The Sea Tales of Master Catrame - The Crossing Of The Line - Third Story of 13

  

The Sea Tales of Master Catrame

THE CROSSING OF THE LINE

MEMO

The following text may present outdated depictions that are in no way or form shared by the translator themself, and neither are they shared by the original author of these stories.

Please understand that these stories' depictions are a depiction of their time.

A good translator strives to transfer the originality, tone, and idea of a text from its language of birth to its guest language, all the while respecting the intent and style of the original author. 

These translated texts do not intend to bring offense, but just to share the adventures 

written by Captain Emilio Salgari. 

Adventures inspired by his love for traveling around the world, especially to far, foreign lands, his passion for ships and sailing in general, as well as his endless curiosity about other cultures and what's out there, beyond the horizon line.

VOCABULARY

papa = pet name for one's grandfather (or grandfather figure, in this case). (Source. 11.12.2025)

prow = may be used as a synonym for the more commonly used term, bow*, but it can also mean the most forward part of the bow that is above the waterline (the waterline is where the body of a ship meets the water). (Source. 17.10.2025).

*bow = the most forward point of a boat or ship. (Source. 17.10.2025).

stern = the rear of the hulls* of all nautical means of transportation. (Source. 02.12.2025)

*hull = the body or frame of a vessel, such as a ship or plane. (Source. 29.11.2025)

deck = the floorlike covering of the horizontal sections, or compartments, of a ship or boat. Small vessels have only one deck; larger ships have two or three decks. (Source. 15.01.2026)

topman = the man stationed in the top on a sailing vessel, responsible for the setting of the sails. (Source. 15.01.2026)

corvette = a flush-decked*, small warship of the 17th-18th centuries having a single tier of guns (traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper  warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate**, while the class below was historically that of the sloop-of-war***). (Source 1. 15.01.2026) (Source 2. 15.01.2026)

*flush-decked = In naval architecture, a flush deck is a ship deck that is continuous from stem to stern. (Source. 15.01.2026)

**frigate = a warship combining sail and steam propulsion, typically of ironclad timber construction, supplementing and superseding sailing ships of the line at the beginning of the development of the ironclad battleship. [mid 19th–late 19th c.]. (Source. 29.11.2025)

***sloop-of-war = a warship of the Royal Navy with a single gun deck that carried up to 18 guns (because the rating system of the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom, the Royal Navy, covered all vessels with 20 or more guns, the term sloop-of-war encompassed all unrated warships, including cutters****). (Source 1. 15.01.2026) (Source 2. 15.01.2026)

****cutter = a cutter is any of various types of any vehicle designed for travel across or through water bodies; the term can refer to the sail plan of a sailing vessel (with regional differences in definition), to a governmental enforcement agency vessel (such as a coast guard or border force cutter), to a type of ship's boat that can be used under sail or oars, or, historically, to a type of fast-sailing vessel introduced in the 18th century, some of which were used as small warships. (Source 1. 15.01.2026) (Source 2. 15.01.2026)

parallel = an imaginary line that bounds a circle around a planet and runs parallel to the respective planet's equator* (Earth, in this case). (Source 1. 15.01.2026) (Source 2. 15.01.2026) (Source 3. 15.01.2026)

*equator = an imaginary great circle around Earth, that is at an equal distance from the two poles, and dividing Earth's surface into the northern and southern hemispheres. (Source 1. 15.01.2026) (Source 2. 15.01.2026)

command deck* (of a ship) (also known as: bridge; wheelhouse; pilothouse) = a room or platform of a ship, submarine, airship, or spaceship from which the ship can be commanded. (Source. 13.01.2026)

*deck = the floorlike covering of the horizontal sections, or compartments, of a ship or boat. Small vessels have only one deck; larger ships have two or three decks. (Source. 15.01.2026)

mizzenmast = the aftmost mast* on a ship having three masts; the third-tallest mast on a full-rigged ship. (Source. 12.11.2025)

*mast = a tall, slim post or tower, usually tapering upward, used to support, for example, sails or observation platforms on a ship. (Source. 19.01.2026)

*mast = a tall spar**, or arrangement of spars, erected vertically or near-vertically on the median line of a ship or boat. A mast may carry sails, spars, and derricks***. (Source. 19.01.2026)

**spar = a pole of wood or metal used in the rigging**** of a sailing vessel to carry or support its sail. (Source. 28.10.2025).

