“Green Christmas, White Easter”

(This article appeared in the December 2025 edition of “Smoke Signals”)

Every year the bookies take bets as to whether we will have a White Christmas and every winter, someone’s grandmother, neighbour, or a particularly smug crew mate will look out at a mild December day, sniff the salty air, and announce:

“Green Christmas, white Easter!”

To land folk, it’s a quaint old saying. To sailors, it’s yet another entry in the long list of seasonal prophecies we pretend not to believe in — until they come true. So where does this bit of weather wisdom come from? And does it hold any water… salty or otherwise?

What Is a “Green Christmas”?

A Green Christmas simply means:

• mild temperatures
• no snow
• the grass is still showing
• and the dog has brought half the garden into the house

In folklore terms: If you can still see the colour green on the 25th of December, winter has unfinished business and according to tradition, winter LOVES a comeback tour.

Why Would Easter Be White?

Weather lore says:

“If winter doesn’t bother showing up at Christmas, it will definitely ambush you in March or April.”

The idea is that nature “balances” itself:

• a mild winter starts late
• cold snaps get pushed into spring
• snowstorms choose the worst possible time
• gardeners despair
• and boat owners stare angrily at their antifoul schedule

Historically, this wasn’t entirely nonsense. Early mild winters often were followed by late frosts — before modern climate patterns went fully freestyle.

What Sailors Believed

Seafarers had their own twist:

1. A Green Christmas Means an Angry North Wind

If December behaved itself, sailors feared January and February would bring a spiteful easterly — the kind that turns ropes into iron bars and freezes your optimism solid.

2. Calm at Christmas = Chaos at Equinox

Many old logs mention a quiet festive season followed by wild winter gales. (Though this may simply reflect how hungover crews felt in January.)

3. Easter Snow = Bad Fishing

Folk in Scottish and North Sea fishing towns claimed that late snow killed off plankton blooms and messed with the early-season shoals.

The science is… debatable.

Where the Saying Actually Comes From

The proverb appears in several northern European traditions, including:

• English weather lore
• Norwegian and Danish almanacs
• Scottish fishing communities
• Rural farming sayings

Clearly it is more likely to apply in the Northern parts of the UK and Europe where the frequency of snow is much higher.

Is There Any Truth to It Today?

Sort of… occasionally… when the weather feels like cooperating.

Meteorologists say that a mild December can correlate with:

• displaced Arctic air later in the season
• late cold snaps
• spring snowfall
• colder Easters than Christmas Days (which actually happens more often than you’d think)

So while the proverb isn’t reliable forecasting, it remains a fun bit of lore — and sometimes eerily correct.

The Modern Sailor’s Interpretation

If Christmas is warm and green, then you can expect:

• the first regatta of the year to be cancelled
• your launch date to be ruined by sleet
• the yard to be frozen on the exact day you booked the crane
• and someone on the pontoon to smugly shout, “Told you! Green Christmas means white Easter!”

“Why was it believed that Women being on board brought Bad Luck” 

(This article appeared in the October 2025 edition of “Smoke Signals”)

For centuries, seafarers have carried a long list of beliefs and customs to help them make sense of the risks of life at sea. Among the most persistent superstitions was the idea that women on board a ship would bring bad luck. Today, it reads as outdated and faintly absurd — but its roots stretch deep into maritime culture, religion, and the psychological pressures of life away from shore.

The superstition appears in written form as early as the Phoenician and Greek trading eras (roughly 1200–300 BC). Ancient seafarers worshipped sea deities, particularly Poseidon/Neptune, who were regarded as volatile, jealous, and easily offended.

Women were often linked to land, home, hearth, and stability. The sea, by contrast, was wild, masculine, and unpredictable. Bringing the two together was seen as a provocation to the gods.

In medieval and early Renaissance ships, the belief became more formally embedded in maritime lore: Merchant guilds discouraged women on trading voyages. Fishing villages had taboos against women approaching boats during preparation. Sailors often performed rites to “appease the sea” before departure.

Despite its mythic roots, there are practical and cultural reasons why sailors clung to the superstition:

• Crews were often all male and lived in very tight quarters. Sailors believed the presence of a woman could lead to rivalry, conflict, or violence — which couldsink morale and efficiency.
• Traditional seafaring was rigidly hierarchical. The idea of women at sea challenged long-standing norms and could be seen as a direct threat to order.
• The sea was often referred to as she— a powerful and unpredictable woman. Some sailors believed that bringing a real woman aboard would cause the sea herself to become jealous and angry.

Paradoxically, ships routinely featured carved female figureheads on the bow. These were believed to calm the sea, guide the ship, and appeal to Neptune’s sense of honour — but crucially, they were always bare-chested. The idea was that a bold, fearless woman staring down the storm would shame the sea into gentler behaviour.

One notable exception to the rules was Grace O’Malley, the Irish pirate queen of the 16th century, who commanded fleets and terrified the English fleet

By the late Victorian era, as ships became safer and discipline improved, the superstition began to fade — though it lingered in some fishing and whaling communities well into the 20th century.

By the 18th and 19th centuries, women did sail aboard naval and merchant ships. Captains and merchants sometime carried their wife and daughters onboard and some vessel carried women for laundry, nursing and cooking. During WW1 the nursing role had really become established but it was not until 1990 that the Royal Navy welcomed it first wrens onboatrd HMS Brilliant to serve as crew.

“Equinox storm — a sailor’s norm.”

(This article appeared in the September 2025 edition of “Smoke Signals”)

September is a month of balance — or at least, it should be. Around the 21st to 23rd, the sun crosses the equator, and day and night stand in near-perfect equality. But if you’ve spent any time at sea, you’ll know that nature seldom lets such balance pass quietly. For centuries, sailors have repeated the old rhyme:

“Equinox storm — a sailor’s norm.”

It is a saying rooted in both superstition and hard-earned experience.

Why the Equinox Brings Gales

At the autumn equinox, the sun shifts rapidly south, redistributing heat across the globe. Its apparent movement South is at its greatest daily change. This change unsettles the great atmospheric engines that drive our weather. The jet stream typically begins its autumn shift, moving southward towards the UK and strengthening as the temperature difference between the equator and the poles increases. This in turn increase the likelihood of Atlantic depressions forming and therefore we are more likely to experience rainfall and gusty winds , especially across the southern parts of the UK. The jet stream’s wavy patterns, called Rossby waves, influence these weather systems, with northward dips bringing low pressure and southward dips causing high pressure.

To the sailor, this means stronger winds, more frequent gales, and a shift from summer’s relatively settled conditions into autumn’s stormier mood.

Folklore and Seafaring Wisdom

Fishing communities around Britain and Ireland once treated the equinox with real caution. Crews would stay ashore, muttering that storms were “guaranteed” at this time of year. Farmers, too, dreaded September’s gales — stored hay could be soaked, barns battered, and orchards stripped of fruit.

For mariners, the equinox was a natural turning point. Summer voyages were behind them; winter crossings now lay ahead. The lore was simple: if you must sail in late September, do so with caution — or not at all.

A Grain of Truth

Meteorologists now back up what folklore long claimed. The shift in solar heating and the realignment of the jet stream around the equinox do indeed make storms more likely. Not every year will bring a tempest on the exact date, but statistically, late September is one of the stormier times in the northern hemisphere.

2018 is the best modern day example.

• Ex-Hurricane Helene (17–18 September 2018): Although weakened upon reaching the UK, it prompted yellow wind warnings across southern England, Wales, and the Midlands.

• Storm Ali (19 September 2018): A ferocious windstorm with gusts of over 100 mph, particularly in Ireland and Scotland. Two fatalities; widespread power outages, transport chaos, and structural damage marked its impact.

• Storm Bronagh (20–21 September 2018): A deluge of rain swept across Ireland, Wales, and northern England. Sheffield recorded its wettest September day ever, and heavy flooding disrupted transportation and local communities.

2025

While the Equinox occurs on the 22nd September this year, we and many others sailing firms are exhibiting at the Southampton Boat Show. We expect the 22nd to be calm but we have seen plenty stormy weather across the UK in the weeks building up to the Equinox.

Lessons for the Modern Sailor

Today we have weather apps, GRIB files, synoptic charts, and satellite imagery. Yet the old lore still holds value. Seasoned sailors know that the weeks around the equinox deserve respect. It is a time to check moorings, watch forecasts closely, and prepare for the sea to turn more hostile. Superstition or not, the warning remains sound.

“Turn me over, I’m done on this side.”

(This article appeared in theAugust 2025 edition of “Smoke Signals”)

This famous quote goes back almost 1,800 years and is attributed to St. Lawrence during his execution.

Who Was St. Lawrence?

Lawrence lived in the 3rd century and served as one of seven deacons of the Christian Church in Rome. His role was to care for the poor and distribute alms. When Emperor Valerian began persecuting Christians in 258 AD, Lawrence was arrested. According to tradition, he was martyred by being roasted alive on a gridiron — an image that has become his enduring symbol. As the flames licked around him, Lawrence is said to have looked up at his executioners and joked:“Turn me over, I’m done on this side.”

That mix of courage, humour and defiance in the face of death made him one of the most admired saints of the early Church. He quickly became associated with, with the poor, with cooks and with sailors.

The Tears of St. Lawrence

St Lawrence’s  feast day (10 August) falls during the annual Perseids meteor shower and is often the peak day of this phenomenon. For centuries, sailors looked up on clear August nights and saw falling meteors, calling them the “Tears of St. Lawrence.” To seafarers far from land, the sight was a reminder that their patron was watching over them.

Why Sailors Looked to Him

For sailors, St. Lawrence offered a double form of protection:

• Against fire – His martyrdom by fire linked him to the control of flame, a constant fear on wooden ships laden with tar, pitch, and canvas.
• Against storms and the unknown – The sea was unpredictable, and invoking a saint known for bravery under pressure gave reassurance to crews heading into peril.

In coastal towns of Spain, Portugal and Italy, Lawrence’s feast day became a time to bless fishing fleets and merchant vessels, asking his protection for the coming season while they look to the skies for answers.

Maritime Traditions

Even today, many harbour towns in the Mediterranean mark 10th August with processions and maritime blessings:

• In Italy, boats are decorated and paraded along the waterfront.
• In Spain, Mass is held for the safety of sailors and fishermen before the fleet heads out.
• In Portugal, villages gather at the shore to light fires and watch the night sky for Lawrence’s “tears.”

Tradition says that if the weather is fair on St. Lawrence day then it will be good weather for late summer and autumn, if however there are storms on 10 August the weather will be foul.

I began writing this article before the 10th August so was watching the weather with interest. I am pleased to report that the weather on the 10th August was fair and although cloud cover stopped much of the UK seeing St Lawrence tears that night, many Europeans witnessed his tears. The Perseids meteor shower was however clearer to bee seen 2 nights later on the 12th this year.

Dogs Days

(This article appeared in the July 2025 edition of “Smoke Signals”)

Fish Wives Tales celebrates its 5th birthday. That’s right this monthly blog of all things superstitious at sea has been running for 5 years. For our birthday month iv’e chosen to write about something topical- The heat of July.

The “Dog Days” are a period in July and early August when the trade winds fail, Europe and the UK swelter in extreme heat, and the Atlantic hurricane season begins to stir. This unsettling combination led to an age-old superstition among sailors:“The Dog Days bring madness, storms, and ill fortune.”

So feared was this time of year that some captains would delay departures, refusing to set sail until the Dog Days had passed.

The phrase “Dog Days” refers to the period when Sirius, the Dog Star, rises in conjunction with the sun—traditionally from July 3rd to August 11th in the Northern Hemisphere. Sirius is the brightest star in our night sky (after the sun) and part of the constellation Canis Major—Latin for “Greater Dog.”

This star’s combined brightness and ease of location made it a key part of weather lore across many ancient cultures.

The Ancient Greeks believed that the combined heat of Sirius and the sun caused the extreme summer temperatures, and they feared the star. They associated it with drought, famine, disease, and general discomfort. In their eyes, Sirius didn’t just rise—it scorched.

