Guesses can be made in the comments section of the blog until May 4th. The winner will receive a hat from the Riggin Ship Store!

The Maine Island Trail Association (MITA) encourages participation in programs such as Island Clean-ups and the Adopt-An-Island program as well as Leave No Trace. Through partnerships with the State of Maine, as well as land trusts and generous private property owners, MITA ensures access to visitors in kayaks, sailboats, motorboats and other watercraft.

For more information on the Maine Island Trail Association, to make a donation, or become a member, please visit their website.

A berth is also used to describe a sufficient distance for moving a ship to maintain safety, a place where a ship lies at anchor or at a wharf/dock, and as a billet on a ship.

Bunks typically refer to a built-in bed, often built up in a tier. On smaller vessels  bunks can have sliding doors which close on the occupant to prevent him being tossed out in bad weather.

Luckily, on the Riggin your berth or bunk is in a cabin with only one or two other beds (three if you’re in the triple cabin) and the worry of being tossed out is non-existent.

Ways we practice and support LNT:

• Hold our lobster bakes below the high tide line or at an already present fire pit or campsite.
• Bring our own wood to use and we always make sure our site is cleaner when we leave then we arrived.
• Encourage folks to tread lightly – meaning to photograph, sketch, and meditate on animals, wildflowers, rocks and seashells, but to leave them where they are – undisturbed.
• Compost on the islands we visit.

Doing these little things helps protect and conserved the beauty of the Coast of Maine and we are proud that we can do our part. For more information on Leave No Trace Outdoor Ethics visit www.LNT.org.

The first meaning is swill or slop while the second refers to nonsense or balderdash (something stupid, invalid or illogical.

From what I could find this meaning was first used in the 15th century in farm yards to describe the water that was tossed out after washing a hog or it referred to the swill fed to hogs which held no nutritional value.

Have you ever used the term hogwash?

Sharing the Maine windjammer experience – the schooner, the bays, the islands, the lobster – with you is such a treat. Join us for a short 3 or 4 day cruise or a longer 6 day sail and experience this adventure first hand.

The Visual Encyclopedia of Nautical Terms Under Sail says a “ditty bag is a  small canvas bag in which a seaman keeps the gear he needs for working round the decks.” And according to the 1913 version of Webster’s Dictionary \Dit”ty-bag’\, n. A sailors small bag to hold thread, needles, tape, etc.; also called sailor’s housewife.

There are several different theories online about how the ditty bag got its name. According to the Naval History and Heritage website:

Ditty bag was originally called “ditto bag” because it contained at least two of everything: two needles, two spools of thread, two buttons, etc. With the passing of years, the “ditto” was dropped in favor of “ditty” and remains so today. Before World War I, the Navy issued ditty boxes made of wood and styled after foot lockers. These carried the personal gear and some clothes of the sailor. Today the ditty bag is still issued to recruits and contains a sewing kit, toiletry articles and personal items such as writing paper and pens.

For a great piece on Ditty Bags/boxes check out this write-up.

On a side note a Ditty Box is a small wooden box in which a seaman keeps his personal valuables and mementos from home such as letters and photographs.

Thank you Vince Brennan of Frayed Knot Arts for use of this photo above.