afterguard

[ af-ter-gahrd, ahf- ]

noun

, Nautical Slang.

1. the owner of a yacht or his guests.
2. the officers quartered in the stern of a vessel.

afterguard

/ ˈɑːftəˌɡɑːd /

noun

1. a sailor or group of sailors stationed on the poop to attend to the aft sails
2. the members of the crew responsible for strategic decisions about the sailing and navigation of a boat

Word History and Origins

Origin of afterguard¹

First recorded in 1820–30; after + guard

Example Sentences

He and Bruni, a member of the afterguard for Artemis Racing, are familiar competitors at the Gold Cup.

From Washington Times

There's the afterguard which includes the helmsman who steers, a strategist and the tactician.

From BBC

Andrew was in the ‘afterguard’—the thinking part of the crew, working on tactics and weather analysis and such.”

From Slate

Go seek the man, whether topman, afterguard, or idler, who has ever been upon a seven or three years’ station, and ask him whence his chief consolation in the watch of safety, or peril, and he, if a true sailor, shall answer with an indescribable roll of the jaw—“Pigtail!!!”

From Project Gutenberg

The captain, mate, Chips, cook, and myself formed the "afterguard."

From Project Gutenberg