Why is it bad luck to change the name of a ship?

Just a few examples of these long-held beliefs include:

Why is it bad luck to rename a boat? Vessels change hands all the time, and what was a perfect name for one owner can't possibly be the perfect name for you. Many boaters and sailors, though, insist renaming a boat brings bad luck. If you must change it, you should perform a Christening ceremony or renaming ceremony first to ensure good fortune.

This superstition goes back a long time, and is even mentioned in the classic novel "Treasure Island," in which Long John Silver says, "What a ship was christened, so let her stay." Tales abound of captains renaming their ships in a moment of hubris, only to be met with a tragic watery end. Legend says that when every ship is christened, its name goes into a "Ledger of the Deep" maintained by Neptune (or Poseidon) himself. Renaming a ship or boat means you're trying to slip something past the gods and you will be punished for your deviousness.

Another, more practical, explanation is that back in the day when most boats were used to transport cargo, each vessel had its own reputation, good or bad, in ports of call all over the world. A sudden name change would render a boat, and therefore its reputation, unrecognizable and likely cause many problems for the captain and crew [source: Hurricane Boats].

Whether or not you're superstitious, if you decide to change the name of your boat, fellow sailors consider it good form to perform a perform a purging ceremony and re-naming ritual. A boat re-naming ceremony makes the sea gods aware that you're re-naming your boat, showing them you have no underhanded motives.

There are many different ceremonies for re-naming your boat — you can look them up online or ask your local boating community which they prefer. Typically, though, you must first remove all traces of the old name. This means removing the name from the hull, burning the old log books and paperwork, and requesting that the gods to forget the old name. Then, you re-christen the boat with alcohol, normally good champagne. First offer half to the water, from east to west, and then some to the boat, and some then some for you and your first mate to toast the new vessel. Another, less desirable, option is to have a virgin urinate over the bow [source: Eyers].

In the new naming ceremony, sailors are to address Poseidon, god of the sea, who supposedly holds the name of every vessel ever launched recorded in the Ledger of the Deep. In this ceremony, ask for safe passage, fair winds and calm seas for your future voyages. One common script goes like this [source: United States Vessel]:

You are also to address the mighty powers of the four wind gods - the great Boreas, Zephyrus, Eurus, and Notus - pouring champagne out as you face each of them: north wind, west wind, east wind, and then south wind.

There's a lot that goes into renaming a boat if you want to ensure good luck and avoid ending up at the bottom of the ocean, according to the superstition and lore of the boating world. Better to be safe than sorry, in our opinion.