Bananas: Bad Luck or Good Eatin?

[Kentb]

My staple Breakfast usually consists of a banana, cereal and whatever other fruit is available for not too much money and reasonably fresh.
I know of people who believe bananas are bad luck on boats. I know of one sailor who comes unglued just in the presence of bananas even when far from the water.
I like my simple breakfast routine, but have to give pause to ask...
#1. Why are bananas so cursed?
#2. How many other sailors out there are quite willing to risk the "bad luck" for the sake of good nutrition?
#3. What is the best way to store bananas on board?

[goat]

#1. Women too! Seriously? Bad luck? Make your own luck.
#2. See above.
#3. Banana hammock. No, really, a swinging hammock keeps fruit fresh longer.

goat

[brownoarsman]

Originally Posted by goat

#3. Banana hammock. No, really, a swinging hammock keeps fruit fresh longer.

goat

I used one of those, but after some rough seas over three or four days, I had a pulpy mess on my hands from the hammock swinging out and back and hitting various things. Something to watch out for.



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[Pete7]

Bananas on a boat, very bad luck. Look at this ship carrying Bananas to the UK, leaning over cargo shifted.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Pete7

Bananas on a boat, very bad luck. Look at this ship carrying Bananas to the UK, leaning over cargo shifted.

Bad packing.. they had all the pointy ends to starboard..

[wolfesmy]

Bananas hanging in a boat can become "self peeling" as we discovered on a crossing. All that was left hanging were the peels and the fruit flew across the boat.. Labour saving but not necessarily neat.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by goat

#1. Women too! Seriously? Bad luck? Make your own luck.
#2. See above.
#3. Banana hammock. No, really, a swinging hammock keeps fruit fresh longer.

goat

mesh hammock for fruit.

[Tom and Maje]

The first time we heard about bananas being bad luck was during our sailing lessons. The reason stems from old, old ship wrecks (17th-18th century). Every time one of the ships was found wrecked, there were bananas floating around it. The skin of the banana becomes hard in saltwater and doesn't sink.

So now you know. We don't carry them, but that's mostly because we rarely eat them.

Maje

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by Cadence

mesh hammock for fruit.

PS. I bought a boat from a couple that kept fruit in a mesh hammock along with a couple of whole garlics? Since they had cruised for 10 or 12 years Carib. and South America I might put some credence to it?

[first wind]

Originally Posted by Cadence

mesh hammock for fruit.

but only for fruit. any other type of banana hammock would be rather pointless made of mesh.

[Jason Flare]

Can't answer all your questions but we are well aware of the banana curse.

With that said I didn't believe it since the banana crop is shipped all over the high seas.

We always carry bananas.

We store them in ,"green bags." Our particular brand probably came from Walmart and are called Debbie Meyer Green Bags.

We probably have plenty of bad luck but I usually attribute it to my poor planning and preparation. Not the bananas.

[first wind]

Originally Posted by Jason Flare

Can't answer all your questions but we are well aware of the banana curse.

With that said I didn't believe it since the banana crop is shipped all over the high seas.

We always carry bananas.

We store them in ,"green bags." Our particular brand probably came from Walmart and are called Debbie Meyer Green Bags.

We probably have plenty of bad luck but I usually attribute it to my poor planning and preparation. Not the bananas.

it's the green bags. they are like tinfoil hats. they keep out the banana curse. now...you definitely don't want to keep them in white bags.

[Jason Flare]

Originally Posted by first wind

it's the green bags. they are like tinfoil hats. they keep out the banana curse. now...you definitely don't want to keep them in white bags.

The bananas definitely ripen slowly in the green bags.

I would have been willing to pay much more for them had I known they did double duty. And keeping out a curse no less. You can't put a number on that!

[first wind]

Originally Posted by Jason Flare

The bananas definitely ripen slowly in the green bags.

I would have been willing to pay much more for them had I known they did double duty. And keeping out a curse no less. You can't put a number on that!

certainly not if it's the number 13!


well that's it for me. it's bath time. i've got to.....split

[belizesailor]

Bananas and a woman aboard usually, no bad luck, maybe they cancel each other out?