How serious are you about the "No Bananas on a Boat" superstition?

+4 votes
asked May 25, 2017 in Saltwater Fishing by NinjaShark (3,775 points)
Have you ever had any first hand bad luck bringing bananas on a boat (fishing or diving)? I haven't brought any bananas on a boat, and i know it is a very strict rule for many captains, just wanted to know if anyone has ever broken the rule and had any bad luck from it. I have heard that the superstition stems from the fact that Bananas can sometimes contain banana spiders (also known as the brazilian wandering spider) and those are very venomous, so that could certainly be an issue on a small boat or canoe, just wanted to see what you all thought about it and how serious it is for you to follow.

10 Answers

+5 votes
answered May 26, 2017 by rueben (185 points)
My rule is, no matter how bad of a fisherman you are, don't blame fruit. #DontBlameFruit
+2 votes
answered May 25, 2017 by hurfish (3,024 points)
No I don't give any weight to that nor am I superstition. Bananas are great for diving by the way!
commented May 26, 2017 by NinjaShark (3,775 points)
They are tasty and have lots of potassium, and easy to transport and would love to have one after a dive but so many captains are superstitious. Don't want to get on thier bad side
+2 votes
answered May 26, 2017 by cquade7 (3,269 points)
I am not superstitious I am a little stitious. I actually have had a few Bananas on the boat before, they do wonders for leg cramps.
+1 vote
answered May 26, 2017 by Ratfish (455 points)
No bananas allowed. Ever.
+1 vote
answered May 26, 2017 by alwaysdiving (780 points)
I made my older brother throw bananas overboard from his own fishing boat.
+1 vote
answered Jun 16, 2017 by richardehyman (2,630 points)
Never heard of this. I once sailed a 48 hour race in Puget Sound and the name of the boat had the word banana in it. I don't remember the name. Plus there was a banana painted on the side of the boat. We didn't win but we were not last.
+1 vote
answered Sep 19, 2017 by Deanaguf (410 points)
I do not believe in it. However, my husband is awful about it...no banana anything...including banana boat brand sunscreen lol
+1 vote
answered Nov 26, 2017 by richardehyman (2,630 points)
I am rather superstitious about certain things but not about this. I actually sailed a 48 hour race in Puget Sound and the boat had banana in its name. Don't recall specifically. But no bad luck from that. Never banned bananas on my boats but generally not something we bring along. (I served on Cousteau's Calypso and I don't think we ever did have any bananas onboard...not sure if that was due to the superstition or not.)
+1 vote
answered Dec 9, 2017 by Cumara (60 points)
The superstition of bananas  aboard started in the tuna fleet, when an new boat sank , every thing was the same but a stack of bananas was aboard, which got the blame. Being fishermen superstition comes with the job;Just like whistling in the wheel house bring up the wind, or wearing black etc...

All most everything that have been done repeat if it brings you luck in a good haul, and any thing that you did or fail to do that cause you to have a bad trip becomes the reason why you came back to port with a bad catch or what ever.
0 votes
answered Oct 25, 2017 by Cronnie40 (228 points)
Na, they can bring bananas..if your not catching fish, it's not the bananas fault.
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