187 0 obj <> endobj Crossing the Line is nearly as old as seafaring itself; even in antiquity sailors engaged in rituals when crossing certain parallels. Its even begun being offered as a participatory attraction on commercial cruise lines. <> This is a usually light-hearted event that allows the ships crew to take some time out from their hectic schedules and have fun with the rest of the crewmates. Offer subject to change without notice. Retrieved June 7, 2017. 227 0 obj <>stream So we though lets compile one of those facts about titanic ship that probably you are unaware of. Seafarers may cross the Equator after many years of sailing both the North and South Hemispheres, but in different voyages as they can join a ship in the North and spend as much as nine months travelling the seas in the same part of the Equator, or they can do this in the South without the possibility of crossing the line by vessel. x]KsSjF r.Kq9r_t)RMH[f~F`j4z0R.wo,y?_6 zXw{^7'/Vu:l~|cW;F:yVR0cSEQl:6hQOZr:iusl B9Pn~-~u6= f{w}XYaKn)VSwA#/Ye6=~ui)f{jL??GOn2{ >y 7KOs!Oy4+,Cc[`_rXVe(soAyG:x[HT1J-aFn-gfEXU0)EJhSsfD~5c6 ^Ub2?\%"0s5nFM 6VNG1ymVMgi;THbV:XB"`/8v6h?4`"n@? ;x.T`f\%e:pJ+*n h= Maine 's commanding officer greets King Neptune and Royal Party at beginning of equator crossing ceremonies. Credit score requirements vary by lender. WebEquator-crossing ceremonies, typically featuring King Neptune, are common in the Navy and are also sometimes carried out for passengers' entertainment on civilian ocean liners and cruise ships. #marinersgalaxy, A post shared by marinersgalaxy.com (@mariners_galaxy) on May 2, 2020 at 9:10am PDT, google.com, pub-5737237464543751, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0, My name is Oana and I come from Romania. King Neptune is said to be the ruler of the seas and this entire shindig is orchestrated to appease the King by showing Him respect, to keep a sailor away from the perils of the sea and to bring good luck. The Pollywogs (also referred to as landlubbers) must be dipped in water for the initiation and passing into the realm of the seas. It was also an initiation rite commemorated the first time a sailor crossed over. FitzRoy quoted Otto von Kotzebue's 1830 description in his 1839 Narrative of the Surveying Voyages of His Majesty's Ships Adventure and Beagle between the Years 1826 and 1836. [2] The officer on watch reported a boat ahead, and Captain FitzRoy ordered "hands up, shorten sail". For full functionality of this site it is necessary to enable JavaScript. The Golden Shellback was awarded to those who also crossed the equator and the International Date Line or 180th meridian, (where the world is divided between Eastern and Western Hemispheres) at the same time. The Equator Crossing Ceremony is an age-old tradition to commemorate a seafarer crossing the equator for the first time. [13] Depending on the Ocean or Fleet AOR, there can be variations in the rite. This is how #EQUATOR_CROSSING_CEREMONY is celebrated onboard. Thanks for reading and watching my BLINK. Behind the Strange and Controversial Ritual When You Cross the Equator At Sea. Perhaps the pride and secrecy stems from a desire to maintain the ritual unchanged. As is with all cadets, sleep is the all-engulfing element that overpowers the necessity to change ones boiler suit and go in for a shower! Follow us on social media to add even more wonder to your day. It was also an initiation rite commemorated the first time a sailor crossed over. The Equator Crossing Ceremony is an age-old tradition to commemorate a seafarer crossing the equator for the first time. A feast is prepared at night for dinner with thorough fanfare. Line-crossing Ceremony: Homophobic or Homoerotic? Naval History and Heritage Command. Slimy (the traditional adjective) Pollywogs are led out for their hazing in front of King Neptune, and his assistant reads the charges. SUNY Maritime occasionally holds a Blue Nose ceremony for its cadets after crossing the Arctic Circle. It was also an initiation rite commemoratedthe first time a sailor crossed over. ae. Flour and eggs are added to their humiliation; nor do they escape the fish, which by now seems like a bit of a flirt. Initiation rite for first crossing of the equator, Honors for line crossings and other navigational events. The Greenwich Meridian didn't become the International standard until 1884, two years after the Ashmore crossed the equator. Maine 's commanding officer greets King Neptune and Royal Party at beginning of equator crossing ceremonies. WebEquator crossing certificate. Normally theres some separation between these groups, but during the line-crossing ceremony everyone is involved, be they scientist or crew. He actually told me that he had never agreed to humiliating or painful trials for the new comers because the strength of a real seafarer stays in his heart, his wisdom and his kindness and these qualities can not be tested through silly, humiliating or painful ordeals.. At the end of it, the Captain, Chief Engineer and the rest, as a mark of welcoming and respect, congratulate the initiates. