Salty Sam’s Fun Blog for Children
Number 392
Sailors’ Superstitions
Hello Everyone
As you know, l used to be a sailor before l came to live in my lighthouse in Rocky Bay.
Did you know that a lot of sailors believe in a lot of old superstitions?
This is probably because life at sea can be fraught with danger, and when you feel that you are living at the mercy of the fates and the elements, any help you can get from any possible supernatural means is very welcome.
Being a sailor was, and can still be, a dangerous profession.
Sailors, from early days, did everything that they could to bring good luck upon themselves for protection and as l used to be a sailor l know all about what sailors sometimes did – and maybe do nowadays too – l suppose it just depends on how superstitious a crew is.
There are many superstitions that l could tell you about.
You may have heard of red sky in the morning shepherds’ warning?
Well, sailors too believe that a red sky in the morning predicts bad weather will follow during the day.
Red sky at night, shepherd’s delight
Red sky in the evening means fair weather the next day.
The word sailor is used sometimes instead of shepherd.
What else can l tell you about?
Well, you are not allowed to whistle on board ship because it might induce the wind to whip up.
Being on board a ship in high winds is a miserable way to travel.
They cause the waves to swell and crash against the sides of the ship and over the decks. The ship lurches about all over the place and can make anyone aboard feel sick.
You never liked to set sail on a Friday. This was considered a bad day to choose.
You should never change the name of a ship either. This happened to the ship called the Titanic; and just look at what followed!
Maybe we should add sailing too close to icebergs to the list too.
Taking a cat aboard was very lucky. This is because they were good at catching rats that would otherwise eat food and ropes on board ship and spread disease. British and lrish sailors favoured black cats. They can easily creep up on prey in the night; being less visible in the dark.
Cormorants were also considered lucky and so were tattoos.
Tattoos were often pictures of lucky talismans that would be carried on the sailor’s body wherever he went.
But the most feared bad omen of all was the albatross, a huge white seabird.
lt was considered very bad luck and sailors dreaded seeing them following their ship. To kill one would certainly bring you very bad luck indeed.
lf a person on board seemed to bringing bad luck to the voyage they were labelled a ‘Jonah’ after the man in the Bible that was swallowed by a whale.
And lastly, l have to tell you that to touch a sailor’s collar is supposed to bring you good luck. So if you see a sailor, you could test out the theory – maybe you should ask permission first.
Sometimes, there are little sailing boats on the lake in the park at the back of Rocky Bay for children to sail in.
l doubt that any of this applies to them.
They just go onto the water to have a good time.
You might have a boating lake near where you live too.
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Thank you!
And see you again next Fun Friday!
Love and kisses
Salty Sam
www.christina-sinclair.com
Bill and Bob’s Joke of the Week
Bob: What happened when a red ship collided with a blue ship?
Bill: l don’t know. What happened when a red ship collided with a blue ship?
Bob: All the sailors were marooned!
Salty Sam © Christina Sinclair 2015
Unauthorized use and/or duplication of material from this blog without express and written permission from this blog’s author and owner is strictly prohibited.
Links may be used to www.christina-sinclair.com
Picture Gallery
Cormorant
Red sunset
THE SALTY SAM NEWS DESK
I had an unexpected call from the vicar this week.
He had had an idea of an event he wanted to stage and he needed my help.
He needed my woodworking talents!
In a seaside town like Rocky Bay, everyone is very busy at work during high summer but things can go a bit quiet in the other months.
If a town can stage events in the spring and autumn, they can extend the tourist season into the months when it is probably too cold to sit on the beach or the sea is too rough for people to take boat trips.
Then there will be more trade for the hotels and guest houses as well as the shops and cafes.
The vicar wanted to stage a letterboxing event in Rocky Bay and he needed me to make him some lovely, wooden boxes.
What is letterboxing? I hear you ask.
Well, I will tell you.
It is an outdoor hobby that combines elements of orienteering (which is running about the countryside and finding your way with the aid of a map and compass), and art and puzzle-solving.
