Maritime superstition and lore.........

I had a nonchalant, ho-hum approach to all this 'sea-pagan' superstition. Then, on my second trip up the Amazon, I had spent a month with a band of locals exploring, hunting, doing what boys usually do, and I invited them aboard for a farewell shebang. As a parting gift they (very solemnly) presented me with a wooden amulet the size of my fist, a hideous, snarling face painted with natural dies and bedecked with monkeyskin acoutriments. "It will appease the river god and keep you and your boat safe"
It also stinks, gets seasonal fungul blooms, gets in the way and generally scares the wooki out of me and all who come aboard. But I don't dare risk tossing it over there where it rightfully belongs.

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Always place a coin under the mast when stepping it.

 

in this yer neck of the woods, 'tis reckoned to need to be a silver coin! supposedly for luck but no doubt to appease some god somewhere. Look 'sailsnail' you is stuck with that damn thing DO NOT dispose of it or even land it for that, you don't know whats going to happen if you do! Don't knock the old Gods they still hold sway in some dark forgotten parts of the oceans!

 

Maritime superstitions

Errr..,small correction to Safewalrus' comment on whistling...it's women whistling which raise the strong winds. Add to the lists - never carry a coffin on board, or a Church minister. If a widow or black cat crosses your path on the way to the boat - turn back.
But can't think why anyone would want to drink whiskey with an (e). Now whisky (without) is another matter.
And a nice one from my original part of the world (Scottish Highlands) to contact a drowned loved one write a message in the sand when the tide is low. The advancing waters will carry the message below....

 

Not true... Not true

AHHHHHH and I thought you were a nice chap, no wee drams at sea ?

A brigade of the Black Watch are on their way to move you to a re-education camp in the North of Scotland .

What was your address again??


Cheers
Jim

 

Maritime superstition and lore: Jim and Steve

Oh come now James... surely you know that only the lower decks drink rum... We chaps on the bridge drink gin...
As for you Steve - by all means continue speling whisky with an (e) - but only if you are referring to that inferior stuff the Irish brew from potato peel and tufts of wool plucked from barbed wire fences; or that dreadful concoction which occasionally dribbles across from the USA...

 

At least I can spell "spelling" So - what kind of whisky do they make out in Oz?
Steve

 

Maritime superstition and lore: Steve

It's this Liberal Government Steve, the economy is in a hell of a state... We're having to make cuts everywhere... hence 'speling' instead of 'spelling'.
But to answer your question - neither whisky, nor whiskey made out here. However an excellent rum comes out of Bunderberg up in Queensland. But my quirk viz whisky/whiskey stems from my place of birth - the West Highlands of Scotland.

 

My sympathies.... ;-)
Actually, although I haven't spent too much time there, I have always ahd a soft spot for Scotland, the Highlands in particular. I'm a bit like Slartibartfast - I love the rocks and the "twiddly bits"
Steve

 

I believe, a 'touche' is in order here, Steve... At least I can spell 'had'.....
yours aye, bergalia

 

Wellllllll........ If I had been going for "had", you'd be right. But, I was going for "ahhhhhh-ed" and forgot a few letters. At least, that's MY story.
Steve

 

Corrosion alert

Unless you have an aluminium hull and a keel stepped mast then it's really unlucky !!

I'll have to remember to put in the specs "Coin to bedded in epoxy"

 

All my time aboard both my merchant marine service and on freighters the lower decks drank whatever they could get locally and cheaply.

I have a tale here

As the boat sat awaiting fumigation dock we would all go off to a bar and get fumigated on whatever the locals distilled.

In Denmark there is a bitter medicine called I think Gammel Dansk. Their view of this drink was that it exceeded the finest dram available. We knocked this back for a few hours but it was vile stuff.
We were trying to educate the Danes that their national drink was just cough medicine, when a slightly violent argument evoloved as they do when the national drink is maligned (on both sides) but we agreed to produce a bottle of best scotch and return for a fair comparison since the bar refused to serve us any more some of our number were dispatched to find a nice dram.

Returning to the ship slightly fumigated we liberated 3 bottles from a sealed locker and on leaving we were re prompty arrested by the dock security. They took the two bottles visibly carried but the third hidden cunningly by a huge Norwegien seaman ended up in the lockup with us!

About 2am our singing must hae been off key as they found a sleepy looking official who released us with a caution, they also cancelled our shore passes.

No the lower decks drink anything, I dont even know anyone who likes rum!

But its unlucky to get caught by dock security. !

 

Maritime superstition and lore: Jim

(And) [/QUOTE]I dont even know anyone who likes rum![/QUOTE]


Gammel Dansk, Jim. It's excellent stuff. On our return trips we always grabbed the odd case or two. Local farmers on the West Highlands reckoned it was the finest thing for curing worm in their dogs and cattle....

And as for not knowing anyone who likes rum... I thought we were friends...

But by the by, did you ever try that East Coast (Scotland ) whisky called "Sheep Dip" ?

 

Bad Luck

More likely that you will experience bad luck from spelling Whisky incorrectly!!
"Upset from Scotland"