This black & white for me is the best picture, it's epic in its setup, incl the sky in the background ...
Gee, say, would the type of 'crucification' the Gallion figurehead sailships usually showed also count?
Generally a female, this brave figure hung there in this very exposed position and still was believed
to guide the ship through every storm and dubious waters - around Cape Hoorn even - and protect
its good fate - a very responsible position.
Oh, yeah, I know: this didn't quite fit to what crucifixion meant; it was an artistic figure, sometimes
even made of copper or brass or bronze and then this was one female for all sailors to climb upfront
and down below the bowsprit and polish her body - usually naked above the hips - until she shines
and sparkles, in spite of her tender body diving into the sea in heavy weather.
If the Gallion figurehead wasn't well cared for, so usually was the entire ship. Some sailors even had
sworn they saw a ship leave harbor and her figurehead was dirty and with signs of rinses running down
over her boobs and down her body (then the ship was in worn paint and generally wanting repair, too)
and a bad feeling befell them regarding the journey, this ship was about to take on ...
... and, make a cross, it was never heard of again. Seems the ocean had taken in this deplorable existence.
Perhaps some guy or some girl would be prepared to make a new session of photos in the position
of such a figurehead - for the moment at anchor, not going through a full storm and heavy sea, sure.
There are ships today, even historical sail ships, that have no figurehead at all, simply because the
belief in its importance has vanished ...
Dom