Forget the whales, orcas, dolphins or any other cetacean, each larger than the other, that it is possible to collide with in the seas of the world. If there is one animal that Vendée Globe skippers fear, it is the rabbit. Yes, the rabbit, you read correctly. The little creature with the big ears is the enemy of a large part of the fleet. And it is of course out of the question to say this word on board otherwise you will find yourself in the bay, hands and feet tied, with no life jacket available.
Not that many boats have hit a rabbit in the open sea, but what do you want, the legends and beliefs in the small world of sailing are tenacious. And we prefer to respect them at the risk of seeing lightning and all the misfortunes fall on our Imoca. Concerning the rabbit, two versions diverge.
- “The Latin root for rabbit is “cuni”, the sex of the woman, explains Eric Bellion (Stand as One). At the time, it was said that women brought bad luck on boats. When there were 500, 600, 700, 800 men on board, who were often convicts, having a wife was a problem, it could lead to mutinies, illnesses…”
- “At the time of the sailing navy, as you did not have anything to keep fresh, and you had to take food for months and months, they took away live animals, and in particular rabbits, details Louis Burton (Valley Office). And the rabbits, in the cages, ate the rope, the caulking, which made the seal. »
“I don’t want to anger anyone”
Sailing off the coast of Lorient with Samantha Davies, aboardHeart Initiativeswe shook a little, and not just because of the turmoil, when we asked her the question about “the animal with the big ears”, before fainting and believing that the boat was going to capsize when the Englishwoman replied straight away: “Ah, the rabbit”… Suffice it to say that she doesn’t particularly believe in this legend, even if she respects it because “many French people in my team are sensitive to it”.
Unlike Samantha Davies, other skippers are convinced that pronouncing the one whose name is not mentioned could be fatal to them. So much so that Duracell batteries are prohibited on board an Imoca or the packaging is carefully cut to prevent the animal from being found on board in any form whatsoever. “For a long time, I refused to take rabbit pâté on board, my wife also had a habit of reading all the books that I took and tearing out the pages mentioning the word “rabbit”,” explained Loïck Peyron to West France.
« “I would never say the word “rabbit” on board,” insists Eric Bellion. My 2 and a half year old daughter already says “polopolop” instead of “rabbit”. I don’t want to play with that at all, I know I’m nothing. And since I’m nothing, I don’t want to… I think the ocean is a living being, I think my boat is also a living being. So, I don’t want to anger anyone. » »
Vade retro satanas
Saying the word “rabbit” on board is not the only lèse-majesté crime among sailing legends. “Putting a boat in the water on a Friday brings bad luck,” assures Charlie Dalin (Macif) If I can avoid launching my boat on Friday, it’s no longer in doubt. In case there is an office of guys who say to themselves: “Hey, he put his boat on Friday, we’re going to do some shit to him”. Normally I’m not too superstitious, but there are things you do more or less. »
Like not wearing green when going offshore or taking bananas on board, which could cause the loss of the boat. “I don’t take it,” says Samantha Davies, much more categorical about the fruit than the rabbit. Afterwards, if I have muesli with bananas, I’m not going to remove them. At one point, my preparer had to remove the bananas from my Haribo packets. » Foreign traditions also spice up these small adjustments.
Be careful when crossing the Equator
“We have many traditions, even some that I don’t know myself,” tells us the Chinese Xu Jingkun (Singchain Team Haiku). For example, if you eat a fish on board, you should not say the word “turn over the fish”, it brings bad luck, because it means “turn over the boat. We use something else. » “When you throw plum seeds into the sea, you can get more wind,” adds the Japanese Kojiro Shiraishi (DMG Mori Global One). When I arrive in Ecuador, I throw away a lot of plum seeds. »
The passage of the Ecuador is also a sacred moment for Charlie Dalin, who somewhat forgot his duty and was instantly punished by the forces of evil. “The little offering to Neptune (god of the sea in Roman mythology) is a little tradition that I try to respect. I didn’t do it last time and I had a foil problem in the Indian Ocean. I told myself that, if in doubt, I would still do a little something for the passage of the Equator. » The whales will be there to check it out.