Gam (noun)
— A social meeting of two (or more) Whaleships, generally
on a cruising-ground; when, after exchanging hails, they exchange
visits by boat's crews: the two captains remaining, for the time, on
board of one ship, and the two chief mates on the other.
For the long absent ship, the outward-bounder, perhaps, has letters
on board; at any rate, she will be sure to let her have some papers of
a date a year or two later than the last one on her blurred and thumbworn files. And in return for that courtesy, the outward-bound ship
would receive the latest whaling intelligence from the cruising-grounds
to which she may be destined, a thing of the utmost importance to
her. And in degree, all this will hold true concerning whaling vessels
crossing each other's track on the cruising-grounds itself, even though
they are equally long absent from home. (Chapter 53
—The Gam) |