Nautical Supersititions

1. Re-naming a boat: It is bad luck to change the name of the boat. If you do, you must have a de-naming ceremony and officially christen the boat again.
2. Tattoos: Because early sailors believed strongly in the power of symbols and omens, they often tattooed specific images on their body to bring good luck or to repel misfortune.

• Seafarers often had a tattoo of a nautical star or compass rose that was believed to help guide them home.
• Sailors also tattooed pictures of roosters or pigs on their feet to protect them from drowning.
• The anchor was said to prevent a sailor from floating away from the ship should he fall overboard
• Good luck was brought by the image of the sea (a symbol of hope), a black cat, a four-petaled clover, a horseshoe, and other symbols.

1. Blood: It is unlucky to set off at the start of the fishing season without having first shed some blood in a fight or in an accident.
2. Fishing nets: When setting fishing nets it is good luck to use an odd number
3. Caul: Having the caul of a new-born child on board a ship was meant to prevent anyone from drowning. This meant that cauls were often purchased by sailors before a voyage. (A caul is a harmless membrane that covers the face and head of a newborn baby. It is very rare).
4. Hat overboard: Losing a hat overboard was an omen that the trip would be a long one.
5. Egg shells: Egg shells had to be broken into tiny pieces once an egg was cracked open. This was meant to stop witches coming to the ship to sail in the pieces of shell.
6. Personal grooming: Anyone aboard who trimmed their nails cut their hair or shaved their beard brought bad luck to the ship.
7. Unlucky people:

• Flat-footed people were unlucky on board a ship and were also avoided by sailors before they boarded.
• Women were bad luck on board because they distracted the crew, which would anger the sea, causing treacherous conditions as revenge. However, conveniently for the male crew, naked women calmed the sea, which is why so many figureheads were women with bare breasts.
• Red-heads were believed to bring bad luck to a ship. If you met one before boarding, the only way to mitigate the bad luck was to speak to them before they could speak to you.
• Seamen that hadn't paid their debts were blamed for storms and any other misfortunate events that would occur on the ship.
• Any person perceived to be a “Jonah” would be thrown off the ship as soon as possible.
• Another belief is that a sailor with different eyes is unfortunate.

1. Non-sailing days: It was bad luck to sail on Thursdays (God of Storms, Thor’s day) or Fridays (the day Jesus was executed), the first Monday in April (the day Cain killed Abel), the second Monday in August (the day Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed), and 31 December (the day on which Judas Iscariot hanged himself).
2. Some words and sayings brought about bad luck on board, including "drowned", "goodbye” and "good luck". Things to do with the land were believed to be bad luck if mentioned, such as the church, pigs, foxes, cats, and rabbits.
3. No whistling: Whistling or singing into the wind was forbidden as it would "whistle up a storm"
4. No farewell: It was bad luck for seafaring men’s wives to call out to them or wave goodbye once they stepped out the door to leave for a voyage.
5. Stirring tea: Stirring tea with a knife or fork would invite bad luck
6. Turning a loaf of bread upside down: Turning a loaf of bread upside down once it had been cut brings bad luck too.
7. Salt: It was bad luck for one crewman to pass the salt pot to another directly. Presumably one could put it down and the other could pick it up.
8. In order to encourage fish to be caught, Scottish fishermen would begin their fishing session by throwing one of the crew members overboard and then hauling him back on
9. Bananas: No bananas on board. They were believed to be so unlucky they would cause the ship to be lost. Whole cargoes of bananas were especially frightening for sailors.
10. A shark following the ship is a sign of inevitable death.
11. Dolphins swimming with the ship are seen as a good sign.
12. Piercings:

• A pierced earlobe on a sailor meant that he had sailed around the world or had crossed the equator.
• Superstitious sailors wore gold hoop earrings because they believed it brought good fortune. Some believed that the gold possessed magic healing powers or that it served as a protective talisman that would prevent the wearer from drowning.
• An earring protects against loss of sight and rheumatism

1. Always Step onto a Boat with Your Right Foot. Why the right? Your left foot brings bad luck for the journey ahead.
2. Cats are Good Omens. Finally, a superstition that emphasizes the positive. With apologies to all you dog lovers, cats reign supreme because they hunt rats. Rats invaded trading ships of old, attracted to the food cargo. They often carried disease, plus gnawed on ropes. Some mariners believed that cats had magical powers stored in their tails that could control the weather. Cats were believed to protect ships from storms, but also to summon storms if the cat fell or was thrown overboard. If the ship did not sink during the storm, it was cursed with bad luck for nine years. Sailors also believed a few other unusual nautical superstitions surrounding cats:

• A ship’s cat sneezing meant that it was going to rain.
• A frisky ship’s cat was an omen of a windy day.
• A ship’s cat that licked its fur against the grain signaled that a hailstorm was on its way.

1. Spit and pour wine before a journey: To bring good luck, sailors often spit into the ocean before setting sail. For a long journey, pouring wine on the deck would bring good fortune.
2. Flowers are bad omens: Because flowers were associated with funerals and wreaths on graves, they were never brought onto ships. If a sailor’s wife tried to bid him farewell with a gift of flowers, the bouquet was quickly thrown overboard.
3. Clergy are not welcome on board: Because of the same connection to funerals, clergymen and priests were not welcome aboard ships.
4. Ringing bells were bad luck: Any sound that resembled bells ringing at a funeral was also perceived as an omen of death, such as the sound of a wine glass ringing, which had to be stopped immediately. This even included the sound of the ship’s bells ringing if they rang of their own accord, such as during a storm or in heavy winds.
5. Rabbits and salmon were bad omens: If fishermen found a salmon or rabbit on their boat, they would often skip sailing for the day and stay home instead.
6. A child born at sea was good luck: Contradicting the belief that a woman aboard a ship was bad luck, a child that was born at sea was considered an omen of good luck.
7. Throwing coins into the sea as the boat leaves port: Coins thrown into the sea as a boat leaves port is a small toll to Neptune, the sea god, for a safe voyage, but a stone thrown from a vessel putting out to sea ensures she will never return.