Just before finishing up with the final round of guests, Tim, another naturalist, came out in a shuttle Zodiac to pick them up.
The next day, I took non-snorkelers out in the glass-bottomed Zodiac and returned to the site of the wreckage. After agonizing over the loss, I finally rationalized it by thinking the massive World War II Japanese graveyard of Truk Lagoon was an appropriate place to make some sort of peace offering with my lucky dollar. I had lost the coin plenty of times over the years, but always found it again between the cushions on the living room couch, or in my jeans within the laundry pile, but this time was different.
#SYMBOLISM OF A DOUBLE SIDED COIN FREE#
After searching everywhere, I came to the realization I must have lost it out of my shorts’ pocket when I was free diving at one of the two wrecks. Back on the ship, as I dressed for Recap and dinner, I couldn’t find my lucky silver dollar. On the first day I went snorkeling with a group that visited the wreckage of a Japanese Zero fighter plane, which had settled upside down, right near the old airstrip. "In 2014, we spent two days exploring Truk (Chuuk) Lagoon, one of the largest atolls in the world. Here, in Tom’s words, is an excerpt of that devastating loss-and the miraculous recovery! If you’ve traveled with Tom, chances are you’ve seen it and heard some of his many coin stories, including one of our favorites, the time he thought it was lost forever in Micronesia. He received it nearly 20 years ago from a sailor friend and promised to always carry it with him. Tom’s solid silver Austro-Hungarian thaler (dollar), dated 1780, features Marie Therese on one side and a double-headed eagle on the other.īut what adds true richness and meaning to our story is that in illuminating the tradition for us, Tom generously volunteered his personal lucky coin to become an eternal part of National Geographic Endurance.
Our newly minted commemorative silver coin (left) is etched with a polar bear and penguins signifying the two poles National Geographic Endurance will explore. He also informed us that you can have one coin or as many as seven or eight (extra coins mean extra luck, right?) Guided by Tom’s expertise we commissioned a design and struck a very special silver coin to commemorate this very special ship. While there are variations on this tradition, according to British maritime practice, the coins must be silver-sailors are highly superstitious and silver is the sailors’ metal associated with the moon, the ruler of tides and symbolic of much more. As suspected, he gave us chapter and verse on the topic. What kind of coin? How many? Should they be gold, silver, alloy? To get to the bottom of these questions we turned to the man most likely to know: our longtime friend and iconic Lindblad naturalist Tom Ritchie.
But as we prepared for our ceremony that had us wondering. Sign UpĪs tradition also holds, a coin is welded to the keel to safeguard the ship and all who sail upon her. Get Inspired By Photos, Videos, Webinars, Stories, And Exclusive Offers. Since the supportive keel, or spine, allows a ship to travel swiftly and smoothly, it’s an exceptionally important part-and an auspicious way to begin a build. This time-honored, seafaring tradition marks the first major milestone in the construction of a new vessel. On March 17, 2018, Lindblad Expeditions celebrated the keel laying of the National Geographic Endurance, our brand-new, Polar Class 5 ship, at the shipyard in Gdynia, Poland. Here's the lore behind an ancient maritime tradition. At the christening of National Geographic Endurance on July 22, 2021, veteran naturalist Tom Ritchie was honored for his contribution to her legacy.
0 kommentar(er)
