Unlucky Friday

IF YOU’RE at all superstitious, you will know full well that it’s unlucky to start a voyage on a Friday. And yet the logical part of your mind will tell you that any  number of ships sail on Fridays and never come to any harm.

So what’s going on here? Well, it’s simple, really.  It is unlucky to sail on Friday, but if you have saved up enough points in your black box you can overcome the bad luck.

The superstition is very old and very widespread. It is recognized by sailors of different religions in many different countries, and it’s possible that it started with  the crucifixion of Christ, which occurred on a Friday.

It was, in fact, the early Christians who persuaded people that Friday was unlucky. Before that, Friday was regarded as a lucky day, a particularly auspicious day on which to get married because it was named after the Norse goddess Frigga, who was in charge of love and fertility.

With the downfall of poor Frigga came the theory that Friday was a very unlucky day. It affected sailors all over the world. The reluctance of ships’ crews to sail on Friday did not go unobserved, even in countries with large fighting navies. But war doesn’t wait on Fridays, and, as we know, not every ship that sails on Friday experiences bad luck.

I believe the Black Box Theory is at work here. The ships that don’t come to grief are those that have a lot of points in their black boxes, enough to overcome, or at least to lessen, the bad fortune of sailing on the wrong day.

There is also a way around this dilemma. You can set sail on a Friday if you know how. The thing is to start your voyage on a Wednesday or Thursday. You must go a mile or two purposefully, and then return to your slip or anchorage to fix some small problem that seems to have arisen. It is the seamanlike thing to do.  Perhaps a turnbuckle has come slightly loose. Perhaps you forgot to top up the water tanks. I’m sure you get the idea.

When Friday comes, you can set sail in earnest without attracting bad luck because you are merely continuing a voyage, not starting one.  I don’t doubt that the gods know exactly what you’re doing, but they rather admire sailors who demonstrate a little constructive cunning, so they’re prepared to turn a blind eye.

Today’s Thought

Alas! you know the cause too well;
The salt is spilt, to me it fell;
Then to contribute to my loss,
My knife and fork were laid across;
On  Friday, too! The day I dread!
Would I were safe at home in bed!
— John Gay, Fables: The Farmer’s Wife and the Raven

Tailpiece

“Waiter, there’s a fly in my soup.”
(14) “Yes, sir, the chef ran out of garlic.”

(Drop by every Monday, Wednesday, Friday for a new Mainly about Boats column.)

Poor old Frigga

FRIDAY IS UPON US. Frigga’s day. Frigga, the Norse goddess of love and fertility, the wife of Odin, the most powerful of all the gods.

In olden times, Frigga’s day was regarded as a lucky day. Northerners held their nuptials on that day. And all was smiles, and happiness ever after — until the Christians came along.

As they spread their gospel, they also spread the calumny that Frigga was a witch. Because of this false testimony, Friday became regarded as an unlucky day, a day on which no right-minded sailor would set sail, for fear of bad luck at sea.

That old superstition still holds sway among those intending to set out on long voyages in small boats, and even among those who man the warships of countries with large navies. No-one who depends on the sea for his or her livelihood scoffs at this superstition.

So what to do, if you simply must sail on a Friday? Well, there is a way to set sail on Frigga’s day without attracting bad luck, if you know how. And here’s how:

Start your voyage on a Wednesday or Thursday. Go a mile or two purposefully, and then return to your mooring or slip to attend to some problem that seems to have arisen. Perhaps the cook forgot to buy matches. Perhaps the bosun has discovered a stay starting to strand. Perhaps the skipper left his chronometer on his bedside table at home. There are many convincing causes that would require a prudent crew to return to port.

Now you can set sail on Friday without the burden of bad luck hanging over you, because you are not actually setting sail on Friday, but merely continuing a voyage that started on Wednesday or Thursday.

And if a Christian should challenge you, and accuse you of deception, you can say: “You’re a fine one to speak of deception, my man, after what your people did to dear old Frigga.”

Today’s Thought
And on Friday fell all this mischance.
— Chaucer, The Nonne Preeste’s Tale

Tailpiece
Men don’t make passes
At girls who wear glasses
BUT
Girls who should, but don’t, wear glasses
Will never know if men make passes.

Sailing on Friday

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, is upon us. Oh woe! This is the day of the week when no sane sailor will go to sea. This is the day of the month when all sane people stay in bed.

It wasn’t always like this. You can blame the early Christians for it. In pre-Christian times Friday was actually regarded as a lucky day. It was especially lucky to get married on a Friday because the day was named after the Norse goddess Frigga. She was the goddess of love and fertility. She was the wife of Odin, the most powerful of the gods. And she was so popular with worshippers that the early Christians made few converts until they decided to make her the victim of a nasty smear campaign.

They branded dear old Frigga as a witch. They declared that her day, Friday, was an unlucky day. Any ship that started its voyage on a Friday would therefore be sure to meet disaster.
That must have been one of history’s most successful character assassinations, because, to this very day, sailors are wary of sailing on a Friday. This superstition takes up a chapter in my book How to Rename your Boat – and 19 Other Useful Ceremonies, Superstitions, Prayers, Rituals and Curses. But the short version is that you can set sail on a Friday without attracting bad luck if you really, truly, have to.

The trick is to start your voyage on Wednesday or Thursday. You must cast off, or weigh anchor, and then proceed purposefully for a mile or two, as seems appropriate. Then you may return to your slip or anchorage to attend to some small problem that seems to have arisen. Perhaps you forgot the matches. Or maybe a turnbuckle has come slightly loose. You know the drill. The more inventive you are, the better.

Then, on Friday, you can set sail in earnest because you will be continuing your voyage, not deliberately starting a new one. Don’t imagine you’re fooling the gods, though. They well know what you’re up to, but they do have a soft spot for sailors who (a) acknowledge their power, and (b) demonstrate a little constructive cunning in averting their wrath.

Today’s Thought
Alas! You know the cause too well;
The salt is spilt, to me it fell;
Then to contribute to my loss,
My knife and fork were laid across:
On Friday, too! the day I dread!
Would I were safe at home in bed!
—John Gay, Fables.

Tailpiece
Overheard in a menswear store:
“I’m looking for a tie that would be suitable for my husband – something not too bright.”