Code flags make it possible for ships to talk to each other at sea. Each flag stands for a number or for a letter in the alphabet. The flags are used in combinations--not to spell out individual words, but to send a whole message. For instance, the two flags N and C flown together mean, “In distress. Need prompt aid.” No matter what language a seaman speaks he knows what this signal means. Some of the other messages he can read are IQ--“Do not pass ahead of me”; RW--“Where are you from?”; AG--“Shall not abandon my vessel.” INDEX AB, 12, 26 Able Bodied Seaman, 12 accommodation ladder, 26 amidships, 25 anchor, 34-35 athwartships, 25 backstay, 28 banana boats, 43-46 basket boat, 40 barge, 60, 80, 81 barnacles, 50 batten down the hatches, 27 beam, 28 bells, 14 bilge, 28 bireme, 33 booms, 27 bosun, 24, 29 bosun’s chair, 29, 31 bow, 12 Bowditch, Nathaniel, 18, 19 brightwork, 31 bulkhead, 24 buoy, 82 canal, 62, 80, 81 capstan, 22 captain, 29 chantey, 21, 22 charts, 84-87 Chips, 24, 25, 34 Clermont, 58 clipper, 75, 76 City of Norfolk, 76, 77 Coast Guard, 82, 83 companionway, 24 compass, 17, 18 crow’s nest, 13 davit, 46 depth recorder, 57 dhow, 33 dock, 27 draft, 28 drydock, 50-51 dugout, 32 Egypt, 31-32 engineer, 30 engine room telegraph, 19 fathom, 58 fender, 54 ferry boats, 78, 79 fireboat, 81 firemen, 30 fishing vessels, 66-70 forecastle, 10 gantries, 44 galley, 12 galleys, 33 Great Lakes Ships, 60-62 handy billy, 25 Hassler, Ferdinand, 84-86 hatch, 27 hawse pipe, 34 heaving line, 53 helm, 26 helmsman, 26 ice breaker, 62 International Code flags, 91 Jacob’s ladder, 26 junk, 39 jury rudder, 37 keelboat, 58 king posts, 27 knots, 29 leadline, 57, 58, 85 leeward, 25 lifeboat, 44-46, 73, 74 lifeline, 38 life raft, 41 lighter, 40 lights, 15 limey, 65 locks, 62 Mark Twain, 58 marlinspike, 29 mate, 14 merchant ship types, 64-65 messmen, 31 mizzenmast, 24, 29 monkey fist, 53, 54 navigating, 19 oiler, 30 oil tanker, 37-41 Old Bay Line, 76, 77 ore carriers, 60-62 outrigger, 39 paddleboats, 58, 80 papyrus reed canoe, 32 passenger ships, 70-79 pea coat, 10 pier, 27 pilot, 26, 57 pilot house, 26 poop deck, 28 port, 15 purse seine, 68 Queen Mary, 72 quartermaster, 26 radar, 56, 57, 77 radio man, 31 raft, 40 SOS, 82, 83 sailor, 12 sailor’s palm, 21 Samson posts, 27 Santa Maria, 33 schooner, 66, 67 scrimshaw, 49 sea anchor, 45 Seatrain, 42 sheepshank, 29 shroud, 28 sparks, 31 standing watch, 10-19 starboard, 15 stay, 28 steward, 31 storm oil, 45, 46 survey ships, 86-87 taffrail log, 28 tanker, 37-41 tides, 88 towboat, 54-59 trawler, 69 trireme, 33 tugs, 52-59 United States, 70-74 United States Coast Guard, 82, 83 United States Coast Guard and Geodetic Survey, 86-87 Viking ships, 39 watch, 12 whaler, 48-49 wharf, 27 wheel, 17 wheelhouse, 13-14, 17, 26 wildcat, 35 windlass, 35 windward, 25