To bale—more commonly spelled bail today in this sense—is to remove unwanted water from a vessel using buckets, pumps, hands, or other containers. Sailors bale when waves, storms, leaks, or damage cause water to collect inside the ship. In poetry, the word can heighten a scene of danger and labor at sea, emphasizing the crew’s urgent attempt to keep a vessel afloat.

Bale is an older or variant spelling of bail when meaning “to remove water from a boat.” Modern dictionaries and Nautical writing usually prefer bail. Do not confuse this verb with bale meaning a large bound bundle of goods, such as a bale of hay or cotton. A related noun is bailer or bailout bucket, a tool used to scoop water from a small vessel. In the poem, bailing is not figurative: it is a practical survival task after the frigate is threatened by heavy seas and an ice island. The command “all hands to bale her” reflects traditional shipboard language, in which “all hands” means all available crew members.