Superstitions Connected with Ships and the Sea by Elizabeth Rose Pin 7430
Women on a ship was considered bad luck, as there was jealousy amongst the crew and this caused discontent and arguments and distracted them from their work and legend has it that they thought it made the sea angry.
However, apparently naked women have a calming affect on the sea that is why in days gone by they used to be portrayed on the front of ships.
The launching of a ship and naming it is usually done after it has been built and it has done its sea trials and is ready to sail.
History tells us that as early as 3rd millennium BC they used to launch the ships and some would sacrifice an ox probably to please the Gods.
The Vikings continued celebrating the launch with the spilling of blood then gradually that became Wine then eventually Champagne.
Today, we have a woman to launch the ship and this believe is to bring good luck and prosperity.
Friday was a bad day, they believed, to start a journey on a ship. They think this derived from the fact that Christ was crucified on a Friday.
They thought Sunday was the best day to start a journey, again may be believed as Christ was resurrected on a Sunday.
They believed that clapping on board a ship brought thunder and lightning and whistling brought them a storm.
No bananas were allowed on board, as ships that carried them often disappeared.
The theory was that the bananas fermented and released toxic gases that killed the sailors.
Another theory was that poisonous spiders would hide in the bananas and kill the crew so it was a bad omen to have the bananas on board.
If sailors died on board due to an accident the sailors believed that their spirits haunted the ship and put a curse on the vessel. So, if anything went wrong they would blame the spirits.