***derrick = a device that is used for lifting and moving large objects. (Source. 19.01.2026)

****rigging = term used for the system of ropes, cables, and chains, which support and control the sailing ship's masts and sails. (Source. 28.10. 2025).

bowsprit = a *spar extending forward from a ship's prow. (Source. 28.10.2025).

*spar = a pole of wood or metal used in the rigging** of a sailing vessel to carry or support its sail. (Source. 28.10.2025).

**rigging = term used for the system of ropes, cables, and chains, which support and control the sailing ship's masts and sails. (Source. 28.10. 2025).

mainsail = the largest (or only) sail on a sailing vessel. (Source. 15.01.2026)

topside = the surface of a ship’s hull that is above the water line, which is the dry section of the ship. (Source. 15.01.2026)

Fun fact: the Italian term for the topside is opera morta, whose literal translation is dead work, because it's the dry part of the ship.

Opera viva, whose literal translation is alive work, is the bottom of the ship, which is the part of the ship that is submerged in the water. It's called this way because it's the wet part of the ship.

Can you imagine how horrifying this can sound to someone unfamiliar with nautical lingo? 

austral = southern. (Source. 15.01.2026)

master (mariner) = a sailor who is qualified to be a captain of a merchant ship. (Source. 04.11.2025)

officiality = collective noun for officials. (Source. 15.01.2026)

dozen = a set of twelve. (Source. 15.01.2026)

stern quarter = the side of the stern of the ship. (Source. 15.01.2026)

starboard = the righthand side of a ship, boat or aircraft when facing the front, or fore or bow. (Source. 15.01. 2026)

port (nautical) = left side of the ship. (Source. 30.10.2025)

hecatomb = a great number of animals, people, or things that are sacrificed or destroyed; a type of religious sacrifice in other religions (Christianity does not approve of human sacrifice or any kind of practices that involve it). (Source. 15.01.2026)

studding sail (stun'sl) = an extra sail on a square rigged* vessel for use in fair weather. (Source. 15.01.2026)

*square rig = a generic type of sail and rigging** arrangement in which a sailing vessel's primary driving sails are carried on horizontal spars*** that are perpendicular (or square) to the median plane of the keel**** and masts of the vessel.

**rigging = term used for the system of ropes, cables, and chains, which support and control the sailing ship's masts and sails. (Source. 28.10. 2025).

***spar = a pole of wood, metal or lightweight materials such as carbon fibre used in the rigging of a sailing vessel to carry or support its sail. (Source. 15.01.2026)

****keel = a rigid, flat piece of material anchored to the lowest part of the hull of a ship to give it greater control and stability. (Source. 15.01.2026)

yard = a spar* that is perpendicular (or square) to the median plane of the keel** and masts of the vessel, and from which sails are set. (Source 1. 15.01.2026) (Source 2. 15.01.2026)

*spar = a pole of wood, metal or lightweight materials such as carbon fibre used in the rigging*** of a sailing vessel to carry or support its sail. (Source. 15.01.2026)

**keel = a rigid, flat piece of material anchored to the lowest part of the hull of a ship to give it greater control and stability. (Source. 15.01.2026)

***rigging = term used for the system of ropes, cables, and chains, which support and control the sailing ship's masts and sails. (Source. 28.10. 2025).

staysail = a fore-and-aft rigged sail whose luff* can be affixed to a stay running forward from a mast to the deck, the bowsprit or to another mast. (Source. 15.01.2026)

