April 9 – Crossing the Equator
We crossed the equator about noon today. Sure glad I’m a passenger! Pirates took over the ship, and King Neptune and his Queen visited to try the unworthy “pollywogs” in the crew – those that had never sailed across the equator before. Their “punishment” was having to “kiss the fish”, yes, it really was a big, dead fish on ice, and “crawl the table” while all kinds of slime was dumped on them. Then they were thrown into the pool. Boy, did they need to empty and clean the pool after that. I think most of the ship, both passengers and crew, turned out to watch. The pool deck, and the deck above, was wall-to-wall people. Now we have our certificates, signed by the captain, proving we’re no longer pollywogs but shellbacks.