Yet another 3 part list (from the Queen): Who, what, why?

One hopes it's not Cava!...



4 July 2014 Last updated at 14:00

Why is champagne traditional for smashing on ships?


A bottle of champagne smashing against a ship
The Queen will smash a bottle of whisky on the hull of the new aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth in a break from the traditional champagne. But how did champagne become the tradition, asks Lucy Townsend.
When Queen Victoria launched the HMS Royal Arthur in 1891 she smashed a bottle of champagne against it. It is believed to be one of the first instances of the drink being used in this way.
"It was a very prestigious warship with a royal name so champagne would have seemed fitting, it's a celebratory drink, but before that it had been the tradition to use [other] wine," says John Graves, curator of ship history at the National Maritime Museum.
Launching a ship has always been accompanied by ceremony. The Babylonians would sacrifice oxen, while the Vikings sacrificed a slave to propitiate their sea god.
Wine became customary in England in the 15th Century when a representative of the king would drink a goblet of wine, sprinkle wine on the deck and then throw the goblet overboard.

The answer

  • Champagne started being used in the late 19th Century
  • It was thought to be more celebratory than wine, which had been traditional previously
"It would have been much cheaper to smash a bottle," Graves adds.
"In the 18th Century the Royal Navy launched so many ships that throwing a silver goblet overboard each time would have become very expensive - so they started using bottles.
"It's quite a clear progression. The red of the wine would have looked a bit like the blood from earlier centuries, and the move to champagne would have been all about the celebration - champagne is the aristocrat of wines."
The Duchess of Cambridge watches a bottle of champagne smash against the Royal Princess shipThe Duchess of Cambridge watches a bottle of champagne smash against the 'Royal Princess' ship
Mrs Leif Egeland, wife of the South African High Commissioner, smashes a bottle against the Intermediate Class liner MV 'Bloemfontein Castle' at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in BelfastMrs Leif Egeland, wife of the South African High Commissioner, breaks a bottle against the Intermediate Class liner MV 'Bloemfontein Castle' at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast
A boy prepares to smash a bottle against his boatThis is probably not champagne
In the US, whiskey has been used in the past - the USS Princeton and the USS Raritan were launched using whiskey in the 1845 and 43.
In 1797 the captain of the frigate USS Constitution broke a bottle of madeira wine to mark her launch, while in 1862, Commodore Charles Stewart christened the New Ironsides in Philadelphia by smashing a bottle of brandy over her bow.
"During prohibition water was used in the US to launch a ship," Graves adds. "It would be water from the sea the vessel was to be launched into."
But champagne is now the drink smashed against most ships - though Graves adds that there may be a better alternative.
"I have been told by many ship builders that cheap cava creates a more spectacular display - it's much bubblier that champagne."
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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Has anyone actually seen Max Atkinson on the BBC website this weekend, i.e. 4th-6th July, 2014? I haven't!!!

Max Atkinson said...

This is getting very worrying. I did an interview on 2nd July 2014 in anticipation of US marking 4th July (?). But it's very difficult to find on the BBC website...

Anonymous said...

I don't know why Max has re-posted this article as he appears to have no connection to it, but he is quoted in this one: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-28106549