*luff = the vertical edge of a sail that is closest to the direction of the wind. (Source. 15.01.2026)

bitumen = a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum, burning with a bright flame. It occurs as an abundant natural product in many places, as on the shores of the Dead and Caspian Seas. It is used in cements, in the construction of pavements, etc. (Source. 19.01.2026)

rigging (or cordage)= term used for the system of ropes, cables, and chains, which support and control the sailing ship's masts and sails. (Source. 28.10. 2025).

maneuver = the planned movement of troops, vehicles etc.; a controlled (especially skillful) movement taken while steering a vehicle. (Source. 19.01.2026)

tack (nautical term; synonyms: come about. The Italian term is virare (di bordo)) = to change a ship's direction. (Source. 30.10.2025)

(to) skirt (nautical) = to move around or along the border of; to avoid the center of. (Source. 13.11.2025) (The Italian term that Captain Salgari used is bordeggiare. Its English equivalent in nautical terms is to skirt. Source. 13.11.2025)

lifeboat = a boat especially designed for saving the lives of shipwrecked people or people in distress at sea (either launched from the shore with a crew, or else carried on board a larger ship). (Source. 12.01.2026)

pollywog (slang) = nickname for a sailor who has not yet crossed the equator line. (Source. 19.01.2026)

shellback  = nickname for a sailor who has crossed the equator line. (Source. 19.01.2026)

strait = a water body connecting two seas or water basins. (Source. 19.01.2026)

Strait of Gibraltar = a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Europe from Africa. On the northern side of the Strait are Spain and Gibraltar (a British overseas territory in the Iberian Peninsula), while on the southern side are Morocco and Ceuta (a Spanish autonomous city in northern Africa).(Source. 19.01.2026)

🚤🚣🚢

Papa Catrame had not shown up on deck the whole following day. Holed up in the cargo hold, he had slept like a log, snoring like a spinning top* from Alemagna**. Waking up, he sipped what little wine had remained in the bottle, and devoured like a shark the helping of food that the cabin boys had brought him.

After all, his presence on deck wasn't necessary seeing as the weather was nice, the ocean being as smooth as a mirror, and the wind weak.

But when the sun had disappeared behind the horizon line and the moon rose up in the sky, faintly mirroring itself in the smooth and azure surface of the sea, the hatchway ladder began creaking, the old sailor emerging shortly after.

He greedily took a breath of sea air, walked across the ship from the bow to the stern***, in that same wobble that brought to mind a polar bear, quickly glanced at the sails without paying any mind to anyone, phlegmatically loaded up his short pipe, which was as black as a chimney sweep's shirt, then went to sit down on the barrel in all seriousness, seemingly lost in deep thought.

Promptly, the sailors, either by two or three at once, began to gather around the old sailor, surrounding him, the first being the bravest ones, the second the more easily scared ones, and the superstitious ones approaching him last. The captain was the last one to arrive, holding a new bottle of wine in his hand.

We all showed respect to the old man's meditation exercise, clear as day that none of us would dare to strip him away from his thoughts; but patience was not among the captain's virtues.

"Hey, Papa Catrame, did you die?", he asked him.

The old man lifted his head and, looking straight at the captain, asked him point-blank:"Do you, Sir, believe in the king of the sea?"

The captain burst laughing a resounding laugh, but none of the other sailors dared follow suit. Rather, they looked at him in astonishment, as if amazed that he didn't believe in that which Papa Catrame would narrate.

But the sea dog didn't seem to take offense, though his brows furrowed, and hit with those callous and full of gnarls hands of his the sides of the barrel, exclaiming:"You'll see, then!"

He fell back in deep thought again, but only for a few moments, for he then shook himself, as if he had found what he had been looking for in his distant memories, then began speaking:

"It is no longer in use today; the commendable customs of the ancient sailors are shoved aside as if they were useless pieces of junk, thus it is believed that it is not necessary to pay tribute to Neptune****, the king of the marine abysses. What does it matter that ships sink even more often than they used to? It's a coincidence, the skeptics***** say; these are just random accidents, the unscrupulous say. To hell with the old sailors' superstitions! Let's leave behind all of those legends, and destroy everything, because the world needs a makeover. Isn't that right?"

