The Strangest Things Sailors Have Experienced at Sea

1.

Was in the US Navy onboard the USS Tarawa (LHA-1) from 2002-2006. Some unusual things I experienced were the Shellback ceremonies. Basically a sailor who has never crossed the equator is considered a "slimy wog" and those who have crossed the equator were considered "Shellbacks".

It's a huge thing that usually takes all afternoon where people dress up as King Neptune and his court and induct the new guys/girls into the fraternity. Its all light hearted and goofy now but back in the day it crossed into hazing territory. I got to do it twice because I became a golden shellback when we crossed the international dateline. -MistaCreepz

2.

Flying fish timed a wave right and jumped out the water and through an open hatch directly into the galley. Freeboard was like 7 metres. The chefs shat themselves haha. -BassEvers

3.

Picking up a small (28') sailboat in Egg Harbor, NJ, delivering to Havre de Grace, Md. We get out into the ocean (intercoastal waterway is in the ocean down most of the coast of NJ). Wind dies dead and night is falling. We motored all the way to Cape May in the dark and actually had to veer to port twice because we were going so perfect by the charts we would have hit 2 bouys.

Hit Cape May after the sun came up, but the fog was so thick we had to anchor for a couple hours because the entrance there is narrow and hazardous, can't risk it in someone else's boat. While anchored we hear this loud motor approaching us, but visibility is maybe 30 or 40 feet.

We start blaring an air horn every 15 seconds. Suddenly this cruiser, probably 40' comes through the fog right at us! Must be going 15 or 20 naughts. He pulled up and veered around us with maybe 5' to spare. Scared the crap out of us. -Key-Article6622

4.

A friend had a man overboard. They were able to hook the guy's clothes with a gaffe and where dragging him back on board. Remember, this is winter in the Atlantic ocean, the boat had to turn around to come alongside the man overboard.

He had been in the freezing water long enough that he couldn't move limbs. The gaffe broke and the man fell back into the water. Due to the water in his coveralls and boots, they say he immediately sunk like a rock. In an almost instant he was gone. -dinosarahsaurus

5.

The Panama Canal and Gatun Lake are among the most impressive and beautiful things I have ever seen. -TherealZaneJT

6.

Off the coast of South Africa, I worked aboard a cage-diving boat. I witnessed many amazing things, but one day a 5-plus metre female white shark approached the boat. She simply hung around and observed us, showing no interest in the cage, the chum, or the baitlines.

Every time she returned to the surface, my brain would temporarily refuse to accept what I was witnessing due to how enormous she was. Like "That is what? It's so big, Jesus." She was very composed and observant. It was the first time I truly understood that, despite the fact that it is entirely foreign, there is some sort of intelligence operating in that brain. -Wheaurk

7.

Lots of crazy little things, but I was on a ship that lost a man overboard in the Atlantic. Reports were that a life saver was thrown immediately after he fell in, the lookout said he saw a swell overtake him as he was going toward the life saver.., and that was it.

We searched for hours, never seeing a single sign...search lights in the water...dark shapes swimming past them. Makes you realize how small we are in nature. Still think about it to this day. -ConstantTheory255

8.

I was on a run between California and Hawaii, and I was out on deck doing rounds on deck equipment, checking oil levels etc. I saw one of those free fall lifeboats just hanging out in the distance and was like wtf.

I called the bridge, they said a ship accidentally dropped their lifeboat a few years ago and now it turns up from time to time. Was glad to know no one was on it, but it gave me a brief scare. -thecactuswrench

9.

I was baiting a hook, and suddenly on the starboard side of the boat a pod of about 20 melon head whales comes up right beside the boat and they just start staring us down. I lean over and this one dude moves a little closer and just keeps moving his head so he can eye me up and down.

