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Fleet Review, the best traditions of service on the sea. I offer to all the officers, men and women of the
Canadian Atlantic Fleet my congratulations. It is particularly pleasing to see the strong bonds forged by Canada's Navy with the Allied Navies gathered here today. May all visiting sailors and delegations return safely to their home ports with fond memories of this historic celebration. I know how greatly the dockyard and other supporting services have contributed to making this International Fleet review an occasion which I shall long remember. The Royal Canadian Navy can take great pride in the accomplishments of the past, in its ongoing service to Canada, and the Significant contribution to Security on the world's oceans. Prince Philip and I send our warm good wishes to all of you and look forward to following your important endeavours as you sail to meet the challenges of another century of service. Splice the mainbrace.
97:("bosun"). On completion of the task, it was customary for the men to be rewarded with an extra ration of rum. The Boatswain would take a sip from the ration of each of the men he had selected for the task. Eventually the order to "splice the mainbrace" came to mean that the crew would receive an extra ration of rum, and was issued on special occasions: after victory in battle, the change of a monarch, a royal birth, a royal wedding or an inspection of the fleet. In cases where the whole fleet was to receive the signal, it would be run up with a lift of flags or signalled by
105:
20:
85:. It was common to aim for the ship's rigging during naval battles. If the mainbrace was shot away, it was usually necessary to repair it during the engagement; the ship was unmanoeuvrable without it and would have to stay on the same tack. Even repairing it after the battle was a difficult job; the mainbrace ran through blocks, so it could not be repaired with a
131:. Restrictions were placed on those who could "splice the mainbrace": any man or officer over the age of 18 who desired to take it received an extra issue of one-eighth of a pint of rum. Lemonade was issued to those who did not wish for the rum. The rum was mixed with water to make grog for all ratings below
139:
marked "G" (for Grog) in the ship's books could draw rum, grog, or lemonade when the mainbrace was spliced and no payment in lieu was available. Those under 20 were marked "U.A." (for under age) in the ship's book; they were similarly barred from drawing the daily rum ration. "T" stood for
Temperance
269:
It has given me great pleasure to return with the Duke of
Edinburgh to Halifax, Nova Scotia, to witness the International Fleet Review celebrating the Centennial of Canada's Navy. Maritime Command has confirmed through the smartness of its people and ships, and superb execution of the International
175:
is more generous with the allowances, allowing crew members to take 87.5 millilitres (3.08 imp fl oz; 2.96 US fl oz) of spirits compared with the 62.5 millilitres (2.20 imp fl oz; 2.11 US fl oz) allowed by the Royal Navy, although the Royal
257:. Nowadays, when rum is no longer issued daily, the order is somewhat more freely given: the Queen issued it after her Golden Jubilee celebrations in 2002, after the Trafalgar 200 Fleet Review in 2005, after her Diamond Jubilee celebrations in 2012 and to celebrate the birth of
230:) in 1932 it was the first time it had happened since 1918; it was accompanied by the order to "Mend and make clothes", another archaic signal which grants the crew a half-day holiday. Ships in most of the victorious fleets received the order at the end of the
198:
delivered. After each sinking the skipper had a special cake made and each sailor was granted a shot of rotgut whiskey. On the 9th patrol, the skipper was able to sneak 24 cases of beer aboard which were distributed after each of
264:
In Canada, the order was most recently given by Queen
Elizabeth II on 29 June 2010 at the conclusion of the International Fleet Review for the occasion of the Royal Canadian Navy's 100th Anniversary. She signalled:
176:
Navy does make allowance for paucity of supplies, permitting two 350 millilitres (12 imp fl oz; 12 US fl oz) cans of beer to be issued if commercial spirits are not available.
551:
171:" ceremony. The Royal New Zealand Navy was the last navy to issue junior and senior ratings a daily tot of rum, issuing its last daily rum ration on 1 March 1990. Today the
167:), but the order persisted, allowing the crew to take another drink in place of rum or grog; in 1845 it is recorded as being substituted for the more rowdy "
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249:. It was ordered on the day of Queen Elizabeth's coronation in 1953, on 29 July 1981 for the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer and of
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https://jfcbs.nato.int/community/news-and-events/community-news/jfc-brunssum-royal-naval-personnel-splice-the-mainbrace
558:
462:
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186:, a skipper on combat patrols in WWII, during the boat's 8th and 9th missions in 1944, did in fact announce on the
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birth on 21 June 1982, when "Splice the
Mainbrace" was celebrated in the Fleet just one week after the end of the
54:
for authorized celebratory drinking afterward, and then the name of an order to grant the crew an extra ration of
179:
The order "Splice the
Mainbrace" was still popular with some of the U.S. Navy's submarine fleet during WWII. On
308:
Kusk Jensen: "Handbuch der praktischen
Seemanschaft auf traditionellen Segelschiffen", 1998, p. 172 (orig. 1924)
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Permission to issue the order to splice the mainbrace is heavily restricted; the Royal Navy allows only the
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144:); those choosing this option were compensated an extra threepence (3d) a day. The issue of rum to
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or a knot. Splicing in a large run of hemp was strenuous work, and generally the ship's best
190:, "Splice the mainbrace," after each successful attack and sinking of a Japanese ship. On
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until 1970, when concerns over crew members operating machinery under the influence led to
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in 1918; splicing the mainbrace was the only time that officers could be issued with rum.
