Hansietorse3
14.05.2021 20:41:57
Bananas, whistling, gingers, and more—boaters, beware these nautical nightmares and spooky superstitions as All Hallows’ Eve approaches. more
See full version: Boating Superstitions
Bananas, whistling, gingers, and more—boaters, beware these nautical nightmares and spooky superstitions as All Hallows’ Eve approaches. more
Know these boating superstitions, or your boat could get spooked out this Halloween. more
While these superstitions are based on a laudable respect for practicality, some beliefs advocate a course of action of such self-evident prudence that they really ought to go without saying. For instance, you should avoid wearing the clothes of a dead sailor when you go to sea. If you do, your entire ship’s company is in for a tough time - and not just because you stink of rotting flesh or because you are too tight-fisted to buy a fresh set of bell-bottoms - but because your actions have most likely condemned your entire crew to a watery grave.
A name change is never a good move, however ill-advised the original might be
Whether born from common sense or groundless prattle, our time-honoured seafaring superstitions remain peculiarly instructive. Alex Smith takes a tongue in cheek look.
(5) If you kill a wren on New Year’s Day and carry its feathers about your person, you will not die in a shipwreck. You may of course die by some other sea-related means but at least you’ve narrowed the Grim Reaper’s options. here
19. Tattoos
When tattooing became popular at sea a rooster and a pig were often tattooed onto sailors’ feet. It was believed these animals would prevent the sailors from drowning by showing them the way to shore.
13. Personal grooming
Anyone aboard who trimmed their nails cut their hair or shaved their beard brought bad luck to the ship. more
10. Non-sailing days
It was bad luck to sail on Thursdays (God of Storms, Thor’s day) or Fridays (the day Jesus was executed), the first Monday in April (the day Cain killed Abel), the second Monday in August (the day Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed), and 31 December (the day on which Judas Iscariot hanged himself). here
Sailor superstitions seem to go back as far as sailing itself. With so many uncertainties on the sea, being at the mercy of the weather and the whims of the ocean, sailors employ many good luck charms and superstitions to give themselves a sense of control over an uncontrollable situation.
The myths of the mermaid and the merman can be traced back to Babylonian times, when they were represented in sculpture as Oannes, the fish god. These half-human, half-fish creatures were irresistible to sailors, even though they were often associated with bad luck — legends say that mermaids would lure sailors off course with their wiles, sometimes to their deaths. The relationship was clearly complicated, however: Some folklore reveals men married mermaids, even though their attraction may have led to a watery demise. more
To further muddle things, another myth says that a mermaid figurehead on the prow of a boat brings good luck to all aboard, even though women were often forbidden to board ships because they were thought to bring bad luck. Superstition held that women angered the sea gods, who would punish the sailors by conjuring up violent weather and rough waters. Some captains took this so seriously, they would toss women overboard if the weather began to turn. here
Because early sailors believed strongly in the power of symbols and omens, they often tattooed specific images on their body to bring good luck or to repel misfortune. Seafarers often had a tattoo of a nautical star or compass rose that was believed to help guide them home.
Because cats helped control the rodent problem on ships and also provided a sense of companionship, cats were believed to bring good luck. If a ship’s cat came up to a sailor, that was a good omen. If the cat approached and then turned away, it was a bad omen. For this reason, seafarers kept their ship’s cats well-fed and content. Wives of fishermen sometimes kept black cats at home to protect their husbands while at sea. [links]
Sailors also tattooed pictures of roosters or pigs on their feet to protect them from drowning. Many early sailors could not swim, and they believed that the gods would have mercy on them during a shipwreck if they saw the images of animals on their feet. The gods would see the roosters or pigs and scoop the sailors from the water to place them safely back on land.
Based on the story of the biblical prophet Jonah, any person or object that brought bad luck to a ship was sometimes called a “Jonah.” In the biblical tale, the prophet Jonah receives orders from God to sail to the city of Nineveh, but instead, he sails the opposite direction out of fear. God punished Jonah by bringing violent storms to his ship and the rest of the crew threw him overboard to appease the seas. [links]
Sailors also believed a few other unusual nautical superstitions surrounding cats:
While these sailors’ superstitions may sound absurd, they are actually somewhat based in reality. Due to their sensitive inner ears, cats are able to detect changes in weather more acutely than other animals. Cats can sense the low atmospheric pressure that often comes before storms at sea, and this may cause them to act restless or nervous.