Miscellany

Today is our third sea day in a row. While we enjoy getting off the ship and having new experiences, it’s also nice to have some days that we don’t get off and can just relax and do... whatever. There are always activities onboard but we usually prefer to just do our own thing. 

For me that means working on my laptop playing with my photos or reading (I’m currently reading “The Diamond Eye” - not really something I would have chosen but a book club recommendation). Ronnie is spending many hours on a research subject he’s been working on. A couple of days ago, for a break he decided to pick up his pencils and art pad and draw a portrait. Here is what he drew from a photo I made while we were in Benin. I think he did a really good job! He's not entirely happy with the color because he didn't bring his pastels and is having a harder time with the pencils.

 

 

Yesterday I attended a talk on how to prevent being a victim of pickpocket in Cape Town, an upcoming destination. It was interesting to learn just how many different methods are used by pickpockets to rob their completely clueless victims. The guest lecturer showed us lots of video clips of people's pockets being picked. Some of the people who are skilled in the “art” of picking pockets should spend their energies learning magic tricks!

As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, the ship brought on extra security since we were entering an area known as High Risk Area (HRA). We see these guys around the ship since they take turns working (2 at night, 2 during the day). They are all ex-military guys and very nice. I took a picture of one of the extra guys with Ronnie at lunch one day. He wears a black patch over one eye as the result of stepping on a land mine in Afghanistan. Ronnie has seen him order 5 eggs at breakfast and also runs into him in the ship’s workout facility.  Here’s the picture I took of him with Ronnie one day and another one I snapped this week of the back of his shirt. I do feel better knowing these guys are on board.

 

we do bad things to bad people

Since I take a lot of photos, I'm going to post some miscellaneous ones of things around the ship that you might enjoy seeing. One of the advantages of having a balcony is getting to see so many sunsets over the ocean - they are always gorgeous! So are the sunrises - if I'm awake in time to see them. The clouds are always so awesome.

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

Below are just some random photos. Please forgive me if I've posted some of these before. I don't want to go back through my posts to see.

 

back "patio" dining area of the ship

certificates after crossing the equator the first time

this is how our undies are returned to us

door to our cabin - the closest we'll be to wildflowers this Spring (thanks, Lisa!)

one side of the ship library

typical laundry delivery - all nicely pressed!

chocolate each night (pillowcases from Julie)

our butler, Vishant Chandrahasa Poojary

chefs grilling ribs on the deck

  

fishermen dragging their nets in Africa

silhouetted fishing boat - Africa

I'm no longer a Pollywog!

As we sail away from Sao Tome and Principe, we will celebrate a line (Equator) crossing ceremony – the Order of the Shellback. Today's Currents explains how the ceremony commemorates a sailor’s first crossing of the Equator. It was originally created by sailors as a test of new shipmates to see if they were capable of handling long, arduous times at sea. Sailors who have already crossed the Equator are called Trusty Shellbacks, or Sons of Neptune. Those who have not crossed the equator are called Slimy Pollywogs (or “Wogs”).

 

our Cruise Director Ray

some seasoned sailors

King Neptune & Highness Amphitrite

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

the King's entourage

 

that's a big fish!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Below is the explanation of the ceremony which will take place on the ship shortly after we sail today.

The ceremony is a ritual of reversal in which the older, experienced enlisted crew essentially takes over the ship from the officers. The controlled “chaos” of the ‘Pollywog Revolt’ takes control and then re-order is established in the initiation rites as Shellbacks convert the Wogs through physical tests. Similar to boot camps, the initiation covers inexperienced Wogs into experienced Shellbacks. Minor physical assaults used to be the normal but have been prohibited in recent years.

 

Pollywog has to kiss the fish!

Ray seems to be enjoying it a little too much!

 

The eve of the equatorial crossing is called ‘Wog Day’ where Wogs are allowed to capture and interrogate Shellbacks, by typing them up, cracking eggs or pouring aftershave lotion on their heads and so on. The Wogs are aware that it will be much harder on them during the initiation if they do anything like this. After the ship crosses the line, the ‘Jolly Roger’ flag is hoisted, and Pollywogs receive subpoenas to appear before the Royal family, which consists of King Neptune and his wife Highness Amphitrite, and the Royal Baby. Also in attendance are Davy Jones, the Royal Barber who uses a hand clipper to cut Wog hair, and other Shellbacks dressed as characters, such as pirates.

 

kiss kiss!

some really gross stuff in the hair

from Pollywog to Shellback

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

Various charges are levied against the Pollywogs. Some Wogs may be “interrogated” by King Neptune and his entourage who use “truth serum” to encourage telling the truth. During the ceremony, Wogs undergo a number of increasingly embarrassing ordeals for the entertainment of the Shellbacks, such as wearing clothing inside out and backwards, crawling on hands and knees on nonskid-coated decks, being swatted with a short length of wet fire hose called a “shalaylee”, being locked in stocks and pillories and pelted with mushy fruit, being locked in a water coffin of salt water and bright green sea dye (fluorescent sodium salt), crawling through chutes “The Tube” or large tubs  (the Royal Bath) of rotting garbage, and kissing the Royal Baby’s (the fattest Shellback) belly that has been coated with mustard or other nasty stuff.

Once the ceremony is complete, Wogs are hosed down and each received a certificate declaring his new status as a Shellback. This certificate is cherished as proof of initiation so it does not need to be endured again. Submariners often become “Top Secret Shellbacks” having crossed the Equator at a classified degree of longitude.

 

kissing the fish - the final step of initiation

thankfully, only newer ship staff had to be initiated

being doused with water

...and now for the spaghetti

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the 19^th century and earlier, the line-crossing ceremony was quite a brutal event, often involving beating pollywogs with boards and wet ropes and sometimes throwing them over the side of the ship and dragging them in the surf from the stern. Sailors were reported to have been killed while participating in these old line-crossing ceremonies.

As late as WWII, the line-crossing ceremony was still rather rough and involved activities such as the “Devil’s Tongue,” which was an electrified piece of metal poked into the sides of those deemed pollywogs. Beatings were often still common, usually with sections of dry rather salt-hardened fire hoses or canvas tubes filled with wet rice. WWII Navy deck logs speak of sailors visiting sickbay after crossing the line. Beginning in the 1980’s, all forms of hazing began being strictly controlled. Today’s line-crossing ceremonies are relatively tame; rather than a dreaded rite of initiation, they have become a popular tradition.

 

King Neptune pronounces them Shellbacks!