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There are many stories about bananas onboard any fishing vesel
There are many stories why bananas have been thought of as bad luck on boats.
This is only one of the nautical superstitions that I know of and is particularly
prevalent amongst watermen. Many stories have banana oil rubbing off on ones
hands and “spooking" the fish; therefore the fish don't bite. There is always the
story of a crew member slipping on the banana peel left on the deck. Some say that
bananas give you the runs so you are always in the marine head and can't catch fish
because you are busy "draining the pipes". Many other stories are told about bad
luck and bananas, however the one that I find most plausible is a historical one.
Back in the days of the transatlantic crossings by wooden sailing ships many hazards
would befall the captains, crew and passengers. Disease, pirates, shipwrecks,
storms, etc., claimed the lives of a good percentage of the captains, crew and
passengers attempting the dangerous voyage. Needless to say, a transatlantic
crossing in the 17th and 18th centuries was a very risky endeavor. Often the
vessels would stop along the way in tropical islands to gather provisions such as
food and water. There the passengers and crew would often purchase wooden
crates of bananas from the locals and bring them aboard the ship. These crates
would have all manner of critters in them such as bugs, spiders, vermin and snakes.
These critters would make their way into the bilges of the ships, multiply, and then
find their way into the captain's quarters. The captains circulated the rumor that
bananas were bad luck in an attempt to keep the critters off the ship and out of their
cabin. The crew and passengers were more than eager to follow suit because of the
inherent risk of the crossing. So, if the captain announced prior to the voyage that
bananas were bad luck and not allowed aboard the vessel, everyone complied. You
must remember that these were the days of burning witches and the like, so
superstitions were taken very seriously.
Watermen are a mysterious lot. While we are known for our simple pragmatism,
we also have many odd quirks. Superstitions have been prevalent on almost every
vessel I have worked on. I feel that this is due to the nature of a waterman in that
he sees the randomness of the world around him juxtaposed with the rhythmic,
seasonal flows of nature and then tries to reconcile these observations into some sort
of personal and/or environmental order. As Stevie Wonder pointed out so
eloquently: "When you believe in things you can't understand, that's superstition".
This was a funny story I ran across while surfing the web. I pilfered it from this
site: http://www.striper-csba.com/story6.htm
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No banana's a Hawaiian Legend
Although the banana superstition is worldwide, nowhere is it taken more seriously
than in Hawaii. Some believe the Aloha State's anti-banana sentiment has its roots in
legend when the god Pele (apparently before his soccer career) brought his brother
to the islands to be the deity in charge of sport fishing. Rumor has it that he was
deficient in, how shall we say, the male hydraulics department, giving him a severe
case of banana envy. A clue to how Hawaiians feel about the subject can be found
on the Kona Fishing Charter website. Although fairly ambiguously written, it states
"Absolutely positively, no ifs, ands ,or buts, do not bring bananas on board". Let's
just say if questioned by a Large Samoan deckhand folding a filet knife, it might be
better NOT to reveal the fact that you had a Bananas Foster for breakfast.
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