When I got my first tattoo, my grandma was pleased to learn it was not because I went to prison. I worked at the port of Antwerp back in those days, and in a way it was to be expected that an anchor would appear on my forearm sooner or later. For the old generation always associated tattoos with either being a thug or a sailor – unless you once served in the military or survived Auschwitz.

So how did sailors get involved with tattoos and why do they have those cheese ones like anchors, turtles, mermaids etc, appearing all over the globe.

Our story beings with James Cook, the fierce master of the seas, and the first one to chart the unknown waters of Pacific.

One of these journeys took him to then unknown lands of Tahiti, where he learned that what used to be called in Europe as Scaring, Staining, Skin Paint, actually had an indigenous name – Tattaw.

The Samoan word Tattaw means to strike or hammer or knock, and as he described it in his 1773 journal "This operation, which is called by the natives tattaw, leaves an indelible mark on the skin...",

Tattaw is the predecessor of the word tattoo, so we have James Cook for the word as well.

But not just the word. His journals, stories and travels were wildly popular across the globe, in the lands where Royal Navy operated. His soldiers picked up on Polynesian practice of tattawing to mark significant moments and events in life, and as he was a sort of celebrity at the time, especially among his peers, the “Tattaws” became increasingly popular.

As did the meanings behind them.

The Anchor – meant you have sailed across the Atlantic, and achieved the rank of Boatswain. It also symbolized the only solid thing in the life of a sailor and a notion of safety

Harpoon - Meant you were acknowledged member of the fishing fleet.

Ropes around hands mean you were a deckhand

Swallow – This used to be the first tattoo most sailor would get, but later it became sing of sailing over 5.000 miles. It also represents a safe return home, as swallows, just like sailors migrate all the time, but always return to their home base.
Sharks were a symbol of sheer will and courage

Turtles meant you have sailed across the equator and into the south seas, quite a feat back in those days.

Dragons showed you sailed through Asia

Hula Girls told your peers you have made it to Hawaii and back.

Heart, often featuring word like Mum or a name of a girl, were a way to keep loved ones close, while taming the unknown waters from where you may not return.

There are of course many others tattoos sailors went for, but these were some of the most popular and storytelling ones.

However, the biggest boom of sailor themed tattoos happened around the WWII, when an American tattoo artist and Navy skipper Norman Collins – nicknamed Sailor Jerry – established his name and fame in the red light district of Honolulu, Hawaii.

Focusing primarily on these symbolical tattoos, he became increasingly known amongst the soldiers of American Navy. His unique style, level of detail and the fact that he worked with the soldiers out of whom many made it back to USA, started a boom of a somewhat forgotten culture of tattoos, thus establishing what is now known as the Old School.

Sadly, under the government pressure and scrutiny, Jerry gave up tattooing in 1950s, leaving his legacy to two other prominent tattoo figures of today - Ed Hardy and Mike Malone.