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 which would appear to lend credence to these arcane beliefs. Illustrated with quirky cartoons, this book explores nautical superstitions from all over the world in an informative yet entertaining way. Includes superstitions about: Boatbuilding, naming and launching; Lucky and unlucky dates to sail; People, things and animals not to let on board; Signs and portents at sea; Words not to say (and their alternatives); Predicting the weather; Fishing; and much, much more!

Combining captivating sketches by his brother, artist Ben Clary, and his own prized ghost ship portrayals, Jim Clary presents a compelling and riveting digest of beliefs, customs, and mystery in Superstitions of the Sea. Clary focuses on the vast array of strange, mythical, and often comical beliefs of mariners from ancient times to the present. Collecting the various topics for years. Clary found that maritime superstition was weaved throughout every fabric of his study. So interesting was the folklore that it often lured him far away from his subject search and held him spellbound for hours at a time. Clary offers a unique and encompassing classification of maritime superstitions, including anecdotes on: animals, burial, charms, demons, evil eyes, figureheads, ghost ships, hexes, icebergs, Jonahs, knots, launchings, myths, navigation, omens, people, romance, shipwrecks, triangles, the unexplained, Vikings, and weather phenomena. He combed through countless age-old volumes and interviewed today's sailors to bring to the reader incredible yarns and unbelievable recorded fact enshrouded in mystery.

Why will a sailor never go to sea on Friday 13th? Why are boats always referred to as 'she'? How do you navigate the ocean without a compass? Does the Bermuda Triangle really exist? Why do sailors wear earrings? Did Blackbeard actually exist? Did Nelson really say 'Kiss me, Hardy'? What's the correct way to bury a body at sea? Why is a rope never called a rope? This fascinating collection of maritime folklore and trivia delves into the history, science and culture of the sea, and is packed full of entertaining, surprising and insightful facts, from the delightfully obscure to the amusingly quaint, including everyday expressions that have their origins on board ship. Topics include: sailors and superstitions; ships and shipbuilding; navigation and seamanship; pirates and smugglers; fish and fishermen; coasts and oceans; tides and weather; art and literature of the sea.

The nautical reference book you never knew you needed: an encyclopedia of all superstitions maritime and marine, learn your A-B-Seas of sailors’ guiding magic and mythos—and why you should never stir your tea with a knife, lest you invite trouble and strife. Ever wondered why the skipper gave you a hairy eyeball when you stepped aboard the ship with your left foot? Or why a brolly or a bumbershoot—for the newly seasoned sailor, an umbrella—will bring trouble aboard? Find out all this and more in The Book of Sailors' Superstitions, the never-seen-before collection of maritime superstitions ranging from the East Coast to the Great Lakes of Canada, the Inuit to the First Nations Peoples of the Pacific Northwest. From A: why killing an albatross is bad luck, but seeing one is good luck—to B: why bananas are so feared that some sailors only refer to them as “that curved yellow fruit”—to C: clapping aboard a ship will bring thunder—you’ll be fluent in sailing superstitions in no time! From sailor and author R. Bruce Macdonald—who swears he didn’t know not to stir his tea with a knife—comes an indispensable guide to the ways in which we ward off bad luck at sea and attempt to keep ourselves safe by shaping fate through signs and symbols. The original “marine insurance” for sailors, superstitions offered a semblance of control amidst a dangerous and volatile life aboard, at the mercy of the weather, the crew, the ship—even pirates. Ultimately, this encyclopedia reveals that superstitions have always been with us to comfort, to charm and to ease fears. Learn them all as you sail the high seas!