Today, the event is voluntary and is conducted more for entertainment purposes and morale boosting than anything else. Every weekday we compile our most wondrous stories and deliver them straight to you. Honorable Shellbacks or Sons of Neptune was the namegiven to a sailor who has already crossed the equator. Juan Pablo Rosato of the Argentine navy. 187 0 obj <> endobj Line-crossing Ceremony: Homophobic or Homoerotic? Customers with questions regarding our loan officers and their licensing may visit the Wogs (all of the uninitiated) are allowed to capture and interrogate any Shellbacks they can find (e.g., tying them up, cracking eggs or pouring aftershave lotion on their heads). Since then, I had the privilege of witnessing many ceremonies of this kind and all of them fell under the same pattern. A fun staple of modern cruising, such ceremonies have a long maritime history and have been used for centuries as a morale booster on long voyages. The crew was in the USS Franklin D. Roosevelt. [13] Depending on the Ocean or Fleet AOR, there can be variations in the rite. endobj A Queen represents confidence and unconditional dedication towards her task. Some rites have discussed a role reversal as follows, but this is not always a normal feature, and may be dependent on whether a small number of Shellbacks exist to conduct the initiation. This is how #EQUATOR_CROSSING_CEREMONY is celebrated onboard. Hersh mentioned how the ceremony morphed as more people entered the Navy. Courtesy of the Naval Historical Foundation, Washington, DC; collection of Rear Admiral Harold M. Bemis; U.S. USS Blue Ridge (LCC-19) UPDATE of 1973 CTL. By submitting your email you are agreeing to Nine Publishing's The excitement and enthusiasm that prevails among fellow shipmates at the time of conducting the line-crossing ceremony is one that beams of a happy past experience of the same and that of passing on the baton of the art of sailing to newbies. (Photo:Lou Sander/WikiCommons CC BY-SA 4.0). For instance, blackface was a common element of it before World War II, but once integration hit the military that part stopped. Read my comment again Eric. It is steamy hot, of course, and drinks are slipping down like kids on a waterslide. Naval Academy, The Sullivan Brothers and the Assignment of Family Members, Historic Former U.S. Navy Bases and Stations, The African American Experience in the U.S. Navy, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the U.S. Navy, Contributions of Native Americans to the U.S. Navy, The World Cruise of the Great White Fleet, Navy Underwater Archaeology Return Program, Annual Navy History and Heritage Awards - Main, Research Permits for Sunken & Terrestrial Military Craft, Scanning, Copyright & Citation Information, Obtain Duplications of Records and Photos, Crossing the Line, Plank Owner, and Other Unofficial Certificates Acquired by Naval Personnel, Precedence of the Naval Reserve in Parades, Passing Honors, National Anniversaries, and Solemnities, Rocks and Shoals: Articles for the Government of the U.S. Navy, The Evolution of Ship Naming in the U.S. Navy, http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=75241, Captain Arleigh Burke's Crossing the Line Certificate Aboard USS, Shellback Certificate for Lt. Arleigh Burke, National Naval Aviation Museum Collection, South American Cruise: Franklin D. Roosevelt, Shellback and Other Navy Ceremonial Certificates: A Select Bibliography. US Navy at War 1941-1945: Official Report to the Secretary of the Navy. After we drank our glasses with that awful tasting liquid, we received our certificates together with everybodys congratulations and enjoyed a wonderful party thrown in our honor. This line-crossing lunacy was sanctioned to boost sailors spirits. Did mine in 1978 in the Indian Ocean on the SS Lepeta. Newbies are called Pollywogs, Slimy Pollywogs or Slimy Wogs. Cast of characters during a Crossing the Line ceremony, DANFS - Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, Permitting Policy and Resource Management, The 9/11 Terrorist Attacks: 20 Years Later, "Ex Scientia Tridens": The U.S. First, the new comers are cleansed with brushes and washed with sea water. WebEquator crossing certificate. <> WebEquator crossing certificate. Sailors who have already crossed the Equator are nicknamed Shellbacks, Trusty Shellbacks, Honorable Shellbacks, or Sons of Neptune. Showing gratitude towards the sea and its masters may come in the form of a whispering pray behind the four walls of your cabin, but it sometimes requires a loud shout and a real ceremony which must be attended by everybody else on board. Offer available only in the U.S. (including Puerto Rico). Initiation rite for first crossing of the equator, Honors for line crossings and other navigational events. The Equator Crossing Ceremony is an age-old tradition to commemorate a seafarer crossing the equator for the first time. Equator-crossing ceremonies, typically featuring King Neptune, are also sometimes carried out for passengers' entertainment on civilian ocean liners and With the pollywog to shellback transition complete, a certificate was often awarded to the new shellback as a rite of passage. Next, the Pollywogs kneel before the King and kiss the royal baby's belly, which according to some accounts is covered in grease. 