Quote:
|
Did they make you dress up as a girl first time you crossed the equator?
|
No, but outlandish clothes, public drunkenness, and humiliation are the order of the day. During the great age of sail, about 150 years ago, when ships crossed the line, Neptune and his mates would come onboard and ceremoniously shave the pollywogs. The razor was usually the rustiest knife anyone could find, and the shaving 'cream' was a mixture of pine tar, fish oil, blige water, fish guts, you name it. After being shaved with this, and by Neptune's mates (who were usually so drunk they were barely able to stand), the new shellbacks took weeks to grow new skin on their faces. Some interesting accounts have come down through the years about line crossing ceremonies in years gone by.
I'm on the left in the purple. We three discovered the next day that we had consumed 5 bottles of rum, straight. In approximately 4 hours!!!
img003.jpg
I'm in the purple again, in my pirate getup, with a plastic chicken, purchased in Soweto, on my shoulder. It's amazing how creative you can get in the middle of the ocean.
img004.jpg