We all do risky things on the ocean at times, windsurfers must be the only fools who set sail in storm force winds and wild oceans. Apart from not washing your wetsuit, what other superstitions do you follow when taking to the sea, to increase your chances of coming home again.?

NO BANANAS
I got this one from my Dad, he never let us take bananas on his boat but couldn't ever produce a good reason why. It turns out that "no Bananas" is a Hawaiian tradition. Back in the days of the sailing ships, sailors ate fruit to prevent an onset of scurvy. Bananas would ripen and spoil faster than most fruit. The bug larvae in the skin would hatch and infest not just the other fruit but the entire ship itself. It was deemed unfit for sailing ships. Any mention of bananas was seen as a bad omen and would spell misfortune for the voyage.


THE COLOUR GREEN
I learnt this one in Indonesia. The custom of not entering the ocean wearing the colour green is strictly a Javanese thing, but the superstition is followed all over from Bali to Nias. The colour of green is said to be the colour of the Javanese Spirit Queen of the Southern Oceans. Local customs dictate that wearing any clothing of the colour green into the ocean is asking for trouble. You inevitably find that when a surfer or in fact anyone drowns in Indonesia he/she has been wearing green and therefore has been lured into the sea and to their fate by the Queen.

I lived in Barbados in the Carribean for about 6 months a while ago and while racing yachts there I heard that it is bad luck the say the word Turtle on a boat. I don't know how widespread this is but it makes it hard when all the bags for the sails are known as turtles.

quote:

---

Originally posted by MintoxGT

Ahhh crap, I thought sharks were the only bloody ting to worry about. Now I have to make sure my bannanas arnt green and I cant go bali coz queens are in the water

GT

---

You going Lucky Bay today? and only green there is the Algae

quote:

---

Originally posted by easty

quote:

---

He had a gold ring through his left ear - an ancient tradition to note the closest part of your body when you pass Cape Horn against the prevailing conditions.

---

Must have been facing backwards. Prevailing wind westerly, so sailing east to west, the Cape is on your right if facing the direction you're going.

---

Easty, I am pretty sure that the majority of circumnavigations are done West to East.

The one about bananas is absolutely true, I never take them out windsurfing and I haven't had scurvy yet. There's another unlucky word, almost 100% of sea goers get themselves in trouble if they say the word "MAYDAY" over the radio.

re wearing green. i heard this one originated from early english sailors. To dye clothes green they used a copper sulphate type solution. This was fine on land BUT when mixed with salt water it would leech out onto the skin and cause poisoning.thus sailors wearing green would get sick .

quote:

---

Just checked my book by Bernhard Moitessier, he went around the Horn east to west (against the wind) in 1965, the second known person to do it.

---

I'm pretty sure people were sailing square rigged ships around the Cape East to West in the late 1700's and early 1800's. Maybe earlier. Mind you they often tacked between antarctica and the horn and went backwards between tacks, but eventually made it around, when the wind veered far enough south or north of dead west to let them sneak past.

Mine is 100% carbon fibre

Re - bananas I heard that it's Bananas and women together. This is because when captain cook left Tahiti he had a boat load of Banana's and the men took tahition women for wives and Captain cook ended up being speared by the locals.

I went to a bucks party where the relationship between at least one particular woman and bananas was quite ...."close" ?????

Ah yes, Banana Reef , we now call it.

RE-NAMEING A BOAT IS ALSO VERY BAD KARMA.... so onty buy one with a good name.

what about chucking stuff at seagulls ???

old timers say that people lost at sea come back as dolphins

quote:

---

Originally posted by curac

i have one that has worked pretty well for me so far. and it's
If i don't eat shark, shark don't eat me.

---

Eat as many of the barstards as you can!!
[}:)][}:)][}:)]