Flotsam and Jetsam

As in any other field of endeavor sailing and seamanship has it's own vocabulary. With that comes the issue of communication. Learning the vocabulary allows easier understanding or instant communication. I could wax eloquently for pages on this topic but, blessedly, I won't.

Today's topic of conversation over our morning tea (with lemon and sugar andÉ) while continuing (day 2) to enjoy our beautiful sleighride in 10 kts of wind from the SE, were the terms "flotsam" and "jetsam".

Flotsam: natural organic debris such as seaweed.

Jetsam: human debris which has either been jettisoned, dropped or swept away from human structures. -sayeth the word masters of SV Terrwyn-

This topic arose because over the past few days we have seen numerous bits of jetsam... more than we have seen in all of our ocean passages. Some of it has been expected, although the amount is surprising. Plastic, glass, metal items that have stubbornly refused to sink, dissolve or dissipate. Others have been unexpected and even shocking.

Two days ago a door or hatch, painted green with yellow border, still brightly coloured, floated by. Last evening an overturned wooden/fibreglass(?) 18 ft. dinghy appeared drifting along our beam. Still intact. Barnacles beginning to colonize the waterline on the upturned hull. Gulp. We were silent as we watched it disappear over the horizon in our wake.

Makes one think of the stories attached to the simple words we use in our vocabulary. And the differences they may make in our communication.

(This photo is of a 45 gallon plastic tub - one of the many interesting bits of jetsam we are seeing...).