Author Archives: Claire Davies

Renaming a Boat

Informant Information — DD

  • Nationality: American
  • Age: 68
  • Occupation: Professor
  • Residence: San Pedro, California
  • Date of Performance/Collection: March 20, 2022
  • Primary Language: English

The informant grew up in San Pedro, CA, a port town where a large proportion of the town works on/near the water. He has sailed as a hobby and professionally for more than 50 years. He is still active in his town’s boating community and keeps up with sailing magazines, books, news, etc. The informant shared this information with me in an in-person interview.

Interviewer: 

You mentioned that it’s bad luck to rename a boat. Where and when did you first hear that?

Informant: 

So the first time I bought a sailboat, it was a 30-footer that I wanted to fix up and sail back and forth to Catalina in. The guy that sold it to me said, “Well you better not change the name because it’s really bad luck.” 

Interviewer: 

Did you take his advice and keep the boat’s original name?

Informant: 

Nope, I changed it anyway. I don’t even remember what the original name was, but I remember that I didn’t really like it. I’ve used the same name for every boat I’ve ever renamed, but I’ve never had bad luck with a boat… not even the ones that I renamed. Once an original name was actually kind of an offensive stereotype, so I think renaming that one actually gave me some good luck. 

Interviewer: 

I see! Do you think that this is a pretty common superstition?

Informant: 

Not so much anymore, just because it’s so common to sell, buy, and re-sell boats so often now… I actually know a little bit of history about this, though. Back in the old days, when records were less official and harder to keep track of, you would check in to a harbor or port of call with your boat’s name, and anything that happened was associated with that name. Back then, if you were to suddenly change the boat’s name, it would be kind of like erasing its history… suspicious, you know? You wouldn’t do that unless you had gotten into some trouble, so the renaming thing got associated with troublemakers. 

Analysis:

This is a great example of how our changing society has altered our perception of folklore. With new technological developments, records are easily accessible around the world, making it much easier to keep track of vessels, regardless of their names. The informant mentioned that there might be a trick to get rid of bad luck after changing a boat’s name, which would be an example of conversion superstition. However, he couldn’t remember any specific methods or details, so that part of the conversation was not included in the piece. 

“Red sky in the morning, sailor’s warning; red sky at night, sailor’s delight”

Informant Information — DD

  • Nationality: American
  • Age: 68
  • Occupation: Professor
  • Residence: San Pedro, California
  • Date of Performance/Collection: March 20, 2022
  • Primary Language: English

The informant grew up in San Pedro, CA, a port town where a large proportion of the town works on/near the water. He has sailed as a hobby and professionally for more than 50 years. He is still active in his town’s boating community and keeps up with sailing magazines, books, news, etc. The informant shared this information with me in an in-person interview.

Interviewer: 

Can you tell me about the connection between sailors and the weather? 

Informant: 

Yeah, I’ve heard that one before. The saying goes, “red sky in the morning, sailor’s warning; red sky at night, sailor’s delight,” right? I first heard that one when I started sailing over to Catalina and up and down the coast. 

It’s supposed to mean that if the sky is red in the morning, there’s an impending storm that might make sailing tough if it hits that day. If the sky is red at night, the storm has already passed. 

I don’t really know how true that is, but I believe it and I’ve definitely heard tons of other sailors say it before. 

Analysis:

In this piece, the red sky is a sign and the time of day that it appears determines whether it is a positive or negative indicator. Strangely, I’ve heard both this version, as well as the complete opposite (“Red sky at night, sailor’s fright”). If true, this could be a very useful way to forecast the weather, but it’s a bit problematic that it’s so easy to mix up the rhyming, opposite meanings (fright and delight). 

The Line Crossing Ceremony

Informant Information — DD

  • Nationality: American
  • Age: 68
  • Occupation: Professor
  • Residence: San Pedro, California
  • Date of Performance/Collection: March 20, 2022
  • Primary Language: English

The informant grew up in San Pedro, CA, a port town where a large proportion of the town works on/near the water. He has sailed as a hobby and professionally for more than 50 years. He is still active in his town’s boating community and keeps up with sailing magazines, books, news, etc. The informant shared this information with me in an in-person interview.

Interviewer: 

Are there any “big” moments or rites of passage for sailors?

Informant: 

One big moment for all the sailors I grew up with was the first time you crossed the equator. That was one of the ones that all my friends and I looked forward to, especially because it’s a long journey from San Pedro for a little sailboat. 