Ancient Greek and Roman superstition and tradition often had crossover. The Roman poet Virgil captured this sentiment in The Aeneid:

“Fiery Sirius, bringer of drought and plague to frail mortals, rises and saddens the sky with sinister light.”

By contrast, the Ancient Egyptians welcomed Sirius, which they called Sothis. Its dawn rising heralded the rise of the Rover Nile and the annual flooding which followed, an event that brought water and fertile silt to the land. It was so important that their New Year began on the first New Moon after Sothis’ heliacal rising.

These ancient beliefs, held by seafaring nations, were passed down through the ages. By the Middle Ages, sailors across Europe had come to believe (though observation) that the Dog Days were cursed with:

• Sails could catch fire—whether from the blazing sun or as a symbolic warning.
• Dogs on board brought bad luck, especially storms.
• Fights and mutiny were more likely due to tempers flaring in the heat.
• Ships had to row through the doldrums, which was both laborious and dangerous, especially with restless crews.

Modern science tells us that the Dog Days’ heat has nothing to do with Sirius. It’s a result of the Earth’s axial tilt, with the sun at its most direct angle over the Northern Hemisphere during summer. The heat, humidity, and hurricane activity are simply part of seasonal patterns—but it’s easy to see why Sirius once seemed like a celestial culprit

“The Long-Eared Curse : Rabbits in Maritime Folklore”

(This article appeared in the June 2025 edition of “Smoke Signals”)

Rabbits at Sea: The Fluffy-Footed Harbingers of Doom

There are plenty of things sailors won’t tolerate on a boat: iv’e previously written about bananas, green boats, the albatross, renaming a ship, setting sail on a Friday, and whistling.  But one fluffy creature gets singled out more than most…

Say the word “rabbit” on some boats, and you might get thrown overboard faster than a scurvy ridden pirate walking the plank.

Yes, really! Rabbits—cute, twitchy-nosed, and entirely unthreatening on land—are considered serious bad luck at sea.

Where Did This Bunny Business Begin?

The rabbit’s fall from grace among seafarers is a murky tale, but it seems to have burrowed into maritime culture from the days of wooden ships and iron men. The most widely accepted theory goes something like this:

Back when ships were built from timber, they were highly flammable, packed with tar, pitch, and rope—basically floating bonfires waiting to happen. It wasn’t uncommon for vessels to carry livestock onboard, for fresh meat, especially on long voyages. One of the easiest animals to transport you might think would be Rabbits. Small, portable, and delicious. The trouble came when they got loose.

Chewing Through Trouble

Rabbits, as it turns out, have a taste for ropes, cables, and wood—all of which are fairly crucial to keeping a ship upright and afloat. If a few bunnies broke free in the hold, they could nibble through lashings, lines, or even water casks. In a time before bilge pumps and watertight bulkheads, that kind of sabotage could doom a voyage. As stories of mysteriously sinking ships circulated in dockside taverns, the blame was often pinned on “those cursed rabbits.” Over time, this evolved from a practical concern into full-blown superstition.

The Word That Must Not Be Spoken

In some parts of the UK—especially among Cornish, Welsh, and Channel Islands fishermen—even saying the word “rabbit” onboard was considered enough to bring disaster. Fishermen around the Channel Islands would refer to them only as “the long-eared things” or “underground mutton.” In Guernsey, older generations still avoid the word entirely while near the sea.

Modern Madness? Or Maritime Respect?

These days, most mariners are a bit more relaxed about rabbits. Still, if you find yourself on a classic tall ship or working boat and casually drop a reference to Peter Rabbit, don’t be surprised if someone glares at you from under a sou’wester.

Superstitions like this survive for a reason—not because they’re logical, but because they’re part of the shared, slightly salty folklore of the sea. And let’s be honest: when you’re hundreds of miles offshore, depending on knots, sails, and the good graces of Poseidon, do you really want to test the rabbit curse?

So next time you pack for a passage, resist the urge to bring the pet rabbit or the novelty Easter chocolate. And if you must talk about your long-eared pet, Peter Rabbit maybe just call him “the furry one.” The sea has a long memory. And it doesn’t forget those who brought the bad luck aboard.

“Shiver my Timbers”

(This article appeared in the May 2025 edition of “Smoke Signals”)

It’s the kind of phrase that instantly conjures a peg-legged pirate, parrot on shoulder, and perhaps a bottle of rum sloshing below deck. But behind the cartoon cliché lies a phrase with real nautical roots, a touch of violent truth, and a fair amount of theatrical dressing.

What Does “Shiver My Timbers” Actually Mean?

In its original form, “shiver” didn’t mean getting cold — it meant to splinter or shatter violently. “Timbers” referred to the wooden frame of a ship, particularly the massive ribs that formed her hull. So, when a sailor cried “shiver my timbers,” he was invoking an image of the ship getting blasted so hard her bones cracked apart — usually by cannon fire or a heavy sea. In modern terms? It’s basically saying, “Blow me away!”

Where Did It Come From?

The phrase first appeared in print in the early 1800s, with use by sailors and authors writing about life at sea. It didn’t take long before it slid into the mouths of fictional pirates, most notably in Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island (1883), where Long John Silver growled it often.

That sealed its fate: what started as a grim maritime expression became a pop-culture pirate catchphrase, parodied, exaggerated, and copied endlessly in pulp fiction, cartoons, and theme park rides.

 Was It Ever Actually Used by Real Sailors?

Yes — but not quite how the movies portray it. “Shiver my timbers” likely began as a genuine oath or exclamation aboard wooden warships, especially in the “Age of Sail.” Naval battle was brutal, and when cannonballs slammed into hulls, they could explode internal beams — literally shivering the timbers. Injuries from flying splinters were often worse than the cannonballs themselves.

So when someone swore “by my timbers being shivered,” they weren’t just being poetic — they were referencing a real and terrifying event.

Why Did Pirates Love the phrase?

Because it sounds loud, dramatic, and salty — the perfect fit for the overblown image of a pirate. Hollywood, comic books, and animated shows latched onto the phrase for its colorful, archaic feel. It became a verbal anchor for pirate stereotypes, alongside phrases like:

• “Ye scurvy dog!”
• “Dead men tell no tales”
• “Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!”

The result? The phrase is now more Disney than dockside, but still carries the echo of real maritime language.

Modern Day

These days, “shiver me timbers” is rarely said without a wink or a costume. But it still serves a purpose: it reminds us of the raw violence of naval life, the danger of the deep, and the long shadow of sailor slang in modern language. It’s a tongue-in-cheek nod to an era when ships cracked under cannonballs, and sailors didn’t survive on swagger alone.

While you’re unlikely to hear a real deckhand shouting “shiver my timbers” today (unless it’s Talk Like a Pirate Day), the phrase is a relic of real shipboard risk — packaged in pop culture but forged in warfare.

So next time you hear it, know this: beneath the pantomime lies splintered oak, bloody decks, and the salty breath of history!

“If it Rains on Easter day…”

(This article appeared in the April 2025 edition of “Smoke Signals”)

“If it rains on Easter Day, there shall be good grass but very bad hay.”

This month’s weather lore leans more toward agriculture than marine matters. According to the saying, rain on Easter Sunday means good grass growth in spring but poor hay later on. That makes sense—grass thrives with rain in April and May, but too much moisture can wreck haymaking come June and July.

This year, I spent Easter Sunday driving from our Scottish Training Centre down to our Southampton/Hamble base. It was dry the whole way—so perhaps bad for grass but good for hay?

This bit of folk wisdom suggests Easter Sunday is a kind of weather bellwether. And while that might sound superstitious, like most weather lore, there’s a sliver of science behind it. Moisture in spring kickstarts grass growth. But when it comes time to cut and dry hay—usually late June through mid-July in the UK—wet conditions can cause havoc, making it tough to harvest and store.

Easter floats around the calendar, falling anywhere between March 22 and April 25, depending on the lunar cycle (specifically, the first Sunday after the full Moon following the spring equinox). But the hay season doesn’t follow the moon. It sticks to the calendar and the climate—dry, sunny days being the key to success.

Bottom line: wet springs help grass, dry summers help hay. Easter’s date doesn’t determine either, but if you’re looking for a sign, you might as well glance out the window on Easter morning—just don’t bet the farm on it!

“Pipe Down”

(This article appeared in the March 2025 edition of “Smoke Signals”)

A common english expression,“Pipe down,” means “Be quiet,” It is often used a command or from someone superior, ie “pipe down young one.”

What’s the origin of the phrase ‘Pipe down’

It’s an old nautical term! On sailing ships, signals were given by sounding the boson’s pipe. One of these signals, ‘piping down the hammocks,’ told the crew to go below decks and retire for the night. When an officer wanted a sailor to be dismissed, he would have him ‘piped down.’

This usage dates back to the 18th century and is noted in Gillespie’s Advice to (sic-Royal navy) Commanders & Officers from 1798, which states

“At four o’clock, P.M. the hammocks should regularly be piped down.”

So next time someone tells you to ‘pipe down,’ remember its seafaring origins!

Interestingly offshore race yachts today have pipe berths or pipe cots, however the name has not been derived from the same place. Theses modern day hammocks are made with a pipe frame.

“Whistling For the Wind”

(This article appeared in the February 2025 edition of “Smoke Signals”)

Among land lubbers “Whistling for the wind” is an idiom that means trying to do something futile or pointless, like attempting to influence a situation that is completely out of your control; essentially, it refers to an action that will have no effect because the desired outcome is already predetermined or beyond your power to change, however at sea things are very different.

Some 25 years ago I discovered this tradition, when sailing down the West Coast of Africa. The yacht’s owner was most disturbed when his (then) young skipper began whistling while on the helm.  I was duly reprimanded by my employer and leant that whistling on board a sailing vessel was bad luck and akin to summoning Neptune and demanding the gods create a vicious storm. We did experience an Atlantic storm a few days later so maybe the yacht owner and this ancient seafaring tradition are right!

On board a RN sailing ship whistling was taboo as it could be a coded communications between 2 mutineers. The ship’s cook however was expected to whistle. As long as he was whistling, he was not stealing (eating) the food.

On board a merchant sailing ship, whistling was believed to wake up the gods and cause more wind. While sailors require wind when underway, whistling is considered bad luck as too much wind causes a storm. The belief is alluded to throughout literature in particular in the nautical; novels by author Patrick O’Brain set during the Napoleonic wars

“Ship’s Naming & Champagne”

(This article appeared in the January 2025 edition of “Smoke Signals”)

Breaking a bottle of Champagne over the bow of a new ship is a very traditional part of the launching and naming ceremony. Champagne is a relatively recent adaption of a tradition that has been developing over 5000 years.

There are several contested theories as to the origins but most theories agree that the ancient civilisations were making various sacrifices to the gods to ensure the success and favourable weather for a new ship when she was launched.

5,000 years ago the Babylonians sacrificed oxen to the gods at the launching ceremony. The Ancient Greeks followed suit and would drink wine and pour water over the ship as a sort of blessing. The Ancient Romans adapted this slightly and would similarly drink wine but then bless the ship with the same wine.

Meanwhile the Vikings had their own adaption. When a longboat was launched it needed something to grease it down the launch track. The Vikings at one point used their prisoners (enemies) as bearers under the launching ship. Not only was this a punishment but as they were crushed to a brutal death, the blood was said to grease the launch. This practice evolved into somewhat less macabre tradition where they dripped blood on the hull and instead used fat to grease the tracks.

As Christianity took off, some boat builders would call the launching ceremony the christening of the ship. The ceremony was conducted by priests and religious leaders for many centuries. During the 16th centaury the clergy were replaced with monarchs or military leaders and the person drinking the wine would throw the ornate silver cup overboard for good luck. The spectator ashore who caught the cup was considered very lucky. At different points in history, wine was temporarily replaced with whiskey or brandy, but the tradition returned back to wine.

Despite most of Europe moving towards members of the monarchy to ensure good fortune to their new warships, in the 17^th centaury the Knights of Malta would have friars board their warships who sprinkled holy water oover the vessle before launching.

