Warren's London-based Adventures

	The neatest thing in Portsmouth (pron Ports-mth no vowels needed)
	has to be the HMS Victory. This ship stands today as the world's
	oldest commissioned warship, having started its life in 1765.
	Still manned by Officers and Ratings of the Royal Navy, the
	Victory has seen over 220 years of almost continuous naval
	service. Best known for her role in the Battle of Trafalgar off
	the coast of Spain, the HMS Victory currently has a dual role as
	the flagship of the Commander-in-Chief Naval Home Command and as
	a living museum to the Georgian navy.

	The neatest thing about this ship was going through all the
	various decks and learning some naval terms. So here you go:

		POOP: Located at the stern (back), this short deck takes it's
		name from the Latin word puppis - which means after deck or
		rear. Guns were rarely carried on this deck. It was mainly
		used as a viewpoint and signalling platform.

		FORECASTLE: (pron fo-kus-ull) Found at the bow (front) of the
		ship, the forecastle had various roles. It was from here that
		the sails and yards (spars) on the main and fore masts were
		controlled. The crew where allowed to use the forecastle in
		their off duty periods rather than staying 'below decks'.

		GREAT CABIN:  Found at the stern (back) of the upper gun deck
		(first one under the deck), this provides the most comfortable
		living space on the ship. Divided into 3 areas, it consists of
		the day and dining cabins plus the bed space. These were
		partitioned from the rest of the deck by wooden panels that
		could be removed during a battle.

		ORLOP: The orlop is below the waterline so it does not carry
		any guns. This made it an ideal storage and living area.
		Because this deck was not cleared for action the cabins and
		storerooms were permanent and could be locked. This meant that
		they could be used to store the purser's and surgeon's more
		valuable or dangerous items. Orlop actually stands for Overlap
		deck, and the boards actually do overlap.

		GRAND MAGAZINE: The main gunpowder storage area. It could hold
		up to 35 tons (35.7 tonnes) of gunpowder. At the Battle of
		Trafalgar the Victory used 71/2 tons (7.65 tonnes) of
		gunpowder.
	

HMS Victory (1765)


Back poop


Rear view

	Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take pictures inside the HMS
	Victory due to weird British regulations about boats in active service,
	so these pictures were 'nicked' off the Internet because they are the
	exact pictures I was not allowed to take, go figure!
	

Plaque where Nelson fell


Water buckets (George Rex)


Cannon