Mast stepping
{{Short description|Act of raising the mast of a sailing vessel}}{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2018}}
File:US Navy 091101-N-0696M-229 Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and his wife, Deborah Mullen, lay good luck pieces into a steel box.jpg Admiral Mike Mullen putting good luck pieces into a box, during a mast stepping ceremony for the {{USS|Dewey|DDG-105}} at Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Mississippi in 2009]]
Mast stepping is the process of raising the mast of a boat. It may be a ceremonial occasion on a new boat, a necessary step (as in stepping the mast of a small sailing dinghy or gig), or simply routine (as following seasonal maintenance on a sailboat).
The ceremony involves placing or welding one or more coins into the mast step{{clarify|no mention of a “mast step” at that article|date=August 2019}} of a ship, and is seen as an important ceremonial occasion in a ship's construction, thought to bring good luck.[http://marinelink.com/Story/Bertholf+Reaches+Milestone+With+Mast+Stepping+Ceremony-208074.html Marine Link:Bertholf Reaches Milestone With Mast Stepping Ceremony] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120422080209/http://marinelink.com/story/bertholf+reaches+milestone+with+mast+stepping+ceremony-208074.html |date=22 April 2012 }} July 19, 2007[http://www.fox8live.com/content/news/ussnewyork/story/uss-new-york-new-orleans-mast-stepping/RgnpSRMU_0qLG96krKp3RA.cspx Fox8:Mast stepping a special tradition]{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Although the coins were originally placed under the main-mast of a ship, they are now generally welded under the radar mast or laid in the keel as part of a keel laying ceremony.
History
The ceremonial practice is believed to have originated in ancient Rome. One theory is that due to the dangers of early sea travel, the coins were placed under the mast so that the crew would be able to cross to the afterlife if the ship were sunk. The Romans believed it was necessary for a person to take coins with them to pay Charon in order to cross the river Styx to the afterlife, and as a result of this coins were placed in the mouths of the dead before they were buried.{{Cite web |url=http://catzooks.com/swift-solo/archive/html/swift-solo/2004-06/msg00006.html |title=Mast Step |access-date=26 October 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081118194234/http://catzooks.com/swift-solo/archive/html/swift-solo/2004-06/msg00006.html |archive-date=18 November 2008 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all }} Another theory for this practice is that the insertion of coins in buildings and ships may have functioned as a form of sacrifice to thank the gods for a successful construction, or as a request for divine protection in the future.Carlson, Deborah N. 2007. "Mast-Step Coins Among the Romans." IJNA 36:317-24[http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/English/Collections/OnlineResources/Londinium/analysis/religiouslife/rites/ Museum of London:Votive Deposits] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101217075114/http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/English/Collections/OnlineResources/Londinium/analysis/religiouslife/rites/ |date=17 December 2010 }} retrieved 26 October 2009 A third theory is that corrosion-resistant coins of gold or silver provided a physical barrier, minimizing the transmission of rot between the wooden mast and wooden mast step.
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The Blackfriars I shipwreck (circa 150 A.D.) had a coin in the mast-step.{{cite web |title=Heritage Gateway - Results |url=https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=405065&resourceID=19191 |website=www.heritagegateway.org.uk}}
See also
References
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Further reading
- Hennington, H. 1965. "Coins for Luck under the Mast." Mariner’s Mirror 51:205-10.
- Houghtalin, Liane. 1984. "Roman Coins from the River Liri III." NC 145: 67-81.
- Marsden, P. 1965. "The Luck Coin in Ships." Mariner’s Mirror 51:33-4.
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