Sailors' superstitions

The origins of many of these superstitions are based in the inherent risks of sailing, and luck, either good or bad, as well as portents and omens that would be given associative meaning in relation to the life of a mariner, sailor, fisherman, or a crew in general.

[5] In the 19th century Admiral William Henry Smyth, writing in his nautical lexicon The Sailor's Word-Book, described Friday as The Dies Infaustus, on which old seamen were desirous of not getting under weigh, as ill-omened.

[citation needed] This may be related to the superstition to remove all Christmas decorations by Candlemas, a practice done well into Victorian times.

[8] In 18th century New England, rolling clouds and roaring waves were thought as bad omens, so sailing on days under such conditions was considered inadvisable.

[9] Sirens were mythological, often dangerous and beautiful, creatures, portrayed as femmes fatales who lured nearby sailors with their enchanting music and voices to shipwreck on the rocky coast of their island.

[11][12] In the Odyssey, the hero Odysseus, wishing to hear the sirens' seductive and destructive song, must protect himself and his crew by having his fellow sailors tie him to the mast and then stop their own ears with wax (see image).

[10] Sirens supposedly "lured mariners to their deaths with their melodious, enchanting song", while "Scylla sent countless sailors to the depths of the sea.

[15] [16] [17] The albatross as a superstitious relic is referenced in Samuel Taylor Coleridge's well-known 1798 poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.

There is some logic to this belief: cats hunt rodents, which can damage ropes and stores of grain on board, as well as spread disease among passengers and crew.

Evidence published in 2017 by a geneticist the University of Leuven shows that Egyptian cats spread their mitochondrial DNA through shipping lanes to medieval northern Europe.

[24][25] Preliminary results of that genetic study concluded that cats were also carried on trading ships to control rodents, and that practice was adopted by traders from other nations, including Vikings in northern Germany around the 8th to 11th centuries.

[30] Traditionally, a type of kobold or mythical sprite, called a Klabautermann, lives aboard ships and helps sailors and fishermen on the Baltic and North Sea in their duties.

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.

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".

[41] Folklore developed suggesting that possession of a baby's caul would bring its bearer good luck and protect that person from death by drowning.

In Trinidad and Tobago, sea-dwelling mer-men "were known to grant a wish, transform mediocrity into genius and confer wealth and power.

[46] A world-famous statue of the Little Mermaid, based on Andersen's fairy tale, has been in Copenhagen, Denmark since August 1913, with copies in 13 other locations around the world.

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.For example, the images of a pig and a hen were good luck; most of the smaller livestock aboard ships would float in their wooden crates and would be among the only survivors of wrecks, so these images were believed to help them survive a wreck.

[36] The tradition may have originated with ceremonies when passing headlands, and become a "folly" sanctioned as a boost to morale,[62] or have been created as a test for seasoned sailors to ensure their new shipmates were capable of handling long rough times at sea.

After crossing the line, Pollywogs receive subpoenas[64] to appear before King Neptune and his court (usually including his first assistant Davy Jones and her Highness Amphitrite and often various dignitaries, who are all represented by the highest ranking seamen), who officiate at the ceremony, which is often preceded by a beauty contest of men dressing up as women.

During the ceremony, the Pollywogs undergo a number of increasingly embarrassing ordeals (such as wearing clothing inside out and backward; crawling on hands and knees; being swatted with short lengths of firehose; kissing the Royal Baby's belly coated with axle grease, etc.

The Pollywogs were given an intensive initiation lasting two days, but we have all survived and are now full-fledged Shellbacks"Some cruise ships also have a line-crossing ceremony for their passengers.

[68] 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.

[69] Either way, the image created in the mind is that of total helplessness and loss of control,[69] which is a common anxiety of sailors in fear of corporal punishment.

[74] Sailors are well aware of the inherent risks of sailing, and even in the 21st century, "fishers and related fishing workers" in the U.S. have the second most dangerous occupation.

These see the works of the Lord, and His wonders in the deep.’The next few verses explain further: For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof.

Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.The hymn, Eternal Father, Strong to Save was inspired by Psalm 107.