Ahoy, friends of Casco Bay Lines!
We spend all day, every day, out on the water, thinking about boats, the weather, and serving the Casco Bay island communities. So, we thought it might be fun to teach you a little about our worldâa kind of ABCâs of Casco Bay Linesâso that you can speak our language when you climb aboard.
A is for AucociscoâThe Abenaki name for Casco Bay, meaning âplace of herons,â itâs also the name of one of our boats.
B is for BowâThe bow, or front, of each of our boats proudly displays the name of each boat in our fleet.
C is for CaptainâOur experienced Captains deftly pilot all the vessels in our fleet around Casco Bay.
D is for Davy Jonesâ LockerâNo one can agree on where this originated, but Davy Jones is an evil spirit of the sea, and his locker is the ocean floor.
E is for Echo SoundingâBoats like ours use echo sounding technology to tell the depth of the water.
F is for Fair Winds and Following SailsâThis traditional blessing, wishes sailors a safe journey and good fortune during their voyage.
G is for Gang PlankâOur passengers use a gang plank to safely get on and of each of our boats.
H is for HarborâPortland Harbor is our safe haven, but did you know that a harbor can be either man-made or natural?
I is for Ice BreakerâUnfortunately, winter is coming, which means you may see an ice breaker out in Portland Harbor, making sure we have a clear path for our daily trips.
J is for JonahâWe think we have pretty good luck, so weâre pretty sure none of our passengers or crew members could be called a Jonahâa person who carries a jinx and brings bad luck to a ship.
K is for KnotâNormally we think of speed in terms of miles per hour, but on the water, speed is measured by knots which equal 1.15 miles per hour.
L is for Land LubberâOur cruises and ferry rides are a perfect summer (or even fall or winter) adventure, even for land lubbers who would prefer to stay on shore.
M is for Monkeyâs FistâOur deck hands are so strong they donât need a monkeyâs fist to catch the ferry. This ball woven of rope traditionally helped crew members toss a line.
N is for NunâSometimes sailors come up with nicknames for common objects. A ânunâ is a cone-shaped navigational buoyâthough they are not typically black like a habit, theyâre usually green or red.
O is for Old SaltâWith our busiest season almost over, all of our crew members could be considered old salts, or experienced mariners.
P is for PortâYes, Portland is home to one of the East Coastâs busiest ports, but weâre talking about the left side of a boat.
Q is for Quay (pronounced âKeyâ)âWe donât use this term much in the U.S., but across the pond, a quay is synonymous with wharfâa structure used for unloading or loading vessels.
R is for Rogue WaveâDonât worry, we donât see many of these unusually large, singular waves during our trips around Casco Bay.
S is for StarboardâBefore ships had a center rudder, there was a steering oar on the right side, which is why we now call the right-side of a ship the starboard-side.
T is for True NorthÂâWe know most would consider Maine âthe north,â but true north is the direction of the geographical North Pole.
U is for UnderwayâYouâll find our vessels underway, moving about Casco Bay, 365 days a year.
V is for VesselâOur fleet is made up of five sturdy, seafaring vessels.
W is for WakeâNot to be confused with the washâwaves created by a boatâcoming from the Machigonne IIâs, the wake is the chop behind a vessel caused by the boatâs propeller.
Y is for YachtâWe see a lot of yachts cruising Casco Bay during the summer months. These large, sometimes fancy, boats can be a signal of the summer season in Maine.
X is for X Marks the SpotâMarks the location of hidden treasure. Wonder if we can find buried treasure on one of Casco Bayâs islands?
Z is for ZephyrâThereâs nothing better than a zephyr, or light breeze, to cool things down during the hot summer season.