Neptune Day!!!

 

 

Neptune Day started with a bang, literally. Shortly after seven in the morning members of the crew paraded through the halls banging drums, blowing whistles and making as much noise as possible to wake up those sleeping.


 
 


That was only the beginning of the festivities of the day. Neptune Day is a traditional celebration of seafarers on ocean vessels upon crossing the equator. This became a 'folly' sanctioned as a boost to morale or as a test for seasoned sailors to ensure their new shipmates were capable of handling long rough times at sea per Wiki.

After a quick breakfast we donned appropriate apparel (swimming clothes) and headed to the deck seven pool where the ceremonies would commence. There was a lot of excitement in the air with music playing and some people dressed up for the occasion.

With sounds of the early morning wakeup call King Neptune's court paraded into the area. At the head of the procession was King Neptune and Queen Minerva followed by members of the court. These members included the Royal Barber, the Royal Torturer and many lovely goddess.

 

 

The King and Queen (the Captain of the ship and the Dean of Students) sat by the pool surrounded by the court (all of whom had to have already completed the ceremony on a previous voyage). The Royal Torturer (John Boyer) explained how the inductees will have to go through a series of tests in order to transition from a pollywog, someone who has never crossed the equator on a ship, to a shellback, one who has crossed the equator on a ship.



"Queen" Dean Eddie and the King

The Royal Torturer

 First the inductee will have green slime poured upon their head, then they will jump into the pool, swim to the side where the royal court is waiting, climb out of the pool, kiss two fish (much to Iva's total dislike!), kiss the rings of the Queen and King, and finally be knighted.

An inductee can also have their heads shaved as a sign of respect to King Neptune but it is not required. Bill took this opportunity to receive a free, though terrible haircut. We also had 11 women share in this ritual, though the majority of participants were men.

Bill didn't realize how cold he would be without hair!

After the inductee has finished all of these tasks they are then transformed from a lowly pollywog to a mighty shellback!

The inductees on board the MV Explorer who went through the ceremony joined an elite group of shellbacks called Emerald Shellbacks. Only pollywogs crossing the equator at the Prime Meridian can receive this title.

The ship's wake is on the Prime Meridian

 If a pollywog crosses the equator at the international date line they would be called Golden shellbacks. We have received certificates to verify our status for any who might doubt the feat. After the ceremonies were over it was time for lunch. Some of us needed a rest after such a trying experience and had a nap! The students took this opportunity to sun bathe while studying.

Here is verification to all our GPS geeky friends (Dan, Jeff, Ken, John) that we witnessed the Golden X. There is a buoy to mark the spot where the equator and the Prime Meridian intersect. Just looked like a lot of ocean to Iva. We were thrilled to be able to participate in this spirited ceremony to commemorate our first crossing on the equator on a ship!