=spritsail=—A sail common before the introduction of the jib. It is a small square sail set on a yard hung below and at right angles to the bowsprit. Sometimes, formerly, a short vertical mast was erected at the end of the bowsprit, and from this was set the sprit topsail. =squadron=—Part of a fleet of naval ships under a flag officer. =squall=—A sudden and very strenuous gust of wind or a sudden increase in its force. Small storms that come up quickly are often called squalls. =square-rigged=—That method of disposing of sails in which they hang across the ship and in which they are approximately rectangular in shape. =starboard=—The right-hand side of a vessel to a person facing the bow. =stays=—Supports made of hemp or wire rope supporting spars, or, more especially, masts. =staysails=—Sails set on the stays between the masts of a ship or as headsails. =stem=—The foremost timber of a vessel’s hull. =stern=—The rear end of a vessel. =stern castle=—In ancient times an erection built at the stern of a ship to assist in its defense. =stevedore=—A man whose task it is to stow the cargoes of ships and to unload cargoes. =stoke hold=—That compartment in a steamship from which the fires under the boilers are stoked or tended. =stoker=—A man who stokes or feeds the fires beneath the boilers of a ship. =stow=—To stow a cargo is to pack it into a ship so that it will not shift as the vessel pitches and rolls. =studding sails=—On square-rigged ships narrow supplementary sails are sometimes set on small booms at the sides of the principal square sails. These are studding sails. =submarine=—A ship which is so designed as to be able to dive beneath the surface. =supercargo=—A member of a ship’s crew whose duties have only to do with superintending transactions relating to the vessel’s cargo. =superdreadnaught=—A battleship of considerably greater strength than the original British battleship _Dreadnaught_, which gave its name to a class of ships. =swamp=—To be swamped is to have one’s boat filled with water, but not necessarily to sink. =sweeps=—Very large and clumsy oars, sometimes used on sailing ships to move them in calms, or in narrow places where it is impracticable to use their sails. They are also sometimes used on barges and rafts. =swell=—An undulating motion of the water, always felt at sea after a gale. =tack=—To tack in sailing is to change the course of a vessel from one direction or tack to another by bringing her head to the wind and letting the wind fill her sails on the other side, the object being to progress against the wind. =taffrail=—The sternmost rail of a vessel, that is, the rail around the stern. =tarpaulin=—A waterproofed canvas. Formerly it was waterproofed by the application of tar.