Papa Catrame let out a jarring, sarcastic laughter, that had a weird je ne sais quoi, and that seemed to echo all the way to the bottom of the cargo hold.

"The line!", he resumed afterwards. "Who, today, when crossing the line, pays tribute to the king of the sea? Peuh! Other things go through today's sailors' minds, than to think of Neptune! But what a revenge does this king of the sea take every now and then! Oh, what?! You think that those ancient sailors created that ceremony in order to laugh at you, you unscrupulous lot?! Or, do you perhaps think that they thought to amuse themselves among the persistent waves and diabolical whistles of the wind? No, and no; and if Papa Catrame is the one to say this, you can rest assured, he's got a good reason to do so.

You are young, so you know nothing about the crossing of the line, that today is conducted, at most, by the watering of the deck; but once upon a time it was an important ceremony, and no sailor, no matter how bold he was, would have dared skip it, for, surely, Neptune's revenge would have infallibly reached him, sooner or later.

I'll prove it to you."

Papa Catrame lit his pipe up with the help of his incombustible thumb, sipped a good glass of wine that the captain was offering him, demanded absolute silence through a majestic gesture, and after having gotten comfortable on the barrel commenced his second and no less interesting tale.

"A strange, incomprehensible fate pushed me to embark on one of the worst ships of our navy; and I wasn't one to look for them on purpose, veh! Almost all of the captains that I have served in my very, extremely long nautical career, were either blasphemers or nonbelievers. They didn't care for our traditions, they didn't care for our ancient customs, they didn't believe in mermaids, nor in the daughters of the seafoam, nor in sea monsters, in nothing, really.

I had embarked as a topman on an old corvette, whose name now I do not recall, since it's been many years since that era. It was, however, a pretty big ship, a good sailing ship, somewhat old, yes, but with its sides still sturdy, meant for the long voyages across the Atlantic, and Indian, Ocean, therefore having to often cross the equatorial line.

The captain, until then, had always kept to the custom of paying a tribute to the king of the sea, when he would cross from the northern hemisphere to the austral hemisphere, and never had he lamented doing that. In fact, he used to say that it was for this reason that his corvette enjoyed such great protection; indeed, no fatal tempests had ever taken it by surprise, and had easily overcome the usual ones.

Unfortunately, people change, and our captain, as well, following the trends of the time, little by little, had changed, becoming unscrupulous.

So, it finally happened one day that our corvette was in the vicinity of the equatorial line. You already know that this line is purely geographical, thus, invisible: it's a simple parallel, equally distant from the two poles.

The crew, faithful to the sailors' customs, began to make the necessary preparations so as to proceed with the initiation, thus paying their tribute to Neptune, whom is said to live close to the line.

Oh, what great days were those! You are young, so you may at best have a rough idea of that ceremony which made a sailor's heart skip a beat, for he knew that he would be carrying out an obligation which would protect him from the rage of the oceans.

When the words "There's the line!" echoed on the command deck of the ship, a wave of excitement would take over everyone: officers, sailors, and cabin boys, there they were, all of them preparing for the celebration.

The great gala, made from the flags of all States of the world, and the signal flags, would majestically climb up, spreading out between the mizzenmast and the tip of the bowsprit, while the national banner was majestically climbing up on the peak of the mainsail, greeted by the thunder of a cannon shot.

Everybody's packing cases would be searched over and over, the officiality's and passengers' cabins would be emptied in order to decorate the topside, and everywhere they would spread out carpets, tapestries, and more multi-coloured lavishness, transforming the ship into a giant, dazzling ballroom, due to the metal from the on-board equipment and the lively colours of that pandemomium of fluttering flags, and fabrics spread out in the wind.

The master of the crew and a dozen more robust sailors would disappear, while the others would prepare the hoses and the buckets necessary for the initiation, as the more abundant they would be, the more would the king of the sea appreciate it.

In the precise moment when the vessel would cross the line, here would come from either the  starboard's or the port's stern quarter a watercraft adorned with tapestries and flags, led by a dozen mermen and an old man that represented Neptune. A sombre, serious voice would rise from the sea, asking:

"Is the vessel initiated?"

