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The line-crossing ceremony is an initiation rite that commemorates a person's first crossing of the
Equator The equator is a circle of latitude, about in circumference, that divides Earth into the Northern and Southern hemispheres. It is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude, halfway between the North and South poles. The term can al ...
. The tradition may have originated with ceremonies when passing headlands, and become a "folly" sanctioned as a boost to morale,
Robert FitzRoy Vice-Admiral Robert FitzRoy (5 July 1805 – 30 April 1865) was an English officer of the Royal Navy and a scientist. He achieved lasting fame as the captain of during Charles Darwin's famous voyage, FitzRoy's second expedition to Tierra ...
(1839) ''Narrative of the surveying voyages of His Majesty's Ships Adventure and Beagle between the years 1826 and 1836'', London: Henry Colburn. pp
57–58
or have been created as a test for seasoned sailors to ensure their new shipmates were capable of handling long, rough voyages. Equator-crossing ceremonies, typically featuring King Neptune, are common in the
Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It i ...
and are also sometimes carried out for passengers' entertainment on civilian ocean liners and cruise ships. They are also performed in the merchant navy and aboard sail training ships. Throughout history, line-crossing ceremonies have sometimes become dangerous hazing rituals. Most modern navies have instituted regulations that prohibit physical attacks on sailors undergoing the line-crossing ceremony.


Traditions


Australia

In 1995, a notorious line-crossing ceremony took place on the
Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister o ...
submarine . Sailors undergoing the ceremony were physically and verbally abused before being subjected to an act called "sump on the rump", where a dark liquid was daubed over each sailor's
anus The anus (Latin, 'ring' or 'circle') is an opening at the opposite end of an animal's digestive tract from the mouth. Its function is to control the expulsion of feces, the residual semi-solid waste that remains after food digestion, which, de ...
and
genitalia A sex organ (or reproductive organ) is any part of an animal or plant that is involved in sexual reproduction. The reproductive organs together constitute the reproductive system. In animals, the testis in the male, and the ovary in the female, ...
. One sailor was then sexually assaulted with a long stick before all sailors undergoing the ceremony were forced to jump overboard and tread water until permitted to climb back aboard the submarine. A videotape of the ceremony was obtained by the
Nine Network The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television ne ...
and aired on Australian television. The coverage provoked widespread criticism, especially when the videotape showed some of the submarine's officers watching the entire proceedings from the conning tower.


Canada

In the
Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack submar ...
, those who have not yet crossed the equator are nicknamed ''Tadpoles'', or ''Dirty Tadpoles''; an earlier nickname was ''griffins''.Keynes, R. D. ed. (2001) ''Charles Darwin's Beagle diary'', Cambridge University Press, pp
36–38


United Kingdom

By the eighteenth century, there were well-established line-crossing rituals in the
British Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...
. On the voyage of HMS ''Endeavour'' to the Pacific in 1768, captained by
James Cook James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean and ...
,
Joseph Banks Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, (19 June 1820) was an English naturalist, botanist, and patron of the natural sciences. Banks made his name on the 1766 natural-history expedition to Newfoundland and Labrador. He took part in Captain Jame ...
described how the crew drew up a list of everyone on board, including cats and dogs, and interrogated them as to whether they had crossed the equator. If they had not, they must choose to give up their allowance of wine for four days, or undergo a ducking ceremony in which they were ducked three times into the ocean. According to Banks, some of those ducked were "grinning and exulting in their hardiness", but others "were almost suffocated". Captain
Robert FitzRoy Vice-Admiral Robert FitzRoy (5 July 1805 – 30 April 1865) was an English officer of the Royal Navy and a scientist. He achieved lasting fame as the captain of during Charles Darwin's famous voyage, FitzRoy's second expedition to Tierra ...
of suggested the practice had developed from earlier ceremonies in Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian vessels passing notable
headland A headland, also known as a head, is a coastal landform, a point of land usually high and often with a sheer drop, that extends into a body of water. It is a type of promontory. A headland of considerable size often is called a cape.Whittow, John ...
s. He thought it was beneficial to morale. FitzRoy quoted
Otto von Kotzebue Otto von Kotzebue (russian: О́тто Евста́фьевич Коцебу́, tr. ;  – ) was a Russian officer and navigator in the Imperial Russian Navy. He was born in Reval. He was known for his explorations of Oceania. Early life ...
's 1830 description in his 1839 ''Narrative of the Surveying Voyages of His Majesty's Ships'' Adventure ''and'' Beagle ''between the Years 1826 and 1836''.
Otto von Kotzebue Otto von Kotzebue (russian: О́тто Евста́фьевич Коцебу́, tr. ;  – ) was a Russian officer and navigator in the Imperial Russian Navy. He was born in Reval. He was known for his explorations of Oceania. Early life ...
(1830
''A New Voyage Round the World''
Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, London:
Project Gutenberg Project Gutenberg (PG) is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, as well as to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks." It was founded in 1971 by American writer Michael S. Hart and is the oldest digital libr ...
eBook.
A similar ceremony took place during the second survey voyage of HMS ''Beagle''. As they approached the equator on the evening of 16 February 1832, a pseudo-Neptune hailed the ship. Those credulous enough to run forward to see Neptune "were received with the watery honours which it is customary to bestow". The officer on watch reported a boat ahead, and Captain FitzRoy ordered "hands up, shorten sail". Using a speaking trumpet he questioned Neptune, who would visit them the next morning. About 9 am the next day, the novices or "griffins" were assembled in the darkness and heat of the lower deck, then one at a time were blindfolded and led up on deck by "four of Neptunes constables", as "buckets of water were thundered all around". The first "griffin" was
Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended f ...
, who noted in his diary how he "was then placed on a plank, which could be easily tilted up into a large bath of water. — They then lathered my face & mouth with pitch and paint, & scraped some of it off with a piece of roughened iron hoop. —a signal being given I was tilted head over heels into the water, where two men received me & ducked me. —at last, glad enough, I escaped. — most of the others were treated much worse, dirty mixtures being put in their mouths & rubbed on their faces. — The whole ship was a shower bath: & water was flying about in every direction: of course not one person, even the Captain, got clear of being wet through." The ship's artist, Augustus Earle, made a sketch of the scene.