The letterboxers hide small, weatherproof boxes in places accessible to the public, like parks, and distribute clues to finding the box in printed catalogues, on one of several web sites, or by word of mouth.
The vicar was going to send handouts to anyone who was interested, because he hasn’t got a website.
Each letterbox contains a notebook and a rubber stamp, preferably hand-carved or custom made.
Finders make an imprint of the letterbox’s stamp in their own notebook, and leave an impression of their personal signature stamp on the letterbox’s “visitors’ book” — as proof of having found the box and letting other letterboxers know who has visited.
Many letterboxers keep careful record of their “find count”.
Letterboxing started on Dartmoor, a large wilderness in Devon in 1854. The idea has spread all over the world.
The vicar had selected spots that he thought would be good places to position his boxes. Most of them are by paths and tracks.
The event will start at the end of September so we have a few weeks left to get ourselves organized.
It will certainly be another interesting thing for visitors to Rocky Bay to do.
The children want to join in because they say it sounds like an exciting treasure hunt.
So when the vicar and I set the boxes up we will have to keep the locations a big secret from everyone!
If you don’t have the opportunity to go letterboxing, you can still go rambling.
Here are some tips to help you out.
Salty Sam’s Tips for Rambling with Children
1
You must have a map and compass with you. Decide where you are going to walk before you set out to make sure that it is not too far for your little legs.
2
Your route should be in a circle so that you will arrive back at your home or car.
3
Make sure your shoes are comfortable. If you buy some new shoes for rambling, wear them around the house or on short walks before you go on a long walk to ‘break them in’.
4
When you buy walking shoes, make sure there will be enough room inside them for thick socks as well as your feet.
5
If you take a back pack, make sure it is not too heavy for you because it will seem to get heavier as you walk.
6
Don’t take toys with you because you can amuse yourself with nature hunts, telling jokes, telling stories and singing.
7
You won’t need any toys, but you can take your teddy/doll/action figure with you if they especially want to come along.
8
If you are taking your parents along, this is a good time to talk to them about all the things you want to tell them about because now they will have time to listen to you and they will be in a good mood.
9
Take a charged mobile telephone or two with you in case of emergency – turn them off and take the opportunity to look at nature and talk to other people.
10
You may want to take bottles of water with you and trail food – high energy bars are a good idea because they are light to carry.
11
Make sure nobody gets separated from your group. You may want to buddy up before you start out.
12
If you are going to sleep in a tent, you may want to try putting it up and sleeping in it in your back garden to get used to it before you go away.
13
If you go camping, make sure that you totally clean up your site before you leave.
14
Make a list of all the things you need to take with you and tick them off as you pack them in your bag.
15
Don’t forget to put on sun cream and insect repellent before you set out if it is summer, and take a warm jacket or waterproof coat or sunglasses or sun hat or warm hat depending on the weather forecast.
16
You may want to take a couple of plasters with you in case your shoes rub your feet – blisters can be very painful.
17
You may want to take a camera, field guide (for identifying species of wildlife), tissues and also a small torch just in case you don’t make it back before dark.
18
You may want to take a little bag with you in case you collect any interesting leaves or seeds or stones on your way.
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Quick Quiz
Blue is a very cooling, calming, healing and restful colour.
Can you fill in these missing letters to find different types of blue?
- m _ _ _ _ _ _ t
- d _ _ _ m
- a _ r f _ _ _ e
- b _ _ y
- n _ _ y
- d _ _ k e _ g
- c _ _ _ _ t
- a _ _ _ e
- p _ _ _ _ _ k
- s _ y
lt’s the Weekend!
HOW TO MAKE CHARACTER DOLLS ON THE BEACH
These people are ready to go down to the beach and chill out.
There is a lifeguard to keep an eye on them and make sure all is well.
Look at Blog Post 371 for the patterns for the dolls.
Use over-sew stitching with right sides together when you make up all the garments.
If you take your dolls to an actual beach and they get sand on them, they will rinse out as long as you have used washable stuffing inside.
