A Few Things that are Lucky at Sea

I don’t know about you, but I need some happy thoughts right about now. So in the interests of good cheer and good fortune, here are some things likely to bring good luck to your blue-water voyage. Fair winds and following seas to you, friends.

A Partial List of Good Luck Stuff I Could Think of Off the Top of My Head

Albatrosses, if alive

Black-handled knives

Black cats

Scratching a backstay (part of the rigging)

Spitting, when intended to counteract bad omens or luck

The “bitter end” of a piece of rope

St. Elmo’s lights, if they’re ascending the masts (unless you’re a Chinese sailor, in which case the reverse is true)

St. Elmo’s lights, if there are two of them

Any object having proved itself to be a Good Luck Charm

Tossing the source of a specific piece of bad luck overboard