United States

The
U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...
and U.S. Coast Guard have well-established line-crossing rituals. Sailors who have already crossed the Equator are nicknamed ''Shellbacks'', ''Trusty Shellbacks'', ''Honorable Shellbacks'', or ''Sons of
Neptune Neptune is the eighth planet from the Sun and the farthest known planet in the Solar System. It is the fourth-largest planet in the Solar System by diameter, the third-most-massive planet, and the densest giant planet. It is 17 time ...
''. Those who have not crossed are nicknamed ''Pollywogs'', or ''Slimy Pollywogs,'' or sometimes simply ''Slimy Wogs.''


History

In the 18th century and earlier, the line-crossing ceremony was quite a brutal event, often involving beating pollywogs with boards and wet ropes and sometimes throwing the victims over the side of the ship, dragging the pollywog through the surf from the stern. In more than one instance, sailors were reported to have been killed while participating in a line-crossing ceremony. Baptism on the line, also called equatorial baptism, is an alternative initiation ritual sometimes performed as a ship crosses the Equator, involving water
baptism Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost in ...
of passengers or crew who have never crossed the Equator before. The ceremony is sometimes explained as being an initiation into the court of King Neptune. The ritual is the subject of a painting by Matthew Benedict named ''The Mariner's Baptism'' and of a 1961 book by Henning Henningsen named ''Crossing the Equator: Sailor's Baptism and Other Initiation Rites''.Matthew Benedict - Crossing the Line
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt described his crossing-the-line ceremony aboard the "Happy Ship" with his "Jolly Companions" in a letter to his wife
Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt () (October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the first lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945, during her husband President Franklin D. Roosevelt's four t ...
on 26 November 1936. Later, during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, the frequency of the ceremony increased dramatically, especially in the U.S. Navy in the Pacific, where the service's fleet operations grew enormously to counter widely dispersed Japanese forces. As late as World War II, the line-crossing ceremony was still rather rough and involved activities such as the "Devil's Tongue", which was an electrified piece of metal poked into the sides of those deemed pollywogs. Beatings were often still common, usually with wet firehoses, and several World War II Navy deck logs speak of sailors visiting sick bay after crossing the line. Efforts to curtail the line-crossing ceremony did not begin until the 1980s, when several reports of blatant
hazing Hazing (American English), initiation, beasting (British English), bastardisation (Australian English), ragging (South Asian English) or deposition refers to any activity expected of someone in joining or participating in a group that humiliates, ...
began to circulate regarding the line-crossing ceremony, and at least one death was attributed to abuse while crossing the line.