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. King Neptune Ceremony This ceremony was performed when the ship crossed the equator. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. The memory of the event sticks with people. Many cases of unbelievable cruelty were reported especially in the years after the II World War and some maritime companies even banned these ceremonies on board their vessels. The reason behind this is to give the beginners a truth serum in order that they speak the absolute truth when they swear their allegiance to King Neptune and the sea! The researcher I spoke to remembered how on her trip two scientists were already in the order of shellback, so they joined the rest of the crew to help facilitate the days events. High ranking members of the crew and those who have been Shellbacks the longest dress up in elaborate costume and each play the part of King Neptune's court. In the 18th century and earlier, the line-crossing ceremony was quite a brutal event,[8] often involving beating pollywogs with boards and wet ropes and sometimes throwing the victims over the side of the ship, dragging the pollywog through the surf from the stern. crossing the equator, Commanding Officer Captain J. Scott Jones, for instance, publicly announced that the USS Bonhomme Richard had a great celebration of this important passage. NH 106226. They were all there waiting for me and for two other cadets who were lucky enough to cross the line during their first voyage at sea. Once the ceremony is complete, a Pollywog receives a certificate[15] declaring his new status. (July 14): NNS130704-01. Naval History and Heritage Command. It is not at all easy to hold the position of a Queen in [], Sir..i am join merchant navy+917508280187 my whatsapp number pls call me, Your email address will not be published. Professor Hersh described the proceedings of the ritual to me as an inversion. While you are going through the ritual, she explained, you are constantly submissive. In her paper she points to some examples where men were made to perform simulated sexual acts. Their most recent ceremony was during the summer of 2019, on the TSES VI, held shortly after departing Reykjavik. "It is interesting to see how similar our maritime cultures are to one another. The Star Spangled Shellbacks was used for those crossing the equator on July 4th, 1966. Dancing, song, skits or poetry count among the merriment. Cracking it open at once pertains to long luck and safe seas. Ste. The Iron Shellback are those on the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and the USS San Jacinto who crossed the equator after a 200+ day voyage during the 2020 pandemic. 1. realtor.com is hosting and helping to administer and promote the sweepstakes. The crew was in the USS Franklin D. Roosevelt. (Photo: The Rise and Fall of Cruisingforsex.com, a Digital Atlas of Casual Encounters, AO Video Investigation: Movie Worms Ranked By Size, Morlocks, CHUDS and Graboids: A Bestiary of Fictional Subterranea. Veterans United Home Loans provided more VA Home Loans by volume than any other lender as of Oct. 2022. The coverage provoked widespread criticism, especially when the videotape showed some of the submarine's officers watching the entire proceedings from the conning tower. Honorable Shellbacks or Sons of Neptune was the namegiven to a sailor who has already crossed the equator. It looks like a trout, but the bloke who goes in for the full tongue action is definitely a groper. When the ceremonies were first conducted, they were physically challenging and could even be painful or embarrassing to the Sailors. Because I know with a smile and a handshake [], A Queen is no ordinary woman. WebThe ceremony of Crossing the Line an old seafaring tradition. Crossing the Line is nearly as old as seafaring itself; even in antiquity sailors engaged in rituals when crossing certain parallels. Source: But there are also times when myseafarers are busy, with bunkering, or they are doing other work. The new disability compensation rates took effect on December 1, 2022. Every weekday we compile our most wondrous stories and deliver them straight to you. It was a way for sailors to be tested for their seaworthiness. Equator-crossing ceremonies, typically featuring King Neptune, are also sometimes carried out for passengers' entertainment on civilian ocean liners and Equator-crossing ceremonies, typically featuring King Neptune, are also sometimes carried out for passengers' entertainment on civilian ocean liners and USS Blue Ridge (LCC-19) UPDATE of 1973 CTL. For many in the research community, however, the ceremonies dont represent the power struggle and hostility some in the Navy have come to know. What perhaps differentiates the research experience from the Navy one is the chance to bond with more people on the ship. They were always followed by a barbecue party with good food and music and the hundreds of photos taken during the event were always shared with families and friends as a proof of being