Line-crossing ceremony

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For other uses, see Crossing the Line.

The ceremony of crossing the line is an initiation rite in the Royal Navy, U.S. Navy, and other navies which commemorates a sailor's first crossing of the equator. Originally the tradition was created as a test for seasoned sailors to ensure their new shipmates were capable of handling long rough times at sea. Sailors who have already crossed the equator are nicknamed (Trusty) Shellbacks, often referred to as Sons of Neptune; those who have not are nicknamed (Slimy) Pollywogs. "King Neptune and his court" (usually including his first assistant Davy Jones and her Highness Amphitrite and often various dignitaries, who are all represented by the highest ranking seamen) officiate at the ceremony, during which the Pollywogs undergo a number of increasingly disgusting ordeals, largely for the entertainment of the Shellbacks. Once the ceremony is complete, a Pollywog receives a certificate declaring his new status. Another common status is the Golden shellback, a person who has crossed the equator at the 180th meridian (international date line).

1 Controversy
2 Equatorial Baptism
3 Related Ceremonies
4 Honors
5 External links

[edit] Controversy

In the 19th 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 in the surf from the stern. In more than one instance, sailors were reported to have been killed while participating in a crossing the line ceremony.

As late as World War II, the line crossing ceremony was still rather rough and involved activities such as the "Devil's Tongue" which would be 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 untold sailors visiting sickbay after crossing the line.

Efforts to curtail the line crossing ceremony did not begin until the 1980s, when several reports of blatant hazing began to circulate regarding the line crossing ceremony and at least one death was attributed to abuse while crossing the line.

California Maritime Academy observed the line-crossing until 1979, after which the ceremony was deemed to be hazing, and was forbidden. The '79 crossing was fairly typical, as it was not realized to be the last one. Pollywogs participated voluntarily, though women midshipmen justifiably 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 foredeck 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 1 meter lengths of canvas/rubber firehose, which they swung hard at the posterior of each pollywog. Pollywogs then ascended a ladder to the boatdeck to slide down a makeshift chute into the baptism of messdeck leavings in sea water in an inflated liferaft back on the superstructure deck. Pollywogs then returned to the foredeck 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.

In 1995, a notorious line crossing ceremony took place on an Australian submarine HMAS Onslow. 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 and genitalia. One sailor was then sexually assaulted with a long stick before all sailors undergoing the ceremony were forced to jump overboard until permitted to climb back aboard the submarine. A videotape of the ceremony was obtained by the Nine Network and aired on Australian television. The television coverage provoked widespread criticism, especially when the videotape showed some of the submarine's officers watching the entire proceedings from the conning tower.[1] [2]

Most navies have, since then, instituted regulations which prohibit physical attacks on sailors undergoing the crossing the line ceremony. In modern times, rather than a dreaded rite of initiation, the line crossing ceremony has become a popular tradition in the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Coast Guard.

Line crossing ceremonies are also carried out on many U.S. merchant ships. However, without the oversight of military justice, they can often get out of hand and lead to the abuse and assault which occurred in line crossing ceremonies of the past.

[edit] Equatorial Baptism

Baptism on the line, also called equatorial baptism, is an initiation ritual sometimes performed as a ship crosses the equator, involving water baptism 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.

[edit] Related Ceremonies

On some ships, the return across the equator is observed with a Drag Ball. On the evening after the day of crossing, or during the day of crossing, male participants (who wish to do so) dress in women's clothing, and female participants (who wish to do so) wear men's clothing. Participants then dance with each other.

[edit] Honors

A popular patch has also been created for shellbacks, that depicts Neptune battling a sea serpent with his trident.

This is the text from a certificate issued on a Royal Navy ship during the Second World War:

A Proclamation

Whereas by our Royal Condension, Our Trusty, Well Beloved .................... has this day entered Our Domain. We do hereby declare to all whom it may concern that it is Our Royal Will and Pleasure to confer upon him the Freedom of the Seas without undue ceremony. Should he fall overboard, We do command that all Sharks, Dolphins, Whales, Mermaids and other dwellers in the Deep are to abstain from maltreating his person. And we further direct all Sailors, Soldiers, Airmen and others who have not crossed Our Royal Domain, to treat him with the respect due to One of Us. Given under Our Hand at Our Court on board H.M.S. .............. on the Equator in Longitude .....° on this ..... day of ..... in the year .....
(Signed)
Cancer — High Clerk
Neptune — Rex

Similar "fraternities" in the navy include:

The Order of the Blue Nose for sailors who have crossed the Arctic Circle.
The Order of the Red Nose for sailors who have crossed the Antarctic Circle.
The Order of the Golden Dragon for sailors who have crossed the International Date Line.
The Order of the Ditch for sailors who have passed through the Panama Canal.
The Safari to Suez for sailors who have passed through the Suez Canal.
The Royal Diamond Shellback for sailors who cross at 0 0 degrees off the coast of West Africa (where the equator crosses the Prime Meridian)
The Realm of the Czars for sailors who crossed into the Black Sea.
The Order of Magellan for sailors who circumnavigated the Earth.