what you have to understand is the hands converse in what sounds like gibberish to a lay mans ear , reef and snug the royals if you please mr gittings , and the work of the ship is predominantly manual labour , constantly adjusting the set of the sails through a complexity of ropes called stays and halyards as we bowl along at a good rate of knots throwing up a clean bow wave under the bowsprit and a frothy wake astern marking our progress .