A number of symbols of bad luck, from broken mirrors and lodestones to cut sails and broken chains, are first loaded into the ship to be sacrificed, check.<br/><br/>Then, certain plants and herbs representative of a number of fates, both good and bad, are strewn about the insides of the ship. Also check.<br/><br/>The masthead, if the ship had one, is torn off, and then the moorings are undone, so as to allow the ship to drift aimlessly on the waves while Thunder makes her speech.<br/><br/>And then once it was done, a great display of pyrotechnical power would ensue, the ship would burn, and the celebration would begin in earnest.