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laboriously (adj) – Difficult

lagoon (n) – An enclosed, relatively shallow body of water; sometimes found between the shore and ocean reefs

landing lolly (n) – Australian term for a piece of hard candy that flight attendants hand out to passengers just before the plane lands; it makes you swallow so that your ears don't "pop" due to the change in air pressure

landlubber (n) – Nautical term for a person who has little or no experience at sea and is awkward aboard a ship

larva (n) – The young, immature form of any animal that changes structurally when it becomes an adult

larvae (n) – The plural form of larva

larval (adj) – Relating to the early, free-living, immature form of an animal that changes structurally when it becomes an adult

larval stage (n) – The early, immature stage of an organism’s life

latitude (n) – One of the two coordinates (the other being longitude) used to locate a position at sea; marked in degrees north or south of the equator, from 0 degrees at the equator to 90 degrees north or south at the poles; one degree of latitude = 60 minutes of latitude; as one minute equals a mile, a common saying at sea is "a minute's a mile". Latitude is comparable to the x-axis on a graph.

launch (n) – An open or partially enclosed motorboat

lava (n) – Melted rock which issues from a volcano

lavage (n) – A washing, especially of a hollow organ, such as the stomach or lower bowel, with repeated injections of water

lavalava (n) – A skirt consisting of a rectangle of calico or printed cotton; worn by Polynesians (especially Samoans)

lava tube (n) – A natural tunnel through which lava travels beneath the surface of a lava flow; once the lava stops flowing, the tunnels are left clear, often with lava stalactites hanging down from the ceiling

lazy jack (n) – A rope or cable that hangs down along a sail and prevents the sail from falling to the deck while being lowered

leach (v) – To lose matter when water is filtered through

leaching (n) – The removal of soluble material from something by the action of a liquid

leader (n) – In fishing, a short piece of line used to attach the hook or lure to the fish line

leaf litter (n) – The collection of dead leaves and vegetation on the forest floor

lee (n) – A sheltered place; the side or direction away from the wind

leech (n) – The after or trailing edge of a sail; the after edge of a fore-and-aft sail and the outer edges of a square sail

lee-cloth (n) – In nautical terms, cloth or straps designed to prevent a person from falling out of his or her bunk on a boat when the boat is heeled over

leeward (adv, adj) – In the direction towards which the wind is blowing

Leeward Islands (n) – A group of islands in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, extending southeast from Puerto Rico to the Windward Islands

leeway (n) – The sideways, usually unwanted movement of a boat caused by either wind or current

leg (n) – One section of a voyage

legger (n) – A person who participates on one or more legs of a boat race, but does not participate in the complete race

legion (n) – A large group of soldiers; an army

legislation (n) – Laws made by a governing body

legitimate (adj) – Lawful

legume (n) – Any of a large group of plants of the pea family; because they store nitrogen, they are often plowed under to fertilize the soil

lenticel (n) – A round or long bump on the bark of woody stems and roots that functions as a breathing pore (gas exchange)

leviathan (n) – Something of immense size

liana (n) – Any climbing, woody, usually tropical vine

lift (n) – A vacuum effect, caused by the air pressure imbalance on a sail’s two sides, that pulls the boat forward through the water

light air (n) – A nautical term that indicates sailing conditions with little wind

limestone (n) – A type of sedimentary rock which most often consists of the organic remains of sea animals (such as mollusks, corals, etc.)

limiting resource (n) – A resource whose quantity determines the number of people that can live in, or activities that can take place in, a particular area

The Line (n) – Another term for the Equator

line (n) – A rope used on a ship

linear (adj) – Of or relating to a line; straight

line-of-position (LOP) (n) – A ship’s position relative to those of visible landmarks, heavenly bodies, or electronic signals

lithify (v) – To turn to stone

lithogenous sediment (n) – Sediment caused by the erosion of pre-existing rocks

live oak (n) – A wide-spreading evergreen oak tree, native to the southeastern United States; wood from this tree is often used in shipbuilding and other construction

“living history” (n) – A method of teaching history via the use of actors, who dress as and play the part of historic characters in museum exhibits

load (n) – The weight that a structure bears or the stresses that are put upon it

local apparent noon (LAN) (n) – The time exactly halfway between sunrise and sunset, when the sun is at its highest point in the sky

lock (n) – An enclosure (as in a canal) with gates at each end used in raising or lowering boats as they pass from one elevation to another

log (n) – A daily record of a ship’s speed, progress, etc. and of the events in its voyage; logbook

logmeter (n) – A tool for measuring the speed of a ship or boat

loiter (v) – Dawdle

longitude (n) – One of the two coordinates (the other being latitude) used to locate a position at sea; marked in degrees east or west of the prime meridian (0 degrees longitude) universally accepted to be at Greenwich, England. As there are 360 degrees in a circle, longitude may range up to 180 degrees East or West. 180 degrees East and West, in fact, meet on the other side of the globe from Greenwich, at the International Date Line. Longitude is comparable to the y-axis on a graph.

longshoreman (n) – A person who works on a waterfront, loading and unloading ships’ cargo

lookout (n) – A sailor whose job it is to watch for other vessels from the bow or bridge

Loran (n) – A long-range navigational system in which position is determined by an analysis involving the time intervals between pulsed radio signals from two or more pairs of ground stations of known position; lo(ng)ra(nge)n(avigation)

low (n) – An area of low barometric pressure, often accompanied by precipitation and wind

low pressure (adj) – Having low barometric pressure; usually associated with precipitation and wind

low tide (n) – The lowest level to which the tide ebbs within the daily tidal cycle

Loyalist (n) – In general terms, one who is loyal, especially one who supports a country’s established government in time of revolt; in the Western Hemisphere, this term most often refers to colonists loyal to the British government around the time of the American Revolution

lubber’s net (n) – A net spread below the bowsprit on a sailboat

Lucayan (n) – A member of the peaceful Arawak people living in the West Indies at the time of Columbus’ first landfall there; these Arawak referred to themselves as "Lukku-cairi" (island people) and eventually became known as Lucayans

luciferase (n) – An enzyme present in the cells of bioluminescent organisms that catalyzes the oxidation of luciferin

luciferin (n) – A chemical substance present in the cells of bioluminescent organisms that produces an almost heatless, bluish-green light when oxidized under the catalytic effects of luciferase

lucrative (adj) – Profitable, producing wealth

luff (n) – The trailing or back edge of a sail

luff (v) – To tremble; said of sails when a boat is headed in a direction too close to the wind

Lumholtz (n) – Carl Sophus (1851–1922), a zoological collector

luminescence (n) – The emission of light that does not derive energy from the temperature of the emitting body

luminous (adj) – Giving off light

lunar cycle (n) – The cycle by which the moon orbits the Earth, equaling about 29 days; during the lunar cycle, the moon goes through the following phases: new, waxing crescent, first quarter, waxing gibbous, full moon, waning gibbous, last quarter and waning crescent

lunate (adj) – Crescent-shaped

lure (n) – A bait for animals, especially an artificial one used in fishing

lye (n) – A caustic, and potentially dangerous, substance used in soap-making

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