This makes me think of a story from my childhood. We went to visit the Soo Locks which are in the UP of Michigan/Canada at Sault Ste. Marie. A ship from Greece got stuck in the lock. As they were waiting for the waters to rise so the ship could be freed the sailors were hanging out on the deck with nothing to do. So they kept repeatedly shouting “hello baby” which sounded like “hello bebe” and waving to all of the women walking by. For some reason my family found this hilarious. We still will jokingly say “hello Bebe!” When we see each other.