part-time Carnival Barker Certified Ex-Wife Collector Experienced Drinking Companion "I was screwed. I readied my confession and the sobbing pleas not to tell my wife. But as I turned, no one was in the bed. The room was empty. The naked girl was gone, like magic." "Memoirs of a Buccaneer: 30 Years Before the Mast" - Amazon.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Maria Posted January 17, 2007 Share Posted January 17, 2007 Salvaging? Scavaging? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackjohn Posted January 17, 2007 Share Posted January 17, 2007 Mooncussing My Home on the Web The Pirate Brethren Gallery Dreams are the glue that holds reality together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W.B.Kurgan Posted January 17, 2007 Author Share Posted January 17, 2007 Mooncussing Thank you blackjohn! That was driving me crazy! Yo Ho! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackjohn Posted January 17, 2007 Share Posted January 17, 2007 My pleasure. Glad to be of service. My Home on the Web The Pirate Brethren Gallery Dreams are the glue that holds reality together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King's Pyrate Posted January 21, 2007 Share Posted January 21, 2007 I hope you good people can help me!I'm absolutely sure I used to know another term for "wrecking" (the practice of taking valuables from a shipwreck which has foundered near or close to shore), that implied that the ship had been deliberately lured into danger, for example by faking the signals from lighthouses: A sort of Piracy without the Pirate ship! Any ideas what this practice was known as? I remember a Disney movie about such activities....they were called MOONRAKERS...They would set false fires to lure ships up on reefs...then they would row out and take the booty....perhaps it was a made up Disney name but it was a great story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capn_Enigma Posted January 21, 2007 Share Posted January 21, 2007 Aside from the James Bond novel/ movie, a moonraker is the square rigged sail set atop the skysail on the royal mast. The moonraker is also called moonsail. They probably chose the word because the moonraker was the first sail visible on the horizon. "The floggings will continue until morale improves!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King's Pyrate Posted January 21, 2007 Share Posted January 21, 2007 Aside from the James Bond novel/ movie, a moonraker is the square rigged sail set atop the skysail on the royal mast. The moonraker is also called moonsail.They probably chose the word because the moonraker was the first sail visible on the horizon. Sounds reasonable to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King's Pyrate Posted January 22, 2007 Share Posted January 22, 2007 I hope you good people can help me!I'm absolutely sure I used to know another term for "wrecking" (the practice of taking valuables from a shipwreck which has foundered near or close to shore), that implied that the ship had been deliberately lured into danger, for example by faking the signals from lighthouses: A sort of Piracy without the Pirate ship! Any ideas what this practice was known as? I was reading one of the pirate books I received for Christmas and thought this may help answer your question.....sorta! In "A Worldwide Illustrated history, PIRATES, Terror on the High Seas from the Caribbean to the South China Sea. ISBN 1-57215-264-8 in the Golden Age of Piracy chapter, written by Jenifer G. Marx...page111 Bellamy, the Orator" it speaks of Captain Samuel Bellamy. "Bellamy left his wife and children near Canterbury in order to cut his teeth in the West Indies as a WRACKER, one of those who set out false beacons to lure unwary vessels to their shores and plunder their cargoes. Fair Winds KP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coastie04 Posted January 22, 2007 Share Posted January 22, 2007 The moonraker is also called moonsail. I've been taught that there actually is a difference between a moonsail and a moonraker. Unfortunately, I'm away from homeport right now and don't have even my mager library handy, so I can't cite anything on this right now. However, the difference involves the shape of the sail. A moonsail is a standard square sail, where as a moonraker is triangular. Often the uppermost sail did not have an upper yard, but a single-point haliard. This saved on weight up high, as well as the price of rigging and made it essentially a self-tending sail, since the bottom was attached to the yard below. This is also the difference between a skys'l and a skyscraper. Both the skyscraper and moonrakers would necessarily have to be the uppermost sail on a mast (a skyscraper would be above the royal, and the moonraker above a skys'l). However, since I have yet to see either a skyscraper, moonraker or moonsail on any vessel today (and only a skys'l once), I guess it's probably not the most important distinction nowadays. Coastie She was bigger and faster when under full sail With a gale on the beam and the seas o'er the rail Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Story Posted January 23, 2007 Share Posted January 23, 2007 Updated:2007-01-22 20:23:27 British Scavenge From Stricken Vessel By ALAN COWELL The New York Times LONDON (Jan. 22) - Ignoring health warnings and threats of prosecution, hundreds of people foraged among containers washed from a stricken cargo vessel on the southern English coast on Monday, hauling off booty that included BMW motorcycles, shoes, diapers, beauty cream and carpets. Dances for nickels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capn_Enigma Posted January 23, 2007 Share Posted January 23, 2007 I've been taught that there actually is a difference between a moonsail and a moonraker. Random House Unabridged Dictionary: moon·rak·er –noun 1. Also called moonsail Nautical. a light square sail set above a skysail. 