“All those who will cross without the baptism of the real seawater from the deep ocean will die.”
In the 1520s, pollywogs — or those who will cross the Equator for the first time — must be baptised and then called able-bodied seamen. This Organized Line Baptism ceremony was a kind of consecration of a seaman’s profession, and could be wild at times.
As neophytes on board, we initially thought the ceremony was a joke or a prank our fellow crewmembers wanted to play on us. But as the days passed and the ship came nearer the equator, our colleagues on board kept on reminding us about the ceremony. It was as if they already marked the date for when it would happen.
As the waves got bigger and the days kept passing, the ceremony slowly began to take shape. Roles were given to crewmembers, who each made costumes and props depending on the characters assigned to them. The venue was set and the camera started to roll. We felt a slight angst as this so-called joke became a reality.
And thus, on August 28, 2019, upon approaching the equator, the Bow Triumph crew held the baptismal ceremony for the three pollywogs, or bagitos, on board.
The gong of the herald rang, signifying the entrance of King Neptune and his entourage, meanwhile making us nervous as we were unsure on what will come.
The King asked the Captain for the three candidates, and we were ordered to come in front to start the ceremony. Still unaware of what will be done to us, we walked what seemed like a mile to line up in front of the King.
The King ordered his Astronomer to calculate the ship's position. Instead of using modern navigation equipment, the Astronomer based his calculation on the time when we will cross the red line.
The Bishop was then called to take over and start the ceremony. He explained to us 'bagitos' that we were to die if we did not go through the baptism. The Doctor checked our condition afterwards and gave us ‘medicine’ for the rough journey ahead of us.
The Barber took some strands of our hair and cleansed our bodies from the northern dirt; the cleansing feeling like we were scratched on different parts of our bodies. We felt some chill as the cold water mixed with soap went down our skin. We stepped back from where we stood, and it was then when we were 'baptized' using water from the sea.
After the thorough baptism, we suddenly felt cold due to the cold seawater and the wind on our barely covered bodies. The bishop then gave us our certificates and we’re officially called seafarers worthy of crossing the equator.
It was such a great experience to celebrate this tradition together with our second family on board Bow Triumph. It felt to be a blessing from the heavens, the seas, and from the people on board the ship who witnessed our baptism, who encouraged us to discover and travel more nautical miles around the world, and to be fearless in this pursuit.
We now feel like real seafarers welcomed by the sea, embarking on a long exciting career ahead of us.