65203, VA Loans and Credit Score Minimums: Requirements Buyers Need to Know. WebThe ceremony of Crossing the Line an old seafaring tradition. Reflecting the popularity of tattoos among sailors, some people choose to get tattoos to mark that they have participated in a ceremony, such as an image of a shellback turtle or King Neptune. #marinersgalaxy, A post shared by marinersgalaxy.com (@mariners_galaxy) on May 2, 2020 at 9:10am PDT, google.com, pub-5737237464543751, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0, My name is Oana and I come from Romania. Video of 1957 Coast Guard crossing ritual. They are being summoned into Neptunes Court for crimes theyve committed against the god. Beatings were often still common, usually with wet firehoses, and several World War II Navy deck logs speak of sailors visiting sick bay after crossing the line. In her experience, people were given the chance to opt out if they didnt want to participate in the ritual. The Schooner Bar pianist and crooner comes in for some particularly harsh treatment, possibly for playing Living Next Door to Alice too often. The article or images cannot be reproduced, copied, shared or used in any form without the permission of the author and Marine Insight. But there are also times when myseafarers are busy, with bunkering, or they are doing other work. From Wog to Shellback. U.S. Navy website: http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=75241. She is the one to whom all other woman look up to. The crew was in the USS Franklin D. Roosevelt. Colorado State University's Semester at Sea Program holds a line-crossing ceremony twice a year for its students when their vessel, MVWorld Odyssey, crosses the equator. I am one of the disappointed. In this case, the whole ceremony can turn into a complete nightmare for the young seamen who would rather forget about the event than recording it in hundreds of photos and movies. In the last decades of the 20th century, the Crossing of the Equator or Equator Crossing Ceremony took the form of a joyous celebration meant to entertain the whole crew, by offering everybody on board a few hours of fun and relaxation. The 90s saw large groups of people balking at its existence. WebEquator-crossing ceremonies, typically featuring King Neptune, are common in the Navy and are also sometimes carried out for passengers' entertainment on civilian ocean liners and cruise ships. In more than one instance, sailors were reported to have been killed while participating in a line-crossing ceremony. I remember the shock I had as soon as I discovered that half of the Filipinos on board were gathered there, some of them dressed up like pirates with funny dresses, tattoos, wigs made up from cleaning mops and a whole arsenal of wooden weapons. Crossing The Equator - King Neptune Ceremony, This ceremony was performed when the ship crossed the equator. The ceremony itself was based on the Court of Neptune, where Shellbacks inducted the Pollywoggers into the mysteries of the deep. He writes personal stories of our nation's veterans and active military members. When the ceremony is organized and supervised by intelligent and kind persons regardless of age, rank or nationality the event takes the form of a happy celebration in which all the crew has a great time. Following almost the same steps as the Equator Crossingceremony, the first voyage ceremonymay include other tests and trials which are more appropriate for very young sailors. And yes, mostly I am welcomed on board. Read about: Joining Ship? Youwill see old military footage from an actual King Neptune Ceremony. One former Navy man posted videos of the ritual to YouTube. Ste. We still laugh about it to this day. Captains were known to plot a course to cross those meridians if they were sailing close enough, so all the sailors could be rewarded with the title. The transition flows from established order to the "controlled chaos" of the Pollywog Revolt, the beginnings of re-order in the initiation rite as the fewer but experienced enlisted crew converts the Wogs through physical tests, then back to, and thereby affirming, the pre-established order of officers and enlisted. Baptism on the line, also called equatorial baptism, is an alternative initiation ritual sometimes performed as a ship crosses the Equator, involving water baptism of passengers or crew who have never crossed the Equator before. A videotape of the ceremony was obtained by the Nine Network and aired on Australian television. Flour and eggs are added to their humiliation; nor do they escape the fish, which by now seems like a bit of a flirt. Equator-crossing ceremonies, typically featuring King Neptune, are also sometimes carried out for passengers' entertainment on civilian ocean liners and Titanic is the best movie that has happened to the world cinema. Most modern navies have instituted regulations that prohibit physical attacks on sailors undergoing the line-crossing ceremony. It was a way for sailors to be tested for their seaworthiness. All-Time Lows: According to interest rates published on July 31, 2020, on FreddieMac.com. Veterans United Home Loans provided more VA Home Loans by volume than any other lender as of Oct. 2022. Photo: Getty Images A Pollywog makes the transition to Shellback. As with most healthy traditions, the small indignities are a symbolism for inclusion and frolic. Its kind of a nice tradition, said one