"No!", the crew would answer.

"Unfurl the rope ladder, then!", the sombre, serious voice would order.

The rope of honour would promptly be lowered: the sailors would take their places at the bow with the buckets full of water, in front of and around the hoses, with the ufficials and the passengers at the stern.

The king of the sea would gravely climb up on deck. He was an old man with a long beard, adorned with seashells, a metal crown on his head and a trident in his left hand. Twelve sailors disguised as mermen were following him, full of seashells and seaweeds.

The king, whom was played by the master, would walk towards the captain, followed by his entire staff, and after having received a bow from all of the officiality, would ask him:"Have you paid your tribute to the king of the sea?"

"No.", the captain would answer.

"In that case, I'm going to initiate you."

Having said this, he would grab a bucket chock-full of water and pour it over the captain's head, completely soaking him.

That was the start signal of the general initiation. The vigorously maneuvered hoses would soak ufficials and passengers alike, the buckets being emptied over everyone's heads. Torrents of water would flow from the bow to the stern, giving the king of the sea the owed tribute, the battle continuing until the complete exhaustion of both sides.

The ship, having now been initiated, could then face the rage of the oceans, since it was under Neptune's protection; and woe betide those that don't do it! The water tribute would then become a human hecatomb, and Papa Catrame, who's still around, alive by miracle, knows it!"

The old sailor stopped speaking for the third time, casting a long glance on the attentive crew, as if to make sure that everyone was listening to him diligently; he refilled his pipe, lit it up again, and so resumed:

"As I was telling you earlier, our corvette had arrived in the vicinity of the line: in a few hours it was gonna it was going to leave the northern hemisphere and enter the austral one.

Our master, a strict observer of nautical customs, went on the command deck of the ship, followed by the whole crew, and shouted to the captain:"The line is closer, Sir; Neptune demands his tribute."

"To hell with Neptune and all of his mermen.", the skeptic answered.

The master turned as pale as a ghost.

"You wish to bring misfortune upon your ship, Sir.", he said.

"I laugh in the face of Neptune's wrath."

"But the crew..."

"That's enough", the captain answered in a rough manner. "I'm the master of this ship: get out of my sight!"

That said, the captain climbed up on the command deck of the ship, ordered for all the sails to be unfurled, even the studding sails and staysails, and to top it all off in a gesture of dumb cockiness, had the flag lowered, so as to make it clear to the king of the sea that there was no intention whatsoever of greeting him.

The corvette, pushed by a good breeze, headed for the line; but weirdly enough, was moving slower than usual, almost as if it was ready to stop at any moment. The sailors were whispering that it was the mermen that were grabbing the bottom of the ship in order so as to prevent it from crossing the line; but the captain shook his head disapprovingly and kept adding new sails to the already unfurled ones.

At exactly noon, the corvette was crossing the line. Almost instantly, a ripple upset the tranquil expanse of the ocean, and a sombre roar emerged from the depths of the abyss. Shortly after, an immense wave rose at the extremities of the borders of the horizon line, then spread out and crashed into the bow of the ship with sombre roars.

We all looked at each other, shocked and scared, and Papa Catrame gives you his word, we had good reason to be scared! We anxiously questioned the officers: their answer was that, for some reason, a phenomenon, I don't know if a seaquake or other, took place at the same time as when we crossed the line. Can you believe that? I couldn't, and I am willing to bet that neither did the officers, because they were as pale as we were.

Even the captain had become as serious as could be, furrowing his eyebrows; but he was as stubborn as a Gascon******, refusing to believe in Neptune, as well as in the power of this king.

Then, suddenly, a dark cloud as black as bitumen rose on the horizon. You probably won't believe me; but I, with my own two eyes, saw that that cloud had three sharp points, as if resembling a gigantic trident. We had all become speechless with fear: officers, sailors, and cabin boys had turned extremely pale the moment they saw that sinister dark cloud in whose depths sanguineous lightning bolts flashed.

