17.The pause was filled up by the intonation of a pollard thorn a little way to windward, the breezes filtering through its unyielding twigs as through a strainer.
19." If she comes out of there, " he said, " hard and snappy, putting us to windward of the boats, it's likely there'll be empty bunks in steerage and fo'c'sle" .
20.Or maybe it doesn't impress you much because you're so aloof, which comes from the Dutch loef, which meant the windward side, probably referencing a ship that was keeping its distance.