The ancient ceremony of 'Crossing the Line' involves all aboard ship - passengers and crew alike - who are crossing the equator for the first time. One of the ship's company appears as King Neptune and another as Quenn Amphitrite; they, together with various attendants including nymphs and bears, ensure that all novices receive a good ducking to mark their passage acrosss the line of the equator. The earliest published accounts of the ceremony date from the early eighteenth century but it undoubtedly predates this and owes its origins to far more ancient pagan rites.