In the mid 17^th century the Royal Navy addressed the extravagant expense of giving a silver cup away at every launch by rigging nets around the bow to catch the cup so it could be re used. By the late 17^th century the Royal Navy switched from throwing the cup overboard to breaking a bottle of wine over the bow. This was a cost saving exercise and much simpler than arranging the netting

The evolution of wine to champagne occurred as taste and culture changed and champagne become the up market and celebratory drink it is today.

Historically the person naming/launching the ship was usually male. In the 19th Centaury it became much more common for a female to take on this role and she would be named the “Godmother” of the ship. More recently this title has changed to sponsor.

What happens if the bottle does not break at the launching ceremony?

Superstition tells us, it is incredibly bad luck if the bottle does not break and ship owners have several tricks to ensure it does break.

Firstly they shake the champagne so it is extra fizzy, which ensure there is more pressure in the bottle, secondly a larger champagne bottle such as a magnum, jeroboam (or bigger) will break easier than a standard bottle. Thirdly by introducing a defect to the bottle it is more likely to break. An officer will delegate the bosun to scrape the bottle with a glass cutter to introduce a defect or weak point (this trick does come with risk, more than one bosun has been wounded by exploding glass).

To save the embarrassment of the monarch looking weak if the bottle does not smash, bottles are often swung on a rope. The rope should be Dyneema or similar with minimal stretch so the rope does not absorb any of the force when the bottle contacts with the hull.

In 1898 HMS Albion was due to be launched by the Duchess of York. Due to the narrow river that the boat yard was on she was to be launched sideways instead of stern first. The Duchess swung the bottle against the hull and it failed to break. The builders who were all present groaned as they saw this as bad luck. The bottle was retrieved and the Duchess tried a second time. It wasn’t until the third swing that the bottle smashed and the ship could be launched.

As the Albion was launched and floated it created a large wave. There were some 30,000 spectators at the launch and some had assembled on a rickety bridge to gain a good view. As the wave hit the bridge it collapsed and 38 spectators died, some of them men who had built the ship.

Myth has it that the bottle used for the Titanic didn’t break, however I shall correct this myth. No bottle was used. Instead White Star ordered three rockets to be fired as their new ship was launched. The shipyard, faced with the same problem as the Viking, used 22 tonnes of soap, tallow and engine oil to grease the launch.

While Titanic’s disaster cannot be blamed on a bottle bouncing rather than breaking, one of the shipyard workers whose job was to knock the supports out at launch time sustained fatal injuries. Many said this was a bad omen for the new ship.

Although White Star opted not to break a bottle on any of their ships (and damage the shiny new paintwork), there was countless bottles aboard Titanic, some of which have been discovered by divers, both broken and intact.

In 2002 Dame Judi Dench, (the sponsor of Carnival Legend took three attempts to smash the bottle, due to strong wind. On the third attempt the bottle broke and the thespian was covered in Champagne. The tabloids cruelly nicknamed her, “Dame Judi Drench.” Carnival legend has since missed ports, suffered bad weather, had sick passengers and even fatalities on board but no more than any other cruise ship.

In 2007, the Duchess of Cornwall (now Queen Camilla) carried out the launching ceremony of Queen Victoria, but the bottle did not break. A month later 80 passengers and crew fell ill at sea with Norovirus. Once gain the tabloids had their day writing about the, “Camilla’s Curse”.

In 2008 Dame Helen Mirron was asked by P&O to be the Godmother of their new cruise ship, Ventura. Helen had recently played the Queen in the film of the same name and was presumably more available than Elizabeth!

P&O Cruises left nothing to chance. They had a bottle for Dame Helen to photo pose with and a 2nd bottle for the actual launch. Instead of asking the Godmother to break the bottle, they had two Royal Marines abseil down the side of the ship. As the marines swung in under the ship’s name they smashed the bottle on the hull.

Bottles not breaking, actresses coved in champagne and the risk of someone getting hurt by the flying glass are all quite avoidable problems. The modern, industry secret is to use a bespoke, thin walled bottle filled with foaming water. The bottle is wrapped in a nylon mesh to catch the flying glass.

“Saint Nicholas”

(This article appeared in the December 2024 edition of “Smoke Signals”)

Most readers will be aware that the story of Santa Claus derives from St. Nicholas, less people are aware that St. Nicholas was the Patron Saint of the Seas and of Ships long before he morphed into a red suited man, flying through the air on Christmas Eve, every year.

Nicholas is believed to have been born in 270 AD and lived to 343 AD. It is said that he made a pilgrimage to Egypt and Syria Palestinea. (Judea). In his absence the Bishop of Myra passed and shortly after Nicholas’s return, he became Bishop of Myra.

There are amny legends, stories and historical accounts of his days as Bishop, many of these stories include him performing miracles such as the story of a famine in Myra where Bishop Nicholas of Myra approached the Captains of some merchant ships in a neighbouring town and asked them to spare some wheat for his people. The wheat was destined for the Emperor in Constantinople. The Captain’s agreed despite it meaning certain punishment for them and Bishop Nicholas promised that when they arrived at the Capital the ships holds would have the weight of grain they should do. While the crew were nervous of the outcome, when they arrived in port they discovered they had the correct weight of wheat for the Emperor. It is likely this legend led to Bishop Nicholas becoming the St Nicholas, the Patron Saint of ships and of the sea, as sailors associated him with their safety.

Many fishing and merchant ports, most notably in Greece, have statues of Nicholas, surrounded by carved or silver models of small ships. The models are placed by sailors (returning safely from sea), in thanks to St. Nicholas for their safe passage.

Saint Nicholas is also the Patron Saint of sailors, merchants, archers, repentant thieves, children, brewers, pawnbrokers, toymakers, unmarried people, and students in various cities and countries around Europe.

“To Show Ones True Colours”

(This article appeared in the November 2024 edition of “Smoke Signals”)

This phrase means to reveal one’s true intentions or character, it is usually used in a negative way. ie, when talking about a political party’s, one might say, “Now they are in power, they have shown their true colours.”

The phrase has very nautical origins and dates back to the 17th century. At the time is was common practice among ships to hoist the nation flag of other countries (false flags) to avoid conflict or if before commencing battle, this would confuse the enemy.



The practice was especially common among Spanish war ships and merchant vessels who would carry the flags of Britain, France, Portugal and other nations and hoist the one that most appropriate for the situation.

“The Ship’s Figurehead”

(This article appeared in the October 2024 edition of “Smoke Signals”)

In the days of timber built ships, a vessel would often be fitted with an elaborate carving on the bow, this carving was known as the figurehead.

The figurehead was often female but could be male or could be a mythological figure, animal, shield, floral decoration or just about anything. Figureheads date back as far as the Egyptians of 3000 BC and the Phoenicians and ancient greeks of 1500-1000 BC, the Romans followed and so did some of the Norsemen of earlier AD. Many of these war ships had an animal such as a wolf as the figurehead, intending to strike fear into their enemy.

A widely held superstition in the Eastern Mediterranean BC, was that women had a power over the water and would calm it. Sailors also believed that a woman on board would bring back luck, although these two superstitions seemed to contradict, the figurehead was conveniently in front of the ship, rather than on board and mixing with the crew.

Not every one subscribed to the same beliefs and some figureheads depicted birds, sea dragons or mythical tales.

By the 17th century the figurehead had become common place on trading and war ship and was generally in the female form, although it could still be a mermaid or other mythological figure. As the 17th and 18th centuries evolved, the female figurehead became much more voluptuous. By the later 1800s the era of steel ships began and this signalled the demise of these wooden carvings.

Many sailors and Captains believed the figurehead represented the ship’s “character”, and generated good luck. It would fend off foul weather and ill fortune from vicious creatures or evils spirits of the oceans. An added bonus was it helped illiterate seaman identify their ship when retuning from the tavern.

The largest collection of Naval and merchant figure heads in the world is the, “Long John Silver” collection at the Cutty Sark in London.

“Caught Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea”

(This article appeared in the September 2024 edition of “Smoke Signals”)

This well know phrase refers to when someone is in a precarious position or has dilemma and neither option sounds appealing. Similar to “damned if you do, damned if you don’t”

A more common earlier version omitted the word “Blue” and was “Between the Devil and the Deep Sea”. It is likely the newer adaption became common following the 1931 popular song by of the same name by Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler.

However if we go back far enough, we find that Homer’s Odyssey, a well known ancient Greek literary work, written in the 8th Century BC refers to Odysseus being caught between Scylla (a six-headed monster) and Charybdis (a whirlpool).

The modern day version which refers to the “Devil” needs us to recognise some nautical terminology of the last few centuries. While most of us today associate “the Devil” as Satan, it was in fact a common term for part of the ships of yesteryear.

The definition of the “Devil” is given by Admiral Henry Smyth’s in The Sailor’s Word-Book: an alphabetical digest of nautical terms, 1867.

 “Devil – the seam which margins the waterways on a ship’s hull”.

Translated into more modern language that can be understood by non-seafarers and seafarers alike, the “Devil” is the seam between the topmost timber of the ship’s side and the deck planking the crew would stand on.

To be ‘between the devil and the deep sea’ a sailor would be at the very edge of the deck and the wrong wide of any guard rail, i.e. in a very precarious position. Most sailors of those times could not swim. It is possible the phrase alluded to a mutiny or fire on board where the sailor had retreated to the devil and was now faced with the deep sea or the battle/fire on board. It is possible the phrase related to, being forced to “walk the plank.”

Interestingly the term used at the time for filling a seam was “paying.” Perhaps “The Devil to pay” has similar origins.

“If the first week in August was unusually warm, the winter will be white and long.”

(This article appeared in the August 2024 edition of “Smoke Signals”)

As readers all over the UK will recognise, the end of July was particularly warm and the first week of August was quite warm, while not as hot as the week before we had a higher than average temperate across the country. So does that mean we have a long cold winter in store for us?

Like all weather lore this saying has been around since long before computer models were developed and came about, following years of observation, where the observer believed in the cause and effect nature of our weather.

Ive looked long and hard to discover if it is accurate and if so why.

The first week in August is an unfortunately vague term. Does a week start on a Monday (or a Sunday)? If so it does not necessarily start on 1 August. Mindful of these possible discrepancy and to ensure a constant comparison I have compared the 1-7 August data for Southampton (my home town) for the last 16 years to see if there is any trend. It was not practical to vary the start date each year and I picked 16 years as that data is readily available on southamptonweather.co.uk .  I then identified  the 4 years ( 25% of 16) with the warmest average temperature for first week of August. 

I considered how to measure if a winter was long and white and decided a good starting point would be to take the average temperature for the period December to February. I know it does not completely match the definition but I have to work with the data that is readily available, a white winter requires low temperatures and 3 months seems a good staring point to measure. I soon found there was no consistent or obvious pattern between a warm first week of August and a cold December to February. There was one year where the rule seemed to apply, 1 where it sort of worked and two where the opposite occurred.

A little disappointed that the stats did not match the saying I considered if a different location might have produced different results.  I can not however find any record of where the saying originated so other than assuming it’s a mid latitude location in the Northern Hemisphere (implied by white winter), it’s hard to measure its accuracy. My gut feeling is that the saying may have in fact originated somewhere in the USA but the USA is a big place and I may be wrong and it may be from the UK. If you know more on the subject please get in touch. I guess we will have to wait and see if the run applies this winter.

7 Bells

(This article appeared in the July 2024 edition of “Smoke Signals”)

Movies often quote the phrase, “He had 7 bells knocked out of him,”or similar which means he was hurt badly but not killed, or he was beaten to with an inch of his life. Sports fans have assumed the expression refers to the bell at a boxing match but it does not. It refers to the ship’s bell.

The phase has been in common use on British ships since the 16th century, by the 1850s it had spread to Australia and the US, mostly by way of those emigrating to these new lands.

Before acurate chronometers (clocks ) existed time was kept on board a ship using a half hourglass (aka sand clock or sand timer). As the sand finished emptying from the top section of the glass one of the crew would ring the ship’s bell and turn the glass upside down to start the next 30 minutes of time keeping,  Thus the bell was sounded every 30 minutes. 

