During 2020, the International Maritime Organization listed 438 ships and boats abandoned worldwide, an abandoned boat is called a ghost ship. The actual number is suspected to be larger. The winds and currents become the captain and crew of the ship as it floats around on the open ocean. This can most certainly set the stage for a chilling horror story. Legend says that you can board these ships but be careful of the phantom crews who will at all cause protect their beloved ship and everything onboard.
In reality, ships get abandoned usually for quite a logical reason.
- Severe weather events can cause the captain and crew to abandon the ship
- Financial hardship and the cost of owning a ship may be weighing down the pockets and making use of the proper channels to sink or remove boats from the waterways may be too pricey.
There are several boating superstitions and the most famous abandoned ships such as the Flying Dutchman, Ourang Medan, Octavious, and many others are rumored to have done one of these boating superstitions. Here is our list:
- Never say “goodbye” when departing. Similar to stage productions, this is considered a bad omen to utter that will prevent the boat from returning to shore. Instead, good luck or breaking a leg can be used.
- Red sky at night, sailors delight. Red sky in the morning, sailor warning. This old saying is based on physical weather appearances that predict air pressure moving in, bringing on storms.
- Always step onto the boat with your right foot. The left foot brings bad luck for your journey ahead.
- No whistling while onboard a boat, this will call up the winds and upset the water.
- Never change your boat's name. Best you choose a good name the first time, as choosing the wrong name and changing it brings bad luck. (Read our blog on choosing a boat name)
- Never set sail or start a boating journey on a Friday
- Bananas are off-limits. Why bananas? This dates back to the 1700’s. Bananas are believed to be the favorite hiding ground for dangerous spiders that can fatally bite the crew. They cause an unpleasant gas when they go spoiled. Transporting bananas means fast travel for this reason on ships the crew did not have time to fish as they had to get to their destination before the bananas got spoiled putting a damper on the fishing. The sweet smell of bananas is also believed to be a repellent for fish.
If you are planning to take your boat out for a spooky cruise this Halloween, make sure you do not tick the superstition box or you might be in for a treat!