It seemed as if Neptune had lifted his enormous trident in order to impede our stride; and that must've been the case, seeing as the wind had suddenly started blowing south, facing us, rather than from behind us. Its violence was growing stronger and stronger by the minute, becoming so hot that it seemed to be emerging from the depths of hell, and lifting the waves of the ocean with overwhelming strength, as well as the big, dark cloud, the latter menacingly expanding itself above our heads, but always keeping its bizzare shape.

Profound roars and thunders emerged from the abysses of the sea, the wind was shouting in every tune as it blew across the rigging, and the thunder incessantly rumbled as lightning bolts flashed in the air. Sometimes. among the raging gusts of wind, we thought we could hear a powerful voice shout towards us:"None that don't greet me cross the line!".

In vain would our captain, who stubbornly refused to yield to the king of the sea, would command maneuvers, would tack the ship in order to catch a better wind, and would try to move forward by skirting; the ship would be pushed away by the waves and by the wind. Three time we had crossed the line, and three times we had been pushed back in the northen hemisphere.

The sails blew open, most of the rigging collapsed, the masts and yards folded as if they were toothpicks, the gunwale broke down, fear was increasing in everyone's hearts; but the hardheaded one refused to yield, returning to the fray more and more furious, determined to send us all to drink from the great, salty cup******* rather than cede to the king of the sea.

It seemed as if fortune smiled upon the bold one, seeing as towards midnight, after twelve hours of desperate fighting, the corvette was crossing the line, entering the austral hemisphere. But Neptune had decreed the end of the hardheaded captain.

An hour later, a mountain of water spilled over on the starboard of the corvette. What had happened afterwards, I could never find out for sure. I can vaguely recall having seen endless waves crashing into that poor ship with a loud, horrible din, having heard screams, desperate pleas, groans, creaking, the splitting of wood, then complete silence.

Once I came to my senses, I had found myself on the bottom of a lifeboat, alone, on a tempestuous ocean. How had I gotten there? I could never figure it out.

The tempest had carried me far, far away from the place where the shipwreck had taken place. I had been at sea for ten days, eating one of my shoes and opening one of my blood vessels twice in order to quench my thirst.

When a ship had finally picked me up, I was in such a sorry state that I could stir anyone's compassion: as yellow as a melon, as skinny as a herring, just skin and bones. I hadn't heard anything about the rest of my crew; were they safe or were they resting in the marine abysses? I still don't know; but if anyone had survived that horrible catastrophe, I would had come across them in some corner of the world. Instead, I have never come across any of them. They are all dead: my heart tells me so."

With the back of his hand, Papa Catrame wiped away two teardrops that were running down his shrivelled-up******** cheek, put his pipe in his pocket, and melancholically shook his head as he grumbled:"None nowadays believe in the king of the sea!..."

"What king?", the captain asked. "The one created by your eccentric imagination? Isn't that so, Master Catrame? Once upon a time one could probably believe in the existence of Neptune, just as they believed in mermaids and a thousand other nonsensical things; but not in this day and age, old man. Such stories are left to old sailors and to the senile..."

"But the corvette..."

"A storm like any other sank it, Catrame."

"But that immense wave..."

"A seaquake, my dear Master mariner."

"But that dark cloud..."

"A dark cloud like any other. Could it be that you have never seen those that have three, five, ten, or even twenty sharp points...? Go to sleep, Papa Catrame, and leave Neptune to his own devices because he's never existed and the initiation of the crossing of the line is not a tribute to the king of the abysses, but nothing more than a carnival-like spectacle invented by merry sailors. Now go, go, and drink up the rest of the wine that I have given you."

🚤🚣🚢

Source of the tale. (19.01.2026)

Between fairy tales and reality: tRANSLATOR'S NOTE

The Line-crossing ceremony (also known as Crossing the Line) is a real ceremony whose main purpose was to celebrate a sailor's first crossing of the equatorial line. The British Merchant Navy, the Dutch Merchant Navy, the Royal Navy (UK's naval warfare force), the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Marine Force, the Russian Navy as well as a few others all celebrated this crossing of the line.