They all just kept staring at us with an expression of "WTF are these? Hoo interesting, don't look like they can swim at all." They eyed us at close quarters for about 5 min and then just took off. The weirdest part of the encounter was the close eye contact I had with the first whale was definitely two individuals sizing each other up. Best part of the whole day. -CalEPygous

10.

I was in the navy and deployed to Persian gulf 2x. First, it was like jellyfish season or something and when you looked in the water it looked like a massive amount of plastic bags but it was all jellyfish. And at night, the splashes coming from the ship glowed like blueish purple. Pretty awesome. -anonomr

11.

I was on a rowboat that I borrowed from a neighbor, which I was using to catch rock fish off the west coast of Bowen Island, and one beautiful afternoon I rowed out and cast my line when a full grown Orca whale swam right underneath the, now seemingly way too small, rowboat, clear as day and so close that i thought for sure its dorsal fin would capsize me. It was both terrifying and beautiful. -Daggertooth71

12.

Out of a submarine periscope, we saw a fully inflated, pink, unicorn floaty toy. We were very far from any civilization. -mbreinich

13.

Not a sailor but a lifelong surfer so I’ve spent plenty of time in and around the ocean. I was camping on the beach in Baja with some friends when I noticed the moon was going to be setting over the ocean in a few hours. The moon that night was just a sliver, almost like a finger nail.

We had actually gotten kind of skunked wave wise that day and into the night the ocean was almost completely flat. Like a lake flat. No wind as well. Just sheet glass. Not a cloud in the sky. Just when the moon lowered to the horizon, it started to glow bright orange. And just when it hit the edge of the ocean, the reflection shimmered all the way to the sand.

It looked as if the moon was floating on the sea for just a few minutes. It was one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen. Far more beautiful than any sunset. -jarabara

14.

My area occasionally gets phytoplankton blooms. If you're boating at night and sail into a bloom, the wake of your boat will suddenly start glowing blue.

It's pretty darn bright, easily seen with the naked eye, and appears out of nowhere. One minute you're sailing in complete darkness, the next you're in glowing water. -MyNameIsRay

15.

When the water is dead flat, and the sky is clear, at night, it's really possible to get completely disoriented and fall in. You can't tell where the water begins and the sky ends, so you always keep your hand on the lifeline. -Dull-Menu5285

16.

I was US Navy. Pretty sure we heard siren calls somewhere northwest of the Marshall Islands. Was on the smoke deck at three separate occasions at night and anyone who was out there heard what sounded like a distant scream/screech echoing over the waves.

I remember it well cause it caused several man overboard scares where we'd all have to go muster to make sure those sounds weren't any of ours. Never actually saw anything, so I rationalize that it could've been some kind of animal or sea bird, but that shit sounded human...but not entirely human. -Vittaminn

17.

I once saw a stork land on our 100mm turret after a sandstorm off Libya, and stay there for several hours. Also, we had a couple of sperm whales with a calf swimming alongside, for almost a day off Ivory Coast. When you see that kind of stuff, it doesn't matter if you are 3 months in or 20 years in. You feel like a kid again. -Hans_Von_Seemann

18.

The first time you see a large sea turtle is kinda strange they look like floating boulders. -Stred2001

19.

It was night, so all the lights were off on the bridge save for a few red ones, and I noticed how bright it was outside. I went over to starboard and the f**king white cliffs of Dover were completely illuminated by a full moon. Just beaming moonlight. It was one of the most amazing things I've ever seen. Of course the mate on duty was English and was nonchalantly like "yeah, that's Dover." -Zebulon_V

20.

St Elmo's fire. Worked on a 90ft fishing boat one summer off the coast of British Columbia. One calm and starry night, I went on deck to have a smoke, and I saw faint greenish-blue flames coming off the very top of the radio antenna. I excitedly ran below to tell my coworkers, and they laughed at me for being such a noob. -Daggertooth71

21.

Out of a submarine periscope, we saw a fully inflated, pink unicorn floaty toy. We were very far from any civilization. -mbreinich