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The Scuba Species
Sailing Superstitions: 16 Things To Never Do At Sea
People have been getting on boats for as long as we can remember. However as journeys got longer, the more dangers people faced. Unequipped with the technology we have today, these sailing superstitions and luck were relied upon to keep sailors safe.
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1) Bad Bananas
Unlike some sailing superstitions bananas were (and maybe still are) justifiably bad news on boats.
The best known reason we can see this came about is that bananas cause other foods to ripen faster. On long voyages this was bad news as whole cargos could spoil before reaching their destination.
Nowadays we know that this occurs because bananas give off ethylene gas but to olden day sailors its easy to think it was down to some kind of bad luck.
Due to this, ships carrying bananas would also travel much faster to get their cargo to their destination on time. This meant fishermen could hardly ever catch anything from them.
When they weren’t speeding around they were sinking. In the 1700’s most cases of disappearing ships also happened to be carrying bananas at the time. Of the ships that were found bananas were the only thing still floating. Its no wonder they had such a bad reputation.
And we’re not done there! Having often come from tropical destinations the banana cargo would often contain poisonous stowaways like snakes and spiders.
Times have changed a little however some mariners still stick to the superstition, not allowing any banana clothing, condiments or any other article on board.
2) No Girls Allowed
The tempting nature of women was too much for olden day sailors and they believed that the distraction from their duties and jealousy would anger the seas who would take it out on the ship.
Dangerous mythical sea creatures also were also often women. Sirens and mermaids were thought to lure men to their deaths with their singing.
But there’s hope yet! Naked women were considered good luck as their bare breasts calmed the sea. This is why the figureheads on the front of the boat tended to be topless women.
If women were allowed on a ship and happened to give birth then the gun deck was the safest place. Having a male child was a sign of good luck. This is how the phrase ‘son of a gun’ came about.
3) No Red Heads Allowed
Considered unlucky in many cultures on land or at sea. Red hair is a less common gene which has long been associated with a firey nature, temptation and the devil.
If you saw a red head before boarding the ship it was thought to bring bad luck. You could only prevent this if you spoke to them before they spoke to you.
4) No Priests Allowed
Not only did they dress all in back which was considered an unlucky colour they also conducted funerals. To sailors this meant they had no place on boats.
5) Don't Whistle
You may have heard the phrase ‘whistle up a storm’ well sailors lived by this superstition. Discouraging whistling on a normal day but encouraging it when faced with a windless sea.
Other sailing superstitions about bad weather on boats include clapping to cause thunder and bringing an umbrella to invite rain.
6) Never Change A Boats Name
Legend states that when a ship is christened its name goes in Poseidon’s ‘ledger of the deep’. To rename the ship is to try and slip past the gods themselves which you would be punished for.
If you do want to rename a boat properly you must first get rid of all traces of its old name then perform a special ceremony of burning the name inside a wooden box and dumping the ashes in the sea. This ritual will purge the old name from Poseidon’s records and memory.
However a more less mythical explanation is that all boats have a reputation, good or bad, in the places they make port. Changing the boats name would make it unrecognisable which causes a world of problems for captain and crew.
In some cases the name of a boat may have been changed after it changed hands or suffered some mishap which also reinforces the idea of it being bad luck.
7) Not Breaking The Bottle
There have been ceremonial christenings dating back to the ancient greeks and vikings who used to sacrifice animals to ensure luck for a boat.
After a period of wine being poured as a tribute in the 1600’s the royal navy began to throw the silver cup down to be caught by a lucky observer. This became a little expensive in the late 17th century as the British Royal Navy began to grow rapidly so was replaced with wine and champagne bottles.
The bottle not breaking was a sign of an incomplete christening and therefore bad luck.
In some ways it is a sailing superstition that is still alive today as in 2007 nearly eighty passengers caught a stomach bug onboard the Queen Victoria. It was nicknamed ‘Camilla’s Curse’ as during the christening the Duchess of Cornwall failed to break the bottle.
8) Red Sky At Night Sailor Delight
There is a little science behind the saying ‘red sky at night sailors delight, red sky in the morning’, variations of which have been around since biblical times.
A red sunset indicates high pressure and stable air approaching from the west and a red sunrise indicates approaching rain and the possibility of stormy seas.
A useful phrase to remember, especially when you have no fancy tech to rely on.
9) Journey On A Sunday, Never A Friday
There are many things that are considered good luck to do on Sundays, one of which is to start a journey. This superstition is believed to originate from the fact that Jesus was crucified on a Friday and believed to have risen on a Sunday.
Other biblical dates have are also considered bad luck, such as:
- First Monday of April – When Cain killed Abel
- Second Monday of August – When Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed
- December 31st – When Judas committed suicide
10) Right Foot First
Still popular today, it is believed stepping onto a boat with your left foot first brings bad luck.
11) Lethal Lexis
Careful what you say to someone who is about to start a voyage! You may be cursing them with bad luck.
Two of the worst are ‘goodbye’ and ‘good luck’. Saying goodbye is thought to keep a ship from returning to shore. To reverse the curse of someone wishing you good luck blood needs to be drawn, most effectively by punching someone in the nose.
12) Like Rats Leaving A Sinking Ship
There are to many people in the past or now who like the idea of having rats onboard a ship. They are known to cause infestations, carry disease and chew ropes. As a result cats were thought of as good luck as they would hunt the rats.
That being said, to see rats leaving the ship was a bad sign as it was a good indicator that it was about to sink.
13) Blue Boats
There is a very simple explanation for this as painting a boat blue makes it very hard to see and consequently loose.
Green was also a bad colour to have on board as it reminded sailors of grass and therefore land. A green boat was also believed to be fated to run aground.
14) Pay Your Dues
If a sailor has unpaid debts before taking a journey any bad storms or unfortunate events would be blamed on them.
15) Gold Earrings, Tattoos & Beard
Although it may not have been obvious appearance was very important to sailors.
To have a pierced earlobe meant a sailor had traveled around the world or crossed the equator. Even better if it was gold as this meant it had magic healing powers.
It was a similar story with tattoos which were also seen as lucky. Many sailors had nautical bars representing that the sailor was nearing home.
To cut your hair, beard or nails was also seen as bad luck.
16) Don't Kill The Albatross
Albatross were considered good luck at sea as they were believed to carry the souls of dead sailors. Obviously to kill one was considered very bad luck.
So There You Have It ...
So there you have it 16 strange sailing superstitions explained. We hoped you enjoyed this list as much as we enjoyed making it!
Maybe it will make you think twice the next time you step out to sea and then again maybe not. There are certainly enough crazy sailing superstitions to go round.
If you have any we haven’t mentioned don’t hesitate to leave a comment below!
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Katie Braunstein
I have been a traveler my whole life, having been born in Zimbabwe but growing up mostly in the UK. I first got into diving three years ago when I met my partner and fell in love. Since then it has been my passion to share this love of our underwater world with others.
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