The bell was used instead of a visual signal as it could be heard on all parts of the ship and worked in the dark and in fog

Sailors of that era operated mainly on 4 hour watches. As a watch progressed the bell was sound more teams. So 30 minute in it was sounded once, an hour in twice and so on. The long awaited end of a watch was signified by 8 bells and meant sailors could get some rest. “8 bells” became the euphemism for death (final rest). The 7 bells part of the watch was therefore the most tiring and just before a sailor could go off watch.

Sea Gulls

(This article appeared in the June 2024 edition of “Smoke Signals”)

Seagull, seagull sit on the sand.

It’s never good weather when you’re on land.

This month we return to the world of weather lore and I investigate whether this saying is fact or false.

Seagulls spend much of their time either in flight or sitting on the surface of the sea. They often sleep on the surface, as this keeps them safe from many predators. In stormy conditions the surface is too turbulent to sit/sleep on and it is hard work to keep flying so they will instead sit on the land. There is no evidence that seagulls prefer to sit on the land before adverse weather. This saying is therefore not so much a forecasting tool but a verification of current conditions, which we could do more successfully with our own eyes.

It should of course be noted that there are other reasons for gulls to be on land. They may simply be nesting, meanwhile as sea gulls and mankind have evolved, gulls have discovered than mankind’s waste provides a ready source of food on land that is often easier than fishing at sea.

Thus this weather lore is not in my opinion, particularly useful.

There has been much speculation as to why seagulls (and other birds) stand on one leg. The most common theory is that by tucking one leg under their feathers it preserves warmth and therefor energy.

First Rate

(This article appeared in the May 2024 edition of “Smoke Signals”)

The term “First Rate,” is often used to describe “excellence”, or “of the highest quality”. ie “This is a first rate steak”, “That is a first rate restaurant” or, “Its a first rate yacht”. The phrase has nautical beginnings and in fact came from the Royal Navy.

In the 1560s the Navy rated its ships with a simple system. Craft where described as “great”, “middling” or “lesser” In 1618 a commission of enquiry added an 4th rating, “Ships Royal.” These were the largest ships in the fleet, capable of carrying at least 400 men.

As the 17th century progressed many of the Ships Royal had become obsolete, they had fought the Spanish Armada in 1588. More manoeuvrable and modern ships were joining the fleet, so a new classification system for naval ships was born. In 1660, the Navy decided to rate ships on their suitability for warfare. In simple terms the more guns they carried the higher their rating, With first rate being the highest rating. Initially a “First Rate Ship” was one that carried 60 or more guns. Over time the boundaries were moved and the title “First Rate” was reserved for a ship with 100 or more guns.

The system initially had 4 rating of ships, 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th but in time 2 more ratings were added. If a s ship was smaller than a “Sixth Rate ship” (i.e. it had less than 20 guns) it was simply unrated.

Despite their name, some of the “First Rate Ships” were not the most useful for battle. For stability reasons their lowest gun deck had to be very close to the waterline and their gun ports could not be opened in anything but the calmest of seas without swamping the entire vessel, a fate the befell the Royal George in 1781 when she opened her lower gun ports for fresh air when anchored at Spithead.

Due to the amount of guns and ammo on board there was little storage for crew possessions, so long distance sailing was hard. Consequently many First Rates were kept out of commission during peacetime or used exclusively for English Channel short distance cruising.

 The 100 gun HMS Royal Sovereign, was broken up in 1841, and the 100 gun HMS Britannia, was broken up in 1825.The 102-gun HMS St Lawrence, is now a popular diving attraction in the shows near Kingston, Ontario. Later first rates such as HMS Caledonia had 120 guns.

The last remaining First Rate is HMS Victory which is available for tourists to view in Portsmouth Harbour.

Chock a Block

(This article appeared in the April 2024 edition of “Smoke Signals”)

“Chock a Block,” is a common phrase used across the UK, USA and Australia. In the modern day you might say, “The car park is chockablock”, meaning, “Full.” or if,  “the pub was chockablock last night, “ it meant, it was very crowded and there was no room to move around. The phrase has been around for hundreds of years and appears in the “Vocabulary of Sea Phrases Volume 2, by a Caption of the British Navy,” (printed 1799)

To understand the origins of this phrase we need to break it down. The word, “chock,” dates back to at least Middle English when it and its variations, “chocked”, “choked”, “choke” meant full to the brim, jammed, no space or crammed together. There are records of its use as far back s the early 15th century, where the verb “choken” and the phrase “choken togeder” (crammed together) were common.

It is possible the word actually derived from the French verb, “choquier”, meaning to collide. This old French word can be traced back to around 1200. A chock therefore is/was associated with no movement, or something being jammed.

A “Chock” is a wedge (a triangle of wood) used to chock a door open, they were used extensively onboard ships to stop barrels, cannons and other heavy items from moving as the ship healed, pitched and rolled.

Meanwhile A “Block” as any sailor will tell you is a wooden (or metal or now composite) case with a pulley (or two) inside. When 2 or more blocks are rigged into a purchase system to hoist a sail or lift cargo onboard they are know as a “block and tackle.”

Once the blocks of the block and tackle are pulled tight together and can be pulled no further they were said to be “chock a block” (ie the two blocks are jammed against each other).

Mind your Ps and Qs

(This article appeared in the March 2024 edition of “Smoke Signals”)

A well known English saying, meaning “Mind you manners.” The phrase has evolved over the years and was previously an admonishment to stay alert or be on your best behaviour.

The earliest record I have found of “Ps and Qs” appears in the 1601 Jacobean play, “The Untrussing of the Humorous Poet” by Thomas Dekker:

The saying is often attributed to meaning “Makes sure you use, Please and Thank you,” However this version of the phrase’s origin makes little sense when you consider, “Thank you” starts with T not a Q. Another theory is that Q rhymes with,  “Thank You.” While a reasonable guess at the origin of the phrase, it is wrong. As you have probably guessed there is a nautical link.

The phrase actually originated from the middle ages when tavern owners in coastal towns allowed sailors to drink “on credit” until they were hired by a ship. P’s refers to pints, Q’s refers to quarts (a quart is a quarter of a gallon, which is 2 pints), which would be recorded on a slate or tab.

Some unscrupulous tavern owners would try to put extra check marks under the P’s and Q’s columns on a sailors slate if they saw the Sailor wasn’t paying attention (or was obviously inebriated). If a sailor was rude to the bar staff they would be more likely to chalk up extra P and Qs to his account. Hence the expression, “Mind your Ps and Qs,” (i.e. don’t get too drunk, pay attention and keep an eye on your slate).

Foot Loose

(This article appeared in the February 2024 edition of “Smoke Signals”)

Driving up the M6 in Scotland last Saturday, we were listing to Radio 2 (RIP Steve Wright). On came the 1980s track, “Foot Loose,” from the movie of the same name. The inevitable happened. I tried to change channel, while my wife, Becky tried to turn up the volume. This led to a discussion on the origins of the term “Foot Loose,” and my wife was surprised to hear that like many English expressions it has a nautical beginning, it is in fact a sailing term.

In modern day, “Foot Loose,” means free to do what you like and go where you like because you have no responsibilities, it is a term often used to describe young people who do not yet have families, mortgage etc. It is shorter version of the American variation, “Foot Loose and Fancy Free” meaning not committed or tied to anyone or anything. This US expression become common in the 1800s, however American dictionary publisher Merriam-Webster  acknowledges, “The first known use of Foot Loose, came in 1650”.

Some etemolygists believe that the expression comes from the imperial unit of measurement, some believe it comes from the notion that if you are foot loose your feet are not tied to one place but as any sailor will tell you the foot of a seal is the bottom edge of the sail and has been since well before the American adaption of the phrase.

If the foot of the sail is not secured to a boom or sheet it will dance around in the wind out of control. It is only once you have secured the clew (corner of the foot) or the foot is secured to a spar (boom) that the sail comes under the sailors control, and works with the rest of the ship.

The Slush Fund

(This article appeared in the January 2024 edition of “Smoke Signals”)

As a former corporate yacht-race skipper I would compete with different teams throughout the year. While my clients would sail hard on the race course they would often drink hard after racing. As such most teams would arrange a slush fund where each crew member would deposit some cash into a “pot” and all drinks would be bought from it. The slush fund was in effect “off book”, i.e. it was usually cash and separate from any race fees and skipper fees which were paid for their employer.

In US politics the term “Slush Fund’ has become synonymous with a more discrete “off book” account. Rather than be used for crew drinks at the bar it would often be used for bribes etc.

In the UK blocks of leasehold flats often build up a “Slush Fund,” which is separate from the annul service charges and intended to cover extraordinary works such as a new roof. 

Alongside its varied modern meanings, the “Slush Fund” has a very nautical history and indeed very nautical beginnings.

In the 19th century slush was the name given to excess cooking fat, which the ship’s cooks would scrape from the cooking utensils. it would be kept aside and once in port the chef would sell it to a tallow or candlestick maker.

The cash was used for the crew’s miscellaneous expenditure and kept off the ship’s books/accounts.

Christmas Day at Sea

(This article appeared in the December 2023 edition of “Smoke Signals”)

Sailors of the19th and 20th centuries were a superstitious bunch and had many habits and traditions to avoid bad luck. However Christmas at sea in both the Merchant fleet and the Royal Navy did not focus on what brought bad luck but what brought good luck.

Events started well before the big day with the stirring of the Christmas Pudding. This task would be undertaken by the Captain and the youngest serving crewmen on board. The pud would no doubt be spiked with plenty rum!

The crew would look forward to Christmas Day as on the day itself the Captain would swop positions with the youngest rating and they would attempt to fulfil each other’s roles. This was to the great amusement of the entire crew (except perhaps the old man himself).

On board some ships in the 1890s/1900s the officers would serve the men gunpowder tea in their bunks. Gunpowder tea was black tea with a generous shot of rum.

Having risen from their gunpowder tea, crew would meet on deck for formal song or prayer.

Before Christmas dinner, sailors would exchange gifts with their opposite number from the other watch. Gifts tended to “take the Mickey” of their oppo’s shortcomings rather than be off any great value.

Dinner was another tradition looked forward to by the crew, as the feast would be served by the Officers. 

Crew would mingle and take turns to sit at and sample food from different tables throughout the meal. The meal itself would typically be roast, potatoes and various veg, but may vary or include other meats depending on exactly which part of the world they were serving in. The dinner would culminate in the afore mentioned Christmas pud before the officers would wash up.

The day centred around food and drink, not unlike many of us ashore.

British Limeys and Scurvy

(This article appeared in the November 2023 edition of “Smoke Signals”)

The US nickname for a Brit is often a “Limey.” This name is steeped in maritime tradition.

Between 1500-1800 (the Age of exploration), it is estimated that scurvy killed at least two million sailors. Jonathan Lamb wrote: “In 1499, Vasco da Gama lost 116 of his crew of 170; In 1520, Magellan lost 208 out of 230; mainly to scurvy.”

Scurvy, a Vitamin-C deficiency was common at sea as sailors did not eat enough fresh fruit and veg. It takes one to three months at sea for symptoms to first appear. Early symptoms include weakness, fatigue, and  aching arms and legs. Without treatment, the decreased red blood cells lead to gum disease,  ageing hair and bleeding. As scurvy worsens, wounds do not heal and become infected. The combination of infection and bleeding causes death.

Symptoms of scurvy were recorded in Ancient Egypt as early as 1550 BC and in Ancient Greece, a physician, Hippocrates (460–370 BC) described symptoms of scurvy, specifically a “swelling and obstruction of the spleen. In 406, the Chinese monk Faxian wrote that carrying ginger on ships prevented scurvy. 

In 1753 a Scottish surgeon in the Royal Navy (RN), James Lind proved that scurvy could be successfully treated and in fact avoided altogether by consuming citrus fruits. A few merchant ships of the time tried carrying citrus fruits on board, with great success. It took about 40 years for the RN to be persuaded of the benefit and in 1795 Gilbert Bland and other health reformers persuaded the RN that a daily ration of lime at sea would prevent scurvy.

