title: Don't Shoot the Albatross!: Nautical Myths and Superstitions
author:  Jonathan Eyers 
description: Jonathan Eyers last went to sea on a Friday in a boat with thirteen letters to its name and women on the passenger list, but he somehow managed to survive. He is the author of <i>How to Snog a Hagfish!: Disgusting Things in the Sea</i> and <i>Final Voyage: The World's Worst Maritime Disasters</i>, both published by Adlard Coles Nautical, and the children's novel <i>The Thieves of Pudding Lane</i> (Bloomsbury).
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  WEATHER
  
  
  We were at one-quarter of the speed of light, outbound from Shiva-Parvati with
  a hold full of refugees, when the Cockatrice caught up with us. She commenced
  her engagement at a distance of one light-second, seeking to disable us with
  long-range weapons before effecting a boarding operation. Captain Van Ness did
  his best to protect the Petronel, but we were a lightly armoured ship and Van
  Ness did not wish to endanger his passengers by provoking a damaging
  retaliation from the pirates. As coldly calculated as it might appear, Van
  Ness knew that it would be better for the sleepers to be taken by another ship
  than suffer a purposeless death in interstellar space.
  
  
  As shipmaster, it was my duty to give Captain Van Ness the widest choice of
  options. When it became clear that the Cocka