AtDTdA: (9) 254

[Ande]

"Darby Suckling [came] abseiling down from some overhead purchase"
/absayl, -zil/
verb: descend a near-vertical surface using a rope coiled round the body 
and fixed at a higher point.
[Compact OED]

> Darby has perhaps abseiled from the airship itself down to where Chick 
> and Renata are eating breakfast.  A "mascotte", he's not unlike 
> Groucho's duck from "You Bet Your Life", eh?
>
> http://timstvshowcase.com/youbety2.jpg


Abseiling-- tho not exactly ships rigging---maybe more like V.  "giving 
tango lessons in Rotterdam"  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVGz-RtXFCk