Today

The two-day event (evening and day) is a ritual in which previously inducted crew members (Trusty Shellbacks) are organized into a "Court of Neptune" and induct the Slimy Pollywogs into "the mysteries of the Deep". Physical hardship, in keeping with the spirit of the initiation, is tolerated, and each Pollywog is expected to endure a standard initiation rite in order to become a Shellback. Depending on the Ocean or Fleet AOR, there can be variations in the rite. Some rites have discussed a role reversal as follows, but this is not always a normal feature, and may be dependent on whether a small number of Shellbacks exist to conduct the initiation. The transition flows from established order to the "controlled chaos" of the Pollywog Revolt, the beginnings of re-order in the initiation rite as the fewer but experienced enlisted crew converts the Wogs through physical tests, then back to, and thereby affirming, the pre-established order of officers and enlisted. The eve of the equatorial crossing is called Wog Day and, as with many other night-before rituals, is a mild type of reversal of the day to come. Wogs (all of the uninitiated) are allowed to capture and interrogate any Shellbacks they can find (e.g., tying them up, cracking eggs or pouring aftershave lotion on their heads). The Wogs are made very aware that it will be much harder on them if they do anything like this. After crossing the line, Pollywogs receive subpoenas to appear before ''King Neptune and his court'' (usually including his first assistant Davy Jones and her Highness
Amphitrite In ancient Greek mythology, Amphitrite (; grc-gre, Ἀμφιτρίτη, Amphitrítē) was the goddess of the sea, the queen of the sea, and the wife of Poseidon. She was a daughter of Nereus and Doris (or Oceanus and Tethys).Roman, L., & Rom ...
and often various dignitaries, who are all represented by the highest-ranking sailors who are Shellbacks), who officiate at the ceremony, which is often preceded by a beauty contest of men dressing up as women, each department of the ship being required to introduce one contestant in swimsuit drag. Afterwards, some may be "interrogated" by King Neptune and his entourage, and the use of "truth serum" (hot sauce + after shave) and whole uncooked eggs put in the mouth. During the ceremony, the Pollywogs undergo a number of increasingly embarrassing ordeals (wearing clothing inside out and backwards; crawling on hands and knees on nonskid-coated decks; being swatted with short lengths of firehose; being locked in stocks & pillories and pelted with mushy fruit; being locked in a water coffin of salt-water and bright green sea dye luorescent sodium salt crawling through chutes or large tubs of rotting garbage; kissing the Royal Baby's belly coated with axle grease, hair chopping, etc.), largely for the entertainment of the Shellbacks. Once the ceremony is complete, a Pollywog receives a certificate declaring his new status. Another rare status is the ''Golden Shellback'', a person who has crossed the
Equator The equator is a circle of latitude, about in circumference, that divides Earth into the Northern and Southern hemispheres. It is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude, halfway between the North and South poles. The term can al ...
at the
180th meridian The 180th meridian or antimeridian is the meridian 180° both east and west of the prime meridian in a geographical coordinate system. The longitude at this line can be given as either east or west. On Earth, these two meridians form a gre ...
. The rarest Shellback status is that of the ''Emerald Shellback'' (US), or ''Royal Diamond Shellback'' (Commonwealth), which is received after crossing the Equator at the
prime meridian A prime meridian is an arbitrary meridian (a line of longitude) in a geographic coordinate system at which longitude is defined to be 0°. Together, a prime meridian and its anti-meridian (the 180th meridian in a 360°-system) form a great ...
, near the Null Island weather buoy. When a ship must cross the Equator reasonably close to one of these meridians, the ship's captain might plot a course across the ''Golden X'' so that the ship's crew can be initiated as Golden or Emerald/Royal Diamond Shellbacks. In the
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educ ...
documentary ''
Carrier Carrier may refer to: Entertainment * ''Carrier'' (album), a 2013 album by The Dodos * ''Carrier'' (board game), a South Pacific World War II board game * ''Carrier'' (TV series), a ten-part documentary miniseries that aired on PBS in April 20 ...
,'' filmed in 2005 (Episode 7, "Rites of Passage"), a crossing-the-line ceremony on is extensively documented. The ceremony is carefully orchestrated by the ship's officers, with some sailors reporting the events to be lackluster due to the removal of the rites of initiation. Reflecting the popularity of tattoos among sailors, some people choose to get tattoos to mark that they have participated in a ceremony, such as an image of a shellback turtle or King Neptune.


