Sailing Superstitions

[sailingnewby]

I'm not superstitious but I find it never hurts to have luck on your side. I can't seem to find a lot of superstitions though for sailing. I've heard that if you have a clean set of teeth before you go out on the water the wind will be on your side. So before I went sailing last time I brushed my teeth for a good ten minutes and as it turns out I had a great day of sailing. Anybody know some more?

[SchoonerMISTRESS]

I thought us sailors were plenty superstitious. One I hear often is never start a cruise on a Friday. Bad luck it is.
Kathleen
aboard
Schooner MISTRESS

[TSteele65]

Never bring your mother-in-law aboard.


OK, maybe that's just me.

[CapnHand]

For most superstitions there is a counter "spell" that eliminates bad luck. Apparently spitting in your hat counters the bad luck of a cat crossing your path. I've never tried that since I rarely wear a hat.

In sailing, there's the cremonies that go along with changing the name of the boat to elininate the bad luck that may result.

[Joel73]

Dolphins swimming with the ship are a sign of good luck. Killing one will bring bad luck.

[zaldog]

bananas on boats = bad luck, so they say especially if you fish, plus you might slip and fall on the peel :-)

http://www.azinet.com/captjim/bananas.htm

[imiloa]

Coiling a line counter-clockwise is bad luck. Potted plants on board are bad luck. Having a man of the cloth aboard was once thought to be bad luck (although many sailors have been known to pray with all their heart on certain occassions afloat).

[Joel73]

"A naked woman on board will calm the sea. This is the reason for naked figureheads."

[Joel73]

A silver coin placed under the masthead ensures a successful voyage.

[equitiman]

Originally Posted by imiloa

Coiling a line counter-clockwise is bad luck.

Okay...how many people stopped an thought about which way they coil a line?

I tried to imagine coiling a line counter-clockwise in my head and let me tell you it was a very clumsy effort