What tattoos do sailors get when they cross the equator?

Sailors may get a Shellback turtle once they have crossed the equator and get initiated into 'King Neptune's Court'.

What is a shellback tattoo?

Shellback Turtle Tattoos

Like a ship at full mast, a shellback tattoo showed a sailor's experience at sea. Once a sailor crossed the equator, he earned the right to get a turtle inked on his body. The longer someone had spent at sea, the more tattoos they could show off.

What tattoos do sailors get?

What tattoo do you get for crossing the Atlantic?

An Anchor –

A sailor would get an anchor tattoo to signify a successful Atlantic crossing. An anchor is also the most secure object on the ship so its image serves as an icon of stability.

What does a sail ship tattoo mean?

Some meanings associated with the ship tattoo are new journeys/beginnings, home, good luck, a way of life, direction, bravery, honour or even a troubled past.

Naval Traditions: Tattoos

What does a swallow tattoo mean in sailing?

Memorial. Dagger Through Swallow – This tattoo would be used as a memorial of a lost comrade at sea. You'll remember the swallow represented 5000 nautical miles, and in this circumstance, it also represented the sailor who sailed those miles too.

Why do sailors get bird tattoos?

The birds are known for always returning home and for mating for life. Thus the tattoo came to represent a safe journey back to land, and to symbolise loyalty. A swallow also became a mark of experience. It was traditionally tattooed on the chest for every 5,000 nautical miles that a sailor had travelled.

What tattoo do Navy Seals get?

U.S. Navy Special Warfare Insignia (Seal Trident)

A common tattoo that you will find on both current Seals and those retired from the Navy is the Seal Trident. This symbol recognizes Navy Seals and designates them as completing their training.

What does JKL tattoo mean?

The title is a nod to Matthew McConaughey's mantra, “Just Keep Livin',” a statement she believes in so deeply that she had it immortalized in a tattoo that reads “JKL.” It's her only tattoo.

Why do sailors get pig and chicken tattoos?

Sailors believed that a nautical star or compass rose would help them navigate, including finding their way back to port or back home. A pig and a hen, usually tattooed on each foot (pig on the left, chicken on the right), were wards against drowning in a shipwreck.

What nautical tattoos mean?

Nautical Star: A nautical star tattoo represents the North Star, traditionally used for navigations at sea. Sailors often got tattoos of nautical stars (or "compass stars") for superstitious reasons, hoping that the stars would guide them through the night and get them home safely.

What does a swallow tattoo on the neck mean?

Swallow tattoos on a man's hands and neck originated in British prisons from the term 'jail-bird'. It simply means you have been to prison and served your 'bird'. Freedom.

What do two swallow tattoos mean?

The twin swallows are usually the symbol of love, prosperity, and rich family relations, so tattooing two of them can hint at the care and affection, as well as fidelity and loyalty between two soul mates.

What does a sparrow tattoo mean?

The sparrow, while not the flashiest bird type, has become a popular choice for tattoos. Sparrow tattoos are usually associated with freedom, love, and commitment, but there are many other great meanings that can be attached to these designs. For decades, they have been used as a standard in animal tattoo imagery.

What does a rope tattoo mean?

A rope can symbolize the importance of having things stay together and secure. Much like life, we can use this as a way of representing the strong bond and forever loyalty to whatever this rope may be holding so close.

What does an envelope tattoo mean?

An envelope is most often a symbol for a letter, and a letter can hold an infinity of meanings. There are love letters, fan mail and hate mail, rejection letters, official letters, and more. This means that there is an absolute plethora of inspiration for how to represent yourself via an envelope tattoo.

What do swallow tattoos mean?

Swallow tattoos symbolize travel and freedom, as well as returning home. Once used by sailors to show sailing prowess, swallow tattoos now come in all shapes and sizes with a variety of designs and colors.

What does a chicken tattoo mean?

The chicken tattoo also symbolizes bravery since these animals will often willingly put their lives on the line in battle. This is makes chicken tats great for anyone who wants a unique image to add to a military tattoo. It's also perfect for someone who takes pride in being brave regardless of the circumstances.

What tattoos did Pirates have?

A rope around the wrist, or the word “Hold Fast” across the knuckles – Mark of a deck hand. A pig on one foot, and a rooster on the other – Two animals often found on sailing ships as part of the food supplies.

Do Navy SEALs wear Rolex?

In the decades after Vietnam, the advent of battery-powered dive computers and the evolution of Rolex into an expensive luxury brand caused the Navy to cease its issuance of Submariners to the SEALs. Today, however, some Navy SEALs still maintain the elite organization's relationship with Rolex on their own dime.

What does bone frog mean?

The bone frog is one of the most iconic images to honor a fallen U.S. Navy SEAL. Originally drawn by Hospital Corpsman second class SEAL Keith Kimura who passed away January 11, 1997 from a training accident at Naval Special Warfare Basic Underwater Demolition School, the image is now deeply embedded in the SEAL teams.

What does frog stand for in Navy SEALs?

The bone frog symbol is associated with US Navy SEALs and is often displayed as a sign in work offices of retired frogmen, on patches of SEALs deploying overseas, in memory of fallen teammates, and even inked as tattoos into these operators' skins.

What does hold fast mean tattoo?

“Hold Fast” written across the knuckles indicate a sailor's career as a deckhand. It's said that having “Hold Fast” on each of a deckhand's fingers would give them the grip they needed to work with the ship's lines and rigging.

What does a sailors Grave tattoo look like?

Sailor's grave tattoos come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, but their defining feature is the image of halfway-submerged masts rising out of the ocean. Over the years, tattooists have incorporated all sorts of other classic motifs around this central figure to complicate its meaning.

What does a bird tattoo on hand mean?

The tattoo is supposed to mean that you have "done your bird, done your time". Where "bird" comes from the cockney rhyming slang "bird lime" which means for "doing time".