Never Leave on a Friday!

For most of us, Friday is known as the 6th day of the week. However, believe it or not, there is an ISO standard (ISO8601) that declares Friday as the 5th day.  Friday has been maligned throughout history for its bad luck. Friday the 13th, Good Friday, and Black Friday are all examples.

Many Sailors believe it's bad luck to leave port on a Friday. There is a longstanding superstition in the British Royal Navy that it's unlucky to begin a voyage on a Friday. That has led to the story of the HMS Friday.

The reluctance of seamen to sail on a Friday reached such epic proportions, that in the 19th century, the British Government decided to take strong measures to prove the fallacy of the superstition. They laid the keel of a new vessel on Friday, selected her crew on a Friday, launched her on a Friday and named her HMS Friday. Then, Captain James Friday was placed her in command and sent her to sea for the first time on a Friday. The scheme worked well, and had only one drawback ... neither ship nor crew was ever heard from again.

Although HMS Friday is believed to be false, This century old story tells of the superstitious nature of sailors.

Safety Equipment Has Arrived!

Since Distant Horizon is nearly ready and just waiting for me to return from Virginia, I started ordering safety equipment.

Typically the list of required safety equipment is fairly short for a boat on the Great Lakes.

• One PFD for each person on board
• One Type V, throwable type of PFD
• Two Marine Type USCG B-I Fire Extinguishers
• Three combination (day/night) red flares
• A sufficient way to make a sound signal, not a human voice

However, when considering an ocean voyage, the list grows rapidly. When I arrived home on Friday, this is what was waiting for me by the front door.
More is on the way. :-)