Superstitions - Forums Archive

yak2you2

2013-02-02 23:42:35

The following is a list of nautical superstitious do's and don'ts I found on the internet. Funny how many of these we've all heard of, and how many most of us practice, even if it's subconsciously. I thought it would be fun to see what we could come up with to add to the list.

• Don’t leave a hatch cover upside down.

• Don’t whistle on board.

• Don’t bring a suitcase or a black bag on board.

• Don’t bring a banana on board.

• Don’t even wear yellow.

• Don’t allow women on board.

• Don’t leave port on a Friday.

• Don’t mention four-hooved animals (pigs, horses, etc.).

• Hang coffee mugs with the opening facing inboard.

• Don’t comment on good luck, or the possibility of bad luck.

• Dolphins are a good omen. Sharks are a bad omen.

• Don’t kill an albatross or a gull.

• Don’t change the name of a vessel.

• Leaving on Sunday is good luck.

• Don’t wear green. (It makes the boat seek land.)

• Don’t say “rabbit.” (No clue.)

• If you meet a minister before sailing, turn around and go home.

• Hang garlic over the galley port hole.

• Don’t use blue paint (particularly on a lobster boat).

• Don’t wear a hat in the galley.

• Don’t step onto a boat with your left foot.

• Don’t coil a rope or stir a pot counter-clockwise.

• Don’t bring an umbrella on board.

• Don’t make pea soup.

• Toss the first fish back. (Or kiss it.)

• Don’t use the number 13.

• Turn starboard first after backing away from the dock.

• Don’t bring honeybears on board.

• Having a virgin pee on a new net is good luck.

Salty

2013-02-03 00:02:19

I thought I was superstitious until I read this. Thanks for the list Yak. I had heard some of these but not all.

My main one is "Turn the watch alarm on when running every time."

Once and Future

2013-02-03 21:48:19

Don't they haul bananas on ships??

yak2you2

2013-02-03 22:05:18

Good point O&F. Maybe it only kicks in when fishing? I've often wanted to test it, but lack the courage to bring them on my own boat. Im thinking about getting a big bunch, and some ductape this summer, and taping a banana to the underside of every power gurdie in the harbor.

Abundance

2013-02-03 22:41:00

Would mind if you did. I eat one every morning when I roll out of the bunk. It keeps me satisfied until I get the gear set out and a decent breakfast cooked. They are just about the perfect food. They also seem to keep seasickness away. Mighty generous of you to offer to dole out free produce to the fleet. I am pretty sure that I have failed all of these except the killing of a gull/albatross . Illegal, and I hear they don't taste good.

Salty

2013-02-03 22:48:05

Cross between a spotted owl and an eagle I hear.

Abundance

2013-02-03 23:13:56

Good one. I actually remember reading an old pioneer account that claimed eagle tasted like mutton. I am more than happy to not tempt fate and will remain speculative about it.

Once and Future

2013-02-04 01:05:41

My thing is I hope I never get hungry enough where I'm forced to eat a blue heron. That would be one sorry cleaning/cooking/chewing/swallowing process.

Journey

2013-02-04 05:48:37

You might be more popular, yak, if you tape a woman to every gurdie in the harbor. Well, popular with the men at least.

Abundance

2013-02-04 17:42:02

I hesitate to mention this, but a family member of mine once thought, long before there where any laws on the subject, that a blue heron would make a suitable replacement for a turkey dinner. Apparently, he put half a dozen bullets in the thing and it still flew off squawking. He never caught up with it either. That thing must have been tough as a car tire.

dilligaf

2013-02-07 20:20:24

Never leave a bucket full of water on deck. Same reason as the upside down hatch cover. Only way to right the situation is for the boat to turn over.

entropy1

2013-02-08 05:24:01

It's bad luck to be superstitious.

Abundance

2013-02-08 05:37:06

Hear, hear!!!

Trnaround

2013-02-08 19:02:51

If I didn't have bad luck I would have no luck at all.

Trnaround

2013-02-09 19:58:07

Just noticed my reply was number 13, there that should fix it.

yak2you2

2013-02-10 02:08:36

Actually, it appears that Abundance got the honor of #13. Better check the oil....

Abundance

2013-02-10 03:26:57

Never a bad idea. As Thomas Jefferson said about good luck, "the harder I work, the more I have of it"

Trnaround

2013-02-10 15:46:25

So true abundance, had a skipper that freaked out if you opened a can upside down, so of course one of the crew removed the labels from some of the cans. That was funny until it became "luck of the draw" when you opened the can. Can't stand creamed corn to this day.

Furuno

2013-02-10 17:06:29

At the beginning of my fishing career I found it necessary to find a winter job to support my troll habit. I was fortunate to land a job as cook on a tug going from Seattle to Dutch. Needless to say, we saw lots of big waves on that 30 day run. The weather conditions would sometimes dictate the menu, based on ease of preparation. On one particularly stormy day I decided to make a nice big pot of split pea soup! When the skipper arrived in the galley for lunch and discovered what was on the menu he went ballistic. He basically ripped me a few new orfices because of my ignorant disregard of this most basic of superstitions. For the rest of the trip, if we encountered the slightest breeze, he would always let me know that this was somehow my doing. Needless to say, I never made another pot of split pea soup on the tug or on my troller during the next 30 plus years of chasing salmon.

Abandon hope, anyone who whistles in the pilot house!