Golden Shellback King Neptune Navy Line Crossing Patch

A Golden Shellback crossed the Equator at the exact spot where it meets the 180th meridian, the one place on the globe where the Line and the International Date Line cross. A regular crossing anywhere on the Equator makes a Shellback. Crossing it at 180 degrees takes a ship on one specific track across the middle of the Pacific, and plenty of career sailors never did it. The pollywogs aboard that day went through King Neptune's court and came out the other side as Golden Shellbacks. It is one of the less common titles a sailor can claim from his time at sea.

The Navy keeps a whole family of these crossings. Cross the International Date Line anywhere and you enter the Domain of the Golden Dragon. The certificates, signed "Neptunus Rex, Ruler of the Raging Main," were never part of anyone's service record, which never stopped a sailor from framing his. Crossing the Equator at the Greenwich meridian makes an Emerald Shellback, and sailing north of the Arctic Circle makes a Blue Nose. The ceremony goes back centuries to the days of wooden sailing ships, and today the Navy holds it as a voluntary morale event.

The patch is a 4-inch circle with a red merrowed edge around a navy blue field. A big golden sun rises behind the scene with orange rays, and GOLDEN SHELLBACK arches across the top in white. King Neptune rides in with his white beard, red cape and trident raised, standing in a scallop-shell chariot pulled through the surf by sea horses, the way the old Greek and Roman mosaics pictured him. Two orange seahorses stand on either side, and a red lobster and a gray fish ride the light blue waves along the bottom. Nothing on it needs explaining to anyone who ever stood in line for Neptune's court.

The line-crossing ceremony is one of the oldest traditions the Navy still keeps, handed down from sailing ships to carriers and submarines. For one day Neptune's court runs the ship, and every pollywog aboard goes through the same initiation regardless of rank. Sailors remember the date, the ship and the coordinates long after they forget most of the rest of that deployment. The Golden version depends on the navigator's track as much as anything the crew did, which is part of why it is uncommon. Ask a Golden Shellback where he crossed and he will usually tell you the hull number before you finish the question.

Put it in a shadow box next to the crossing certificate, or sew it on the vest you wear to ship reunions. It also makes a good gift for a son or grandson who has heard the story of the crossing more than once. The patch has an iron-on backing and can be sewn on as well. The day he crossed the Line deserves a better spot than a desk drawer.