2. a simpleton. "The floggings will continue until morale improves!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coastie04 Posted January 23, 2007 Share Posted January 23, 2007 From Webster's Dictionary for skyscraper: n. 1. (Naut.) A skysail of a triangular form. OK, I might have just applied that definition to moonraker as well. Or it's one of those definitions that changed, such as brigantine (common name now for a vessel that used to be called hermaphrodite brig, half-brig, etc.). Coastie She was bigger and faster when under full sail With a gale on the beam and the seas o'er the rail Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W.B.Kurgan Posted January 30, 2007 Author Share Posted January 30, 2007 Updated:2007-01-22 20:23:27British Scavenge From Stricken Vessel By ALAN COWELL The New York Times LONDON (Jan. 22) - Ignoring health warnings and threats of prosecution, hundreds of people foraged among containers washed from a stricken cargo vessel on the southern English coast on Monday, hauling off booty that included BMW motorcycles, shoes, diapers, beauty cream and carpets. Haha They weren't Mooncussing, Moonraking or Wrecking since they didn't actually cause the ship to run aground. They were looting though! There is an old story about Moonraking relating to smugglers taht google will bring up several different version of! It also explains why Moonraker means Simpleton! A group of sixteenth century smugglers were forced to hide their contraband in a river after being surprised by a visit from the revenue.As a ruse, the smugglers pretended they were attempting to rake a 'cheese' that had rolled into the water. The excisemen, seeing the men were in fact raking the moon's reflection, left the simple country-folk to their labours and rode out of town, unaware that the Wiltshire men were having the last laugh! Yo Ho! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cire Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 Updated:2007-01-22 20:23:27British Scavenge From Stricken Vessel By ALAN COWELL The New York Times LONDON (Jan. 22) - Ignoring health warnings and threats of prosecution, hundreds of people foraged among containers washed from a stricken cargo vessel on the southern English coast on Monday, hauling off booty that included BMW motorcycles, shoes, diapers, beauty cream and carpets. Not really funny because the location is along the Heritage coastline and the scavengers made the cleanup and possible environmental damage four times worse. The funny thing though is that for the most part, 'tweren't the locals combing the beach. Because the world does revolve around me, and the universe is geocentric.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capn_Enigma Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 Not really funny because the location is along the Heritage coastline and the scavengers made the cleanup and possible environmental damage four times worse. Garr! A PC and environmentally conscious pirate! "The floggings will continue until morale improves!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cire Posted February 2, 2007 Share Posted February 2, 2007 Not really funny because the location is along the Heritage coastline and the scavengers made the cleanup and possible environmental damage four times worse. Garr! A PC and environmentally conscious pirate! Well, does pay to be a bit minful of the environment. You've just sheltered in a cove to weather a storm, you've little food, do you really want to eat anything that comes out of that environment? I mean, come on, nappies man, nappies! Because the world does revolve around me, and the universe is geocentric.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capn_Enigma Posted February 2, 2007 Share Posted February 2, 2007 Well, does pay to be a bit minful of the environment. You've just sheltered in a cove to weather a storm, you've little food, do you really want to eat anything that comes out of that environment? I mean, come on, nappies man, nappies! Perhaps you are talking nappies, but I am talking camcorders for 600 €. I am talking BMW gearboxes for 4,500 €. I am talking BMW motorcycles for 20,000 € and tractors for 45,000 €. I have been working long enough in the merchant navy to see things being committed that would make any Greenpeace member weep. I have also seen people being even killed for less. Compared to those things, the MSC Napoli incident is a nothing but a mere trifle. "The floggings will continue until morale improves!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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