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Atsea

Picard and Riker as 19th Century naval officers.

In the nautical tradition of Earth, the various service organizations throughout the galaxy engage in the usage of nautical terms to apply traditional sea-going references to modern starship operations.

Sections of a ship

  • Bay: A stowage facility for auxiliary vessels or goods such as "shuttlebay" or "cargo bay".
  • Beam: The widest part of the ship or a point alongside the ship. (eg, Worf; "Probe is standing abeam" meaning the probe was steady alongside the Enterprise.)
  • Bow: The forward section (or fore) of a ship.
  • Bridge: The main command center of a ship where course is set and essential operations of the ship is monitored.
  • Brig: A secure area where prisoners are held.
  • Deck: A floor or level of a ship usually oriented horizontally. Often used to describe the walking surface of floors within a ship or the outermost habitable section of a ship.
  • Head: The bathroom facilities on board a ship.
  • Port (side): The left side of a ship from the perspective of a person standing on board and facing the bow of the ship.
  • Port (opening): An opening in a hull or bulkhead. Not to be confused with the left side of a vessel.
  • Port (dock): A berthing for a vessel. A launching or arrival point for a vessel usually where goods and personnel are transferred.
  • Quarters: Sleeping area(s) for the crew.
  • Sickbay: The ship's hospital. Called an infirmary on planet or base-side facilities.
  • Stern: The rear section (or aft) of a ship.
  • Starboard: The right side of a ship from the perspective of a person standing on board and facing the bow of the ship.

The Starfleet evasive maneuver described as "Pattern Delta" is maneuver that involves rocking a starship hard, from port to starboard, to shake pursuing vessels. (DS9: "Shattered Mirror")

Direction and Navigation

Hnd

Graphical representation of heading and bearing

  • Bearing: The direction of an object in relationship to the ship's heading. The ship's direction is automatically assumed to be zero and the vector of the other ship's angle is calculated in a 360° arc.
  • Heading: The direction of the ship in relationship to the center of the galaxy broken down into a 360° arc on the X axis (yaw). Another 360° arc is the direction separated by saying "mark" which is the Y axis (pitch). For example, if a commander of a starship wanted a heading of 180 mark 0, he'd want to turn the ship to the southernmost section of the galaxy while keeping the Y axis of the ship parallel to the plane of the galaxy.
Sometimes a crewman reports the Bearing or Heading of a ship or object with inconsistent numbers, like "heading 12 mark 820", which is clearly an overlook of the writes of the show.
  • Pitch: The orientation of the port and starboard sides of the ship respectively (side to side).
  • Roll: The orientation of the ventral and dorsal sides of the ship respectively.
  • Yaw: The orientation of a ship's bow and aft ends respectively (up and down).

Functions of a ship and crew

  • Berth: A docking space for a ship.
  • Captain: The standing commanding officer regardless of officer's actual rank.
  • Dock: To place the ship into a facility for repair, service or rest.
  • Hail: To call, invite or beckon.
  • Hand: A crew member; An able-bodied individual capable of tending to ship's services or operation.
  • Moor: To attach the ship to a bulkhead to prevent drifting.
  • Sir: A superior officer regardless of gender.
  • Watch: A duty shift.

Miscellaneous

  • Shore: Dry land.
  • Shore leave: Time away from duty usually on a base or planet.

"Walk the plank"

When pirates captured a ship at sea, it is believed that they sometimes forced its sailors to walk overboard to their deaths from a wide board known as a plank. This routine became known as to "walk the plank".

In 2371, the crew of the USS Enterprise jokingly upheld this ancient sailing tradition when they celebrated Worf's promotion to Lieutenant Commander. (Star Trek Generations)

"Abandon ship"

"Abandon ship" was an order for all hands to evacuate via transporters or emergency escape pods due to an imminent catastrophic event which threatens to destroy the ship. (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan), (Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home), (TNG: "11001001"), et al, (DS9: "Emissary"), et al (VOY: "Projections"), et al.

"Aye/Aye, aye"

An acknowledgment of an order. One "aye" for the acknowledgment. Two "aye"s for acknowledgment and carrying out of order.

"Steady as we/she go(es)"

A request by a commander of a vessel to maintain course and speed without deviation.

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