Sailor (Yachtsmen) beliefs and superstitions

Black cats and Friday 13th are just a small portion of all the superstitions. The strange thing about this article is the fact that it was written on Friday 13th and thus makes me smirk a little. Everyone can decide on his own, if he believes it or not, but as it turns out, the yachtsmen are a bit superstitious. Here are just some examples of superstitions about sailing and the sea. It’s for you to decide whether they are true or not.

• It is unlucky to start a cruise on Friday. (Jesus was crucified on Friday)
• Never start a voyage on the first Monday in April. (This is the day that Caine slew Abel)
• Don’t start a voyage on the second Monday in August (Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed on this day)
• It is not good to start a voyage on December 31.
• Black traveling bags are bad luck for a seaman.
• Avoid people with red hair when going to the yacht to begin a journey. (Red-heads bring bad luck to a ship, which can be averted if you speak to the read-head before they speak to you)
• Avoid flat-footed people when beginning a trip. (They bring bad luck the same way the read-heads do. The danger can be avoided by speaking to them before they speak to you)
• A stolen piece of wood put into the keel will make a ship sail faster.
• A silver coin placed under the masthead ensures a successful voyage.
• Disaster will follow if you step onto a boat with your Left Foot first.
• Pouring wine on the deck will bring good luck on a long voyage. (An offering to the gods)
• Throwing stones into the sea will cause great waves and storms.
• A stone thrown over a vessel that is putting out to sea ensures she will never return.
• Flowers are unlucky on board a ship. 
• Priests are not lucky to have on a ship. 
• Women on board a ship make the sea angry.
• A naked woman on board will calm the sea.
• Don't look back once your ship has left port as this can bring bad luck. 
• A dog seen near fishing tackle is bad luck.
• Black cats are considered good luck and will bring a sailor home from the sea.
• Swallows seen at sea are a good sign.
• Sighting a curlew at sea is considered bad luck.
• A cormorant sighted at sea is bad luck.
• Dolphin swimming with the ship are a sign of good luck. 
• It is unlucky to kill an albatross.
• It is unlucky to kill a gull. (It is said that gulls are the souls of the lost sailors)
• Handing a flag through the rungs of a ladder is bad luck.
• Hanging a mop or bucket overboard is a sign of bad luck.
• Repairing a flag on the quarterdeck will bring bad luck.
• Cutting your hair or nails at sea is bad luck. (Hair and nails are like offerings to the Roman goddess of life, death and rebirth Proserpine (Greek - Persephone) and thus the Neptune would become jealous about the to the goddess while in his kingdom).
• Church bells heard at sea mean someone on the ship will die.
• St. Elmo's Fire (an electro-magnetic phenomenon) around a sailors head means he will die within a day.
• When the clothes of a dead sailor are worn by another sailor during the same voyage, misfortune will befall the entire ship.
• If the rim of a glass rings stop it quickly or there will be a shipwreck.
• Never say the word drowned at sea.
• The caul of the head of a new-born child is protection against drowning and will bring the owner good luck.
• The feather of a wren slain on New Years Day, will protect a sailor from dying by shipwreck.
• A ships bell will always ring if the ship is destined to be wrecked.