Interviewer: 

Are there any special activities or rules that you have to complete/follow when you cross the equator for the first time? Who did you hear these rules from?

Informant: 

I first heard about all the excitement of crossing the equator from the older sailors at the port. I’ve heard of a few different things you can do to celebrate… the most common one is probably that you have to jump in the ocean, which I did with my friends when we finally made it there. That was really fun and exciting.

I’ve also heard of wilder things, like shaving your head or drinking an entire bottle of rum in one night… both of those things were too crazy for me. I didn’t want to shave my head and I definitely didn’t want everyone on the boat to be drunk at the same time when we were so far from home. Or worse, hungover and risking getting seasick. 

Usually though, you have to at least do something to celebrate, since it’s such a cool thing to have done as a traveler. Crossing the equator definitely brings you a little bit more respect, too. It means you’ve traveled pretty far and gained some experience, because going that far South and back is not an easy journey. 

Analysis:

I can definitely understand wanting to celebrate crossing the equator as a milestone for sailors. My informant described it as a really exciting trip but tough enough that he didn’t want to do it more than a few times in his life, so it must be a pretty uncommon and special experience. However, this is also an example of how different folk groups highlight different experiences as important or special– if you lived very close to the equator, crossing it wouldn’t be that big of a deal. I would imagine that the rite of passage activities are proportionate to the journey, getting more intense as the distance to the equator increases.

A Family Snack

Informant Information — KL

  • Nationality: American
  • Age: 19
  • Occupation: Student
  • Residence: Los Angeles, California
  • Date of Performance/Collection: April 10, 2022
  • Primary Language: English

The informant is my roommate, who I have witnessed making and eating this snack several times. The recipe originates from her grandmother’s search for an inexpensive snack that she could give to her children (including my roommate’s father) after school. I collected this information in-person, in my apartment near USC.

Interviewer: 

Can you explain this family recipe and how it was developed?

Informant: 

Yep! My grandma– my dad’s mom– made this for my dad all the time when he was growing up. That was probably in the 1970s, but the recipe has never changed. You take Saltine crackers and top them with a little smidge of margarine and a quarter of a slice of Kraft American cheese. The margarine can be any brand, but they have to be real Saltines and Kraft slices or it isn’t the same. 

My grandma lived in the Chicago suburbs, and the cracker-butter-cheese combo is pretty on-brand for the Midwest, I think. 

Interviewer: 

Does this recipe have a name?

Informant: 

It didn’t at first. I started calling it The [Informant’s last name] Delight when I was 11 or 12, and that name has stuck ever since. 

Analysis:

I have had the great honor and delight of trying this snack– despite not liking margarine or Kraft slices, it’s pretty tasty! I would describe it as a bunch of cracker-sized, cold grilled cheese sandwiches. This could also be a pretty popular dorm-room meal– no cooking required! 

Trojan Check Horoscopes

Informant Information — KL

  • Nationality: American
  • Age: 19
  • Occupation: Student
  • Residence: Los Angeles, California
  • Date of Performance/Collection: April 10, 2022
  • Primary Language: English

The informant is a USC student that has lived on-campus and completed daily Trojan Checks every day. Over the course of the school year, we’ve decided that the pink and yellow Trojan Checks have the most significant meanings. I collected this information in-person, in my apartment near USC.

Interviewer: 

Can you explain our Trojan Check color horoscope system? 

Informant: 

Basically, we were talking about the different Trojan Check colors and how we couldn’t tell if there was a pattern or if the color was just randomized every day. As we kept talking about it, we agreed that pink was the best color and yellow was the worst. Then, we also realized that we both tend to have good days when our Trojan Checks are pink and bad days when they’re yellow. 

Now, I know that if it’s pink, I’ll have a lucky day, but I should be careful if it’s yellow. 

Interviewer: 

Do you have any recent examples? 

Informant: 

Yesterday was a pink day, and I took a quiz that was way easier than I thought it would be. But on the last yellow day, I stepped in gum AND spilled water all over my desk… cursed, to be sure. 

Analysis:

I have also noticed that pink Trojan Checks are lucky while yellow Trojan Checks are distinctly unlucky. Interestingly, this was brought up in a class discussion where several of my classmates had also acknowledged this phenomenon. I’m not sure if pink Trojan Checks just put people in a more positive mood while most people agree that the yellow Trojan Check is a pretty unfortunate color and feel discouraged by it, but the belief has definitely gained traction this year.