I was awoke with a startle this morning. At 8 o’something, the sound of whistles, drums and voices jolted me from my slumber. All of a sudden, they got louder, and louder, and louder until I was awake. I ran outside to see a barrage-slash-parade of tribally dressed crew members. They had war paint and whistles, carried maracas and drums and were hell bent on making as much noise as they could, awaking us and telling us to scurry to the 7th deck. They made several passes, banging on my door each time until I was awake (and snapping pictures of their parade down the hall).
Suddenly, Luke “the voice”Jones came on the PA.
“Attention all Pollywogs. Attention all Pollywogs. Report to Deck 7 Aft immediately.”
It was Neptune day.
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Neptune day is an ancient tradition. It dates back to the 1600s aboard naval vessels, and even before that on older ships. As ships would cross across 0 Degrees latitude, the equator, those who had never made the jump across the line would be initiated into the ranks of those who have. They would go from being pollywogs to shellbacks. In the old days, ships initiation ceremonies were harsh and dangerous. They would dip sailors 40 feet below the ship before brinigng them up gasping for air, only to do it again. In recent years, though, it has simmered out to be more of a friendly welcome. Each ship does it differently, but they all do it.
SAS has followed the same ritual since its inception in 1963, and we were about to be the next in the line. Luke, along with anyone who had ‘crossed the line’before (the shellbacks) were dressed head to toe in white sheets and war paint, tridents and fishes in hand. They led us around the pool where the ceremonies began. Luke introduced King Neptune Rex and his queen sat on their royal throne, complete with the seargant-at-arms (Joe Brascas, our conduct officer), and other royal helpers. Unbelievably, King Neptune was played by the Captain of the MV Explorer Jeremy Kingston. This is amazing. Capt. Jeremy was head-to-toe in green paint, topless and in a hula skirt with a giant trident and a big blue ring we were to kiss.
Now, life at sea revolves around the captain. Capt. Jeremy is the president, the commander-in-chief, the boss, the ultimate authority at sea. When you see him, he is always in uniform, and you tend to sit up straighter, greet him appropriately, and pay your respects. He is your captain. To see him in character as King Neptune was amazing. He is so gracious for doing that for us, and truly made the day for us all.
The initation went like this. We would step in the wade-pool and ‘fish guts’were doused over our heads. This was only like 1/8 fish guts, and the rest foul smelling concoctions mixed with oatmeal and blue food dye. It was to look and smell as gross as possible. After being dumped on that by that stuff, we had to kiss a huge fish on the lips, and then bow to the king and queen and kiss their rings respectively. Finally, we jumped into the pool as pollywogs and emerged to be knighted by Seargent Joe as shellbacks. The whole thing was a bunch of fun to watch and to take part in. After this, many elected to get their heads shaved down to nothing. While I decided against it, many of the guys and a bunch of the girls too went bald. Much of the hair was donated to locks for love and other charities, and I really respect them for having the guts and confidence to shave down. They all looked great, by the way.
One of the coolest parts of the day was a conversation I had with a passenger who just boarded the ship in Casablanca, and is sailing with us through to Cape Town. He is an alum who sailed back in 1984, and was invited to share a portion of the voyage with us. I asked him what the similarities to his Neptune day were. He smiled and told me that it was the exact same, nothing has changed a bit. I think that’s amazing.
We didn’t actually cross the equator today (remember our scheduling conflict a few days ago). The cross will occur tomorrow late afternoon. I’ll be outside for it, and the captain plans on blowing the horn in celebration. It will be a very cool experience.
As a note: I’m writing this from the 7th deck forward, looking out over the bow of the ship fighting through the waters. Africa’s to my left, and the United States to my right about 4000 miles or so. It’s just after midnight, and because of the great weather, a bunch of friends and I are sleeping out here. We spotted the big dipper an hour or two ago, and realized that this will be the last time we see it before re-entering the northern hemisphere in a few weeks. It will be great to sleep out here, and I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow.
Today was one of those days where everybody took stock of how amazing this is, and how lucky we are to be here. I have to pinch myself every few minutes or so to make sure I’m not dreaming. And that’s not a joke.
Love from the Atlantic.
Greg.
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