It is said that this ritual dates back to the 18th century, with its first descriptions being from around 400 years ago, but the custom of this ceremony has its origins in ancient times, the Phoenicians of the Mediterranean conducting ceremonies dedicated to the god of the sea when passing through the straits of Gibraltar. The Vikings of Northern Europe, as well, held similar practices.

As far as the custom whose first descriptions are from around 400 years ago is concerned, it is possible that it originated with ceremonies when passing headlands, later on becoming a "folly" sanctioned as a boost to morale, or to have been created as a test for seasoned sailors to ensure their new shipmates were capable of handling long, rough voyages.

While the earliest versions of these initiations are incredibly brutal (consequences of said rituals having been even the loss of life of the initiated sailors), the version of the initiation of Crossing the Line that Master Catrame is referring to is most likely the version in which the Pollywogs received subpoenas to appear before King Neptune and his court (which included Davy Jones as his first assistant and Amphitrite, the goddess of the sea and Poseidon's consort, and all represented by the highest ranking seamen of the ship), who officiate at the ceremony, and which is often preceded by a beauty contest of men dressing up as women. Following that, some Pollywogs are "interrogated" by King Neptune and his entourage. During the ceremony, the Pollywogs undergo a number of increasingly embarrassing ordeals (such as wearing clothing inside out and backward; crawling on hands and knees; being swatted with short lengths of firehose; kissing the Royal Baby's belly coated with axle grease, etc.), largely for the entertainment of the Shellbacks. Once the ceremony is complete, a Pollywog receives a certificate declaring his new status.

There are alternatives to this ritual that take the form of just the pouring of an alcoholic drink, or throwing a homage in the ocean at the moment of the crossing of the line, for king Neptune.

The purpose of this ritual is, just as Master Catrame said, to ensure a safe voyage at sea.

Sailors who had already crossed the Equator were nicknamed "(Trusty) Shellbacks", and were often referred to as "Sons of Neptune"; those who had not (yet) were nicknamed "(Slimy) Pollywogs" (though in 1832 the nickname griffins was noted, as well).

An alternative initiation ritual called Baptism on the line, or equatorial baptism, is sometimes performed as a ship crosses the equator, involving water baptism of passengers or crew who have never crossed the equator before. The ceremony is sometimes explained as being an initiation into the court of King Neptune.

In the present day, equator-crossing ceremonies, usually featuring king Neptune, are also sometimes carried out for passengers' entertainment on civilian ocean liners and cruise ships. They are also performed in the merchant navy and aboard sail training ships. 

The ritual is also the subject of a painting by Matthew Benedict named The Mariner's Baptism (which you can see here (19.01.2026)) and of a 1961 book by Henning Henningsen named Crossing the Equator: Sailor's Baptism and Other Initiation Rites (which is currently for sale here (19.01.2026)).

You can also watch this documentary from 1929 from the U.S. Navy's Line-crossing ceremony (19.01.2026). There's also another video here (19.01.2026).

(Source 1. 19.01.2026) (Source 2. 19.01.2026) (Source 3. 19.01.2026) (Source 4. 19.01.2026) (Source 5. 19.01.2026) (Source 6. 19.01.2026) (Source 7. 19.01.2026)

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*The spinning top the text refers to likely is something known as tippe top, which is a spinning top that was invented by a German nurse called Helene Sperl, in 1891 (Captain Salgari was 29 years old at this time, having been born in 1862). If you would like to find out more details about it, you can go here (14.01.2026) while if you want to see how a wooden one is made and get a demonstration as well, you can visit here. Please do not attempt any of what you see at home. Mr. AsWoodTurns' videos are for entertainment purposes only, as he stated in his channel's description. (14.01.2026) (Source. 14.01.2026)

**Alemagna is an archaic term for Germany. Among the Latin languages, Catalan (Alemanya) French (Allemagne), Portuguese (Alemanha), and Spanish (Alemania) kept a variation of the archaic version, which comes from the Alamanni tribe (which was a confederation of Germanic tribes during the 1st millenium). For a complete list of languages whose name for Germany derived from the Alamanni tribe, go here (14.01.2026).

