Whether you are a local or a visitor, you will well remember the summer you said ” let’s go sailing”. It’s a fabulous way to let loose, enjoy quiet and healing ocean time, spend intimate time with friends and/ or family. Whether it is a sunrise sail, a day sail, or an easy sunset cruise, send Sail BLUE Hawaii your request and treat yourself and your’s to something so delicious as a private sail. Because this is custom sailing, we can sail any time of day you want and whatever length of time you wish. Our islands are most consistently graced with trade winds so any time is a good time to go sailing…..✨✨magical SUNRISE, full sail morning and afternoon, romantic/ peaceful SUNSET.✨✨. It is all good. Let’s go sailing in Hawaii!
Why does Boating have Superstitions?
Sailing has centuries of tradition, and with that comes a surprising number of superstitions. Many began as practical lessons that became folklore over time. Here are some of the best-known ones—and the stories behind them.
🍌 No bananas on boats
We went diving the other day and were reminded of this; it is one that my guests most often ask me about while sailing. The background to this is the fact that bananas ripen very fast and were often hung in a hammock alongside other fruit. Whichever fruit was touching the banana skin was the one that went bad first and fast. Inedible overnight. Of course, as sailors, we like to exaggerate and embellish. Therefore,
The legend: Bananas bring bad luck, causing lost fish catches, equipment failures, storms, or even shipwrecks.
Other possible origins:
- In the age of wooden sailing ships, banana cargo spoiled quickly, so captains rushed their voyages. Fishermen traveling on banana ships had little time to stop and fish, leading to the belief that bananas scared fish away.
- Banana shipments often harboured venomous spiders and snakes hidden in the bunches, creating dangerous surprises for crews.
- Methane gas and heat from ripening bananas could speed the spoilage of other cargo.
Today, many fishing captains still jokingly, or very seriously, refuse to let bananas onboard. Many boats harboured in Honolulu take this more seriously than most. Why? You’ll have to ask them. Me?*****
🍾 Never rename a boat
Sailors traditionally believe every boat’s name is recorded by the sea god Neptune. Changing the name without first “removing” the old one from Neptune’s records is said to invite bad luck. Many boat owners perform a lighthearted renaming ceremony involving:
- removing all traces of the old name.
- read a blessing
- pouring a small amount of champagne into the sea as an offering.
When I bought “Kaikiwi” her name was “dream seeker”. I had held the name “Kaikiwi” for many years in my heart, waiting for the right boat to name her with. I changed the name in Mexico, before I sailed her over. Did I have a ceremony? No. But I did have a long quiet and meditative time as I physically peeled the old name off with a heat gun and proudly applied the new one I had brought with. What does “Kaikiwi” mean? https://sailbluehawaii.com/faqs/
🎩Never leave port on a Friday
One of the oldest maritime superstitions.
The origins are unclear:
- Friday was traditionally associated with Christ’s crucifixion so some believed it was an unlucky day to begin any major undertaking.
- Friday was often pay day and leaving port would mean dragging men out of their drinking holes and going to sea with a drunk crew. No good at all.
Historically, however, ships certainly did sail on Fridays when schedules demanded. I sail almost every Friday.
👩 Women on ships—good luck or bad?
This superstition changed over time.
Some believed women aboard distracted the crew and angered the sea.
Others believed women calmed the sea, which is why many ships featured carved female figureheads on the bow to “watch over” the vessel.
and lastly, for now at least, Three sheets to the wind:
“Three sheets to the wind” is one of the most famous expressions to come from sailing, and it has nothing to do with bed sheets.
In nautical language, a sheet is a rope (more accurately, a line) used to control the angle of a sail to the wind. Despite the name, a sheet isn’t part of the sail itself—it’s what the crew uses to trim the sail (change the shape of the sail) for speed and direction.
If a sheet comes loose, the sail begins to flap wildly and loses its ability to drive the boat efficiently.
The phrase “three sheets to the wind” originally described a ship with multiple loose sheets. With several sails no longer under control, the vessel would:
- Lurch unpredictably from side to side.
- Yaw off course.
- Be difficult to steer.
- Appear unstable and uncoordinated.
Observers noticed this erratic motion resembled the way an intoxicated person staggers while trying to walk.
How drunk is “three sheets to the wind”?
In the 18th and 19th centuries, there was even an informal progression:
- One sheet to the wind – slightly tipsy.
- Two sheets to the wind – noticeably drunk.
- Three sheets to the wind – very drunk.
Today, the phrase simply means extremely intoxicated, and the earlier “one” and “two” sheet versions have largely fallen out of use.
Fun fact
All these expressions are pieces of authentic sailor’s jargon that has survived for centuries. Many common English idioms have similar nautical origins, including:
- “Learn the ropes” – becoming familiar with a ship’s rigging.
- “By and large” – describing a ship that could sail both into and away from the wind, later meaning “generally.”
- “Taken aback” – when the wind suddenly catches the sails from the wrong side, stopping the ship and startling the crew.
- “Loose cannon” – a cannon that broke free on a rolling ship, becoming a deadly hazard.
All are great examples of how maritime language has shaped everyday English long after most people stopped sailing.
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A typical sign, especially on a fishing boat:
*****NO RULES! Bananas on board is OK with me 🙂
Let’s go sailing in Hawaii. I’ll share some more fun boating superstitions.
