GR translation: avast you scum

[Michael Bailey]

In this scene Pynchon is playing with the stereotype of the Pirate
lurching along (the classic being Long John Silver with his wooden leg
in _Treasure Island_) and saying things like "Arrrh" and "avast you
scum"

English and American pirate folklore is, if not actually approving of
the pirating profession, surprisingly sympathetic...
although when actual pirates crop up they are still mowed down (eg Somalia)

...but pirates are iconized like cowboys, an outdoor vigorous macho
profession with a charming arrrgh-got of its own...

And I think Pynchon's underlining those qualities here with respect to
Gwenhidwy, who is one of only 2 completely likeable characters in the
whole book (imho) -- (3 if you include Tantivy Mucker-Maffick)

However, because it's Gravity's Rainbow, I'm not going to rule out the
possibility that he's using the pirate imagery to subvert the
"doctor-as-saint" stereotype
and could be part of an extended conceit that includes the rascality
of Pointsman, who also feels a kind of "love" for his patients...