It seems the theory that consuming foods containing vitamin C is a cure for scurvy has been forgotten and rediscovered many times over the millennia.

American sailors did not believe the British cure (limes) would work so did not try it, instead they nicknamed the British sailors, “Limes,” which became, “Limeys.” A friendly nick-name still in use at sea and ashore today.

Sailors of today cross oceans with much quicker passage times and more ability to store and keep fresh food. Modern trans-ocean sailors are far more likley to use lime in their rum cocktail ashore than as part of their diet at sea!

Let the cat out the bag (proverb)

(This article appeared in the October 2023 edition of “Smoke Signals”)

“To Let the Cat Out the Bag”….

……Means, “To unveil what was previously secret. “ I though this month’s tale (of 9 tails) would be short and easy as I have heard the etymology relating to the “Cat O 9 Tails,” many times. However as you will see I end up discussing three other well known UK sayings as well.

The Cat Of 9 Tails (or “Cat” for short), was a whip used by the Royal Navy in the 18th & 19th centuries, It was kept on deck in a bag.

Floggings were usually executed on deck by the bosun and witnessed by the entire crew. The offender was tied to the ship’s rail and whipped with nine leather cords, each with three knots, known as a cat o’ nine tails. The 9 whip ends left wounds on the back similar to the scratches of a cat but deeper. The cruel display was a brutal but effective way of ensuring crew discipline at sea, the practice was also used in the British Army around the same time.

So, If one sailor indiscreetly told of another sailor’s transgressions, the Captain would order the “Cat”  was taken from the bag to dish out punishment, hence the proverb, or so the story goes……

However after some research, I have begun to doubt this commonly repeated explanation. History shows the “Cat”was used on British ships from about 1700 to 1850.  After that time it fell from favour with most Captains and was only reserved for the most serious of offences. Flogging was never officially abolished by the Royal Navy, although it was suspended in 1879 (but was abolished by the British Army in 1881). 

Meanwhile the “Cat” was used in the US penal system, often with bits of metal stitched into the tails as it tore open the skin on the offender’s back and inflicted even more punishment. The US banned the practice around the same period, in 1848.

The earliest British published reference to the “Cat” appears in “Love for Love,” a play by William Congreve (1695). However it was written well before then by Johannes Agricola, who made reference to the expression, “Let the cat out of the bag” in a letter to Martin Luther  (4 May 1530), some 160-170 years before the cruel contraption became commonplace on British Naval ships

The origins of the “Cat of 9 Tails,” in fact date back to Ancient Egypt, where the cat was believed to be sacred and even back then it it was said to have 9 lives. It is likely that the ancient Egyptians adapted this cruel instrument from a previous whip that had 7 tails. Despite these early origins there is no evidence that the Cat was used at sea until 1690 and as detailed above, the phrase “Let the Cat out of the bag” was recorded far earlier.

Disappointed at having possibly disproven the nautical heritage of this well know proverb I continued researching its origins. There is a second popular theory.

Some etymologists claim the expressions derived from Medieval England were a dishonest market trader would sell a customer a pig in a bag, except inside the bag was a lower value animal, a cat. When the unsuspecting customer returned home and discovered the secret, they were said to have “let the cat out of the bag.” 

Despite considerable unsubstantiated online references to this story I don’t believe it. While a pig in a sack might squeal or oink, a cat is much lighter and is going to spit, scratch, hiss, and meow. I think it is likely this, “pig in poke,” version of the phrase has simply been spread by lazy researchers.

Having now suggested both common theories are unlikely myths, I have to determine that the origin of this phrase is likely lost, perhaps the popular proverb was a reaction or quote to a story, play or song that is long forgotten but was a common expression at the time. Perhaps it was revitalised in the 1700s when the Cat O 9 tails appeared on ships but it certainly pre dates the practice.

So while the “cat out the bag expression” is often credited to the “Cat O’ 9 Tails,” it is far more likely that the “Cat” gave its name to a completely different English expression. “There is not enough room to swing a cat in here “ indicating there was not enough room to swing the whip.

After the flogging (with the Cat O’ 9 Tails), was completed, the sailor’s lacerated back was frequently rinsed with brine or seawater, which was thought to serve as a crude antiseptic (although it is now known that seawater contains significant microbial components). Although the purpose was to control infection, the salt caused the sailor to endure additional pain, and gave rise to the expression “rubbing salt into the wound.”

Furthermore the saying, “Cat got your tongue?” on an English ship meant, you were flogged into submission or into silence.

Dew on the grass (Weather Lore)

(This article appeared in the September 2023 edition of “Smoke Signals”)

“Dew on the grass, no rain will come to pass”

This was a saying used frequently when I was growing up, by my grandmother and I suspect it was handed down to her from he mother, but is it true?

Well, Yes it often is…..

Dew is simply moisture on your lawn in the morning. This moisture forms as a result of condensation. Condensation is the process of a gas changing to a to a liquid. So dew is simply the result of water changing from vapour to liquid.

Dew forms when temperatures drop and the surface (grass) cools down. If the grass cools enough, the air around it also cools. Warm air holds more water vapour than cold air, so if a mass of warm air is cooled, it can no longer hold some of its water vapour. This forces water vapour in the air around grass to condense. When condensation happens, small water droplets form.

The temperature at which dew forms is called the dew point. The dew point varies widely, depending on location, weather, and time of day but if the forecast temperature and dew point are similar (or the same) expect dew in the morning.

Cloudy skies trap heat within the atmosphere, where as a clear cloudless overnight sky allow the air temperature to fall, thus a clear night will result in condensation (dew) in the later part of the night.  So a dewey morning is often a clear morning. If it remains clear it will of course remain dry. However a new weather system may follow so this traditional saying is a rough guide rather than a rule of thumb. If you apply it regularly you are likely to be wright more often than wrong.

Humid locations, will experience more dew that dry locations as there is more moisture in the air too condense.

Although cooling of the surface on a clear night causes dew, very cold weather can eliminate it. When temperatures rapidly drop below freezing (0°C / 32°F) at night, a region may reach its frost point. At the frost point, water vapour no longer condenses. It changes directly from a gas to a solid (ice). 

Son of a Gun 

(This article appeared in the August 2023 edition of “Smoke Signals”)

“Son of a Gun” is one of those unusual phrases that can be used as an insult or if said to someone you are familiar with, it can be a compliment. In the UK It is often used in a friendly way to call a friend a scamp, rogue, rascal or rebel. It is also sometimes used as an expression of surprise. In the US the phrase is often used as a politer version of “Son of a Bitch,” originally used to describe someone born to a whore (outside of wedlock).

In 1864, The American Medical Weekly printed a story about a woman impregnated by a bullet that went through a soldier’s testicles and into her womb. The story was a joke written by Dr. Legrand G. Capers; some people who read the weekly failed to realise that the story was a joke. This has lead to 170 years of people re telling the joke as fact and claiming this was the source of the expression. The expression pre dates the article by many years.

There are two common and plausible theories as to where the phrase came from. Some etymologists believe the phrase originally meant, son of a soldier, again born outside of wedlock, some argue it has nautical beginnings.

200 years ago the Royal Navy permitted non serving women aboard ships. Some would be officers wives/mistress’s and many would be whores that accompanied sailors. If the latter were pregnant, she may give berth at sea. This would take place on the gun deck where the sailors slept. Thus a Son of a Gun was a boy born at sea who was the son of a whore and his paternity was unknown. In the ship’s log his father would be recorded as “the gun.”

This is documented in Admiral William Smyth’s 1867 book, The Sailor’s Word-Book, which states “Son of a gun, an epithet conveying contempt in a slight degree, and originally applied to boys born afloat, when women were permitted to accompany their husbands to sea…”

Some etymologist argue that the phrase has a military background and they site printed texts that pre date Smyth’s book as evidence.

The earliest printed use of the phrase I have found was in the British Apollo (a short lived London newspaper), printed 7 July 1708. The paper was edited by Aaron Hill and Marshall Smith. Neither of these gentlemen had a military background, however Smith had previously travelled by sea from the UK to South Africa to Australia and back, a considerable passage even today. He may well have picked up the phrase at sea.

I believe this rhyming phrase evolved from more than one source and probably has a nautical and a military background.

40 Days of Rain (Weather Lore)

(This article appeared in the July 2023 edition of “Smoke Signals”)

 “St. Swithin’s Day if thou be fair, ‘Twill rain for forty days no mair; St. Swithin’s Day if thou dost rain, For forty days it will remain.”

An old British tradition is that we can use St. Swithan’s Day (15 July) to forecast the rest of the summer. The superstition says that if St Swithan’s Day is dry, the next forty days will also be dry, If however it rains, the rain will continue for forty days (i.e. through the rest of July and August)

So here is the bad news, St. Swithan’s Day (Saturday 15 July) was an uncharacteristically wet and windy day for most of the British Isles. So are we doomed to 40 days of rain?

Let us first analyse where this forecast tool came from and if there is any meteorological truth to the superstition.

The fact is, there is some truth to it. Around the middle of July, the high altitude Polar Front Jet Stream (area of fast flowing air) generally settles into a pattern which, in the majority of years, holds reasonably steady until the end of August. When the jet stream lies north of the British Isles we are on the warm side and continental high pressure is able to move in. When the jet stream lies across or south of the British Isles, we are on the cold side and Arctic air and Atlantic weather systems predominate.

So where is the Polar Front jet steam? For most of June (2023) the Jet Stream was North of the UK, which encouraged high pressure, settled weather and the hottest June ever on record to its South and across the UK. Meanwhile poor old Iceland to the North of the Jet Stream was hit by successive barrelling lows pressure systems. In the last few days of June and early July the Jet Stream moved South over central England, (see image below) bringing with it a series of low pressure systems that in turn have brought us showers and gusty conditions. 

At the time of writing, 16 July (day after St. Swithan’s Day), the Jet Stream has moved further South than the image above and is now sat over the English Channel and Northern France delivering us a series of Atlantic depressions. While this Atlantic weather is much colder than June, it is warm weather compared with the other alternative (Arctic air masses) which are more predominate when the Arctic region rapidly cools in the winter months

The Polar Front Jet Stream is forecast to stubbornly remain right where it is for most of July, giving Southern Europe a summer heatwave but not for us back in Blighty.

For the sailors among us this is good news as the cold side of the Jet Stream may bring showers but is likely to bring predominantly West or South Westerly winds for the Fastnet Race and Cowes Week. For the powerboaters who prefer calmer days you should have taken advantage of June’s heatwave while you had it. I am hopeful that the latter part of August will be dryer.

So is the saying true. Well, “Yes,” it has some scientific reasoning behind it, proven by the fact the Jet Stream is likely to remain roughly where it currently is for a while, But “No,” the saying is too general. While we should expect our weather to be dictated by Low Pressure systems for the next few weeks that does not mean rain every day!

Touch and Go

(This article appeared in the June 2023 edition of “Smoke Signals”)

When we use the phrase, “Touch and Go,” we usually mean we are uncertain of success. By way of example,

“It was touch and go whether the business would survive the pandemic.”

The phrase is often associated with things that are risky, close or potentially dangerous.

Etymologists have put forward two historical written references to the phrase and while both are similar they do not tell us the true origin.

Admiral William Smyth’s marine dictionary of 1865 (a wonderful text available online for free) gives the definition, “Said of anything within an ace of ruin; as in rounding a ship very narrowly to escape rocks, or when, under sail, she rubs against the ground with her keel, without much diminution of her velocity.”

Meanwhile Hotten’s dictionary of 1859 claims the term came from coach men to describe their ability tome contact with another coach but not damage the wheels of their own coach.

It is likely however that these coachmen borrowed the phrase from boat men. as there is a much earlier written reference from an Admiralty court case in 1817 which noted that a temporary touching of the keel on the sea floor “has been vulgarly described” as a touch and go.”


Although the phrase was clearly used by seaman in the early 1800s `i was informed by salty old sea dog the phrase was first coined among  the  boatmen of the Norfolk Broads.

