equator crossing ceremony script

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equator crossing ceremony script

227 0 obj <>stream A VA approved lender; Not endorsed or sponsored by the Dept. 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. Equator-crossing ritual on cruise ships Mal Chenu Puckering up to kiss the fish. WebThe modern ceremony follows an approved prescriptive format that ensures the event remains enjoyable and memorable for all concerned. As with most healthy traditions, the small indignities are a symbolism for inclusion and frolic. They never turned into a nightmare for the new comers and they were accompanied only by laughter and happy faces. Those credulous enough to run forward to see Neptune "were received with the watery honours which it is customary to bestow". Our modern practice is believed to have evolved from Viking rituals, executed upon crossing the 30th parallel, a tradition They also were made to sufferembarrassing ordeals including: Being swatted with a fire hose while on their hands and knees, Locked in stocks and pelted with mushy fruit, Locked in a salt-water coffin with a bright green die made of a fluorescent sodium salt. NH 106226. Taking liberties with the piscatorial subjects of His Majesty Neptunus Rex. It is a memory that is etched into each and every seafarer, for it is an event that ushers in a sense of belonging to ones profession. As the cruise ship Voyager of the Seas nears the equator, excitement mounts and all Pollywogs those who have never crossed the line are encouraged to register for the crossing the equator ceremony. 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. Following this aspect of the grand event, the sailors are tied together and marched forward to the anchor with the sound of a drum to coordinate movement. King Neptune is a prominent figure, as is his representative Davy Jones. Then the heads are shaved in the most uneven manner possible (no historical reasoning for it, but personally judging, it is most likely to do with a purging process) and paint is applied at random all over the body (privates aside!). 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. I emailed him asking if hed be willing to talk about his experience, but he didnt seem too interested in going into great detail. At the end of it, the Captain, Chief Engineer and the rest, as a mark of welcoming and respect, congratulate the initiates. On the open sea, even the leader of a great nation must answer to King Neptune. 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. Because I know with a smile and a handshake [], A Queen is no ordinary woman. 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. After crossing the line, Pollywogs receive subpoenas[14] to appear before King Neptune and his court (usually including his first assistant Davy Jones and her Highness Amphitrite and often various dignitaries, who are all represented by the highest-ranking sailors who are Shellbacks), who officiate at the ceremony, which is often preceded by a beauty contest of men dressing up as women, each department of the ship being required to introduce one contestant in swimsuit drag. The event often lasted two days and normally followed a standard transition. [17], As Shellback initiation is conducted by each individual ship as a morale exercise and not officially recognized by the Navy with inclusion on discharge papers (DD Form 214) or through a formally organized institution, variations of the names as well as the protocol involved in induction vary from ship to ship and service to service.[18]. Your email address will not be published. Other people often show up, including a surgeon, a barber, people dressed as bears, and a judge. hb```>VB eaX;f8L/```b^22jtsVP 6z k$}`+9Vxyo Nk1TO4# }/$ 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. King Neptune Ceremony on board the Polish shipChrzest Rwnikowy. The coverage provoked widespread criticism, especially when the videotape showed some of the submarine's officers watching the entire proceedings from the conning tower. Cracking it open at once pertains to long luck and safe seas. 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. privacy policy. This is typical of certificates awarded in the pre-WWII period. Your email address will not be published. The U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard have well-established line-crossing rituals. Each ship might have their own traditions and nuances, but the fundamental structure goes something like this: Many accounts dwell only on the final, elaborate ceremony that takes place on the day a ship traverses the equator, but the month leading up to King Neptune's arrival, when the Pollywogs are separated off from the Shellbacks, is also significant. Throughout history, line-crossing ceremonies have sometimes become dangerous hazing rituals. But line-crossing has expanded to other corners of seafaring culture, including the unlikely place of scientific research cruises. 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. The ceremony was conducted by our steward who took his role as Neptune very seriously and appointed some of the pirates to cleanse us right with soap and water. Maine 's commanding officer greets King Neptune and Royal Party at beginning of equator crossing ceremonies. It was a way for sailors to be tested for their seaworthiness. 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. Behind the pomp and grandeur of the event is a lot of history. While now its as much a spectacle as it is a test, the line-crossing ceremony reportedly has its roots in practicality. May you always sail in safe seas and always find your way back home! In 1936, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, too, received a summons to appear before the sea god and pay his respects. 