# RE: Are ships captains allowed to marry people at sea? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [July 8, 2011, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-are-ships-captains-allowed-to-marry-people-at-sea/588307 "2011-07-08T13:59:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Geedavey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f6c823/32.png) [@Geedavey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geedavey)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2011, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-are-ships-captains-allowed-to-marry-people-at-sea/588307/1 "2011-07-08T13:59:15Z")
> **[Are ships’ captains allowed to marry people at sea?](https://www.straightdope.com/21341721/are-ships-captains-allowed-to-marry-people-at-sea)** No doubt the myth’s credibility was greatly enhanced by the famous marriage scene in John Houston’s blockbuster movie _ **The African Queen** _ starring Humphrey Bogart and Audrey Hepburn, featuring a scene where the Nazi ship’s captain utters that immortal line, “I now pronounce you man and wife. Proceed with the execution!” ---
**Author:** ![John\_W.Kennedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_w.kennedy/32/1031_2.png) [@John\_W.Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_W.Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2011, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-are-ships-captains-allowed-to-marry-people-at-sea/588307/2 "2011-07-08T21:05:23Z")
> [@Geedavey](#): > > …_ **The African Queen** _ starring Humphrey Bogart and Audrey Hepburn… Oh dear God! ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2011, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-are-ships-captains-allowed-to-marry-people-at-sea/588307/3 "2011-07-08T21:57:53Z")
> [@Geedavey](#): > > [Are ships’ captains allowed to marry people at sea? - The Straight Dope](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/546/are-ships-captains-allowed-to-marry-people-at-sea) > > No doubt the myth’s credibility was greatly enhanced by the famous marriage scene in John Houston’s blockbuster movie _ **The African Queen** _ starring Humphrey Bogart and Audrey Hepburn, featuring a scene where the Nazi ship’s captain utters that immortal line, “I now pronounce you man and wife. Proceed with the execution!” > [@John\_W.Kennedy](#): > > Oh dear God! What John is implying here, is that you are obviously very young and have conflated Audrey Hepburn, a great actress in her own right, with Katherine Hepburn,another very good actress. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2011, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-are-ships-captains-allowed-to-marry-people-at-sea/588307/4 "2011-07-08T22:28:48Z")
Not to mention, that Nazi captain was politically way ahead of his time. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2011, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-are-ships-captains-allowed-to-marry-people-at-sea/588307/5 "2011-07-09T02:07:46Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > What John is implying here, is that you are obviously very young and have conflated Audrey Hepburn, a great actress in her own right, with Katherine Hepburn,another very good actress. Kate Hepburn is a “very good actress”??? Hmpfh. You’ve undervalued her, **sam**. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2011, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-are-ships-captains-allowed-to-marry-people-at-sea/588307/6 "2011-07-11T17:47:01Z")
Both Capts. James T. Kirk (“Balance of Terror”) and Jean-Luc Picard (“Data’s Day”) thought they could marry people, and that’s good enough for me, dammit! > **[Married at Sea - TV Tropes](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MarriedAtSea)** > > So you're in a rush to get married, only you don't want to go through the hassle of standing in line for a marriage license, getting a blood test, and blowing thousands of dollars on an elaborate ceremony. What do you do? Well, you simply hire … ---
**Author:** ![Coralee\_s\_Papa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Coralee\_s\_Papa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coralee_s_Papa)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2011, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-are-ships-captains-allowed-to-marry-people-at-sea/588307/7 "2011-07-12T01:35:16Z")
There’s also a very satisfying shipboard wedding in Patrick O’Brian’s novel _The Surgeon’s Mate_. William Babbington, having been trained by Jack Aubrey himself in the duties and privileges of a ship’s master in His Majesty’s Navy, performs the ceremony after a brief reference to the regulation manual. I’m shocked to learn that this is all–gasp–fiction. (This is only partly a joke. I thought that O’Brian researched his stuff very thoroughly. Apparently the historical novelist was more novelist than historian.) ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2011, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-are-ships-captains-allowed-to-marry-people-at-sea/588307/8 "2011-07-12T01:48:31Z")
What was the deal with the ape? “And it is offering itself to Babbington.” I’m not sure that he is to be trusted. Was he studying the Hindi phrasebook, “Woman, wilt thou lie with me?” and Jack took his money away went he sent him shore so that he couldn’t visit a house of ill repute? ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2011, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-are-ships-captains-allowed-to-marry-people-at-sea/588307/9 "2011-07-12T03:02:30Z")