US-based ocean researcher when I asked her about her experience. a signal being given I was tilted head over heels into the water, where two men received me & ducked me. Then, they are offered a glass of red liquid a combination of sea water and spices which must be drunk thoroughly. crossing the equator, Commanding Officer Captain J. Scott Jones, for instance, publicly announced that the USS Bonhomme Richard had a great celebration of this important passage. When a ship crosses the equator, King Neptune comes aboard to exercise authority over his domain and to judge charges brought against Pollywogs that they are only posing as sailors and haven't paid proper homage to the god of the sea. As we approach the middle of the world, quite a few passengers rush to the rails for a look, as though there might be an actual line drawn on the ocean. Crawling through long containers filled withrotten garbage. WebThe ceremony of Crossing the Line an old seafaring tradition. Cadets crawled through a tunnel with lo mein, or "Eel Spawn", and then had food put in their hair before crawling through the fantail while being sprayed by fire hoses. Afterwards, some may be "interrogated" by King Neptune and his entourage, and the use of "truth serum" (hot sauce + after shave) and whole uncooked eggs put in the mouth. Department of Veterans Affairs Lender Statistics. Even so, the ritual has taken up other homes, albeit with distinctly less oppressive undertones. Slimy (the traditional adjective) Pollywogs are led out for their hazing in front of King Neptune, and his assistant reads the charges. Equator Crossing or Baptism Ceremony-All About it. The ceremony observes a mariner's transformation from slimy Pollywog, a seaman who hasn't crossed the equator, to trusty Shellback, also called a Son or Daughter of Neptune. ;x.T`f\%e:pJ+*n h= Anyhow, as people on board grow more and more connected with each other by sharing the same interests, leisure activities and hard work this kind of ceremony becomes less and less popular. All Rights Reserved. I wouldnt call it hazing per se, the researcher said. A feast is prepared at night for dinner with thorough fanfare. The ceremony observes a mariner's transformation from slimy Pollywog, a seaman who hasn't crossed the equator, to trusty Shellback, also called a Son or Daughter of Neptune. The Navy has spent decades trying to rein in on hazing; the line-crossing ceremony represents a great deal of this. (Photo: Public domain/WikiCommons). endobj 0 About 9 am the next day, the novices or "griffins" were assembled in the darkness and heat of the lower deck, then one at a time were blindfolded and led up on deck by "four of Neptunes constables", as "buckets of water were thundered all around". The coverage provoked widespread criticism, especially when the videotape showed some of the submarine's officers watching the entire proceedings from the conning tower. Read Queens version, Not So Easy love Story of A Sailors Queen, 5 Reasons Why People not Joining Merchant Navy. He actually told me that he had never agreed to humiliating or painful trials for the new comers because the strength of a real seafarer stays in his heart, his wisdom and his kindness and these qualities can not be tested through silly, humiliating or painful ordeals. According to old tradition, all those crossing the equator for the first time, must be baptized and thus made an able-bodied seaman. Courtesy of the Naval Historical Foundation, Washington, DC; collection of Rear Admiral Harold M. Bemis; U.S. WebEquator-crossing ceremonies, typically featuring King Neptune, are common in the Navy and are also sometimes carried out for passengers' entertainment on civilian ocean liners and cruise ships. When the ceremonies were first conducted, they were physically challenging and could even be painful or embarrassing to the Sailors. Little did I know what was to happen! Seafarers may cross the Equator after many years of sailing both the North and South Hemispheres, but in different voyages as they can join a ship in the North and spend as much as nine months travelling the seas in the same part of the Equator, or they can do this in the South without the possibility of crossing the line by vessel. These roles are all played by shellbacksthose who have gone through the ritual before. Get the latest news and updates emailed straight to your inbox. They then lathered my face & mouth with pitch and paint, & scraped some of it off with a piece of roughened iron hoop. NH 106226. t a terrible thing it would be if a Navy man became gay. It looks like a trout, but the bloke who goes in for the full tongue action is definitely a groper. Why? Offer subject to change without notice. Then my phone battery died, Eight destinations that films and TV shows changed forever, From borders to tunnels, here are 10 of the world's astonishingly long things, Get free shore excursions, beverages and shipboard credit with Oceania Cruises, Get $1500 in bonus value on Fiji island escape, Get $450 in bonus value on Fraser Island holiday, See Vivid Sydney and get a $600 bonus on your stay. By the end of WW II, the United States Navy had added nearly 1,200 major combatant vessels to its combined fleet. WebThe ritual dates back at least 400 years in Western seafaring. 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equator crossing ceremony script