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18 April 2014
Atlas Professionals thanks Cor Draijer for sharing this memorable moment!
Cor Draijer, an Atlas Professional who is currently working for Heerema Marine Contractors BV as a materials coordinator, recently crossed the equator and became a ‘shellback’ on Heerema’s deep sea Construction Vessel, Aegir. Crossing the equator has been a part of a sailor’s life for centuries now. The ceremony commemorates a sailor’s first crossing of the equator and is often seen on cruise ships, merchant navy vessels and aboard training ships.
The ceremony
When seamen cross the equator, the tradition is to present them as ‘pollywogs’ to King Neptune (often the captain) and his company (mostly higher ranked seamen). The pollywogs undergo a large number of ordeals, such as crawling through tubes filled with garbage or being interrogated with the use of sauce, aftershave or uncooked eggs: all primarily to entertain the current ‘shellbacks’, those who had proven worth of crossing the equator at an earlier stage. After the trials, the seamen obtain certificates of successfully becoming the Sons of Neptune, or shellbacks.
History
Crossing the line ceremonies are part of naval history. Many cultures have had a variety of rites when crossing important seamarks, such as the Phoenicians who made sacrifices to their sea god when passing through the Pillars of Hercules. In fact, most of the early line crossings such as the Order of the Ditch (transiting the Panama Canal) or the Realm of the Czars (crossing the Black Sea) had the primary purpose of testing the new crew to see whether they could cope with their very first offshore trip. Today, however, this has shifted to a less serious and more entertaining tradition, mostly for the entertainment of the veterans at sea.