Taboos Of The Yorkshire Trawlermen Who Fished The Arctic Waters
Yorkshire's heritage is rooted in the land and anchored in the sea. Its fishermen sailed far beyond the turbulent North Sea to the perilous waters within the Arctic Circle. The crews who sailed from Hull were nicknamed 'Yorkies'.
Fishermen are the last of the hunters. They 'do business in great waters' at the mercy of the elements. Their battle with Nature has always been helped by a set of primitive folk beliefs: "Of all seafarers, there's none more superstitious than fishermen". Hull was once 'The Greatest Deep-Sea Trawling Port in the World'. Its history provides a wonderful glimpse into the realm of folk magic - starting with the curious rituals of sailing day. Within a superstitious family some strange practices were performed on the day the 'hunter' left home.
Taboos began from the moment a trawlerman packed his sea-bag. The six children in the Casey Family, who lived in the bustling Hessle Road fishing community, helped dad pack for his three-week trip. Fred "was deadly serious about superstitions" his wife Edie recalled. His strongest rule was that once something was put inside his bag, "You were NOT allowed to take it out. Otherwise, he'd not go to sea". Eager little hands, innocently, dropped toys into his bag, and many a time Fred went off to Bear Island with a load of useless (and embarrassing) junk.
Bosun Thomas Palmer Jones was "superstitious, but didn't make a thing of it". His daughter was involved in a sailing-day ritual. After Tom left the house, young Edna threw dad's slippers at the front door to "ensure that he'd come back safely to wear them again".
It was the women, however, who had most taboos shackled upon them when the men 'departed for the hunt'. A string of superstitions dictated what women should not do on sailing day - disobeyed, their actions could place the men in mortal danger (and leave them riddled with guilt). A woman must not: 'wash' clothes otherwise her husband would be 'washed' overboard; 'wave' him good-bye or a 'wave' would sweep him away; call out after him once he sets foot outside the front door; go down on the fish dock to see him off; step aboard a trawler; or whistle, as this would cause a storm at sea: 'A whistling woman and a crowing hen / Bring the Devil out of his den'.
After he had gone some women never emptied any ash-trays, the ash-pan or tea-pot until the following day. They must in no way give the impression of wishing him away - otherwise, he may never return. One women would not move any items of her husband's discarded clothing until 24 hours had elapsed. Once 'safely' on his way to the fish dock, a man could not look or turn back. It was also unlucky to meet a clergyman. Should the departing fisherman come across a pig, that was fatal and he must go back home and not sail that day. The pig taboo was the strongest and strangest of all in that it over-rode and contradicted the powerful 'don't turn back' rule.
Most skippers got a taxi down to the dock. Some believed it bad luck to carry their own sea-bag onto the ship, so the driver placed it on board. Youngsters hung around St.Andrew's Fish Dock to carry crewmen's sea-bags. They hoped for a generous tip and few were disappointed.
The trawler herself was riddled with superstition. It was usually referred to as 'she' - more a maritime tradition than a superstition - even if it had a male name like Joseph Conrad (H.161). The ship's bell embodied the trawler's soul. If it rang of its own accord then the ship was doomed. The fish-room hatch was symbolic. Some skippers went mad if they saw the cover turned upside down - for fear that their ship might mimic that action. A brush left on the hatch would brush away your luck.
Tea-drinking was steeped in superstition. One skipper insisted that the mess-deck tea-pot must not be emptied after the fishing had started. More and more tea was spooned into the pot. The pot was perhaps seen as the trawler's fish room, with the leaves as symbolic fish, filling up for a good trip. To empty it might make the ship turn over and sink, or result in a poor voyage.
Some taboos were so ingrained in the trawling trade that many Yorkies did not realize they came from superstition. A good example was the tradition of hauling the nets from the starboard (right) gallows of the trawler. One explanation comes from the New Testament. After the Crucifixion Jesus visited His disciples and found them unhappy for not one single fish had been caught. Christ told them, "Cast the net on the right side of the ship and ye shall find. They cast therefore and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes" (John 21:1-11).
There was a long list of taboo words which must never be uttered at sea: Pig, Egg, Cat, Knife, Hare, Church, Good-bye, Rat, Clergyman, Dog, Salt, and Rabbit. Each of these words had imaginative alternatives such as Grunter, Long-tail, and Bunny. If any forbidden word was uttered, bad luck could be averted by 'touching cold iron'. Landlubbers might 'touch wood' for protection; but aboard ship, iron had magical properties: 'Touch wood - no good / Touch iron - rely on'.
One skipper was having a run of bad hauls. In deep despair he hurled some coins into the sea and shouted, "If I can't catch your f***ing fish, I'll buy it from you!". Top skipper Dick 'Old Fox' Taylor never removed his cap, shaved or washed once the fish started coming on board. To 'change' anything might 'change' his luck. If the Pagan sea gods saw you had plenty of money, they would give you a poor trip.
Superstition was served up at meal-times. Spilt salt is an obvious one; but a related belief was that the salt-pot must not be handed from one crewman to another - 'pass salt, pass sorrow' - it must be placed down upon the table. An East Riding expression is that 'for every grain spilt, a tear will fall'. On a happier note, spilt sugar meant joy. After a loaf had been cut it must not be up-ended on the bread-board. This dreaded action mimicked a sinking trawler as she plunged under the waves bow first.
Green was an auspicious colour. Many a deckie-learner had his green jumper or scarf ripped off him and saw it flung into the sea by an older fisherman. Even today, there are few green cars on the streets of Hull, and the city council rarely uses this colour. The fear is that 'green will be followed by black' (widow's weeds).
Death walks in the shadow of superstition. When someone was seriously ill or injured at sea, it was said he would not pass away until land was sighted. Fishermen disliked sailing with a corpse on board. After someone was washed overboard, many skippers steamed home so that the crew could start afresh. This happened with the Hull-based Boston Lincoln (GY.1399) when the two Williams brothers were lost off Russia in January 1974.
Hull trawlermen worked hard and long for their 'settling' money, but superstition ensured they got rid of it with ease. The view was that "trawlermen spent money like crazy, so as not to take any back to sea". If they failed to spend their pay, some gave or threw it away - thus their reputation of being generous. One deckhand always left money with a barman for his mates to have a final drink on him if he was lost at sea.
Others gave it to children - if not their own, any in the street. Vera Turnbull recalls how "dad used to get all his loose change and said to any kids 'Who wants to play scrambles?' and threw handfuls of money up in the air. I had lots of friends when dad was home". School-kids went up to complete strangers - knowing they were trawlermen - and cheekily asked, "Are you gonna do a scramble Mister?"
When trawlers left St.Andrew's lock pit at the start of another trip, some men threw their loose change into the Humber: "fistfuls of money were slung over the side. The belief was that if you went away skint, you'd land a good trip" recalls Alf Louth.
Fear of the Gods was the underlying motive for many superstitions. Unconsciously, some fishing families felt that their every action - at home or sea - was observed by all-seeing gods / goddesses. Mimic magic was performed in the hope that their little activities (not washing, waving, turning back) would please the Fates who determined life and death in the wider world. Superstitions, in the unpredictable Arctic waters, gave the Yorkshire trawlermen a sense of control over their own destiny.
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