Shellback - A Shellback is a former slimy Pollywog (Wog, sailor or Marine) that has gone through The Crossing of the Line (equator) Ceremony and purged of his ignorance and forgiven of his unsalty and boot ways. For more detail refer to Wikipedia's Line Crossing Ceremony page.
The Order of Shellback's are defined as following:
- The Order of the Blue Nose - those that have crossed the Arctic Circle
- The Order of the Red Nose - those that have crossed the Antarctic Circle
- The Imperial Order of the Golden Dragon - those that have crossed the International Date Line
- The Golden Shellback - those that have crossed the Equator at the International Date Line
- The Emerald (or Royal Diamond) Shellback - those that have crossed at 0° off the coast of Africa (where the Equator crosses the Prime Meridian)
- The Sacred Order of the Golden Dragon - those that have crossed at the same time Lat. 00-000°, Long. 180.00°
- The Order of the Ditch - those that have passed through the Panama Canal
- The Order of the Rock - those that have transited the Strait of Gibraltar
- The Safari To Suez - Those who have passed through the Suez Canal
- The Order of the Sand Squid - those who have been attached to army units or stationed in the Middle East
- The Realm of the Czars - those that have crossed into the Black Sea
- The Order of Magellan - those that have circumnavigated the Earth
- The Order of the Lakes - those that have sailed on all five Great Lakes
- The Order of the Spanish Main - those that have sailed in the Caribbean
- The Order of the Sparrow - those that sailed on all seven seas (North Atlantic, South Atlantic, North Pacific, South Pacific, Indian, Arctic, Antarctic Oceans)
- The Order of the Ebony Shellback - those who have crossed the Equator on Lake Victoria
- The Royal Order of Purple Porpoises - those that have crossed the juncition of the Equator and the International Date Line at the Sacred Hour of the Vernal Equinox
Facebook Groups
Videos
Articles
Line Crossing Ceremony Wikipedia
From "Wog" to Shellback U.S. Navy
The Shellback Ceremony usmilitary.about.com
Today's Shellback Initiation Less Violent Than In Days Gone By
The Story: USS Indianapolis ussindianapolis.org
Other Stuff
Certificate Publishing Tiffany Publishing
Shellback Items for Sale Rocky's Trading Stump
Navy Shellback Shirts Vision-Strike-Wear
Shellback Challenge Coin Amazon
Marine Shirts Vision-Strike-Wear
Shellback Coffee Mugs Cafe Express
Shellback Mugs & Steins Zazzie
Shellback Rum
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