The Most Sunburnt You’ve Ever Been?
April Challenge # 13 by Keeley Schroder
I rarely get sunburnt. My jobs have always been indoors, with the exception of a brief job with the San Diego Zoo Global, but they have long sleeve shirts and safari hats, which prevented most sunburn situations.
But, the most sunburnt I’ve ever been — occurred in the summer, right on the equator, where the sun is the strongest.
Our ship passed over the equator, which is an occasion for a Shellback initiation.
Sailors who haven’t crossed the equator are called Pollywogs, and sailors who have crossed the equator are Shellbacks.
Much of the initiation events were on the main deck, and being on the equator in summer, I got a sunburn that day.
The lowly slimy Pollywog is transformed into a trusty, honored Shellback during initiation ceremonies overseen by King Neptune and his court.
The sunburn was the least of my worries that day. But due to initiation secrecy, I won’t divulge any more.
If you want to learn more, there is a story about the ceremony here.