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46:. Originally an order for one of the most difficult emergency repair jobs aboard a
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598:"Thunder Below! The USS Barb revolutionizes submarine warfare in World War II"
502:"Chaplain Walter Colton, USN, on United States frigate Congress, 10 Dec. 1845"
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81:. On square-rigged ships, the mainbrace was the longest line in of all the
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to issue it. When the
Mediterranean fleet received the order from the
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717:"Queen tells Navy to splice the mainbrace following Jubilee efforts"
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194:'s 8th combat patrol, the skipper promised the sinking of 5 ships;
42:" is an order given aboard naval vessels to issue the crew with an
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were chosen to carry out the task under the supervision of the
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Other navies abolished the grog allowance far earlier (the
74:
59:
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55:
234:; one ship received the order while still under attack.
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to do so; the Royal
Canadian Navy permits the King, the
673:"Amethyst Crew Gets Royal Order to 'Splice Mainbrace'"
529:. Finance and Corporate Services Canada. 1989-08-04
582:Eugene B. Fluckey, 1992, "Thunder Below!: The USS
30:line up to splice the mainbrace in celebration of
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586:Revolutionizes Submarine Warfare in World War II"
429:"Obituary: Admiral of the Fleet Lord Hill-Norton"
771:
423:
115:measures out tots of rum for the ship's company
557:. UK Ministry of Defence. Archived from
452:
401:. Royal Navy. 2005-07-11. Archived from
379:. Sea Power Centre Australia. 2006-04-08
285:German maritime tradition uses the term
238:issued the order in 1949 to the crew of
103:
18:
649:. Friends of HMCS Haida. Archived from
350:. Royal Australian Navy. Archived from
210:, a member of the Royal Family, or the
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762:"Der Tag, an dem die Navy trockenfiel"
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748:Message: 291215Z June 10, Subject:
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675:. The News and Courier. 1949-08-01
620:"The Princes on the Mediterranean"
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324:. Royal Navy. 2006. Archived from
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152:was stopped in 1881 and ended for
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697:. British Antarctic Survey. 2005
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123:a day was standard issue in the
16:Order given aboard naval vessels
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600:. University of Illinois Press
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129:the rum ration being abolished
77:that control the angle of the
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527:"CFAO 36-35 -- Spirit Issue"
480:"Integration in the US Navy"
7:
457:. AuthorHouse. p. 72.
10:
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596:Eugene B. Fluckey (1992).
453:Gibowicz, Charles (2007).
220:Chief of the Defence Staff
216:Governor General of Canada
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719:. Navy News. 19 June 2012
348:"Ceremony and Traditions"
795:Alcohol and the military
647:"The End of Hostilities"
504:. Department of the Navy
399:"Splicing the Mainbrace"
695:"RRS James Clark Ross"
552:"Supplementary Income"
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203:s successful attacks.
116:
35:
780:Royal Navy traditions
750:Splice the Main Brace
482:. Naval Landing Party
455:Mess Night Traditions
267:
107:
22:
785:Nautical terminology
764:. Yacht online, 2013
405:on 27 September 2007
40:Splice the mainbrace
173:Royal Canadian Navy
142:Temperance Movement
564:on 26 October 2012
354:on 21 October 2008
165:American Civil War
161:United States Navy
117:
108:A sailor on board
36:
752:, NDHQ CMS OTTAWA
281:In other cultures
169:Crossing the Line
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790:Drinking culture
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287:"Besanschot an!"
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251:Prince William's
247:Yangtse Incident
232:Second World War
154:warrant officers
150:gunroom officers
24:Canadian sailors
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224:Prince of Wales
212:Admiralty Board
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427:(2004-05-20).
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236:King George VI
140:(for those of
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50:, it became a
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28:Prince Robert
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721:. Retrieved
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699:. Retrieved
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677:. Retrieved
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655:. Retrieved
651:the original
645:Jerry Proc.
640:
628:. Retrieved
626:. 1932-07-11
624:The Guardian
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614:
602:. Retrieved
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566:. Retrieved
559:the original
531:. Retrieved
506:. Retrieved
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484:. Retrieved
478:C. L. Veit.
473:
454:
448:
436:. Retrieved
433:The Guardian
432:
419:
407:. Retrieved
403:the original
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381:. Retrieved
377:"HMAS Nizam"
356:. Retrieved
352:the original
342:
330:. Retrieved
326:the original
322:"Navy Slang"
304:
286:
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259:Prince Louis
241:
226:(the future
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87:short splice
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48:sailing ship
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26:aboard HMCS
679:31 December
383:5 September
358:5 September
289:(belay(ed)
275:Elizabeth R
228:Edward VIII
91:Able Seamen
774:Categories
701:1 November
657:1 November
630:1 November
568:1 November
533:1 November
508:1 November
486:1 November
438:1 November
409:5 November
332:1 November
297:References
245:after the
163:after the
125:Royal Navy
604:5 January
240:HMS
218:, or the
181:USS
99:semaphore
95:Boatswain
52:euphemism
293:sheet!)
273:—
242:Amethyst
146:wardroom
73:are the
723:19 June
291:spanker
137:ratings
135:. Only
66:History
32:V-J Day
461:
71:Braces
562:(PDF)
555:(PDF)
201:Barb'
79:yards
75:lines
725:2012
703:2006
681:2011
659:2006
632:2006
606:2015
584:Barb
570:2006
535:2006
510:2006
488:2006
459:ISBN
440:2006
411:2006
385:2008
360:2008
334:2006
208:King
196:Barb
192:Barb
183:Barb
148:and
112:York
110:HMS
60:grog
188:1MC
58:or
56:rum
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