> [@Geedavey](#): > > … featuring a scene where the Nazi ship’s captain utters that immortal line, “I now pronounce you man and wife. Proceed with the execution!” > [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > Not to mention, that Nazi captain was politically way ahead of his time. I assume that **Herr Fudd** noticed that the captain wasn’t a Nazi. The film was set in 1914. > [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](#): > > Kate Hepburn is a “very good actress”??? Hmpfh. You’ve undervalued her, **sam**. Oh, sure. Sounds like something _you’d_ say. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2011, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-are-ships-captains-allowed-to-marry-people-at-sea/588307/10 "2011-07-12T03:13:53Z")
My favorite line is in the morning she says not “Mr. Allnutt”, but, “Ah…Dear, what did you say your first name was?” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2011, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-are-ships-captains-allowed-to-marry-people-at-sea/588307/11 "2011-07-12T14:19:36Z")
From the column: > [@](#): > > It’s a plaque I’ve seen on at least half a dozen vessels (mostly sailboats, for obvious reasons to anyone who already understands). But what about us who don’t already understand? Why “mostly sailboats”? ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2011, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-are-ships-captains-allowed-to-marry-people-at-sea/588307/12 "2011-07-14T11:15:42Z")
Not to mention Captain Steubing, who performed numerous marriages on “The Love Boat.” All this proves, of course, is that the writers for that show, like millions of other people, WRONGLY believed ship captains have that power. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2011, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-are-ships-captains-allowed-to-marry-people-at-sea/588307/13 "2011-07-14T13:01:32Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Not to mention Captain Steubing, who performed numerous marriages on “The Love Boat.” > > All this proves, of course, is that the writers for that show, like millions of other people, WRONGLY believed ship captains have that power. We don’t know what flag the Love Boat sailed under - from Cecil’s followup response: > [@Cecil](#): > > That is, unless the captain had been granted the right under the laws of a foreign country, in which case recognition would be granted as a matter of course. So, in theory, the good Captain could marry folks. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2011, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-are-ships-captains-allowed-to-marry-people-at-sea/588307/14 "2011-07-14T14:03:43Z")
> [@Folacin](#): > > We don’t know what flag the Love Boat sailed under - from Cecil’s followup response: > > So, in theory, the good Captain could marry folks. I guess we need to check Liberian law! ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2011, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-are-ships-captains-allowed-to-marry-people-at-sea/588307/15 "2011-07-14T14:58:15Z")
I thought it was a Mongolian-flagged cruise ship. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2011, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-are-ships-captains-allowed-to-marry-people-at-sea/588307/16 "2011-07-14T15:22:47Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > I thought it was a Mongolian-flagged cruise ship. My memory is suspect, but I thought most cruise ships are registered in Liberia. ---
**Author:** ![John\_W.Kennedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_w.kennedy/32/1031_2.png) [@John\_W.Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_W.Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2011, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-are-ships-captains-allowed-to-marry-people-at-sea/588307/17 "2011-07-14T17:56:16Z")
Captain Stuebing is fictional, but the _MS Pacific Princess_ was a real ship (it still is, but is now known as _MS Pacific_, with a new ship bearing the _MS Pacific Princess_ name), and, during the entire _Love Boat_ era, its port of registry was London. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2011, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-are-ships-captains-allowed-to-marry-people-at-sea/588307/18 "2011-07-14T18:09:24Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > I thought it was a Mongolian-flagged cruise ship. > [@astorian](#): > > My memory is suspect, but I thought most cruise ships are registered in Liberia. I think Elendil’s Heir was joking by suggesting that a ship could be registered in a land-locked country. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2011, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-are-ships-captains-allowed-to-marry-people-at-sea/588307/19 "2011-07-14T20:14:14Z")
Quite. ---
**Author:** ![Geedavey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f6c823/32.png) [@Geedavey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geedavey)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-are-ships-captains-allowed-to-marry-people-at-sea/588307/20 "2011-07-15T19:33:45Z")
Dang, Katherine Hepburn it is. And I’m old enough to know the difference. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-are-ships-captains-allowed-to-marry-people-at-sea/588307.md?page=2)