Sailor Superstitions

[Scout614]

Knowing that we men of the sea are quite superstitious, do you have any at sea rituals?
I personally leave harbour the same way every time the gramophone playing, srews at ahead one-third,and in the captain's bunk. I never sail anything but a Type VIIb with G7a torpedos. I also will never go into the open Atlantic tending to stay on the Continental shelf and raiding harbour traffic.

[allievo]

I don't know about your superstitions. :hmmm:
G7a torpedoes aren't really ideal for U-boats because their wake can easily be spotted unless you attack at night or rough seas. The electric TIII models don't leave bubbles thus the target can't sight them.
If you've never been to the Mid-Atlantic, you have missed the essence of the tonnage war against Britain since her lifelines were the convoys sailing from America through the North Atlantic, exactly where U-boats supposed to hunt. Operating in shallow waters near the coast is dangerous especially later in the war and harbour raiding isn't too realistic either.
I suggest you take a trip to the Atlantic along the convoy routes and you'll see the difference. :up:

[Scout614]

I don't know about your superstitions. :hmmm:
G7a torpedoes aren't really ideal for U-boats because their wake can easily be spotted unless you attack at night or rough seas. The electric TIII models don't leave bubbles thus the target can't sight them.
If you've never been to the Mid-Atlantic, you have missed the essence of the tonnage war against Britain since her lifelines were the convoys sailing from America through the North Atlantic, exactly where U-boats supposed to hunt. Operating in shallow waters near the coast is dangerous especially later in the war and harbour raiding isn't too realistic either.
I suggest you take a trip to the Atlantic along the convoy routes and you'll see the difference. :up:

I never get the TIIIs so the TI is best i have. I also enjoy having the different speed settings on the TI. Some times I wish i had a Schnellboot commander instead of an Unterseeboot captain. The Schnellboots would be better at harbour raiding.

[Sailor Steve]

As a real-life sailor I never had any superstitions. I don't have any in my gaming life either.

[Kaptlt.Endrass]

I do happen to know ship's cats and dogs were popular back in the Age of Sail. The HMS Hood even had a ship's dog on the night she was sunk.

More superstitions
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sailors'_superstitions

[Jimbuna]

I never surface in front of a convoy escort.

[b34856]

I never surface in front of a convoy escort.

I'm superstitious about gun battles with destroyers.

[Jimbuna]

I'm superstitious about gun battles with destroyers.

Precisely :)

[Hinrich Schwab]

Knowing that we men of the sea are quite superstitious, do you have any at sea rituals?
I personally leave harbour the same way every time the gramophone playing, srews at ahead one-third,and in the captain's bunk. I never sail anything but a Type VIIb with G7a torpedos. I also will never go into the open Atlantic tending to stay on the Continental shelf and raiding harbour traffic.

The only "superstition" I really have is that the more ideal the setup I have against a convoy, the more likely that either Bernard or Murphy will appear to screw it up.:doh::D:haha:

[Jimbuna]

Real life superstitions:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sailors'_superstitions

[Admiral Halsey]

I play "Ride of the Valkyries" on a loop during every convoy attack.

[Jimbuna]

I play "Ride of the Valkyries" on a loop during every convoy attack.

SNAP!! :yeah:

[Sailor Steve]

Not even Magpies?
No. I don't even know what that superstion is. We have a lot of magpies in our area, which is nowhere near the sea, and they regularly stop by on my railing.

[Sailor Steve]

Ah. Thanks for sharing that. When they land on my railing it's always one. Maybe that explains a few things. :dead:

[Jimbuna]

I am ex RN, but my old man was a fisherman out of the Solent. I have known boats not going out till they seen the 2nd or more, when I was younger. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_for_Sorrow_%28nursery_rhyme%29

Yes, quite common for seafarers in years gone past :yep:

[ExFishermanBob]

We didn't have superstitions as such (well, there was one about seeing a light on someone's boat at night, in harbour, which meant a drowning) but we did have some sayings, the best of which was about the weather:

"If in doubt, don't go out"

Best advice ever.