Wow - if I were prone to personification, I would say that Mark forgot to pour a libation to appease King Neptune. Sound silly? I have done it for every event, and never once have I been attacked by the Minions of the Deep.
Call me superstitious, but this really seems to work. I've never thought to try it for costal sailing, but on a south-to-north crossing of the Atlantic we were stuck in a tenacious calm hovering around the equator. Once we crossed the line and held our Shellback ceremony (pouring scotch through the scuppers, donning earrings, etc.), the wind filled in and we had near perfect conditions with a steady 20- to 25-knots of wind on the beam for the next 19 or 20 days. We would go for one or two days at a time without having to adjust the self stearing - amazing sailing.