recognized as a true seafarer. WebCrossing The Equator (The Script of the Ceremony in HMCS Stettler 1957 February 26, 1957 at 106 East Longitude) (Name of original author not recorded 1957) Note to Reader: This is a typical script for a Crossing the Line ceremony. After we drank our glasses with that awful tasting liquid, we received our certificates together with everybodys congratulations and enjoyed a wonderful party thrown in our honor. It was also called crossing the line. The glimmer in the eyes of those that have already experienced it, telling you to live every moment of it, for it is never to happen again, is priceless. The first "griffin" was Charles Darwin, who noted in his diary how he "was then placed on a plank, which could be easily tilted up into a large bath of water. On Navy cruises everyone is considered a crew member, maintaining the ship in all ways needed. WebThe ritual dates back at least 400 years in Western seafaring. [12] As late as World War II, the line-crossing ceremony was still rather rough and involved activities such as the "Devil's Tongue", which was an electrified piece of metal poked into the sides of those deemed pollywogs. Crossing the Lineor Equator Crossing ceremony (Baptism ceremony) commemorates a seafarers first crossing of the Equator and it is a very important event in any seamens career, regardless the type of vessel he/she is working on.Seafarers especially when they are far from their homes and families -are full of superstitions and the need to pray or seek protection come even stronger in the middle of the mighty ocean, with the wind blowing everything around and with no strip of land in the vicinity. It was also called crossing the line. [5], By the eighteenth century, there were well-established line-crossing rituals in the British Royal Navy. Webthe equator, this ceremony has a rich and varied history. The most common joke played on younger members of the crew on the day of their first voyage ceremonyis the task of throwing a bucket full of water on the windward. The tradition began with the Navy over 400 years ago, says anthropology and sociology professor Carie Little Hersh in her 2002 paper Crossing the Line: Sex, Power, Justice, and the U.S. Navy at the Equator. Given its long history, the ritual has changed over the years, but it remains a well-knownalbeit sometimes controversiallinchpin of Naval culture. (Photo:Lou Sander/WikiCommons CC BY-SA 4.0). This is likely because of the bad rap the ceremony has accrued over the years. The ceremony observes a mariner's transformation from slimy Pollywog, a seaman who hasn't crossed the equator, to trusty Shellback, also called a Son or Daughter of Neptune. WebAlthough crossing the equator may seem like a routine event for any modern-day naval vessel, navies have celebrated the time-honored tradition for centuries. The Shellbacks plan the coming festivities, but they also spend the entire month taunting the Pollywogs until a mock mutiny is staged by them on the day before the Equator crossing Pollywog Day. endstream endobj 188 0 obj <>/Metadata 16 0 R/PageLayout/OneColumn/Pages 185 0 R/StructTreeRoot 25 0 R/Type/Catalog>> endobj 189 0 obj <>/ExtGState<>/Font<>/XObject<>>>/Rotate 0/StructParents 0/Type/Page>> endobj 190 0 obj <>stream This is how #EQUATOR_CROSSING_CEREMONY is celebrated onboard. Even commercial cruise lines have been known to host some parts of the ritual. Photo: Getty Images A Pollywog makes the transition to Shellback. The luxury cruise ship that doubles as a science vessel, instructions how to enable JavaScript in your web browser, Hotel brand's first Australian property restores historic Sydney building, Like hotel rooms in the sky: Qantas unveils new first-class cabins, Bangkok hotel chain's stunning French Riviera debut, I wasn't meeting any new people in Bali. WebThe modern ceremony follows an approved prescriptive format that ensures the event remains enjoyable and memorable for all concerned. By submitting your email you are agreeing to Nine Publishing's There are other similar ceremonies for different locales including the Arctic and Antarctic Circle, the International Date Line, and others. Sign up for our newsletter and enter to win the second edition of our book. The ceremony could include funny and nave games like moving on hands and knees on slippery decks but more humiliating, difficult and dangerous tasks as well like crawling through barrels of garbage or oil, jumping overboard from high decks or climbing on top of the mast and being forced to spend hours in the same position. Mind you, no harm or hurt is involved, however the minor embarrassments must be taken in the right spirit. Taking liberties with the piscatorial subjects of His Majesty Neptunus Rex. 0 Heinous as the accusations are, no one seems too concerned until the royal handmaidens bring out the fish. Equator Crossing or Baptism Ceremony Showing gratitude towards the sea and its masters may come in the form of a whispering pray behind the four walls of your cabin, but it sometimes requires a loud shout and a real ceremony which must be attended by everybody else on board. [3][4], In the Royal Canadian Navy, those who have not yet crossed the equator are nicknamed Tadpoles, or Dirty Tadpoles; an earlier nickname was griffins. It was also called crossing the line. 