Dear Bloggers,
I am not a very superstitious guy, but some old traditions are still very
alive on many new ships and somethings have surprised me. In my early years of sailing,
I did not know much about these old habits the only thing that I knew was that
were laying a coin in the keel for good luck and that new ships are christened
with a bottle of champagne.
Traditions dating to seafarer days centuries ago to bring good luck remain
alive and well with coins for "divine protection," godmother
blessings for new ships, no whistling in the wheelhouse and spilled rum for
Neptune. And for good measure, step aboard the ship with your right foot first.
Mariners tend to be superstitious. They do not like to rock the boat, so to
speak.
So even in the 21st century, with modern cruise ships sailing guests around
the world in extraordinary comfort and guided with the latest in navigational
equipment, some traditions linger, dating back to rugged early seafarer days.
Some Captains when they enter a brand-new vessel, said one of the first
things he looks for on a ship is a certain bottle of water. "When a ship
starts to float, the water that first touches the ship is caught in a bottle
and it's sealed. Later it is typically displayed in the captain's office near
the bridge. You walk in and think, 'Ah, there's the bottle. Everything is
good,'" the captain explained. "If I would walk on a ship and it's
not there, I would find that odd."
The captain gets the bottle when the ship has been launched and goes from
the shipbuilder to the company – during a traditional handover ceremony
attended by all the hot shots.
Other construction milestones are also celebrated with pomp and
circumstance based on time-honored maritime tradition.
A steel-cutting ceremony signals the start of a cruise ship's production. A
keel-laying ceremony marks the first completed section being lowered by giant
cranes onto the building dock. The float-out ceremony takes place when a ship
first touches water.
The most popular present day maritime ritual, developed in the 20th
century, is having a notable godmother say a blessing and oversee the smashing
of a bottle of champagne across a new ship's hull. The tradition dates to
ancient times when wine was used and men did the duties and perhaps, it is
said, spilled the wine on purpose to check for cracks in the hull.
When the Koningsdam was christened in Rotterdam on May 20, a Holland
America Line tradition was upheld – the Pinnacle-class ship was the 12th in the
143-year-old line's history to be launched with the participation of Dutch
royalty. Her Majesty Queen Máxima of the Netherlands did the honors.
Always positioned on the starboard side of the bridge on Holland America
Line's 1,432-passenger Volendam is Flat Eric, the yellow puppet who starred in
Levi's jeans commercials (directed by French musician Mr. Oizo) in 1999, the
year the ship debuted. Officers presented the puppet, which they call
"Oizo," with a 15-year service award in 2014.
A tradition unique to Cunard's Queen Mary 2 ocean liner is for officers to
"mark" the distance of a transatlantic crossing between Southampton,
England, and New York with a toy ship that sits on top of a monitor on the
bridge. Each day, it is moved a bit further to symbolically coincide with how
much distance has been sailed.
Based on longstanding tradition, the crew bar on Cunard ships is always
called "The Pig and Whistle," named after the nearest pub to where
Cunard ships historically docked in Liverpool.
Other traditions on ships of the venerable Cunard Line include calling the
back-of-the-house crew thoroughfare the "Burma Road." On Carnival
Cruise Line and Holland America Line ships, the long crew passageway is known
as "I-95," in tribute to the highway that passes through Carnival
Corporation's home base of Miami.
Other nautical superstitions are more universally embraced. Here are a few
examples:
It's considered bad luck to step onboard a ship with your left foot first.
If dolphins follow your ship, it's a sign of good luck.
There is no whistling in the wheelhouse (today's bridge), because you might
whistle up a storm.
Toasting with champagne will assure a Bon Voyage.
On world cruises, trans-Pacific voyages, and South America sailings, such
as those of Princess Cruises, a favorite maritime tradition is a ceremony for
guests as the ship crosses the equator. Originally a hazing ritual for sailors,
Pollywogs (newbies) are summoned by King Neptune and his court and ordered to
do things such as crawl, kiss a fish or jump into the pool before being able to
claim status as experienced Shellbacks.
