Traditions Of The Sea

Neptune’s Kingdom

By Cadet xxx, NDA

With Inputs From

Kris Tee

The kingdom of Neptune – an enormous region covering three quarters of the earth’s surface and sheltering millions of mysterious subjects has had a long association with man. Indeed all life emerged from the sea. Since time immemorial, man has turned to the sea for food, livelihood, raw materials, adventure, a medium of transport and perhaps on a lower footing a place to fight and dominate his fellow man. Generation after generation has sailed out to sea and created strange customs with whispered legends, that later became firm beliefs and traditions.

Most of the undying legends of the sea were created in the days of the sail. While there were ships of various types, perhaps the most famous were the clippers. These were great square rigged sailing ships that could sail at a ‘clip’, hence their name, and were built mainly of wood and iron. There were the great Blackwall Frigates for carrying passengers and immigrants, fast clippers like the incomparable Cutty Sark (now a national memorial in UK) for the China tea trade, clippers for carrying grain, coal and miners to the gold fields, like the legendary American Down Easters.

To sail these mighty ships, a mighty breed of man was required, who could stay aloft for hours at a stretch, grappling with flogging canvas that could whip him away to an untimely death. The Captains belonged to a class entirely their own. They could not rely on their official authority alone to maintain discipline, but had to be able to quell mutiny by sheer force of personality or even batter a hard case into submission. Often the Second Mates were chosen for their fighting rather than sailing abilities. It was an unwritten law in those savage days that if a sailor could best the Second Mate in a fight, he automatically took the worsted officer’s place – but it did not happen often.

In those days a sailor’s life was a very minor thing. A swinging boom could easily sweep a sailor into the sea or a cleverly contrived motion of the ship could lead to a fatal fall from the yards. In the event of any inquiry, all that the Captain had to say was that it had been too rough to lower boats, which usually closed the matter. Some ships acquired the reputation of ‘Hell Ships’ or ‘Blood Boats’. It was not surprising that particularly in the UK, sailing was not a popular way of life and men had to be forced to join. Recruitment was from the dregs of society and more often than not, was done through ‘press gangs’ and ‘waterside crooks’ who did not hesitate to use force against unsuspecting persons to fill the decks of ships with ‘hands’ as sailors are still known. The expression, ‘to shanghai’ has its origins in those days as one of the most infamous leaders of press gangs was Shanghai Brown.

Theft aboard the ship, whether it was of stores, food or belongings was one of the most heinous offences. The penalty ranged from being made to stand on deck with the stolen object around the neck, to hanging from the yards. For blaspheming and swearing, on offender was forced to hold a marlinspike in his mouth, “… until his tong be bloodie!”, while those habituated to uttering dirty words had their tongues scraped with sand and canvas, a treatment that usually left the victim speechless for several days. If a ship was becalmed due to the absence of sufficient wind, it meant that the god of wind needed to be placated – by caning all the ship’s boys.

Keel hauling was another terrible punishment. The offender was lashed in a bowline and hauled from one end of the mainyard to the other by way of the keel. If the offender did not die from drowning, he almost certainly did from loss of blood as the barnacles on the hull tore his skin to shreds and left him bleeding profusely. The punishment for mutiny was usually death and there was an elaborate procedure followed for hanging. On the given day, the hanging ship would hoist a yellow flag, which was a signal for other ships to send their men to witness the execution. This task was generally reserved for troublemakers and potential mutineers. As soon as they were aboard, they would be mustered aft with the rest of the ship’s crew with the bos’un piping, “All hands to witness punishment”. After the priest had done his bit for redemption of the doomed soul, a cannon would be fired and a team of men would haul away at the rope by walking away from the yard, while marines with fixed bayonets faced the crew. A man who had witnessed a hanging, seldom failed to get the message. The last such punishment was carried out on board HMS Leven on 13^th July 1860.

Once upon a time the quarter-deck was a place where a crucifix was hung and sailors passing that way would doff their caps and bow. That was the forerunner of the present custom of saluting the quarterdeck. Another typically naval institution, the beard, had its origins during the reign of an English monarch, who on a whim decided that his sea captains looked too soldierly with their fierce whiskers and needed to distinguish themselves. He decreed that thenceforth they must either grow beards or remain clean-shaven. Similarly, bell bottomed trousers had their origins in the Royal Navy as it was found easier to roll up trouser legs, while cleaning the deck, when the width of the trouser bottom was increased slightly. There had to be seven folds, with each fold representing one of the seven seas.

Ships have long been identified by their captains, with the ship assuming a seniority based on her captain’s position in the pecking order. Accordingly, the tradition of salutes at sea goes back a long way with gun salutes pre-dating the hand salute. It was customary for the saluting ship to turn and head towards the ship being saluted, since on sailing ships guns were mounted on the sides and by heading towards another ship, it could not be mistaken for an act of aggression. Today, however with guns being mounted fore and aft, the act is reversed with the saluting ship sailing past her senior. Before stop watches were invented, the interval between successive gun salutes was maintained to 5 seconds by the repetition of the couplet, “If I wasn’t a gunner I wouldn’t be here. Number two (or three ..) gun, fire!”

Courtesies at sea are important particularly when two ships pass each other. Merchant ships passing men of war either in harbor or at sea dip their ensigns as an act of courtesy and recognition, while the warship acknowledges it also by dipping her own ensign.

The custom of piping the side, an honour accorded to certain visiting dignitaries, has its origins when Captains used to visit other ships at sea. The visiting captain would be hoisted aboard from his boat in a chair slung from one of the yards to the accompaniment of the bos’un giving instructions to his crew with his pipe.

Manning and cheering ship in the old days was done as a mark of respect to another person or ship with the decks, yards and shrouds being manned. In India this is an honour reserved for the President, the Chief of Naval Staff and other Flag Officers at sea, as well as, on the final departure of a foreign ship on her way home, and, on the entry into port of a ship that has taken part in a victorious battle.

Since in India we consider the breaking of a coconut to be auspicious before commencing a new task, the coconut is broken on the bows of a ship by a lady when that ship is launched. However in the western Navies, it is a bottle of wine that is broken on the bows by the lady. On one occasion, the bottle slipped and injured a spectator who promptly sued the British Admiralty. It was therefore decreed that thereafter the bottle would be secured by a lanyard. The origin of this custom can be traced to a time when it was customary to drink a toast in a silver goblet to wish that ship prosperity and safety. Thereafter the silver goblet would be cast into the sea to prevent a toast of ill health being drunk from the same glass. Since the practice began to prove rather costly, it was decided instead to break a bottle of wine on the bows.

The Parsi shipbuilders of Surat and Bombay also had their own custom known as the Silver Nail Ceremony, which was observed when the keel of a new ship was laid. A silver nail, about seven inches long, with the name of the ship and the date, inscribed on one of its sides would be ceremonially driven in to join the keel and bow, to the accompaniment of incantations by a Parsi priest. On the west coast of India, traditional shipbuilders to this day observe the custom of implanting a tiny silver statue of Lord Ganesha within the keel of a new ship being built.

On 20^th December 2011, when the President of India reviews her Fleet, it would be the continuation of yet another ancient tradition where the Admiral along with his captains paid homage to their sovereign. By that act, the Supreme Commander would ensure that traditions would continue to be observed, in the realm of Neptune or Varuna, by all those who sail His domain. In this fast changing world that we live in, it is a reminder that despite the changes brought about by man on land, the sea from where all life emerged remains eternal and unchanging.

- The author wrote this article 30 years ago as a cadet in the NDA.