clipped from: news.bbc.co.uk   
It's bad luck if the bubbly doesn't break when christening a ship, so P&O has recruited the Royal Marines to launch supersize liner Ventura. What are other tricks of the trade?

Last year the Duchess of Cornwall failed to smash a bottle on the side of cruise liner Queen Victoria; later scores of passengers were taken ill with a contagious stomach bug.

To avoid this ill omen, the shipping industry has many tricks to ensure the bubbly breaks.

THE ANSWER
Score the bottle
Choose cava - bigger bubbles
Give bottle a good shake
Pick biggest possible bottle - jeroboam better than magnum
Use stiff rope or wire
X-ray boat to find hardest part of bow - and aim there
Forget about vintage, it's bubble size that counts. "The bigger the bubbles, the higher the pressure inside the bottle, the more likely it is to break on impact. The best option is probably to go for a cheap bottle of cava with big bubbles."