Sailors tend to be more superstitious than the quietus of us . The foresighted list of nautical legends , folkloreand superstitions may seem odd to us landlubbers , but when your professing expose you to the elements and uncontrollable natural disaster , you ’re intimately safe than regretful . Good circumstances charms and prognostic of bad luck appertain to sailing , gravy boat and sailors have endured for one C . moderate out a few examples :
fair sex in seafaring days of yore never even nonplus a chance to practice these superstitions — an sure-enough nautical superstition held that cleaning lady on ships or boats were very bad luck . Women were historically forbidden from sailing on military vessel or merchandiser ship because captains believed their presence would anger the sea idol , who would cause rough wave and violentweather . An alternating account might have been that bringing a woman on an extended sea ocean trip could be super , let ’s say , " unhinge " to the all - manful crew — and probably stimulate problems for the woman as well . A distrait or jealous crowd is an insecure work party . Sometimes charwoman would even disguise themselves as men in Holy Order to work on a ship .
Here ’s an interesting ( and somehow unsurprising ) contradiction — although sailors believed a woman on board would anger the ocean deity , they also consider a bare - chested woman calmed the sea . A topless woman would " shame " nature into suppressing its anger . And , oddly enough , even though they were believed to be bad luck on the boat , women were also thought to be excellent navigators . This is why you still see topless women figureheads with their center wide open on the prows of boats and ships .
The ban on to the full - raiment char on gravy boat has , fortunately , fade over time . Today , women are welcome aboard , and many put their excellent pilotage skills to use by captain their own boat and ships .
