Bad Luck & the Third Boat

This short animation relates to the general fishing superstition that it was bad luck to be the third boat to sail to sea.

Bad luck could relate to the catch, or lack of, or more seriously to storms, sinkings and drownings. In some fishing communities the first three boats would go simultaneously so that there was no ‘third boat’, only three first boats! As the Claddagh fishing fleet was led by the King of the Claddagh (a.k.a. Admiral of Galway Bay) this posed a dilemma for those following.

Here our animator – Jessie – imagines what would happen if the superstition was somehow ignored.