Honors for line crossings and other navigational events

As Shellback initiation is conducted by each individual ship as a morale exercise and not officially recognized by the Navy with inclusion on discharge papers (
DD Form 214 DD, dd, or other variants may refer to: Arts and entertainment *"D.D.", a track on mixtape ''Echoes of Silence'' by The Weeknd *DD (character), a character in ''The Saga of Seven Suns'' novels by Kevin J. Anderson *DD National or DD1, an India ...
) or through a formally organized institution, variations of the names as well as the protocol involved in induction vary from ship to ship and service to service. Unique Shellback designations have been given to special circumstances which include: *The ''Star Spangled Shellbacks'' being given to the crew of crossing the equator on July 4, 1966. It is not known if this designation has ever been used before or since, as no other mention of such honor has been located to date. *The ''Iron Shellback'' for the crew who served on , USS Vella Gulf (CG-72), and , who crossed the equator during a 200+ consecutive day underway with no ports during their 2020 deployment. Variations to the Shellback designation include: *The ''Order of the Ebony Shellback'' for maritime personnel who have crossed the Equator on
Lake Victoria Lake Victoria is one of the African Great Lakes. With a surface area of approximately , Lake Victoria is Africa's largest lake by area, the world's largest tropical lake, and the world's second-largest fresh water lake by surface area after ...
. *The ''Emerald Shellback'' or ''Royal Diamond Shellback'' for maritime personnel who cross the Equator at the prime meridian. *The ''Golden Shellback'' for maritime personnel who have crossed the point where the
Equator The equator is a circle of latitude, about in circumference, that divides Earth into the Northern and Southern hemispheres. It is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude, halfway between the North and South poles. The term can al ...
crosses the
180th meridian The 180th meridian or antimeridian is the meridian 180° both east and west of the prime meridian in a geographical coordinate system. The longitude at this line can be given as either east or west. On Earth, these two meridians form a gre ...
. *The ''Top Secret Shellback'' for submariners who have crossed the equator at a classified degree of longitude. *The ''Wooden Shellback'' for maritime personnel who have crossed the equator on a vessel with a wooden hull. Consequently, similar "fraternities" commemorating other significant milestones in one's career include: *The ''Order of the Blue Nose'' (Domain of the Polar Bear) for maritime personnel who have crossed the
Arctic Circle The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the most northerly of the five major circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth. Its southern equivalent is the Antarctic Circle. The Arctic Circle marks the southernmost latitude at ...
. *The ''Caterpillar Club'' for aviators who have made an unscheduled parachute jump from a disabled plane. *The ''Century Club'' for aviators who have completed their 100th carrier landing. *The ''Realm of the Czars'' for maritime personnel who crossed into the
Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Ro ...
. *The ''Order of the Ditch'' for maritime personnel who have passed through the
Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a condu ...
. *The ''Domain of the Golden Dragon'' for maritime personnel who have crossed the
180th meridian The 180th meridian or antimeridian is the meridian 180° both east and west of the prime meridian in a geographical coordinate system. The longitude at this line can be given as either east or west. On Earth, these two meridians form a gre ...
. *The ''Order of the Lakes'' for maritime personnel who have sailed on all five
Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lak ...
. *The ''Order of Magellan'' for maritime personnel who circumnavigated the Earth. *The ''Magellan's Strait Jacket Club'' for maritime personnel who transited the
Straits of Magellan The Strait of Magellan (), also called the Straits of Magellan, is a navigable sea route in southern Chile separating mainland South America to the north and Tierra del Fuego to the south. The strait is considered the most important natural pas ...
. *The ''Order of the Flying Dutchman'' for maritime personnel who have sailed around the
Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( af, Kaap die Goeie Hoop ) ;''Kaap'' in isolation: pt, Cabo da Boa Esperança is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is ...
. *The ''Moss Back'' for maritime personnel who have sailed around the tip of South America (Cape Horn). *The ''Order of the Golden Oscar'' for maritime personnel who have served with the Entertainment Liaison Office. *''Persian Excursion - The Society of the Arabian Nights'' for maritime personnel who have served in the
Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The body ...
. *''Plank Owner'' for personnel stationed to a ship or shore command when that ship or unit was created, placed in commission, or in some cases removed from commission. *The ''Order of Purple Porpoises'' for maritime personnel who crossed the junction of the
Equator The equator is a circle of latitude, about in circumference, that divides Earth into the Northern and Southern hemispheres. It is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude, halfway between the North and South poles. The term can al ...
and the
International Date Line The International Date Line (IDL) is an internationally accepted demarcation on the surface of Earth, running between the South and North Poles and serving as the boundary between one calendar day and the next. It passes through the Pacific ...
at the Sacred Hour of the Vernal
Equinox A solar equinox is a moment in time when the Sun crosses the Earth's equator, which is to say, appears directly above the equator, rather than north or south of the equator. On the day of the equinox, the Sun appears to rise "due east" and se ...
. *The ''Order of the Red Nose'' (Domain of the Penguin) for maritime personnel who have crossed the
Antarctic Circle The Antarctic Circle is the most southerly of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of Earth. The region south of this circle is known as the Antarctic, and the zone immediately to the north is called the Southern Temperate Zone. S ...
. *The ''Order of the Rock'' for maritime personnel who have transited the
Strait of Gibraltar The Strait of Gibraltar ( ar, مضيق جبل طارق, Maḍīq Jabal Ṭāriq; es, Estrecho de Gibraltar, Archaic: Pillars of Hercules), also known as the Straits of Gibraltar, is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Me ...
. *The Safari to Suez for maritime personnel who have transited the
Suez Canal The Suez Canal ( arz, قَنَاةُ ٱلسُّوَيْسِ, ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The long canal is a popul ...
. *The ''Order of the Sand Squid'' (or Sand Sailor) for maritime personnel who have been attached to land-based Army or Marine units stationed in the Middle East. *The ''Order of the Spanish Main'' for maritime personnel who have sailed in the Caribbean. *The ''Order of the Sparrow'' for maritime personnel who sailed on all 7 seas. *The ''Order of the Square Rigger'' for maritime personnel who have served aboard or . *The ''Order of the Black Hulls'' for sailors and Coast Guardsmen who have sailed aboard a black-hulled vessel, a term for buoy tenders with hulls painted black.