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. Equator-crossing ceremonies, typically featuring King Neptune, are also sometimes carried out for passengers' entertainment on civilian ocean liners and Wogs (all of the uninitiated) are allowed to capture and interrogate any Shellbacks they can find (e.g., tying them up, cracking eggs or pouring aftershave lotion on their heads). They are also performed in the merchant navy and aboard sail training ships. SMH! Most prominently, ocean scientists are known to perform similar ceremonies. It was also an initiation rite commemoratedthe first time a sailor crossed over. I think that being able to participate in the rite of passage with another friendly navy is always an honor and it allows us to know each other better.". During the ceremony, the Pollywogs undergo a number of increasingly embarrassing ordeals (wearing clothing inside out and backwards; crawling on hands and knees on nonskid-coated decks; being swatted with short lengths of firehose; being locked in stocks & pillories and pelted with mushy fruit; being locked in a water coffin of salt-water and bright green sea dye [fluorescent sodium salt]; crawling through chutes or large tubs of rotting garbage; kissing the Royal Baby's belly coated with axle grease, hair chopping, etc. "?HF]y@O?&jL _ The views constitute only the opinions and do not constitute any guidelines or recommendation on any course of action to be followed by the reader. Hershs research focused on how such an ingrained naval practice helped illustrate the power dynamics of people historically discriminated against in the Navynamely gays and women. WebThe ceremony of Crossing the Line an old seafaring tradition. In this case, the whole ceremony can turn into a complete nightmare for the young seamen who would rather forget about the event than recording it in hundreds of photos and movies. It is a memory that is etched into each and every seafarer, for it is an event that ushers in a sense of belonging to ones profession. WebThe ceremony of Crossing the Line an old seafaring tradition. Webthe equator, this ceremony has a rich and varied history. This is the beginning of a line-crossing ceremony, a centuries-old ritual to inaugurate Equator-crossing virgins. The Star Spangled Shellbacks was used for those crossing the equator on July 4th, 1966. Required fields are marked *. Help using this website - Accessibility statement, Luxury cruise offers a taste of the Succession lifestyle. Other milestones such as crossing the Antarctic Circle and deep sea diving have also been adopted in this tradition. Maine 's commanding officer greets King Neptune and Royal Party at beginning of equator crossing ceremonies. At that time, the ceremony was regarded as an initiation rite and, like all initiation rituals which are still performed among different tribes around the world,it sure made the adrenaline pumping harder especially for those in question. From that moment on, they are no longer seen as outsiders, but they fully deserved to be included in the seafarers family. From Wog to Shellback. U.S. Navy website: http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=75241. She recalled the innovative costumes and how almost everyone on the ship was involved. The US Navy holds a massive, two-day line crossing ceremony wherein experienced sailors (those who have been across the equator) are called Shellbacks, Trusty Shellbacks and Honorable Shellbacks, the Sons of Neptune. On the voyage of HMS Endeavour to the Pacific in 1768, captained by James Cook, Joseph Banks described how the crew drew up a list of everyone on board, including cats and dogs, and interrogated them as to whether they had crossed the equator. They are also performed in the merchant navy and aboard sail training ships. By the end of WW II, the United States Navy had added nearly 1,200 major combatant vessels to its combined fleet. Reflecting the popularity of tattoos among sailors, some people choose to get tattoos to mark that they have participated in a ceremony, such as an image of a shellback turtle or King Neptune. See the current VA disability pay charts, and calculate your monthly compensation. hbbd```b``"ZA$Sd&0,4 ,FHXL*H(H2 2 This amounted to over 70% of the world's total number of military ships measuring 1,000 tons or greater. The ceremony itself was based on the Court of Neptune, where Shellbacks inducted the Pollywoggers into the mysteries of the deep. 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. The crew were expected to become seasoned-sailors, capable of handling long periods of time with rough seas. The Pollywogs (also referred to as landlubbers) must be dipped in water for the initiation and passing into the realm of the seas. 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. 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. Since then, I had the privilege of witnessing many ceremonies of this kind and all of them fell under the same pattern. Next, the Pollywogs kneel before the King and kiss the royal baby's belly, which according to some accounts is covered in grease. 