Boating Superstitions: #8 No Whistling

November 6, 2025

You know how to whistle don’t you? Well, according to mariners, it’s best you don’t. Whistling on a boat is considered to be a challenge to the wind gods and it will stir up the wind, get it moving and cause bad weather and rough seas. The same could be said of singing and clapping, which are said to be able to trigger a thunderstorm. However, for sailors who happen to be stuck in windless waters, whistling could be used to their benefit, to bring on the wind and get the boat moving.

–from Pacific Yachting

Related Articles

Video Gallery

Scout 400LFX

By Andy Adams

In this month’s Canadian Boating Power Review, Editor Andy Adams, gets onboard the Scout 400 LFX. Click here to enjoy the full review.

In late July, Jill Snider and I met Pride Marine’s Kevin Marinelli at Bridgeport Marina, Orillia, Ontario to review a brand-new Scout 400 LXF, equipped with twin Mercury Verado V12 600hp outboards. This is a simply jaw-dropping rig!

Read More

Destinations

Sailing into the Future at Antigua Sailing Week

By Mathew Channer

“Standby tack,” Canadian sailor Katy Campbell orders. The crew scrambles over the sheet lines and braces on the deck.

“Three, two, one, tack!”

I wait until the bow turns into the wind and the headsail snaps over, then crawl over the cabin top of Panacea X to the now windward side. The trim team smoothly sheets on the headsail and a competitor vessel shoots past our stern, feet away, as our Solana 45 beats eastward along Antigua’s south coast.

Read More

Lifestyle