California Maritime Academy

California Maritime Academy The California State University Maritime Academy (Cal Maritime or CSU Maritime Academy) is a public university in Vallejo, California. It is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system and the only maritime academy on the Unit ...
observed the line-crossing ceremony until 1989, after which the ceremony was deemed to be hazing and was forbidden. The 1989 crossing was fairly typical, as it was not realized to be the last one. Pollywogs participated voluntarily, though female
midshipmen A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Afri ...
observed that they were under social pressure to do the ceremony but were targets of harder abuse. Pollywogs (midshipmen and anyone else who had not crossed) ascended a ladder from the forecastle to the superstructure deck of the ship. There, they crawled down a gauntlet of Shellbacks on both sides of a long, heavy canvas runner, about 10–12 meters. The shellbacks had prepared 3-foot lengths of canvas/rubber firehose, which they swung hard at the posterior of each Wog. The Wogs then ascended a ladder to the boat deck to slide down a makeshift chute into the baptism of messdeck leavings in sea water in an inflated liferaft back on the superstructure deck. Wogs then returned to the
forecastle The forecastle ( ; contracted as fo'c'sle or fo'c's'le) is the upper deck of a sailing ship forward of the foremast, or, historically, the forward part of a ship with the sailors' living quarters. Related to the latter meaning is the phrase " b ...
, where they were hosed off by firehose and then allowed to kiss, in turn, the belly of the sea-baby, the foot of the sea-hag, and the ring of King Neptune, each personified by Shellbacks.


Others

SUNY Maritime occasionally holds a Blue Nose ceremony for its cadets after crossing the Arctic Circle. Their most recent ceremony was during the summer of 2019, on the TSES VI, held shortly after departing Reykjavik. Cadets crawled through a tunnel with
lo mein Lo mein () is a Chinese dish with egg noodles. It often contains vegetables and some type of meat or seafood, usually beef, chicken, pork, or shrimp. It might also be served with wontons (called ''húntun'' 餛飩/馄饨 in Mandarin) althou ...
, or "Eel Spawn", and then had food put in their hair before crawling through the fantail while being sprayed by fire hoses. Colorado State University's Semester at Sea Program holds a line-crossing ceremony twice a year for its students when their vessel, , crosses the equator.


See also

* Domain of the Golden Dragon


Bibliography

* Bronner, Simon J. (2006). ''Crossing the Line: Violence, Play, and Drama in Naval Equator Traditions''. Meertens Ethnology Cahier no. 2. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press.


References


External links

*
Brief description of equatorial baptism
*Some accounts of baptism on the line:

- The Anti-Vacation

- Pust-Norden

-
Greenpeace Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by Irving Stowe and Dorothy Stowe, immigrant environmental activists from the United States. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth ...

Listen to audio recordings of a Crossing the Equator ceremony
on board a New Zealand troopship in 1940 (the Canadian-Pacific line's "Empress of Japan" which had been requisitioned for war service)
Line-crossing Ceremony: Homophobic or Homoerotic?WW2DB: Line Crossing CeremonyVideo of 1957 Coast Guard crossing ritual
on ships' ceremony.
USS Blue Ridge (LCC-19) UPDATE of 1973 CTL.
* Crossing Line ceremony (Portuguese) {{Authority control Maritime folklore Naval ceremonies Rites of passage United States Navy traditions Royal Navy traditions Neptune (mythology)