Keelhauling
Keelhauling (Dutch kielhalen;[1] "to drag along the keel"; German Kielholen; Swedish kölhalning; Danish kølhaling; Norwegian kjølhaling) is a form of punishment meted out to sailors at sea. The sailor was tied to a rope that looped beneath the vessel, thrown overboard on one side of the ship, and dragged under the ship's keel, either from one side of the ship to the other, or the length of the ship (from bow to stern). As the hull was usually covered in barnacles and other marine growth, if the offender was pulled quickly, keelhauling would typically result in serious cuts, loss of limbs and even decapitation. If the victim were dragged slowly, his weight might lower him sufficiently to miss the barnacles, but this method would frequently result in his drowning.
Keelhauling was legally permitted as a punishment in the Dutch Navy. The earliest official mention of keelhauling is a Dutch ordinance of 1560, and the practice was not formally abolished until 1853. While not an official punishment, it was reportedly used by some British Royal Navy and merchant marine captains, and has become strongly associated with pirate lore.
Today keelhauling can refer to the spinnaker sheets getting stuck under the hull after dousing the sail. This occurs especially in dinghy sailboats such as Laser 2 because nothing prevents the sheet from being pulled under the bow.
Contents |
[edit] Cultural references
 |
This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2011) |
- The "Keelhauler" is the official mascot of the California Maritime Academy, a Campus of the California State University located in Vallejo, California.
- In both the 1935 and 1962 versions of the film Mutiny on the Bounty, a seaman is keelhauled as punishment. The incident helps incite the crew to mutiny, but is a fictitious event invented for the movies: one seaman did in fact die on the voyage—but of scurvy, not keelhauling.
- The novel Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson contains a reference to keelhauling. Jim Hawkins is alarmed when he recognizes the pirate Black Dog talking to a companion in the inn owned by Long John Silver. Black Dog quickly leaves the inn, and when his friend is questioned about the subject of their conversation, he replies "keelhauling."
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- kielholen entry in: Johann Hinrich Röding: Allgemeines Wörterbuch der Marine in allen Europäischen Seesprachen nebst vollständigen Erklärungen. Nemnich, Hamburg & J.J. Gebauer, Halle, 1793–1798.
[edit] External links
- The Straight Dope on keelhauling and drawing and quartering
