{"id":21581,"date":"2019-10-27T01:00:49","date_gmt":"2019-10-27T08:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/community.nrs.com\/?p=21581"},"modified":"2019-10-27T13:53:14","modified_gmt":"2019-10-27T20:53:14","slug":"seafaring-superstitions-for-the-river-runner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/community.nrs.com\/duct-tape\/2019\/10\/27\/seafaring-superstitions-for-the-river-runner\/","title":{"rendered":"Seafaring Superstitions for the River Runner"},"content":{"rendered":"

In 1965, the Righteous Brothers reminded everyone that \u201clonely rivers flow to the sea<\/em>,\u201d and then they repeated it for good measure \u201cto the sea,\u201d and then one more time<\/em> to really make it sink in, \u201cto the open arms of the sea<\/em>.\u201d In case you missed the implication\u2014rivers \u201ctouch\u201d the sea, which, consequently, means that superstitions of the sea also apply to rivers (with the notable exception of the Colorado River, which doesn\u2019t really touch the sea).<\/p>\n

Having worked as a commercial fisherman before taking up rafting, I\u2019m appalled by the flippant way river runners treat seafaring superstition. I\u2019ve asked myself if this disregard is a matter of not knowing or not caring? And I\u2019ve decided to believe that ignorance rather than apathy is to blame. So, with the help of Internet plagiarism, my friends at Mountain Buzz, and my own weird beliefs, I\u2019m posting the Top 14 Sea\/River Superstitions you should abide.<\/p>\n

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1. Name your boat. It\u2019s bad luck to float an unnamed boat. I\u2019ve heard of people who never name their raft until they flip it. To which I would reply, see the first part of rule number one. Please note, there are also a few rules for naming your boat: never name your boat after someone who might be a passenger on your boat. Unless, of course, you have a large insurance policy out on them.<\/p>\n

Also, never rename your boat. If you absolutely must rename your boat, for instance, because you violated the above and named it after your girlfriend\/boyfriend, there are a set of rituals you can follow but they are sketchy, dangerous, and involve wasting expensive booze. Best to avoid this.<\/p>\n

2. Give the first sip of beer, whiskey, or whatever to the river or the sea before you launch. I\u2019ve heard an alternative to this superstition, which involves saving one beer from a previous trip and drinking it as the first beer on the next trip\u2014so as to connect it all. Cute ritual, but unlikely on so many levels\u2014actually keeping up with said beer, not mistakenly drinking said beer on a \u2018rainy day,\u2019 being sure to plan the next river trip soon enough that said beer isn\u2019t skunked, etc. etc.<\/p>\n

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3. Don\u2019t say the \u201cW\u201d word\u2014although I can probably write it: So don\u2019t say wind, wind, wind wind wind wind wind wind wind wind wind wind wind wind wind wind wind\u2026The seafaring equivalent of this rule is \u201cdon\u2019t whistle,\u201d it will whistle up a storm.<\/p>\n

4. Some people say that a twisted strap will cause a twisted run. To avoid bad luck, don\u2019t boat with people who say or believe this.<\/p>\n

5. Don\u2019t allow bananas on your boat\u2014not ever. This summer I boated with some people on the Middle Fork of the Salmon who ignored this superstition and, in fact, laughed at it. Their boat flipped before <\/em>the rapid.\u00a0Not so funny now.<\/p>\n