February 7th - Crossing the Equator

Those of us out on deck let out a whoop as the ship's whistle signaled the crossing of the equator! (And yes.... this photo was taken at that exact moment! I'll bet you've never seen a photo of the equator before!) An elaborate "Crossing the Line Ceremony" was then presided over by His Imperial Majesty, Neptune of the Deep, his Queen, Neptuna, and his seaweed court of multitudinous mermaids, able aides and all other swimmers-on. The "pollywogs" who were crossing the line for the first time were historically smeared with nasty liquids found in the bilge of the ship and then suspended by their ankles and plunged into the sea. A more civilized Queen Victoria subscribes to the kinder and gentler practice of coating selected "pollywogs" with messy products from the galley and then throwing them into the swimming pool. Apparently this historic tradition originated in the 14th century when it was determined that the world was round and not flat and ships started traveling further afield. A jolly good time was had by all!