Interestingly, Lloyd's of London made waves in 2002 when it officially dropped the "she" convention, switching to gender-neutral language in all shipping documents. The Royal Navy followed not long after. Most actual sailors ignored the memo and kept right on saying "she," because traditions at sea tend to outlast bureaucratic decision making.

Now I pride myself on being a rational person.  I’m a card-carrying atheist, and I’m more than happy to walk under ladders… but I don’t like to leave on a big sailing trip on a Friday, and the sight of those bananas engender a small, sharp intake of breath!