Old Sailor Superstitions from Bygone Days Still Bring Good Luck to Today’s Cruise Ships

 

Historically, mariners have tended to be a superstitious lot overall. Traditions dating to seafaring days centuries ago include bringing along coins for “divine protection,” obtaining godmother blessings for new ships, forbidding whistling in the wheelhouse, and always stepping aboard the ship with your right foot first.

Even in the 21st century, with modern cruise ships sailing with the latest in navigational equipment, and guests transported around the world in exceptional comfort, some traditions still linger. One example: Dutch Captain Emiel de Vries, of Holland America Line’s splendid new 2,650-passenger Koningsdam, 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,'” Captain de Vries explained. “If I would walk on a ship and it’s not there, I would find that odd.”

Numerous construction milestones are also celebrated with appropriate pomp and circumstance based on time-honored maritime tradition.  For example, 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 as well. Two commemorative gold coins were welded in place at the Fincantieri shipyard in Monfalcone, Italy, to mark the float-out soon afterward of ultra-luxury brand Seabourn’s 600-passenger Seabourn Encore.  This coin tradition dates back 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.

However, the most popular present day maritime ritual – developed in the 20th century – is having a notable godmother offer a blessing and oversee the smashing of a bottle of champagne across a new ship’s hull. The tradition dates to ancient times when men performed these duties, perhaps purposely spilling a bottle of wine on the hull to check for cracks.

Specific ships have their own traditions. A tradition unique to Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 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.

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’s no whistling in the wheelhouse (aka the bridge) because you might whistle up a storm.
• Toasting with champagne will assure a Bon Voyage.

And, 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.

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