Never worry if you spill wine overboard at your ship's Sail Away party as
it brings good luck – considered an offering to the gods. According to
tradition, Neptune also does not mind an occasional shot of rum.
Red sunrise
Sailors are taught if
the sunrise is red to take warning. The day ahead will be dangerous.
"Red Sky at
night, Sailor’s delight; Red Sky in the morning, Sailors take warning." It
may also be said as; "Red at morning, Sailor’s warning; Red at night,
Sailors delight," or "Red sky at night, Sailor's delight; Red sky at
morn, Sailor be warned."
This saying actually
has some scientific validity, although it assumes storms systems will approach
from the west and is therefore generally correct only at mid-latitudes where,
due to the rotation of the Earth, prevailing winds travel west to east. If the
morning skies are red, it is because clear skies over the horizon to the east
permit the sun to light the undersides of moisture-bearing clouds. Conversely, to
see red clouds in the evening, sunlight must have a clear path from the west,
so therefore the prevailing westerly wind must be bringing clear skies. This
means if there is a red sky, Sun, or clouds at morning, it might mean there
will be a storm, or severe winds will come. Although, if there is a red sky,
Sun, or clouds at night, there will be clear skies, soft or no winds, and you
have a good day ahead of you.
Albatross
The Albatross as a
superstitious relic is referenced in Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s well-known poem
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. It is considered very unlucky to kill an
albatross; in Coleridge's poem, the narrator killed the bird, and his fellow
sailors eventually force him to wear the dead bird around his neck.
Bananas
Having bananas on a
ship, especially on a private boat or fishing yacht, is considered bad luck.
The origin of the superstition is unknown.
Sailors have had
several patron saints. According to his hagiography Saint Nicholas calmed a
storm by prayer. In the Dutch tradition he still travels on a ship.
Brendan the Navigator is
also considered a patron saint of sailors and navigators, due to his mythical
voyage to St. Brendan’s Island. Erasmus of Formiae, also known as Saint Elmo,
may have become the patron of sailors because he is said to have continued
preaching even after a thunderbolt struck the ground beside him. This prompted
sailors, who were in danger from sudden storms and lightning, to claim his
prayers. The electrical discharges at the mastheads of ships were read as a
sign of his protection and came to be called “Saint Elmo’s Fire”. Thus, Saint
Elmo's Fire was generally good luck in traditional sailor's lore, but because
it is a sign of electricity in the air and interferes with Compass readings,
sailors sometimes regarded it as an omen of bad luck and stormy weather. The mariner
cross, also referred to as St. Clement's Cross, is worn by many sailors
to bring blessings.
Sailor tattoos
Sailor tattoos are a
visual way to preserve the culture of the maritime superstitions. Sailors
believed that certain symbols and talismans would help them in facing certain
events in life; they thought that those symbols would attract good luck or bad
luck in the worst of the cases:
Sailors, at the constant mercy of the elements, often feel the need for
religious images on their bodies to appease the angry powers that caused storms
and drowning far from home.
Another example of
superstitions is the North Star (nautical star or compass rose) sailors had the
belief that by wearing this symbol it would help them to find his or her way
home. Sailors designed mariner motifs of their own, according to their travel
experiences in the ocean.
The anchor is commonly
used in sailor tattoos, which were supposed to prevent a sailor from floating
away from the ship, should he fall overboard. The words 'HOLD FAST' tattooed on
the knuckles would prevent a sailor from falling from aloft.
In an awkward position
The phrase over a
barrel; meaning to be in a dilemma or in "a weak or difficult
position", may refer to the first aid practice amongst sailors of placing
a drowning victim's head over a barrel, and rolling his body over it, in
an attempt to remove aspirated water from the person's lungs. However,
this etymology is challenged, and may come instead from the custom of punishing
a prisoner by flogging or paddling him while he is strapped to a barrel; there
is no documentary evidence it was actually used specifically as a nautical
phrase. Either way, the image created in the mind is that of total
helplessness and loss of control, which is a common anxiety of sailors in
fear of corporal punishment.
The Old Sailor,
