Foul (nautical) Foul (nautical) Foul is a nautical term meaning to entangle or entwine, and more generally that something is wrong or difficult. The term dates back to usage with wind-driven sailing ships. It is usually applied to the state of an anchor, which has become hooked on some impediment on the seafloor, or has its cable wound round the stock or flukes. The term is generally utilized when speaking of items of historical value such as the US Navy chief petty officer emblem. The foul anchor is also the official seal of the Lord High Admiral of the United Kingdom, presently
Rutter (nautical) Rutter (nautical) A rutter is a mariner's handbook of written sailing directions. Before the advent of nautical charts, rutters were the primary store of geographic information for maritime navigation. It was known as a "periplus" ("sailing-around" book) in classical antiquity and a "portolano" ("port book") to medieval Italian sailors in the Mediterranean Sea. Portuguese navigators of the 16th century called it a "roteiro", the French a "routier", from which the English word "rutter" is derived. In Dutch, it was called a "leeskarte" ("reading chart"), in German a "Seebuch" ("sea book"), and in Spanish a "derroterro". Before the advent of nautical