Boatswains Call

Boatswain's call whistle gold in colour
Traditional boating and sailing whistle

The Boatswain's call or whistle was once the only method other than the human voice of passing orders to men on board ship. The boatswain was the officer in charge of rigging, sails and sailing equipment; he therefore need to issue orders more frequently than other officers and so the whistle was named after him.

Sailors were trained to respond immediately to the piping of the call and react without delay. The boatswain's whistle was particularly useful in storms where the hight-pitched tones could be heard above the sounds of the howling winds and lashing waves.

You can find more information on the boatswains call here