The “touch” part of the phrase initially referred to a vessel touching the seabed. This could lead to disaster or could be harmless. So a touch was a narrow escape.

The “and go” part of the expression was added in the Broads where merchants used sailing barges to carry goods up small canals. These barges would sail as close to the bank as they could dangling an anchor off the bow and when the anchor ”touched” the bank they would “go” (tack) before the vessel grounded. “Touch and Go,” was therefore the closest you could manoeuvre your vessel to a hazard while avoiding ruin.

The Flying Dutchman

(This article appeared in the May 2023 edition of “Smoke Signals”)

Many of you will know the Flying Dutchman as a class of high performance sailing dinghy first built in the 1950s and an Olympic class from 1960-1992. Many of you will also recognise the name from the Disney film series Pirates of the Caribbean, however as I have written previously, The Pirates of the Caribbean films often re write historical legend for their own story lines.

The Flying Dutchman was believed by sailors to be a ghost ship and seeing it was considered very bad luck. The ship was doomed never to make port and has been sailing the oceans for over 300 years.

In the 17th century, the Flying Dutchman was a Dutch merchant ship, captained by Captain Hendrick Van Der Decken. In 1680, the Flying Dutchman was on passage from Amsterdam to Dutch East Indies. While attempting to round the Cape (of Good Hope), the ship endured a raging storm. It is said that the Captain cursed the gods.

As penance for his blashemy he was forced to sail the Southern Ocean forever, never able to .find a harbour. His only redemption will come when he convinces another Captain to take a letter from him begging forgiveness. This is a cruel trick played by the gods as anyone who sees the Flying Dutchman is doomed to bad luck themselves so finding a Captain able to take the letter is impossible.

Inspired by this story Richard Wagner wrote his famous opera Der Fliegender Hollander. (The Flying Dutchman).

There are dozens of reported sightings of the Flying Dutchman but the most famous was recorded in 1881 by eye-witness Prince George (later crowned King George V). Whilst serving as a naval cadet onboard HMS Bacchante, the Prince logged;

July 11th. At 4 a.m. the Flying Dutchman crossed our bows. A strange red light as of a phantom ship all aglow, in the midst of which light the masts, spars and sails of a brig 200 yards distant stood out in strong relief as she came up on the port bow, where also the officer of the watch from the bridge clearly saw her, as did the quarterdeck midshipman, who was sent forward at once to the forecastle; but on arriving there was no vestige nor any sign whatever of any material ship was to be seen either near or right away to the horizon, the night being clear and the sea calm. Thirteen persons altogether saw her … At 10.45 a.m. the ordinary seaman who had this morning reported the Flying Dutchman fell from the foretopmast crosstrees on to the topgallant forecastle and was smashed to atoms.

That log is now preserved in Royal Navy archives is often quoted as evidence of the bad luck that falls upon anyone who sees this ghost ship

Sail the Seven Seas

(This article appeared in the April 2023 edition of “Smoke Signals”)

In maritime history the fish wives’ phrase “He has sailed the Seven Seas,” implied a sailor had sailed all the seas of the worlds, i.e. he had extensive experience, a bit like the more modern phase,”he has thousands of miles under his belt”

But which sea constitute the seven seas? In modern days they are generally considered the 7 Oceanic Regions, (North Atlantic, South Atlantic, Southern Ocean, North Pacific, South Pacific, Arctic Ocean and Indian Ocean).

Never the less, there is considerable evidence that the phrase, “Seven Seas” pre dates mankind’s knowledge of the various oceans. The “Seven Seas” phrase has its history in several cultures.

The earliest known reference of the Seven Seas is within the Sumerian Temple Hymns (circa 2300 BC). 

20 centuries later The Babylonian Talmud, written between 500 BC and 500 AD mentions Seven Seas and four rivers that surround the land of Israel. The Talmudic Seven Seas included the Sea of Galilee, Dead Sea, Red Sea, Birkat Ram, Lake Hula, the formerly flooded Al-Ghab Plain and Mediterranean Sea.

In Roman times around 50AD, Pliny the Elder, wrote about “septem maria” (Latin for seven Seas) which were The navigable network in the mouths of the Po River on the Adriatic shore

800 years later still, In Arabic Maritime history the seven seas were the seas Arabic merchants encountered on their trading routes East. They are the places where Islam spread and is widely practised. In the 9th century, Syrian Islamic scholar, Muhammad al-Yaqoubi. wrote: Whoever wants to go to China must cross seven seas, each one with its own colour and wind and fish and breeze, completely unlike the sea that lies beside it. The Seas he referenced were The Persian Gulf,  Arabian Sea , Bay of Bengal, Strait of Malacca, Singapore Strait,  Gulf of Thailand and South China Sea

Around the same time the Persians referred to the Amu River as the Seven Seas. In its upper course, the River forms part of Afghanistan’s Northern border with Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan. In ancient history, the river was regarded as the boundary of Greater Iran with “Turan”, which roughly corresponded to present-day Central Asia.

In British Colonial times the Clipper Ship Tea Route from China to England was the longest trade route in the world. It took sailors through Dutch East Indies Seven Seas of: Banda Sea, Celebes Sea, Flores Sea, Java Sea, South China Sea, Sulu Sea, and Timor Sea. If someone had sailed the Seven Seas it meant they had literally sailed to, and returned from, the other side of the world.

It is interesting to note that despite Hollywood movies depicting the phrase as being from the Caribbean era of Pirates the phrase in fact has historical links well to the East of the UK and well before the Caribbean pirates era. For many culture it meant, “The entire world.” In some cultures “seven, ‘was probably interpreted as “many.”

In more modern culture, The Seven Seas is a book of poetry by Rudyard Kipling published 1896. Rock music lovers will know The Queen track, Seven Seas of Rhys. It was the chart success of this record which convinced Freddie Mercury  to make Queen his full time job.

Grog

(This article appeared in the March 2023 edition of “Smoke Signals”)

Grog is known across the world as a slang term for alcohol. In the modern world the terms has slightly different meanings across different cultures;

In Australia and New Zealand the “Grog Shop” is slang for an alcohol retailer. In parts of the USA, “The Grog,” was the name for a bowl of mixed spirits that was consumed as a penalty for those who broke the etiquette of certain drinking games.  In North Germany, Grog is a classic winter drink from “East Frisia,” made from rum, sugar and water and heated to boiling point. In Swedish, a “grogg” is a highball drink.

In Arthur Ransom’s 1930’s sailing novel, “Swallows and Amazons,”the children adopted the term to mean Ginger Bear instead of Rum.

Clearly all of these meaning are related so where did the term come from? Well it may surprise you to know, “Grog,” was short for Grosgrain ribbon, a type of fabric defined by its weft being heavier than its weave. Let me explain…..

In the 16th and 17th centuries it was common practice for sailors on long voyages to sweeten casks of stagnated drinking water with beer or wine due to the awful taste. When Britain captured Jamaica from Spain  in 1655, beer was soon replaced with the sweater drink, rum.  This stronger alcohol, brought its own problems on board ships. In 1740 Royal Naval Vice Admiral Edward Veron looked to solve the alcohol related problems on board by regulating every sailor’s consumption. He set the daily rum issue at one-half imperial pint of rum, mixed with one imperial quart of water, a water-to-rum ratio of 4:1. Half the ration was issued before noon and the remainder after the end of the working day.

Edward Vernon’s nickname was ‘Old Grog” as he wore a distinctive Grogram Cloak. By 1749 the term “grog” had become common place to describe the rum ration instigated by Old Grog (the man in the grograin coat).

In 1756 Grog became a standard procedure across the whole Royal Navy and the rum ration remained part of a sailors’s life until it was done away with as recently as 1970. The measure was reduced several term, over the years but on 28 January 1970, MPs in the House of Commons joined in the very emotional  Great Rum Debate. They voted in favour of ending the rum ration. 31 July 1970 was named Black Tot day as it was the final day of the rum ration

Although Grog traditionally meant rum, the term today can be used as a general term for any liquor and someone who acts drunk or shaky can be called “groggy.”

The Albatross & The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

(This article appeared in the February 2023 edition of “Smoke Signals”)

The Albatross is a large sea bird with an impressive wingspan of up to 3m. It is common on the Southern Ocean, although three of the twenty two species of Albatross are found in the North Pacific and there is a tropical species of Albatross that breeds in the Galapagos Islands.

For many centuries sailors believed that sea birds brought good luck and particularly so, the impressive albatross.  Sailors believed that the  bird carried the souls of dead sailors and theses souls had come to protect the ship on passage or bring much needed wind for their sails.

Conversely to kill an albatross brought bad luck. 

Growing up in the 1980s, I remember an Iron Maiden track- “Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” which told the story of a sailor who killed an albatross and was forced by his crew mates to wear the dead bird around his neck.

Hence the phrase, “An Albatross around your neck”, meaning metaphorically a psychological burden hanging around your neck, or something holding you back, similar to the phrases, “a mill-stone around your neck” or “A monkey on one’s back”.

The more cultured readers among you will recognise that Iron Maiden took their inspiration from Samuel Coleridge’s 1798 poem of the same name “Rime of the Ancient Mariner.” The heavy metal track and the classic poem tell the same story, hence the modern metaphor. Although the Albatross was clearly revered as a sign of good omen for many centuries before the poem, I can not find any references of an albatross around one’s neck which pre dates the poem, so I believe that to be the source of this metaphor

THE RED FLAG

(This article appeared in the January 2023 edition of “Smoke Signals”)

While Pirates (privateers) of the 18th and 19th century are often glamorised by children’s pirate themed parties and movies such as “Pirates of the Caribbean,” they were of course thieves and ruthless murderers. We are well versed with the fancy dress stereo types such as the eye patch, the hook and the gold earring and I have written about some of these items before, but to date we have not considered one of the best known stereo types, the Jolly Roger.

Myth and legend tells us that a ship flying the black flag featuring the skull and crossbones was feared, as if captured by it you would face certain death. This legend has however lost some if its truth as it has evolved. The name “Jolly Roger,” probably comes from the French phrase “Joli Rouge,” which means Pretty Red. This related to the real meaning of the original pirate flags. 

The earliest pirate flags of the 16th and 17th century were simply blood red which signalled battle was about to commence and “no quarter given” i.e. no mercy would be shown and no life would be spared. The Jolly Rouge was flown by French pirates and was intended to install fear upon any ship that they attacked. In the late 1680s to early 1700s two evolutions took place, firstly skeletons were added to these blood red flags to further menace their victims and secondly some privateers began flying the black flag which signalled mercy would be given to those who surrendered without a fight (i.e. they would be allowed to live).

By 1720 the Term “Jolly Roger” was common place across the English speaking parts of the Caribbean as the name of a Pirate’s flag, regardless of whether it was red or black. The skull and crossbones had also become common, but is was the red flag that originally signalled death not the back flag as stories now depict.

The pirate’s red flag later moved ashore and was famously used in the battle of the Alamo (1836) by General Antonio López de Santa Anna’s to let his Texan opposition know that he intended to spare no-one. Red went on to become the warning colour of the American rail roads and later still the traffic lights we use today. The expression, “it raised a red flag” most likely gets its heritage from the 17th century pirates, as it signifies a problem that you should pay attention to.

Having gained the meaning of “danger”, the red flag is now widely used for lots of purposes such as live firing in the military and dangerous conditions on a beach. In the marine world, it is code flag B “Bravo”, which means ‘I am taking in, discharging, or carrying dangerous goods.  

The black flag meanwhile does not exist among the International code signals. However in yacht racing, the black flag is the harshest of all signals a race officer can make to a fleet. It means that any boat on the course side of the start line within a minute prior to the start is disqualified (DSQ) and if after the start, the race is later abandoned and re sailed for any reason the offenders are still DSQ and if an offender does not realise they are an offender and continues racing they shall not be allowed to discard that DSQ from their overall result. For some race teams it is known as the “black flag of death,” as it has literally killed their overall result at a regatta.

