Unlucky Bananas

A maritime superstition that carrying bananas aboard a boat brings bad luck.

The belief is particularly associated with some fishing and recreational-boating communities. Suggested explanations include fast fruit-carrying voyages, hazards hidden among cargo, premature ripening of other produce and coincidences involving lost vessels, but no single origin is established reliably.

It has no navigational or safety basis. Whether observed seriously or humorously, it belongs to maritime folklore rather than seamanship practice.