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Arleigh Burke, National Naval Aviation Museum Collection, South American Cruise: Franklin D. Roosevelt, Shellback and Other Navy Ceremonial Certificates: A Select Bibliography. Back in the days of wooden ships, Crossing the Line ceremonies were designed to test young Sailors on their first cruise out in the open sea. The older and more experienced sailors were always so happy to perform the most outrageous tricks and games on the new comers that they sometimes crossed the limits of entertainment and brought the game to a dangerous and even deadly point. 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WebEquator-crossing ceremonies, typically featuring King Neptune, are common in the Navy and are also sometimes carried out for passengers' entertainment on civilian ocean liners and cruise ships. )\gXpj 4_M\ ot%H8#,}u{ XXej4nM+#I Equator Crossing or Baptism Ceremony Showing gratitude towards the sea and its masters may come in the form of a whispering pray behind the four walls of your cabin, but it sometimes requires a loud shout and a real ceremony which must be attended by everybody else on board. WebEquator-crossing ceremonies, typically featuring King Neptune, are common in the Navy and are also sometimes carried out for passengers' entertainment on civilian ocean liners and cruise ships. Perhaps the most famous scientist to be initiated was Charles Darwin, who wrote about it in his diary. Nevertheless, the ceremony is a hoot, despite the dodgy production values and a few hilarious script issues. This line-crossing lunacy was sanctioned to boost sailors spirits. The Line Crossing Ceremony might just be the most interesting of today's naval traditions. USMC Golden shellback here, aboard the USS Denver, 1981 much more fun pitching than catching on Wog Day!!! %%EOF Beatings were often still common, usually with wet firehoses, and several World War II Navy deck logs speak of sailors visiting sick bay after crossing the line. The 90s saw large groups of people balking at its existence. The crew was in the USS Franklin D. Roosevelt. Your email address will not be published. Following the dip, raw eggs are broken onto the heads of the first timers and then they are made to drink a deadly concoction of beer, chilly sauce, raw eggs etc. Afterwards, some may be "interrogated" by King Neptune and his entourage, and the use of "truth serum" (hot sauce + after shave) and whole uncooked eggs put in the mouth. NH 106226. VA-approved lender. WebThe ceremony of Crossing the Line an old seafaring tradition. Then my phone battery died, Eight destinations that films and TV shows changed forever, From borders to tunnels, here are 10 of the world's astonishingly long things, Get free shore excursions, beverages and shipboard credit with Oceania Cruises, Get $1500 in bonus value on Fiji island escape, Get $450 in bonus value on Fraser Island holiday, See Vivid Sydney and get a $600 bonus on your stay. The Star Spangled Shellbacks was used for those crossing the equator on July 4th, 1966. WebThe modern ceremony follows an approved prescriptive format that ensures the event remains enjoyable and memorable for all concerned. Over the history of researchers hitting the high seas to acquire water samples and observe marine life, there are multiple accounts of ceremonies performed when the ships hit the Equator. Not affiliated with any government agency. Download image. This having completed, an entire round of the shop is taken to commemorate the event altogether. Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System & Directory Read about: Joining Ship? The custom of crossing the line was immediately adopted following the formation of the Royal Australian Navy, as seen here onboard HMAS Australia (I) in 1913. We still laugh about it to this day. The Iron Shellback are those on the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and the USS San Jacinto who crossed the equator after a 200+ day voyage during the 2020 pandemic. This ceremony is still practised onboard numerous ships today. This is a usually light-hearted event that allows the ships crew to take some time out from their hectic schedules and have fun with the rest of the crewmates. He actually told me that he had never agreed to humiliating or painful trials for the new comers because the strength of a real seafarer stays in his heart, his wisdom and his kindness and these qualities can not be tested through silly, humiliating or painful ordeals. The two-day event (evening and day) is a ritual in which previously inducted crew members (Trusty Shellbacks) are organized into a "Court of Neptune" and induct the Slimy Pollywogs into "the mysteries of the Deep".

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