Old Sailor's and old traditions

 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.

Good luck coins are often involved. For instance, two commemorative gold coins were welded in place to mark the float-out soon afterward of ultra-luxury brand Seabourn's 600-passenger Seabourn Encore. The coin tradition dates to Roman times when coins were attached to a ship to provide "divine protection." On modern ships they are typically on display on the radar mast. Next time you are aboard a ship, head up to the top deck to try and spot the coin or coins.

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.

Specific ships have their own traditions. For instance, there may be a bridge mascot.

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,

 

Salty Waters and Strong Stories

Dear Bloggers,

While I'm here looking through my old records from the time I was a sailor, my great years at sea and I'm breaking my head about what will be happening with my retirement, I just feel like wanting a resentment and I would like to respond to the strangest stories I heard that have already been going around years and years. Quietly I am dreaming away in the turbulent waves of my thoughts. In order to write my other stories, and that will be over the coming months of the near future, my sailing stories are slowly running out.

But first of all, I would like to go on with this strange subject, as I have been that lucky to sail the seven seas in the world, and yes I have sometimes seen strange and impossible things at sea. But also the beautiful pictures with the most insane color spectra are shooting through my mind. Everyone knows them the wild but also strange stories about the well known and by many feared "Bermuda triangle". As many websites have been made about this particular phenomenon, it is considered as it could be true or not true. Shouldn't we be able to regard this as well as some popular stories and cases, If it did happen or not.

Yet around the famous and infamous Bermuda triangle located between the places of Porto-Rico, Miami, and Bermuda, the most wild stories and sevens make incredible stories where everyone is listening to with red ears and with full thrills. The cold chills will ripple over your back. It is where some people, get into the story so deeply that you just hear their brains squeaking.

Ships that suddenly disappear, planes that disappear in nothing in an inexplicable manner.

The most beautiful story I've ever heard is telling about the triangle is the following one. I think most of the sailors that have been there and those who will once go there will know this story too.

A ship sailing into the triangle area, comes at the level of the triangle and sees at a certain moment a steering less vessel drifting around. The captain of the arriving ship tried to get in touch with the steering less ship, but no one was found aboard to give any answer. The ship seemed to be abandoned and drifted like a ghost ship. The captain decided to go on board and have a look around and try to find out what was going on.

When he arrived on board there was no living soul to detect, but the tables were covered and the soup already served in the plates and they seemed to be very hot. In one of the cabins they found women's clothes which suggested that women had been on board of this vessel.

Then this story was hung up around this ship, and very detailed it was still exaggerated to help the story. In the first story, the crew would have seen land, a remote island. On this island, naked women stood waving to them, and the crew would have lowered the longboats to go to the island and join in with those naked ladies. Once set foot ashore, this all of a sudden sunk away and the crew was swallowed by the rouge waves.

In another story, it would be that the captain was corrupt and would have sold his cargo, and he had left the ship at sea and with crews drawn into longboats sailing further to safer places to waste the money. And so there are many stories going around, compasses that spin like crazy, And later all electronic devices that would fail to work or even blackout.

And then there are stories about spaceships that would abduct the crews of their ship and so on. All in all the crazy stories are going on here. And nobody can give a thorough explanation for this.

I have also been able to sail the triangle, and even it was in the period that it would statistically be the most dangerous the month of December. According to a research report most ships would disappear every 15^Th to 30^Th December. I have not even noticed something at all or had a strange feeling in my stomach about this peculiar phenomenon as well as the dull running of the compass or radio connections that are lost and what more they told. Yes, just name it.

A strange phenomenon what I have ever seen and experienced was on a high sea. This was on my night guard shift during the fire rounds from 20:00 to 06:00. At one point I suddenly see a beam of light somewhere in the distance somewhere in the close range, it seemed to me like there were driving cars in the distance and the light beam of their car was shining than overseas and was coming towards us.

About half an hour later, you saw lights from a city in the distance and saw the lights of the cars getting faster and getting closer to you. Once on the bridge again I talked to the on duty officer about this. Nevertheless, on the radar, nothing was detected and there was no sign of land or anything else nearby. The officer also looked with interest on this strange things and wondered just like me what was going on. Yet here was a statement, just an air reflection called a Fatah Morgana, nothing more nothing less. Anyway you can see and find strange and also weird things at sea.

Also the stories of the true sun-burned tough seamen who fought with huge jaws to rescue their ship, big monster-like octopuses, and just mention those with their huge tentacles dragging the ships to the bottom and what all can even happen more?

Is it true? Who knows? And who will tell?

The Old Sailor,