What is the tradition when crossing the equator?
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. The ceremony is sometimes explained as being an initiation into the court of King Neptune.
What happens during a Shellback ceremony?
SHELLBACKS – A PROUD NAVAL HISTORY 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. It was a way for sailors to be tested for their seaworthiness.
Does the Navy still do shellback initiation?
Crewmen aboard the destroyer USS ARTHUR W. RADFORD (DD-968) participate in the traditional shellback initiation ceremony during exercise Unitas XXI. The shellback initiation takes place anytime a U.S. Navy ship crosses the equator.
What does it mean when a sailor crosses the equator?
It was a way for sailors to be tested for their seaworthiness. 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.
What is a blue nose in the Navy?
The “Order of the Blue Nose” is a Navy tradition which dictates that when Sailors cross into the Arctic Circle, they enter the realm of Boreas Rex, King of the North. The only way to be accepted into the order is to successfully complete his list of challenges.
What is a water fountain called in the Navy?
Scuttlebutt: The Navy term for water fountain. The Navy History Museum describes the term as a combination of “scuttle,” to make a hole in the ship’s side causing her to sink, and “butt,” a cask or hogshead used in the days of wooden ships to hold drinking water.
What is a horned shellback?
Or, if you round the Horn and cross the Equator on the same voyage, you are duly honored as a Horned Shellback.
Why do sailors have bell bottoms?
Although no one has been officially accredited with inventing the bell bottom trouser, the flared out look was introduced for sailors to wear in 1817. The new design was made to allow the young men who washed down the ship’s deck to roll their pant legs up above their knees to protect the material.
What does Golden Dragon mean in the Navy?
The Domain of the Golden Dragon is an unofficial but highly coveted award of the United States Navy and the United States Coast Guard. It is given to crew members of ships which cross the International Date Line.
What is Golden Shellback?
The shellback is simple enough: A sailor on official duty “crosses the line” of the equator. A golden shellback is more impressive; it means they’ve crossed the International Date Line. Even rarer, crossing at the Prime Meridian grants you access into the Order of the Emerald Shellback.
What does salty mean in the navy?
an experienced sailor
“Salty” is a term from the United States Navy used to describe an experienced sailor – someone for whom the romanticized idea of ship life is gone and replaced with sea salt.
What does red mean in the Navy?
RED is an acronym that stands for Remember Everyone Deployed.
Why did the Navy wear bell bottom pants?
What was the line crossing ceremony on a submarine?
In 1995, a notorious line-crossing ceremony took place on a Royal Australian Navy submarine, HMAS Onslow. Sailors undergoing the ceremony were physically and verbally abused before being subjected to an act called “sump on the rump”, where a dark liquid was daubed over each sailor’s anus and genitalia.
What is the purpose of the line crossing ceremony?
The line-crossing ceremony is an initiation rite that commemorates a person’s first crossing of the Equator. The tradition may have originated with ceremonies when passing headlands, and become a “folly” sanctioned as a boost to morale, or have been created as a test for seasoned sailors to ensure their new shipmates…
What is the crossing the line ceremony on the USS Nimitz?
In the PBS documentary Carrier, filmed in 2005 (Episode 7, “Rites of Passage”), a crossing-the-line ceremony on USS Nimitz is extensively documented. The ceremony is carefully orchestrated by the ship’s officers, with some sailors reporting the events to be lackluster due to the removal of the rites of initiation.
Can Sailors be attacked during the line-crossing ceremony?
Most modern navies have instituted regulations that prohibit physical attacks on sailors undergoing the line-crossing ceremony. In 1995, a notorious line-crossing ceremony took place on the Royal Australian Navy submarine HMAS Onslow.