TIME AND TIDE WAIT FOR NO MAN

(This article appeared in the December 2022 edition of “Smoke Signals”)

“Time and Tide Waits for No Man? and “Tide Waits for No Man,” is an old English proverb. Its meaning seams obvious to those who have even the most basic understanding of the tide but does it really mean what we think?

This proverb refers to the fact that opportunities do not wait around and highlights that some things (berth, death, the rising of the sun each morning etc.) are as predictable as the passage of time. Theses things are predictable and no-one can control them. Sailors are well aware that the tide is predictable, however the saying  did not always refer to the tides of the ocean.

An older  variation of the saying is ‘Time and Tide Wait for None” however an even older version of the proverb is, ”Tide waits for None.” It is likely that this expression has in fact changed its meaning over the last thousand years or so, as long ago, “Tide” meant a period of time, (i.e. Yuletide is the time of Christmas). So the proverb originally referred to “time” using the older meaning of the word “tide.” Conveniently, the proverb’s tidal implication has been aided by the fact that nautical tides are predictable. Sea tides certainly wait for no one.

The proverb is commonly attributed to Geoffrey Chaucer as it appears circa 1395 in his Prologue to the Clerk’s Tale, (from his book The Canterbury Tales). However despite what the history books (and internet) tell us and while Chaucer did use the phrase there are several recognised quotes/references that pre-date Chaucer’s life. The earliest written reference we are aware of is by Saint Mahrer in 1225, however it is likely that this proverb is in fact much older and perhaps not even originally English, but imported from mainland Europe or further East.

IS A GREEN BOAT UNLUCKY, WHY DO SAILORS FEAR THE COLOUR GREEN? (Sailing Superstition)

(This article appeared in the November 2022 edition of “Smoke Signals”)

In a former life I was a jobbing freelance Yachting Instructor teaching at various schools around the Solent. One Sunday evening I met my new crew at the Training Centre and took them down to the training yacht. One of the crew, a Coastal Skipper candidate refused to board the boat. I took him aside and he explained that he would not sail on a green boat as it was bad luck!

I had never heard such nonsense, and after I failed to persuade him, he left the course before it had even really started. The remaining four crew and I set sail for Cowes that evening. The following day we sailed to Lymington. We were manoeuvring under engine, by the Town Quay, when the propeller fell off the propeller shaft and we had to come alongside the raft of yachts without an engine. An hour later we short tacked back out the harbour and back to the school in order to swap yachts. While my crew sailed the boat admirably, short tacking out the Lym, dodging ferries at low tide does increase the heart rate slightly. It appeared that my Coastal Skipper candidate’s mistrust of green boats had been validated!

In the intervening 2 decades since, I have heard many other sailors comment that a green boat is unlucky and each time I hear it, I smile. But where does this distrust of “Green” come from? Regular readers will remember a brief comment I made about the colour of bananas in a previous fish wife’s tale. Here is the promised follow up;

On traditional wooden ships, green was the colour of mould, so a boat that was “green” (on the inside) was literally decaying beneath the sailors feet. Hence why a ship should not be green!

Mould of course was not limited just to timber, if rations tuned green then sailors would fall ill or starve. But green was feared by sailors for other reasons too. Land is green from trees and grass and sailors feared grounding their ship on land when sailing in unfamiliar waters. Furthermore the practice in the Royal Navy, when an officer died at sea was to take him ashore to his family rather than perform a burial at sea. On a long passage this would lead to festering green corpses on board which often caused disease. Green also represented the seaweed on the seabed (aka Davey Jones Locker).

A more famous Green ship was of course the “Ever Given” which made headlines by blocking the Suez Canal for 6 days in March 2021. While I have no doubt, that event further fuelled the beliefs of my former Coastal Skipper candidate I am sure there an equal proportion of maritime disasters have occurred for all colours of ship.

DAVEY JONES LOCKER

(This article appeared in the October 2022 edition of “Smoke Signals”)

Davey Jones Locker is a sailor’s metaphor for the sea bed. The final resting place for those who drown or for ships that sink on the high seas.

While Davey Jones was made famous among the non seafaring younger generations by the Pirates of the Caribbean film series, Davey Jones Locker is generally thought to have really taken hold as a figure of speech in the UK in the 19th century.

However the expression is actually much older. Daniel Defoe (author, Robinson Cruse) referred to Davey Jones Locker as far back as 1726, in his book, “Four Years Voyages of Capt. George Roberts”.

Scottish author Tobias Smollett refers to Davey Jones again in the “Adventure of Peregrine Pickle” (published 1751). In 1812, a musical pantomime ‘Davy Jones’s Locker,” was performed at the West End (London)

BY the 1900s the term was very common and features in many literary classics. Herman Melville’s novel “Moby-Dick,” (published 1851), features Davy Jones, as did  Charles Dickens’s, “Bleak House” (1852), and Robert Louis Stevenson’s, “Treasure Island” (1883). So what is the origin of Davie Jones and his famous locker?

A popular view is that Jones was an adaption of Jonah, a prophet who was thrown  into the sea and that David came from Duffer (someone who’s not used to ships and who falls overboard). Others claim that David Jones lived in the 1630s as a pirate on the Indian Ocean, although many historians refute this.

There is evidence that a David Jones in the 17th century was a British publican and there are stories that he threw drunken sailors into his ale locker (basement) and then sold them to be drafted to ships. How true the second part is no one knows. There are also theories that the same publican, David Jones went on to be the Indian Ocean pirate mentioned above. There are of course modern day pubs all over the word named Davy Jones Locker and 1 or 2 “claim” to have had this name for centuries. 

There are some Welsh sailors who point to a different origin, they claim their Patron Saint (St, David) is also Saint of the Sea. Jones of course is a very common Welsh name (nearly 6% of Welsh people share this surname).

The truth is, the “Davy Jones Locker” metaphor has been so widely used for so long that we don’t actually know where it truly originated from., but the Jonah explanation is generally considered the most likely.

WHY DID PIRATES WEAR A GOLD EARRING?

(This article appeared in the September 2022 edition of “Smoke Signals”)

Sailors would often wear a gold earring. It had two benefits. To the sailor it ensured he would never be skint. Even if he went ashore and spent all his money in the port tavern he would always have the means to buy his way out of trouble.

To the Captain (the ship owner) a crew man displaying a gold ring was guaranteeing  that payment would be forthcoming if that crewman caused trouble that had to be paid for or if he died in port and there was a cost of burial ashore. Thus the sailor showing off his gold earring was more employable than one without.

Gold earrings were also believed to bring good health, in particular the precious metal was said to improve eyesight and hearing. The later was probably due to the practice onboard some warships where sailors hung wax from their earring. When ordered to fire a cannon they would stuff the wax into their ear (an early ear plug/ear defender).

SETTING SAIL ON A FRIDAY

 (Sailing Superstition)

(This article appeared in the August 2022 edition of “Smoke Signals”)

Everyone has heard that Friday 13th is unlucky, however many sailors have considered any Friday a bad day to put to sea. Captains would often delay departure til the next day, even at the cost of losing out on favourable winds and tides. This is one of the oldest superstitions I have so far written about. 

The ship, Wellesley, leaving for the West Indies in 1848, was recalled by the Port Admiral and did not leave until the following day to avoid the perceived bad luck of a Friday departure. The King of Poland, in 1533, used to refuse to sail on either Monday or Friday despite how pressing matters of state may be.

It is commonly thought that this belief dates back to the crucifixion of Jesus which is said to have taken place on a Friday. (Just as Friday 13th probably relates to Judas being the 13th person to sit at the last supper). Other cultures have similar stories. In Norse mythology there were originally 12 gods, then Loki a 13th good sat down at the table in Valhalla and his mischief brought bad luck. There is however only circumstantial evidence that the Friday superstition derives from Jesus’ crucifixion.

Looking further into history, The Code of Hammurabi, one of the earliest and most complete written legal codes was proclaimed by the Babylonians circa 1770 B.C. It contained a collection of 282 rules, each numbered but it omitted rule number 13. Was 13 already established as an unlucky number some 18 centuries before the birth of Jesus Christ or was this simply an admin error?

Leaving the number 13 aside, why are Fridays considered  unlucky by sailors? We should be mindful that some sailors considered putting to sea on a Thursday (Norse God of storms, Thor’s day) unlucky, (RMS Titanic set sail from Ireland on her fateful voyage on Thursday 11 April 1912). Other sailors would not start a passage on the first Monday in April (the day Cain killed Abel) for fear of bad luck, some believed a ship should not slip lines on the second Monday in August (the day Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed), and others would not depart on the 31 December (the day on which Judas Iscariot hanged himself). Sailors over the centuries have however often believed there is one lucky Friday to set sail and that is Good Friday.

Considering the biblical references of these other “unlucky sailing days” it is likely that the Friday superstition does indeed relate to Jesus. It was not just sailors of old who felt suspicious of Fridays.  In Geoffrey Chaucer’s famous Canterbury Tales, written in the 14th Century, he says “and on a Friday fell all this mischance”

WHY IS IT BAD LUCK TO RE NAME A BOAT? (Sailing Superstition)

(This article appeared in the July 2022 edition of “Smoke Signals”)

This tradition is centuries old. In fact it is so old that it is difficult to know exactly where the myth came from. Legend says that every sea going vessel when it is christened is entered into Poseidon’s (Neptune’s) Ledger of the Deep. If you re name a boat, then the gods think you are trying to get something past them and punish you and your boat accordingly. A variation of this myth is that if you re name a boat and are not therefore on Poseidon’s scroll (Ledger), he would be unaware of your boat and unable to look after you as you crossed the oceans.

It is said that the only safe way to re name a vessel is to hold a re naming ceremony and pay your respects to Posidon the God of the Sea, who will in turn correct his Ledger.

In truth, in days of old, a merchant vessel would have a reputation within those ports that it visited and around the globe. If a Captain changed the name of his ship it was thought that he was trying to hide that reputation and was therefore up to something sinister, this in turn led to the Captain, crew and merchants of re named ships being distrusted and mis treated in port. Thus if a new ship owner of a second hand ship wanted to change the name of that ship he would hold a big party so that everyone in the port would be aware of the name change and sailors visiting others ports would spread the word about how good the party/re naming ceremony was.

WHEN CLOUDS LOOK LIKE BLACK SMOKE, A WISE MAN WILL PUT ON HIS CLOAK (Weather Lore)

(This article appeared in the June 2022 edition of “Smoke Signals”)

This particular “Fish Wife’s Tale, “is less nautical than most Met. Lore that I have written about. The exact origin is unknown but it is likely to have first been quoted by farmers or shepherd’s on mainland UK.

“Black smoke,” refers to dark rain clouds. The usually white cumulus clouds appear dark due to a combination of two reason. Firstly the more moisture they contain the darker they look and secondly the high volume of these clouds blocks sunlight and cause a shadow over other clouds. Lots of moisture (water droplets) within clouds is a sure sign of impending rain, hence the need for the cloak (or coat).

NO WEATHER IS ILL IF THE WIND BE STILL? (Weather Lore)

(This article appeared in the March 2022 edition of “Smoke Signals”)

Many sailors associate high pressure with calm conditions and fair weather. In the summer this usually mean’s warm calm weather, in the winter this could be an arctic high and consequently cold temperatures but again very settled weather. This particular weather lore assume that wind is required to create clouds and in term perception, therefore no wind= no rain etc. makes sense.

The high pressure discourages air to rise so basic weather phenomenons such as the sea breeze are less likely to occur, particularly during the winter and at the shoulders of the UK season, when the sun is nearer the equator than our Northern latitudes.

THE PAINTER’S BRUSH (Weather Lore)

(This article appeared in the February 2022 edition of “Smoke Signals”)

“Trace in the sky the painter’s brush,
 The winds around you soon will rush.”

The “painter’s brush” refers to high cirrus clouds. These are a “text book” first sign of a frontal depression and therefore an increase in wind is likely.

While the current weather is likely to appear fair, this is our warning of high altitude moisture and instability. This is a sign of likely wind and wet weather approaching by way of a low pressure system and weather front. Over the next 12-24 hours you are likely to see the barometer fall, the temperature drop, the wind freshen and the clouds to the West lower and thicken. 

