Crossing the equator for the first time often is a memorable moment in the lives of sailors. Traditions in many cultures call for the newbies to be the focus of a special ceremony, ostensibly to mollify Neptune, the ancient Roman sea god.
Matt Knighton of the Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing team was the special honoured sailor after Azzam crossed the equator in the Atlantic Ocean late on Thursday, the only first-timer – also known as a pollywog – on the boat.
He had been looking forward to the event, with perhaps a tinge of dread, too, at the idea of what the veterans, the shellbacks, had in mind as proper punishment to satisfy the ancient gods.
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“With the equator trudging towards us with relentless persistence, the threat of my impending punishment and purification inched all the more closer with every position report,” Knighton wrote.
“But suffice to say I couldn’t have asked for a better group of friends to be inducted by and I’m proud to be counted in their ranks.”
The Azzam crew gave Knighton a “reverse Mohawk” – shaving off a central strip of his hair, from front to back. He may also have been covered by fish guts, which could be washed off in a lot less time than it will take for his hair to grow back.
“I’m pretty sure my new haircut improves our aerodynamic performance,” Knighton wrote.
Pranks and punishment went on throughout the fleet.
“We need today’s ceremony, today’s induction, in order to have a safe sail into the waters unknown,” Corinna Halloran wrote on the all-woman SCA boat.
“The fish guts will wash off, but the genuine meaning behind the ceremony will not and it is for that reason today is actually an amazing day.”
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