Ancient Order of the Shellback King Neptune Patch

The 00° stitched beside King Neptune's head is the latitude of the Equator, the line every Pollywog has to cross before he can call himself a Shellback. The ceremony that turns one into the other is nearly as old as seafaring itself, and sailors have carried it from sail to steam to nuclear power. The night before the crossing, a messenger from Neptune tells the captain that the King will board and summons the Pollywogs to his court. Next day the slimy Pollywogs go before the court one by one, and the ones who come through are trusty Shellbacks. This patch says it across the top in gold: ancient order of the Shellback.

Neptunus Rex is the senior Shellback aboard, and he rules the day with his trident and his consort, Queen Amphitrite. Davy Jones, often listed as his Royal Scribe, checks the record of each Pollywog's crossing. The Royal Baby is the fattest chief on the ship, and every Pollywog has to kiss his belly on the way to the throne. The Royal Doctor, Royal Barber, Royal Dentist, the Judges and the Royal Cops all get their turn before a Pollywog ever reaches Neptune. Cross the Equator on the International Date Line and you become a Golden Shellback, a member of the realm of the Golden Dragon.

The patch is round, 4 inches across, with a gold merrowed border around a deep blue field. King Neptune fills the center, gray hair and beard streaming in the wind, brow set hard, a gold trident in one hand and his arms around a fouled anchor wrapped in brown line. A mermaid sits on each side, red hair on the left and gold on the right, their scaled tails curling down toward the bottom. ancient order of the arcs across the top in gold, with 00° beside Neptune's head, and SHELLBACK runs across the bottom in heavy gold letters. The fouled anchor, an anchor tangled in its own line, has been the sailor's mark for centuries, and here it sits square in the King's grip.

Every new Shellback gets a certificate and a wallet card, and the card matters. A sailor who cannot produce it on his next crossing may find himself back among the Pollywogs. Seamen and captains go through the same court, and the day is the same for both: either you have crossed the line or you have not. Ask an old sailor for the ship and the year and he will tell you without looking it up. That shared day at the Equator is what this patch is about.

Put it in a shadow box with your Shellback card and your ship's patch, or on the jacket, vest or sea bag that went with you across the line. It also makes a good gift for a sailor home from his first deployment south of the Equator. It irons on and can be sewn on as well. Once a Shellback, always a Shellback.