Sailors are a notoriously superstitious lot - even if some won't admit it. Years of taking to the water, at the mercy of uncontrollable (and sometimes deadly) forces, have led even the wisest to seek ways of influencing the gods or fate. From bad omens and odd rituals to lucky tokens and forbidden words, the superstitions of the sea are legion.
Many of these superstitions have refused to go away and quite a few have entered the general public consciousness. Some are amusing in their own right, others have fascinating origins, whilst for many there are bizarre anecdotal incidents...
Sailors are a notoriously superstitious lot - even if some won't admit it. Years of taking to the water, at the mercy of uncontrollable (and someti...
Naming a boat is as personal as naming a baby (even if few male skippers would risk telling the wife that). The culmination of many years of dreaming and penny pinching, the purchase of a boat of any size is a huge event for any sailor, and with that comes serious naming pressure. Many boatowners have a secret fear that someone else got their brilliantly original name first – or ruined it for ever by reducing its reputation to snigger-worthy opprobrium. Sometimes it’s so difficult to name a boat that skippers are desperate enough to ask the sorts of people who think Boaty McBoatface would...
Naming a boat is as personal as naming a baby (even if few male skippers would risk telling the wife that). The culmination of many years of dreaming ...