Seafarers may receive their certificates from the world’s many esteemed maritime academies, but to really earn their industry spurs they must cross the equator, according to shipping tradition.
For centuries, this symbolic event, known as the “order of Neptune” has been a cause for celebration. Sailing from one hemisphere to another means a mariner ceases being a pollywog and can proudly claim to be a shellback, or son or daughter of Neptune.
