Equator crossing or the line-crossing ceremony is a centuries-old ritual on board ships to initiate seafarers who have never crossed the Equator, the imaginary line dividing the planet into northern and southern hemispheres. This tradition is followed till date and recently, Glen Lacerda, Master of cargo ship MV Tarago, made the ceremony even more entertaining for his crew, especially the first time seafarers. He says it felt like a carnival. As a Goan, he would know
It’s not quite the Carnival on the Equator but it has a king. The equator crossing ceremony starts by inviting King Neptune, the King of the seas. An invitation is sent to King Neptune by dropping an invitation letter into the sea, which states that they have new sailors who have never crossed the Equator and need the king’s presence to baptise them. “King Neptune comes with his full entourage i.e. his wife queen Amphitrite, astronomer, bishop, barber, doctor, general and his soldiers.
Once on board, he marches to the bridge to meet the Captain. I
welcome the King and Queen and tell him we have a sailor who needs permission
to cross the Equator and needs to be baptised. Before the King gives the order,
the astronomer has to see if the stars are correct for the ceremony and we can
do the baptism. The doctor checks if the seafarer is fit for the equator
crossing. The Bishop prays and blesses the seafarer. The barber cuts a few
strands of hair of the seafarer and drops them in the ocean. The seafarer
kneels down near the king and requests entry into his kingdom. The king says
yes and all are happy,”
For Chinchinim boy
Glen Lacerda, this is nothing new. “I have been working on the ship for 16 years
and must have crossed the Equator more than 30 times. The Equator mostly has a
hot and dry climate and the seas are dry. There isn’t much wind but plenty of
rain in these areas. The celebration has the same feel as a Carnival,” says
Lacerada, who first crossed the Equator in 2003, while sailing from Brazil to
Rotterdam.
Equator crossing or
the line-crossing ceremony is an age old tradition held on ships; this
tradition seems to be slowly dying due to added commercial pressure and work
load. With a hectic schedule on board, the sailors find time to make this one
celebration and if there is a new crew member crossing the Equator for the
first time, the occasion is even more special.
MV Tarago, a roll on
roll of carrier ship recently crossed the Equator with 26 crew members. The
ship crosses it once every four months and yet it is a very rare occasion. The
Master of the ship, was excited to celebrate this ceremony by baptising his
newest fellow crew member second Ship Deck Cadet Harit Desai. “I always make sure
that these traditions are followed on board and the new crew get the feel of
the good days that the Merchant Navy had to offer.
On board, the crew is
away from family for months and any fun activity is always welcome. I always
enjoy Equator crossing as the weather is very nice. It’s always BBQ time on
weekends in Equator areas.
After completing his
studies, Glen started working for Wilhelmsen at the age of 18 years and has
been in the same company for 18 years. “I come from a seafaring family and have
deep roots in the trade. I am the fourth generation in our family to follow
this path. My great grandfather, grandfather, father, brother and I are
captains. My dad has worked in the same company and the great thing is he
worked on this very ship some years ago. Being a Goan, I always like to help my
Goan sailing community,” says Glen.
The members of the
crew who were part of the entourage includes Ordinary Seaman Eugen as King
Neptune, Truck man Joseph Aclan as Queen Amphitrite, Catering officer Alwyn
Pereira as Bishop, 4th Engineer Cymel Apusaga as Doctor, Fitter Efren Loquis as
Barber, Bosun Crispulo Pradillada as General and Ordinary Seaman Bate Jacques
and AB Joefear Papasin as soldiers.
The crew sailed out
of Santander, Spain on January 6, bound for Durban, South Africa, which is a
12000 kilometre long journey and will take 19 days. They will cross the Equator
twice, south and north bound.
Hopefully Glen will be able to bring his mates to the land of King Momo during the Goa carnival some day.