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astokel · 15-05-2020, 09:31

Interesting. How about the superstition not to have women on board?

My spouse would like to hear.

dennismenace111 · 15-05-2020, 09:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reefmagnet

The bad juju with bananas is limited to fishing boats... I think. Even though it was hard to make out clearly what a bunch of fisherman all screaming and spraying spittle in unison were saying, I think the gist is that there is some chemical emitted by a banana that stops the fish from biting.

And there could be something to that. Personally, I've never heard of anyone catching a fish using a banana for bait.

Got caught in a similar situation with bananas on a fishing boat and the claim was that they leave an odor on your hands that gets on the fishing line.... now the guy who was telling me that bullshot was in the process of lubricating his real with WD-40....As if that would make the line more attractive to the fish...... Go figure..

Jimmy4Jesus · 15-05-2020, 10:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by dennismenace111

Got caught in a similar situation with bananas on a fishing boat and the claim was that they leave an odor on your hands that gets on the fishing line.... now the guy who was telling me that bullshot was in the process of lubricating his real with WD-40....As if that would make the line more attractive to the fish...... Go figure..

Actually WD40s main ingredient is fish oil and some people spray it on their lures to attract fish.

johnn33 · 15-05-2020, 10:21

Hi
No whistling from the RN tradition, as it could be confused with commands made with the bosun's call.
Again traditionally; three things not needed in a yacht - a cow, an umbrella, a naval officer
The new watch always brews up for the old watch
John

Afrinus · 15-05-2020, 10:27

Whaaat?
Bananas are very good for preventing/alleviating mal de mer.
I've never had an issue with them on board....[emoji2373]
...and certainly never had cockroaches from bananas....now not bringing them on board in a cardboard box...yes....I mean nooo

Quote:

Originally Posted by LittleWing77

Oh! Forgot the prohibition against chicks... wonder why?

Bananas aren't a superstition. It's just common sense. They have cockroaches. You want bugs on your boat? Bring bananas onboard. [emoji3]

Afrinus · 15-05-2020, 10:31

Reef, now you have....for freshwater fish at least, ripe banana mixed with brown bread....magic bait that....

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reefmagnet

The bad juju with bananas is limited to fishing boats... I think. Even though it was hard to make out clearly what a bunch of fisherman all screaming and spraying spittle in unison were saying, I think the gist is that there is some chemical emitted by a banana that stops the fish from biting.

And there could be something to that. Personally, I've never heard of anyone catching a fish using a banana for bait.

barcoo · 15-05-2020, 10:41

I think I can debunk that sailing on a friday story. We used to go fishing on The great Barrier Reef from Port Douglas almost every friday night, so we could get out to the reef and get more time in fishing. Also my dad painted the boat green and afterward was known as the Cucumber as it was 44' long and a beam of 8'. I used to worry a little when it was friday the 13th, but hey Im still here and that was 50 years ago

MicHughV · 15-05-2020, 10:49

I don't get the no women on boats thing ?

My daughter fishes with me all the time, not only do we catch more fish when she is on the boat, she usually catches the biggest one.

As far as I'm concerned...good karma !!

skyline · 15-05-2020, 11:05

On the fish boats I worked on it was never turn the hatch cover upside down!

**roverhi** · 15-05-2020, 11:16

I left SF on a sail to Hawaii on a Friday. Had been so busy getting ready didn't realize that it was Friday till I sailed under the GG Bridge. Thought about turning back and waiting till the next day for about 2 seconds. Had a 15 1/2 day DDW snore of a passage running wing and wing with one jibe about day 5. Only excitement was a whisker pole collapse and a switch to a spinnaker pole. Of course the pole collapsed at 0300 on an overcast moonless night but partially furling the jib brought the pole on board and switching to the spinnaker pole a piece of cake.

rmlarson1098 · 15-05-2020, 12:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by LittleWing77

Reefmagnet, this one's for you!

Over in the Engine & Propulsion, we got into it over engine preferences (which you can read about here, if you're so inclined: https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...se-234234.html)

So it's clear we have certain *colour* preferences amongst this group. Then I began to wonder - how many of them originate from old sailing superstitions?

Here are a few I've learned over the years and then it's your turn to share yours:

> No green on boats. Ever. Anywhere. (So no green Volvo engines) - I was once denied entry onto a boat until I sent a green set of thermal layers home. The no-green reason explained to me was that green is like grass. Which is related to land. You want your boat to go to the bottom? There's land down there. If you want to be in harmony with the sea - blue and varying shades of blue (or any other colour than green...)

> Never begin a passage on a Friday. This one is really old and obscure and may have something weird to do with Jesus and Fishermen and eating fish on Fridays... That's the clearest reference I've ever been provided. In my own case, the only voyage I ever departed on a Friday (once) we were caught in a quite harrowing 4 days' gale. Almost lost the rig. Another story I know, after departing on a Friday and 3 days offshore into a delivery, the boat was hit by a rogue wave, sank in 2 mins and the crew abandoned to their dinghy bec the liferaft had blown away, 3 of 5 survived 5 days until they were picked up by a passing freighter...

> No Whistling! This comes from the phrase, "Whistle up a wind". Once I was helming in some rather heavy offshore weather and whistling

because - frankly - I was pretty scared and I guess unconsciously trying to calm my nerves. The plummy British skip called up from below, " That's quite enough wind thank you! Translation: Stop that bloody whistling and mind your helming! (Of course, if you're becalmed you could always try whistling...)

> Always give Neptune his dram. When imbibing onboard - especially just before leaving on a passage - ensure that you pour a mouthful over the side before you take a sip and dedicate it to Neptune. Then the God of the Sea will look out for you and keep you safe on passage.

That's all for now. There's a very elaborate process for re-naming a boat to circumvent the prohibition which I won't go into.

Now Forum! Your turn. What sailor's superstitions do you know/have had experience of?

Warmly,
LittleWing

77

Never mention 'rabbits' on a boat? A U.K. sailor mentioned that one to me, and I'd heard something of it in the past as well.

CaptainGrey · 15-05-2020, 12:30

We were cruising the Aegean in Greece and passed a temple to Neptune overlooking the water. We didn't have any virgins on board (it was two weeks into the trip) so we made a Virgin Mary and hove it overboard. The Bloody Marys we drank ourselves.

LittleWing77 · 15-05-2020, 13:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by astokel

Interesting. How about the superstition not to have women on board?
My spouse would like to hear.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MicHughV

I don't get the no women on boats thing ?
My daughter fishes with me all the time, not only do we catch more fish when she is on the boat, she usually catches the biggest one.
As far as I'm concerned...good karma !!

So for the gents wondering about women on board...

Women were bad luck on board because they distracted the crew, which would anger Neptune, causing treacherous conditions as revenge.

However, conveniently for the male crew, naked women calmed Neptune, which is why so many figureheads were women with bare breasts.

Turn-about is fair play, eh? Like any man, distract him with a pair of naked girls and then you can have your way with him

(in this case, in the form of calm seas!)

Ha-ha, LittleWing77