- hold written on one set of knuckles and fast written on the other is meant to give a sailor good grip in the rigging
- a rope tattooed around the wrist suggests a sailor is or was a deckhand
- a tattoo of an anchor tells that a sailor has been a part of the merchant marines or crossed the Atlantic
- crossed anchors on the webbing between the thumb and index fingers are for a bos’n’s (or boatswain’s) mate
- a nautical star or compass rose was traditionally given so that a sailor could always find his or her way home
- a harpoon marks a member of the fishing fleet
- a full-rigged ship displays that a sailor has been around cape horn
- a dragon conveys that a sailor has served in china, and a golden dragon is given when a sailor crosses the International Date Line
- a shellback turtle or king Neptune is earned when a sailor makes it across the equator
- guns or crossed cannons signify naval military service
- a sparrow or a swallow tattoo goes to a sailor for every 5,000 nautical miles they travel–a swallow because it can always find its way home
- royal navy sailors during WWII who took part in Mediterranean cruises were tattooed with a palm tree, as were u.s. sailors who spent time serving the us. military in Hawaii
- a dagger through a rose proves a sailor’s loyal and willingness to fight anything, even something as sweet as a rose
- during WWII, pig and rooster tattoos (sometimes one on each foot) were worn to prevent a sailor from drowning. pigs and roosters were boarded in crates that floated, and subsequently, were said to have been the only survivors of some wrecks
sep 14 2013 ∞
nov 17 2015 +
nov 17 2015 +