7 0 obj Courtesy of the Naval Historical Foundation, Washington, DC; collection of Rear Admiral Harold M. Bemis; U.S. %PDF-1.5 % The rich tradition of the Crossing the Line ceremonies often involved varied events throughout which pollywogs, the term given to those who have not crossed the equator before, were put through a series of initiation rites involving harrowing and often embarrassing tasks, gags, obstacles, physical hardships, and generally good-humored mischief. Normally, it is at dinner that the highly esteemed Equator Crossing Certificate is handed out to seal the rituals authenticity forever. [10], U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt described his crossing-the-line ceremony aboard the "Happy Ship" USSIndianapolis with his "Jolly Companions" in a letter to his wife Eleanor Roosevelt on 26 November 1936. He thought it was beneficial to morale. But it was also authorised by Captains to entertain the passengers on merchant ships like the. Heinous as the accusations are, no one seems too concerned until the royal handmaidens bring out the fish. Our modern practice is believed to have evolved from Viking rituals, executed upon crossing the 30th parallel, a tradition [2] The officer on watch reported a boat ahead, and Captain FitzRoy ordered "hands up, shorten sail". As this scientist put it, everyone on the ship was fine with someone not participating; No one egged her in her sleep., Neptune and his entourage during a Polish line-crossing ceremony. Naval History and Heritage Command. WebThe ritual dates back at least 400 years in Western seafaring. They are also performed in the merchant navy and aboard sail training ships. The transition flows from established order to the "controlled chaos" of the Pollywog Revolt, the beginnings of re-order in the initiation rite as the fewer but experienced enlisted crew converts the Wogs through physical tests, then back to, and thereby affirming, the pre-established order of officers and enlisted. But it was also authorised by Captains to entertain the passengers on merchant ships like the Ashmore. 14 0 obj King Neptune's First Mate was called Davy Jones and the Second Mate was called Her Highness Amphitrite. most of the others were treated much worse, dirty mixtures being put in their mouths & rubbed on their faces. The Royal Canadian Navy named them Tadpoles or Griffins. Interrogations were held by King Neptune and his entourage who used truth serum (aftershave and hot sauce), or whole uncooked eggs in the Pollywoggers mouth. The ritual is the subject of a painting by Matthew Benedict named The Mariner's Baptism and of a 1961 book by Henning Henningsen named Crossing the Equator: Sailor's Baptism and Other Initiation Rites. Behind the Strange and Controversial Ritual When You Cross the Equator At Sea. Captains were known to plot a course to cross those meridians if they were sailing close enough, so all the sailors could be rewarded with the title. endobj Taken by surprise and slightly intimidated by higher ranked officers, the new cadets or ordinary seamen are usually trapped into admitting one color or another after they visually checked the water. 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. terms and conditions With the pollywog to shellback transition complete, a certificate was often awarded to the new shellback as a rite of passage. Shilavadra Bhattacharjee is a shipbroker with a background in commercial operations after having sailed onboard as a Third Officer. The first-time participants are known as pollywogs. There were pageants where wogs were forced to crossdress in front of their superiors, and then spend the rest of their day performing often degrading tasks. For instance, blackface was a common element of it before World War II, but once integration hit the military that part stopped. 6 0 obj 211 0 obj <>/Filter/FlateDecode/ID[<9CAE41BC77A23D4684E864BC01895996>]/Index[187 41]/Info 186 0 R/Length 110/Prev 455655/Root 188 0 R/Size 228/Type/XRef/W[1 3 1]>>stream House Armed Services Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces, Naval Forces Europe Naval Forces Africa, Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command, Naval Information Warfare Systems Command, Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command, Naval Aviation Warfighting Development Center, United States Armed Forces School of Music, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, United States battleship retirement debate, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Line-crossing_ceremony&oldid=1133712939, Wikipedia articles needing rewrite from March 2017, Articles needing additional references from July 2016, All articles needing additional references, Articles with unsourced statements from October 2018, Articles with unsourced statements from November 2015, Articles with unsourced statements from September 2009, Articles with unsourced statements from February 2011, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 15 January 2023, at 04:40. Data and charts, if used, in the article have been sourced from available information and have not been authenticated by any statutory authority. [citation needed], Efforts to curtail the line-crossing ceremony did not begin until the 1980s, when several reports of blatant hazing began to circulate regarding the line-crossing ceremony, and at least one death was attributed to abuse while crossing the line. Did mine in 1978 in the Indian Ocean on the SS Lepeta. 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. It is these little gems that bind us seafarers together in work and spirit and give us the inner strength to carry forward inspire rough seas and long periods away from home. Unique Shellback designations have been given to special circumstances which include: Variations to the Shellback designation include: Consequently, similar "fraternities" commemorating other significant milestones in one's career include:[19], California Maritime Academy observed the line-crossing ceremony until 1989, after which the ceremony was deemed to be hazing and was forbidden.

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