LIFEGUARD T SHIRT FRONT AND BACK (KNIT TWO)
Using 4mm knitting needles and white dk yarn cast on 15 stitches
Knit 2 rows of garter stitch
Knit 14 rows of stocking stitch
Knit 2 rows garter stitch
Cast off
Embroider an ‘L’ using Swiss darning onto the front of the shirt
LIFEGUARD T SHIRT SLEEVES (KNIT TWO)
Using 4mm knitting needles and white dk yarn cast on 12 stitches
Knit 2 rows of garter stitch
Knit 4 rows of stocking stitch
Cast off
TO MAKE UP
Sew shoulder seams
Sew tops of sleeves to shoulders
Sew side seams and under arm seams
LIFEGUARD SHORTS (KNIT TWO)
Using 4mm knitting needles and orange dk yarn cast on 21 stitches
Knit 2 rows of garter stitch
Decrease 1 stitch at the beginning of the next 4 rows of stocking stitch
Knit 4 rows of stocking stitch
Decrease 1 stitch at the beginning of the next 2 rows of stocking stitch
Change to 3¾mm knitting needles
Knit 2 rows of 1×1 rib
Cast off
TO MAKE UP
Sew the front and back together then the inside leg seams
Thread a 50cm length of yarn onto the channel at the top of the shorts and tie into a bow at the front
CROP TOP (KNIT TWO)
Using 4mm knitting needles and pink dk yarn cast on 12 stitches
Knit 2 rows of garter stitch
Change to white dk yarn
Knit 2 rows of garter stitch
Change to pink dk yarn
Knit 6 rows of garter stitch
Cast off
TO MAKE UP
Sew just the points of the rectangles to allow the doll’s arms to go through the sides
SKIRT (KNIT ONE)
Using 4mm knitting needles and purple dk yarn cast on 22 stitches
Knit 2 rows of garter stitch
Knit 8 rows of stocking stitch
Change to 3¾mm knitting needles
Knit 2 rows of 1×1 rib
Cast off
TO MAKE UP
Sew up back seam
SWIMMING COSTUME FRONT (KNIT ONE)
Using 4mm knitting needles and red dk yarn cast on 14 stitches
Knit 2 rows of garter stitch
Knit 18 rows of stocking stitch
Change to yellow dk yarn
Knit 2 rows of stocking stitch
Don’t cast off
Thread the end of yellow yarn through the stitches and make a loop to go over the doll’s head and secure the end of the yarn at the end of the yellow stripe
SWIMMING COSTUME BACK (KNIT ONE)
Using 4mm knitting needles and red dk yarn cast on 14 stitches
Knit 2 rows of garter stitch
Knit 12 rows of stocking stitch
Change to yellow dk yarn
Knit 2 rows of garter stitch
Cast off
TO MAKE UP
Sew up side seams
Sew a couple of stitches into the centre of the base to make two leg holes
SWIMMING TRUNKS (KNIT TWO)
Using 4mm knitting needles and tan dk yarn cast on 14 stitches
Knit 2 rows of garter stitch
Knit 8 rows of stocking stitch
Decrease 1 stitch at the beginning of the next 2 rows of stocking stitch
Change to 3¾mm knitting needles
Knit 2 rows of 1×1 rib
Cast off
TO MAKE UP
Sew up side seams
Sew a couple of stitches into the centre of the base to make two leg holes
Look out for Blog Post 398 where there will be more accessories for the beach!
Please note that the material on this blog is for personal use and for use in classrooms only.
It is a copyright infringement and, therefore, illegal under international law to sell items made with these patterns.
Use of the toys and projects is at your own risk.
©Christina Sinclair Designs 2015
Quick Quiz Answers
- midnight
- denim
- air force
- baby
- navy
- duck egg
- cobalt
- azure
- peacock
- sky
More blues
Cornflower
I am a regular visitor. Just wanted to say thank you for your entertaining style and all your hard work!
Thank you for taking the trouble to write in and make a comment. l am glad that you like my blog so much and l hope you come back soon! 🙂