Cruising is full of traditions the sail away party and the
Captains dinner for example, but why do we still do them? Are we just
mindlessly following tradition because that’s the way it’s always been done or are
there real reasons behind some of these rituals of the sea?
The Sail Away party
– These days the sail away party is a bit of a tame affair to how it once was.
You’ll head up to the top deck where some waiters might be handing out, (or
even selling depending on the cruise line), champagne, some of your fellow
passengers may be there listening to a live band, (maybe some steel drums);
I’ve even seen a bagpipe band marching up and down the dock. In days of yore
however, (and you only need to go back a few decades), your entire family would
have been dockside cheering you and waving you off, all there to say goodbye.
Which is where the tradition of the sail away party really comes from. When
ocean cruising in steam powered ships first became feasible for people voyages
tended to be a lot longer and a lot more dangerous. The simple reality was that
if someone got on a cruise ship then the family back home could never be sure
of seeing them again. It was for this reason that they used to come to the dock
to wave them off. A quote from the period from a lady called Kate Reid Ledoux
in a book called Ocean Notes for Ladies read –
"Say au revoir as cheerfully and as
bravely as if you were only going for a short journey. Do not sadden others who
are trying hard to be brave too. Leave yourself and them in God's hands, for he
will be with you though the trackless deep lies between."
"Say au revoir as cheerfully and as bravely as if you were only going for a short journey. Do not sadden others who are trying hard to be brave too. Leave yourself and them in God's hands, for he will be with you though the trackless deep lies between."
"Say au revoir as cheerfully and as bravely as if you were only going for a short journey. Do not sadden others who are trying hard to be brave too. Leave yourself and them in God's hands, for he will be with you though the trackless deep lies between."
The Captains Cocktail
Party – Every voyage I have ever been on has had a Captains farewell dinner
on the final night, usually on a formal dress basis and always with the Captain
and some of his officers mingling with the guests.
But would it surprise
you to learn that this tradition, rather than originating with the Captain or
the cruise lines actually started with the guests?
Again harking back to days
gone by ocean voyages used to be a lot longer and lot more dangerous, so when
the guests sailed into sight of land they used to throw a thank you dinner for
the Captain and all his officers for getting them to land safely. It’s from
this tradition that the Captains farewell dinner was born.
Cruise ship
christenings/cruise ship god mothers – The christening of a ship goes right
the way back to the dawn of time when travelling by boat or ship was really dangerous. Christening a ship was
a direct appeal to the gods to protect the vessel on its voyages. It was said
the Vikings wouldn’t launch one of their long ships without first performing a
human sacrifice to appease the gods. Our modern day tradition of smashing a
bottle of wine over the hull of the ship stems directly from this with the wine
representing the blood of the sacrifice. The reason we normally now use
champagne to do it rather than red wine is down to some very clever marketing
from the producers of Champagne in 19th Century France and no other
reason.
So there you go! I guess it’s nice to stop and think how
steeped in tradition modern day cruising is. Are there any more traditions you
can think of and more importantly do you know the origin of them?
Happy cruising
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