Why the sea breeds belief
Seafaring has always been dangerous. For most of history, sailors could not forecast storms accurately, could not be certain of their position, and had little protection against shipwreck, disease or sudden accident. Faced with risks they could not control, crews built up habits and beliefs that offered a sense of order and luck. Some of these beliefs were religious, some were practical rules of thumb, and many seem to have been simple habits passed from one generation of sailors to the next.
It is hard to be precise about the age or origin of most superstitions. Many are recorded only in the nineteenth century, when folklorists and writers began collecting them, and different ports and nations held different versions. The material below is therefore a description of widely reported traditions, not of universal rules.
Omens, taboos and luck
Some of the best-known beliefs concern when and how a ship should sail. Friday is often said to have been an unlucky day to begin a voyage, though how widely this was followed in practice is debated. Stories of attempts to disprove the belief are told in sailing folklore, but their details are uncertain and should be treated with caution.
Other beliefs focused on behaviour aboard. Whistling at sea was traditionally discouraged in some ships, because it was thought to call up wind, while in others a sailor becalmed might whistle in hope of a breeze. Certain words and objects were also avoided on some vessels. Many of these customs varied from ship to ship, and the same practice might be considered lucky on one vessel and unlucky on another.
Animals appear often in the lore. Cats were commonly kept aboard to control rats, and were often thought of as lucky or as weather indicators. The albatross has a place in sailors’ tales as a bird associated with the southern oceans, and the idea that killing one brings misfortune became famous through Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, published in 1798. How far sailors themselves held that belief before the poem is hard to say, and some historians suggest that the poem helped to spread it.
Birth and body also had a role. A caul, a membrane that sometimes covers a newborn’s head, was traditionally believed to protect its owner from drowning, and such items were reportedly sold to sailors. Tattoos, which became common among sailors especially after contact with Pacific peoples during voyages such as the Cook Pacific voyages of the late eighteenth century, were sometimes said to bring luck or protection, and also served as identification.
Ships, names and launches
A new ship was launched with ceremony. The practice of naming and blessing vessels goes back a long way, and a ritual of pouring wine or another drink onto the ship as it entered the water is recorded in many cultures. The modern form of breaking a bottle against the bow is a later development of this custom. Changing a ship’s name was often said to bring bad luck, particularly if done without a ritual to make the change, and some owners still avoid the practice.
A related custom was placing a coin under the mast when it was set up. Archaeologists have found coins beneath the mast step in a number of old wrecks, and the habit is usually interpreted as a good-luck offering, though the exact meaning and the reasons for it are not fully certain. Ship figureheads and other decorations were also treated by some crews as a kind of guardian of the ship.
Women, clergy and other beliefs
Some crews believed that women aboard brought bad luck, while others held the opposite view, and in some traditions a figurehead depicting a woman was thought to calm the sea. These beliefs were mixed up with social attitudes of the time and do not reflect the real presence of women seafarers, who were more numerous aboard than the folklore suggests. Similarly, there were beliefs about clergy, certain animals, or particular items such as umbrellas or bananas being unlucky, though the evidence for such beliefs is often anecdotal.
Beliefs about death at sea were also strong. Sailors who died were buried at sea, with the body sewn into canvas, and ceremonies were held to mark the burial. Stories of ghost ships, such as the Flying Dutchman, are an old part of maritime folklore, with no single clear origin. Ship losses without explanation, like the Mary Celeste mystery, have often fed these stories, even though the real history of such cases is usually more ordinary than the legend. Famous shipwrecks also fostered beliefs about omens and curses, which tended to be assigned after the event.
Ceremonies of passage
Some customs were organised rituals instead of private beliefs. The best known is the crossing-the-line ceremony, performed when a ship crossed the equator. In this tradition, crew members who had not crossed before, often called “pollywogs” or similar names, were initiated by those who had, and a figure representing Neptune, god of the sea, presided. The ceremony included mock trials, costumes and sometimes rough humour, and it is recorded on naval and merchant ships from at least the early modern period. Similar initiations were held at other points, such as when passing certain capes.
These events served a social function. They broke the monotony of long voyages, marked a shared experience, and allowed rank and tension to be eased by play. They could also be harsh for the participants, and some captains limited or banned them.
Other customs marked the end of a voyage or milestones in a ship’s life. Crews sometimes decorated a ship on arrival, and the sailors’ traditions around payment and leave ashore were also marked by ritual and celebration.
Customs of language and conduct
Seafarers developed a rich vocabulary that sets them apart, and many words have entered ordinary English. Some customs governed daily conduct, such as saluting the quarterdeck on a naval ship, using the bell to mark time, or following precedence in who spoke first. Many of these are practical forms of order that gradually turned into tradition.
The persistence of such beliefs and customs reflects the long history of risk at sea. Even as technology has improved safety, many practices continue in modern fleets, sometimes as light-hearted tradition and sometimes as a remnant of older caution. They show how people living with uncertainty create shared meanings and bonds, and they are an important part of the general picture of shipboard daily life.