Sailing superstitions — do you follow any?

Palma & Sailing Chat
1

I was raised with sailing superstitions by my grandfather and I still follow some of them, even though I know they’re irrational. It made me wonder — does anyone else have sailing superstitions?

Mines:

  • Never start a voyage on a Friday — this one is deep in my bones. My grandfather would refuse to leave port on a Friday, full stop
  • No bananas on board — apparently this dates back to ships carrying bananas having more accidents. Probably because of the spiders hiding in them!
  • Never whistle on a boat — you’ll whistle up a storm. My crew know this rule well
  • Always step aboard with your right foot first — I do this without even thinking about it now

Rational? No. Do I follow them anyway? Absolutely. There’s something about the sea that makes you respect traditions, even the silly ones.

What are your sailing superstitions?

2

In Italy we say ‘Non si fischia in barca’ — don’t whistle on the boat! Same superstition. I also carry a coin under the mast step, which is a very old Mediterranean tradition for safe passage.

My most irrational one: I never say ‘last’ as in ‘last trip of the season.’ I always say ‘latest’ instead. Saying ‘last’ feels like tempting fate.

3

Note to selves: no bananas, no whistling, no Friday departures, right foot first, and if we buy a boat we absolutely must do the renaming ceremony. Got it. Anything else we should know?! This is brilliant.

4

Ha! I follow the Friday one too, though I claim it’s because I want an early start on Saturday rather than admitting to superstition.

I also never rename a boat without the proper ceremony — you have to purge the old name completely from the boat (including the logbook), make an offering of champagne to Poseidon, and only then can you christen the new name. I’ve seen bad luck follow boats whose owners skipped this. Coincidence? Probably. Am I willing to risk it? Absolutely not.

5

I didn’t know about any of these! The banana one is hilarious. I definitely brought bananas on my Day Skipper course and nothing bad happened… or did the instructor just not tell me about the near-miss? Now I’m paranoid.

I think my superstition is just checking the weather forecast about 47 times before going out. Does that count?

6

I try not to be superstitious but I’ll admit I always touch the mast before departure. It’s not a ‘thing’ I read about — I just started doing it and now I can’t stop.

The renaming ceremony is one I take seriously though. I’ve seen too many renamed boats have problems. James is right — do it properly or don’t do it at all.