Description
Book SynopsisThe nautical reference book you never knew you needed: a compendium of all superstitions maritime and marine. Learn your A-B-Seas of sailors' guiding magic and mythosand why you should never stir your tea with a knife, lest you invite trouble and strife.
Ever wondered why the skipper gave you a hairy eyeball when you stepped aboard the ship with your left foot? Or why a brolly or a bumbershootfor the newly seasoned sailor, an umbrellawill bring trouble aboard? Find out all this and more in Never Say P*g, the never-seen-before collection of maritime superstitions ranging from the East Coast to the Great Lakes of Canada, the Inuit to the First Nations Peoples of the Pacific Northwest. From A: why killing an albatross is bad luck, but seeing one is good luckto B: why bananas are so feared that some sailors only refer to them as that curved yellow fruitto C: clapping aboard a ship will bring thunderyou'll be fluent in sailing superstitions in no time!
From sailor and author R. Bruce Macdonaldwho swears he didn't know not to stir his tea with a knifecomes an indispensable guide to the ways in which we ward off bad luck at sea and attempt to keep ourselves safe by shaping fate through signs and symbols. The original marine insurance for sailors, superstitions offered a semblance of control amidst a dangerous and volatile life aboard, at the mercy of the weather, the crew, the shipeven pirates. Ultimately, this encyclopedia reveals that superstitions have always been with us to comfort, to charm and to ease fears. Learn them all as you sail the high seas!