ARE BANANAS BAD LUCK ON A BOAT? (Sailing Superstition)

(This article appeared in the December 2021 edition of “Smoke Signals”)

It is well-known that bananas are considered bad luck onboard a boat, but where did this superstition come from?

The belief dates back to the 1700s when merchant ships were voyaging back from the Caribbean to Europe. Some ships were lost at sea, others made it but their fruits were spoiled. What those early Trans Atlantic merchants did not realise is that bananas give off a gas, ethylene (aka Ethene). Ethylene in turn causes other fruits to ripen quicker which in turn causes them to go off sooner.

Furthermore merchants would always seek out fruit that had not yet ripened, in order to have it ripe by the time they reached the markets of the UK. In looking for un-ripened fruit they would select green bananas. Green of course is also considered unlucky, but more of that another month……….

A SHIP’S CAT BRINGS GOOD LUCK

(Sailing Superstition)

(This article appeared in the November 2021 edition of “Smoke Signals”)

While the black cat is a symbol of halloween and witchcraft to some and a sign of bad luck in many cultures, the tradition among British and Irish sailors was that a cat on board the ship would bring good luck. As such the “Ship’s cat,” was well looked after.

There is some logic to this superstition.

Cats are adept at hunting rodents which if not managed would chew threw warps, damage food stores and spread disease on board the ship. It is very likely that sailing ships who carried a cat were considered lucky as they were more likely to arrive in port healthy.

A study published by the University of Leuven in 2017 provides considerable evidence that the DNA of Egyptian cats made its way to Northern Europe via merchant ships. The same geneticists concluded that cats were carried on trading ships by the Vikings around the 8th to 11th centuries.

WHEN SMOKE DESCENDS, GOOD WEATHER ENDS (Weather Lore)

(This article appeared in the september 2021 edition of “Smoke Signals”)

“When smoke descends, good weather ends.”

This month’s fish wives’ tale is relevant to those of us communicating by smoke signals. A chimney or bonfire can help tell us what is coming our way.

Smoke from a fire will rise due to the heat from the fire but if it falls back to the ground, downwind of the fire its is a sign of low pressure

As atmospheric pressure falls (due to an approaching low pressure system/depresison) smoke absorbs moisture from the air and becomes heavier, therefore indicating the weather will turn for the worse. Conversely when we have  higher pressure (usually associated with drier and more settled weather) smoke will rise vertically.

WHEN WINDOWS WON’T OPEN AND THE SALT CLOGS THE SHAKER (Weather Lore)

(This article appeared in the August 2021 edition of “Smoke Signals”)

“When windows won’t open and the salt clogs the shaker,

The weather will favour the umbrella maker!”

Ignoring the rather non marine reference (umbrella), this fish wife’s tale is based on simple science. If there is moisture in the air it causes wood to swell. As a result shed doors, wooden window, hatches etc. can jam. High moisture in the air is more likely to lead to rain.

Meanwhile salt attracts moisture, which then makes it clumpy. So a clogged shaker signifies moisture in the air, which in turn may again mean rain.

WHEN THE WIND IS OUT OF THE EAST… (Weather Lore)

(This article appeared in the July 2021 edition of “Smoke Signals”)

“When the wind is out of the East, 
‘Tis neither good for man nor beast.” 

An early reference to Easterly winds features in Chapters 10 and 14 of Exodus, where Moses summons the East wind to bring the locusts that plague Egypt and again to part the Red Sea so that the Children of Israel can escape Pharaoh’s armies.  It is not the place of a mere Sailing Instructor to comment on the accuracy of the “good book,” so I will reframe, however I do believe there’s a more likely explanations for this particular fishwives tale.

Many readers will remember the media’s “The Beast from the East,” in 2018 and 2020. It is of course the same “tale,” just rebranded (the famous, “Beast from the East,” in 2018 was also assisted by a deep Atlantic depression, Storm Emma). An Easterly wind (for us Brits), is common in winter and is caused by a large high pressure system (anticyclone) centred over Scandinavia. This anticyclone sends us bitterly cold dry Easterly winds from Siberia (cold polar dry continental air). As these winds cross the North Sea they pick up moisture and can cause rain and snow in Northern England and Scotland. Further South the air is often drier as the English Channel is so much smaller than the North Sea. Additionally as cool air around a high descends this stops clouds forming (which would otherwise trap warm air from the daytime sun near the earth’s surface) this causes the night to be colder still.

WHEN THE WIND BACKS AND THE WEATHER GLASS FALLS (Weather Lore)

(This article appeared in the June 2021 edition of “Smoke Signals”)

“When the wind backs; and the weather glass falls
Prepare yourself for gales and squalls.”

A backing wind is defined as wind that is changing direction in a counterclockwise direction—usually starting in the west, then changing to the southwest, south, and then southeast. A backing wind indicates the approach of a low pressure system (or Atlantic depression) from the southwest.

The “weather glass” refers to the barometer.  When the barometer (weather glass) falls, atmospheric pressure is falling, signalling the approach of a low pressure system. The further it falls the bigger the winds. 

A similar rhyme is: 

“When the glass falls low, Prepare for a blow;
When it rises high. Let all your kites fly.”

Again, the “glass” referred to here represents a barometer, which measures air pressure. High pressure means fair weather; low pressure indicates rain or storms. In lighter wind cruising yachts will of course fly their spinnakers (kites) which would be over powered in a storm (low pressure)

RAIN BEFORE SEVEN (Weather Lore)

(This article appeared in the May 2021 edition of “Smoke Signals”)

“Rain before seven,  fine by eleven.”

This very British fish wife’s tale refers to the times 0700 and 1100. This particular weather lore assumes the rain is caused by a weather front of an Atlantic depression. A warm front typically moves at 10+ knots and a cold front at 20+ knots. Hence the rain associated with a front often takes 2-4 hours to pass over us. Consequently it is common to find that if you wake up to rain before 0700 it is likely to have cleared by 1100. Nonetheless we should be mindful that not all weather systems follow the text book example and there are days when it rains before 0700 and continues raining all day. On that account this particular “tale” is not as reliable a some of the others on this page.

“Rain before 7” is also a well know proverb, meaning things will get better (i.e. rain now, better weather later).

HALO ROUND THE MOON (Weather Lore)

(This article appeared in the April 2021 edition of “Smoke Signals”)

“A ring around the moon means rain or snow is coming soon.” 

or

“If there is a halo round the sun or moon, then we can all expect rain quite soon.”

There is some truth to this tale. The  halo or ring referred to in this particular fish wife’s tale is caused by the refraction of light through the ice crystals of high circus cloud.

High cirrus cloud are of course often the first sign of a depression.  A depression in turn will usually bring rain as each fronts passes.

 

However the fact that we can see a “halo round the moon,” does not mean that the resulting depression, which will follow is going to go over us. So, “Yes!” there will be rain somewhere soon, but not everyone who can see a halo round the moon is necessarily going to get wet!

CLIFFS AND TOWERS (Weather Lore)

(This article appeared in the January 2021 edition of “Smoke Signals”)

“If in the sky you see cliffs and towers, it won’t be long before rain and showers.”

There are a few variations of this one but they are all pretty close, another couple of common examples are;

• When clouds appear like towers, the earth is refreshed by frequent showers”
• When clouds are like rocks and towers, the earth is soon refreshed with showers”

This particular fishwives tale is a pretty accurate forecasting tool and like the last issue’s, “Mares tails and Mackerel Scales,” (below), we can often use the clouds to predict what is about to happen;

Cumulonimbus, from the Latin cumulus (“heap”) and nimbus (“rainstorm”, “storm cloud“), are a dense towering vertical cloud.  

They are caused by atmospheric instability and formed by large amounts of water vapour being carried upwards by vertical air currents. Towering clouds are usually a sign of unsettled weather and thunderstorms coming soon.

A very rough rule of thumb, is that the more vertical the cloud is the more wind, the flatter the cloud (at one altitude), the less wind. Here is an image from last autumn in the Solent which told us wind was coming;

MARES TAILS & MACKEREL SCALES (Weather Lore)

(This article appeared in the Mid August 2020 edition of “Smoke Signals”)

“Mares’ tails and mackerel scales make lofty ships, carry low sails”

A very traditional weather proverb among British and Irish seafarers, this rhyme tends to ring true.

“Lofty ships” refers to tall ships or sailboats carrying a lot of canvas.”

“Low sails” refers to the practice of reefing / reducing sail for stronger winds.

Let us not forget that the clouds are a very useful forecasting tool. “Mackerel scales and mares tails” are descriptions given to the appearance of the skies before a storm.

What are Mackerel Scales (skies)?

Mackerel scales is the name given to high level cirrocumulus clouds that are often arranged as ripples in the sky and have the appearance of the scaly skin of a fish. These high level clouds are mainly composed of ice crystals. The frequent glimpses of blue among these clouds tell us the clouds are unstable and breaking up

What are Mares Tails?

Not to be confused with fish wifes tales! A mare is of course a horse and the comparison to mare’s tails are high altitude long, cirrus clouds, often stretched by strong high-altitude winds.

Both of the above help build our 3D picture or what is happening around us, and while the current weather is likely to appear fair, this is our warning of high altitude moisture and instability. This is a sign of likely wind and wet weather approaching by way of a low pressure system and weather front. Over the next 12-24 hours you are likley to see the barometer fall, the temperature drop, the wind freshen and the clouds to the West lower and thicken. So its time to catch your mackerel now before the weather deteriorates!

RED SKY AT NIGHT (Weather Lore)

(This article appeared in the late July 2020 edition of “Smoke Signals”)

Probably the best known of all the Fish Wife’s Tales, is the saying

“Red sky at night Shepherd’s delight. Red sky in the morning Sailors take warning”

There are several variations and the words Sailor and Shepherd are often interchanged, but where does it come from? Is it a useful forecasting tool and should it refer to Shepherds or Sailors?

Where does Red Sky at Night… come from?

This is in fact one of the oldest known meteorological myths as it has been in use for over 2000 years. The earliest record I can find is in the bible, in the Book of Matthew, Chapter 16, verse 2.  The modern translation reads;

When it is evening, you say, “It will be fair weather; for the sky is red.” And in the morning, “It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.” You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.

There is a similar quote in  the Book of Luke but Mathew’s verse fits the modern day saying the closest.

Is the Red Sky at Night…. fish wife’s tale correct?

The theory behind this particular tool/tale is based on the premise that when we experience high atmospheric pressure, dust and small particles are trapped in the atmosphere. This scatters blue light leaving the appearance of a red sky.

If we assume for the moment that the prevailing weather comes from the West (as it does, in the UK), let us apply the theory.

We view sunset on the western horizon as the sun goes down, so if we see a red sky at sunset (or red sky at night) it suggest there is high pressure to the west of us and therefore coming our way. High pressure brings fair settled weather (popular with a shepherd tending to his flock at night) but is also associated with light winds or no breeze at all (so not so popular with the sailor).

So it appear the first half of the phrase should in fact exclude sailors and should read;

“Red Sky at Night Shepherd’s delight…”

Turning our attention now to the morning.  Sunrise occurs on the Eastern horizon and if we have red light to the East that’s suggests the high pressure has past and therefore unsettled wet and gusty conditions may follow.

Both the Shepherd and the sailor would want to be warned of this but more so the sailor. So the full saying makes the most sense when read as;

Red sky at night, Shepherd’s delight,

Red sky in the morning, Sailors take warning!

You can of course swop and interchange, “shepherd” or “sailor” if you feel particularly strongly.

Does Red Sky at Night… apply outside the UK?

The simple answer is, Yes, it applies anywhere with prevailing westerly winds which is most of the mid latitudes. That is 30-60 degrees North or South of the equator. So this particular fish wife’s tale is true for much of the worlds’ population including Damascus/Nazareth where the biblical quote above came from.

However if you were below 30 degrees latitude, (i.e. in the tropics) or above 60 degrees  latitude (in or near the polar regions) then this saying would be unlikely to work much of the time for you.