,
A fishing boat loaded with dories and gear prepares to set out. (Photo: Edwin Levick) port, change the n am e, o r perhaps modify the vessel in some way, bur certainly altering its use. T h erefore, the unsuccess ful green-and-buff fishin g schooner called the Noank Netter could reappear as the profitable New H ave n collier Coal Carter.
Fiddler's Green A death was a fri ghtening event at sea. Fishermen avoided speakin g to p riests dressed in black or lawyers, grim serious men, just before setting sail because they had an aura of demise. Superstitions co ncern ing ghosts led to elaborate burial ceremonies at sea. Sh rouding the body with sailcloth and placing weigh rs on the body ensured that the corpse sank to the depths of rhe sea called Davy Jones' (D evil Jonah 's) locker. T h e spirit of the sailor wo uld then enter "Fiddler's Green," an underwater h eaven for mariners presided over by a kindly wi tch known as M other Carey. If a violent storm was about to appear on the ocean above, M other Carey wo uld transfo rm h er ghos rly seamen into stormy petrels so that they could squawk and swoop about a ship to warn the mariners of the approaching danger. W hen an unmarried m an was lost at sea, after an appro priate passage of rime his possessions were auctioned off to the crew. The seaman who acquired a more personal item like a shirr, pipe or razo r wo uld nor dare to use it until the vessel had docked at home fo r fear of offen d ing the former shipmate's ghosr. 4 Such a death fo cused th e m inds of those left behind on the omens they should have heeded, or noticed . T hey often talked of the departed shipmate, relating d reams or unusual behavior that mighrhave predicted the calamity that roo k him away. An accident on board made bystanders remember some litrle circums tance that m ight be considered a forewarning. T herefore it fo llows that fishermen as a group put great faith in the predictions of fo rtune-tellers, and the business of fo rtune tell ing thri ved in many porrs. 5 T he "srone fete" cerem onywas a mo urning custom grounded in superstition. T he grieving captain's widow or family wo uld prepare a feast on the one-year an niversary of the death of a captain lost at sea. Prior to the banquet a cooper wo uld build a cask, preferably from wood salvaged from th e
SEA HISTORY 101 , SUMMER 2002
lost vessel or from a captain's sea chest. T he barrel wo uld then be vaguely rigged to resem ble the lost ship . T he widow wo uld honor one gues t by appo inting him first mate and he, in turn, selected a crew. T he "mate an d crew" then spent th e even ing drinki ng and singi ng, dragging the mock vessel fro m tavern to tavern. Ar an appointed hour the crew would smash the cask with stones until it fell apart to release the captain's spirit from his shi p so that he might enter heaven. Another destructive ritual based on superstition was called rhe "dead horse ceremo ny, "6 although it was mo re commonl y a tradition of blue water sailors. T he crew of a vessel beat and burned a mock straw horse suspended in the rigging after working off their advanced wages that paid bills left beh ind on shore. This supposedly released a demon that deprived them of fiscal freedom- however temporarily.
Whistling Up a Breeze A constant concern at sea was weather, which was both a close friend and an unforgiving enemy. Superstitions about fog, storms, doldrums, and rogue waves abound. Cloud forma tions, sky color, and wind directions all conjure supers titions relating to weather prediction. Sailors' p roverbs often embody accumulated fo lk wisdom on weather co ndi tions so important to shi ps at sea. Such was, fo r example, the time-honored adage: Red sky in the mo rning Sail ors rake warning; Red sky at night, Sailors' deligh r. Sailors' oft-cited app rehension at "sun dogs"
(a halo around the sun) is also justified by meteorological science. Others, however, defy rational interpretation. Killing a storm y petrel (Mother C arey's chicken) or an albatross could bring about a terrible gale. Leaving a hatch cover bottom-side up or allowing it to fall into the hold wo uld invite huge rogue waves. Whisrling on deck might just provoke a hurricane, bur, paradoxically, if there was no wind at all, one could "whisrle up a breeze"presumably nor too loud or too long! T o assure a fair wind a sailor scratched the aft side of the mainmast with a knife. Ar night helmsmen plotted the direction of shooting stars that pointed toward the direction of fair winds . Carrying an umbrella on shipboard was very bad luck, a certain prelude to extremely violent wind. Adverse weather and xe nophobia produced a weather-related variation of the Jonah concept. As an illustration, sailors of Finnish and Lapp ancestry were thought to be wizards with power over winds and storms. 7 It was considered a bad omen to have one on board a vessel because he might decide to induce a headwind to slow the progress of the ship . The crew might badger a man from one of these countries into turning the wind to the ship's favor. Similarly men with certain Scottish family names such as Coull, Ross, and Whyte were thought to be unlucky on the fishing gro unds. 8
The Sacred Cod Superstitions that had lirrle bearing on the sailor's immediate welfare were srricrly adhered to in some communities. C arrying salt in one's pocket promoted good luck, particularl y when fishing. Avoiding being hit by the excrement of the sea gulls also averred misfortune. (Although some fishermen co nsidered a sea gull "strike" a sign of good luck because it was an unpleasant, bur common occurrence.) C hewing food while sewing clothing that yo u have not taken off evaded bad luck. O ne never left a bucket on deck because one might accidentally "kick the bucker" and fall overboard, presumably to one's dearh.9 Shellbacks never sat on an upside-down bucker on deck or passed a flag to a fellow sailor th ro ugh rhe rungs of a ladder or misfortune was sure to follow. An astute fis herman always left a few fish scales on deck when cl eaning up to attract fish for
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