Note: Catalan is the indigenuous, Western Romance language of three autonomous communities in eastern Spain: Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, and the Valencian Community, where it is called Valencian (valencià). 

It is also the sole official language of the Principality of Andorra, and it is also spoken in the department of Pyrénées-Orientales (which consists of Northern Catalonia, including Cerdanya, Rosselló, and Vallespir) in France, and the city of Alghero in Sardinia (Italy), who's population is noted to have kept the language of the Crown of Aragon rulers from the end of the Middle Ages, when Sardinia was under their rule.

Here's a map of the Catalan countries:

The picture is from here (14.01.2026).

(Source 1. 14.01.2026) (Source 2. 14.01.2026) (Source 3. 14.01.2026) (Source 4. 14.01.2026)

*** Alternatively, this can mean from one end to the other.

**** Due to the fact that Neptune lives in the abyss of the sea and uses a trident, there are rumours that he is simply a different version of the devil (who also lives in the dark and uses a pitchfork). I cannot link a source to this as I haven't been able to find the exact source online (again), and it was something I had vaguely heard about two other people say, one of them I think being a YouTuber, and the other being on Twitter (and I have lost the link since). If you have any sort of reference that speaks on this or even know who it is that I have heard this from, please feel free to send me a message, so I can edit this properly. Thank you.

As far as the mythology itself is concerned, king Neptune is the god of freshwater and the sea in the Roman religion and the counterpart of the Greek god Poseidon (whom was presiding over the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses. He was also the protector of seafarers and the guardian of many Hellenic cities and colonies). (Source 1. 19.01.2026) (Source 2. 19.01.2026)

***** The US spelling is skeptic, while the UK spelling is sceptic. (Source. 15.01.2026)

****** Gascony was a province of the southwestern Kingdom of France that succeeded the Duchy of Gascony (602–1453). Most definitions put Gascony east and south of Bordeaux. It is land of d'Artagnan, who inspired Alexandre Dumas's character d'Artagnan in "The Three Musketeers".

Currently, it is a region of France divided between the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine (departments of Landes, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, southwestern Gironde, and southern Lot-et-Garonne) and the region of Occitanie (departments of Gers, Hautes-Pyrénées, southwestern Tarn-et-Garonne, and western Haute-Garonne. (Source 1. 19.01.2026) (Source 2. 19.01.2026)

*******  In the original text, it says "grande tazza salata" (lit. big/great, salty cup), "grande tazza" being an expression used by sailors to refer to the sea. (Source. (12.01.2026))

******* Shriveled-up (with one l) is the US spelling, while the UK spelling is shrivelled up, with two l's. (Source. 19.01.2026)

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Personal Notes:

It is said that the stories written by Emilio Salgari are stories he would hear from sailors, when he would go to visit the dock.

His best and most known work, "Sandokan, The Tiger of Malaysia" has been proven to bear resemblance to true historical facts, starting with the firstly-thought-of-as-fictional island, Mompracem (currently known as Kuraman Island), and with the strong impression that Sandokan is no other than a fictional representation of Syarif Osman, who ruled Marudu (north of Borneo) (I recommend you go here for more information about Sandokan or Syarif Osman. Miss Bianca has done a marvelous job in finding, gathering, and translating information about Salgari and his works, especially those concerning the character of Sandokan).

Going by this, I strongly suspect that all of Emilio Salgari's stories are based on true, historical happenings and people, the sands of time mercilessly erasing most of their traces.

Emilio Salgari's stories feature places from all around the world; many of them feature places as far as possible from Europe itself. It is not far fetched that a story from your own hometown might be present in one of his writings, regardless of how remote or unknown you might think it might be to others.

If you know how to find the original, historical, sources of any of the stories present on this blog or if you even recognize one of them here as a local, known story (or legend) to you, please feel free to contact me.

I would love to put both the story written by Salgari and the historical one side by side and not let these names become forgotten.

Thank you very much for your assistance.