Where did the idea come from that a ships captain could perform a wedding ceremony?
A ship’s captain is THE LAW aboard his own vessel until it returns to port. As such, he serves as Justice of the Peace and, yes, he can still perform marriages. These are done under the laws of the country where the ship is registered. I believe getting married at sea actually stemmed from the cruise ship industry although some marriages might have taken place on immigrant ships sailing from the old world to the new. Keep in mind that the Mayflower (no marriages) took over two months to reach the Americas. The fastest sailing ship did the trans Atlantic crossing in 12 days 6 hours (The James Baines built by Donald McKay) in a record that still stands today. As you can tell by comparing voyage times, there wasn’t that much time at sea and there was no real reason to perform a wedding at sea. It’s a tourist thing. Burials were a totally different matter and the captain had the authority to perform those out of necessity.
