Day 8 ~ Crossing the Equator ~ 2/7/09

Crossing the Equator, the imaginary line dividing the Northern and the Southern Hemispheres, can be an exciting experience. Discover the secrets of the law of physics when you are moving from one Hemisphere to the other. Fill a sink with water and observe how the water drains. Clockwise, counterclockwise, or no spin at all?

Crossing the equator is a rite of passage for cruisers who have not crossed the legendary line before. To make it more memorable, a ceremony is performed with King Neptune to mark the occasion. Those who have not crossed the equator before are referred to as "Pollywogs" (Slimy) and those who have are referred to as "Shellbacks" (Trusty).

See pictures of when we crossed the Equator, our own King Neptune, his Wife, & Crew, the Knotty Nurse, & our own Cruise Director ~ Goose!

The mid ship pool area & the upper deck were so crowded at 1pm with people I couldn’t get any good pictures ~ so you will just have to visualize the following . . .

The crossing the equator ceremony was over in a flash ~

To assuage King Neptune, 3 cruiser’s were called up to take on all other “pollywogs” / newbie’s to crossing the equator’s punishment –
The 1st got to kiss a stinky fish,
The 2nd had 3 eggs cracked on his head
and
The 3rd got a bottle of Foster’s beer poured over his head.

And then, King Neptune’s Crew threw the ships 1st officer into the pool, uniform & all!

And the crossing the equator ceremony was completed . . . all “pollywogs” are now considered ~ bonafide “Shellbacks!”

After the ceremony ~ All cruisers aboard received a certificate stating we all are now ~ certified ~ Trusty ~ “Shellbacks!”

At the Salsas 49ers Happy Hour this afternoon the Cabin Door Decoration Winners were announced ~ First place went to Kay ~ K3cruiser, 2nd runner up went to Alice ~ Kronk & 3rd runner up went to Sandie ~ Sandie123. Congratulations to all!

And for all those people from our Salsas 49ers group that finished their books ~ Today was the first of our Book exchanges.