NSC - Boat Name, what's your story?
What made you choose the name of your boat? If you changed the name of your boat, did you follow a ritual? If you kept the name when you bought the boat, why? Did you like it? Was it because it's unlucky to change a name? If you'd like to tell us the story behind your boat name, please email us at nsc-boatname (at nsc.ca) with the name of your boat, your name, and your story. We'll publish the stories regularly in the Newsletter and post them on this page.
Dominique Benoît and Daniel Servranckx of "Anemos"
Provided by Ron Pruvis
The "2005 Top Ten List of Most Popular Boat Names" is as follows:- Seas The Day
- Aquaholic
- Island Time
- Dragonfly
- Pura Vida
- Encore
- Black Pearl
- Destiny
- Serenity Now
- License to Chill
Take the old name off the boat. Gather friends. You will need enough glasses for each person present, plus one. You will need two rounds of drinks for each person present, plus one.
Take the boat out of the harbour and clear of the entrance. Stop. Go into reverse. You can do this by motor, it is classier to do it by sail. Pour the first round of drinks. The boat owner holds a glass in each hand. One drink is the first drink poured from the bottle. As the boat backs up, the owner makes a small speach thanking the gods of wind and water for their kindness to <old name of boat>. All present drink a toast to <old name of boat>. The owner throws the first drink (downwind) into the wind and water, and down the contents of the other glass.
Now put the boat into forward and pour the second round. The boat owner asks the gods of wind and water to be kind to <new name of boat>. All toast <new name of boat>, and the owner tosses the first drink (downwind) to the gods of wind and water.
Now you have the permission of the gods of wind and water to change the name, but it is more easily done ashore, esp. after 2 drinks. If you are using peel and stick letters, wet the surface first with soapy water -- this allows a little leeway in adjusting before it sticks. Peel and stick can be removed with a hair dryer or heat gun.
Of course, this is only superstition. And people used to think it was bad luck to have a woman on board, where as today we all know it is bad luck not to!
By Dominique Benoît and Daniel Servranckx
In August 99, we bought our first keelboat, a Tanzer 7.5. Although she already had a name, "Ecstasy", we wanted to make her all our own by giving her a brand new one. We never realized how difficult it would be. Do we go for clever? For a play on words? For some obscure personal meaning? Easy pronunciation? My "sweetheart" name?
Months later, we finally decided on her name while looking for the meaning of
anemometer, the instrument that measures the wind direction and strength, from the
ancient Greek word which is the root for "wind" and "soul": "Anemos". A
perfect match for a boat that seems to come alive with the wind.
Published in the Sep 2000 issue of the NSC Telltale.
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By Neil Moores
Upon returning from the trip to the USA where in we had gone to purchase our sailboat our neighbour who was standing on his C&C 27 which was on his trailer in his front garden yelled out to us, "Did you buy a boat or a "bath toy".
He was aware that we were looking at the newer Hunter water ballasted version and an older conventional fixed keel boat.
Not being convinced that water ballast was a sound theory he considered the Hunter to be a Bath Toy.
The boat was christened the next day.
The boat "Bath Toy" is a 1993 Hunter 23.5 Water ballasted sailboat.
Published on 28 Aug 2002.
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By Michael Cooke for Murray & Joyce Fielding
The way I heard the history when I had the boat:
Black Magic is the registered Black Magic of Canada. Alongside the registered schooner Bluenose there used to be a registered schooner Black Magic. The owning family also owned a Vancouver 27 named Black Magic II (which is now on the Ottawa River out of Aylmer).
Black Magic eventually de-commissioned (sank or something) and so the name came available.
The owning family intended to transfer it to Black Magic II but were slow off the mark. The first owner of the current Black Magic (C&C27- III) registered his boat and applied for three names (Phantom, Wraith/Ghost/??? and Black Magic in that order) and Black Magic had just come free - and so it was.
At the same time other C&C owners grabbed the names Magic (C&C 29 now at
BYC) and White Magic (C&C 29 brochure??).
To be published in a future issue of the NSC Telltale.
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By Stanley Bradshaw
Corker started her life in 1977 in Toronto out of Port Credit Yacht Club in the capable hands of Ian Smith and sons. Ian, a construction engineer, a devout and accomplished racer, like many a true Torontonian has a smack of ex-patriot Brit lurking somewhere in his past. She was bought to race, did and, from all accounts, won many races: hence I suspect the name Corker as something fine and splendid and worthy of note.
The word Corker has several meanings one of which is: Something that closes a discussion ... a meaning that can certainly describe she who so decisively wins her races as she leaves no room for argument by her competitors, or the other side of closing a discussion is a monstrous lie which, when in the hands of her present master could also belie her true pedigree - for a racer he is not...
Under the command of her former master she undoubtedly fulfilled the promise of her name. However, under the helm of her second, and present master she, like a dowager empress, sails into her gentler years happy in the knowledge that here in the beautiful waters of the Northern paradise she can reflect in the certain knowledge of knowing where she is not!
She's a fine lady, full of grace with just a hint of her past, ready to show her transom to all comers given the right (wo)man at her helm ...
May she continue to sail majestically for many years...
Published in the Feb 2001 issue of the NSC Telltale.
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By Steve Lane
Our boat is "Fool's Gold", formerly known as "Spreadeagle".
In fact, the old boat has had her share of names.
Some 20 years ago, when John Thompson (of our club) used to see her sailing on the St. Lawrence, it was called "Malbec". I don't know whether that was a combination of names, such as Malcolm & Becky, or whether it was some sort of reference to her rather vertical bow that may have seemed like a poorly-shaped beak. In any event, the next owner came from Newfoundland where he had a cottage in a community called "Spreadeagle". When he moved to landlocked central Canada, he bought a boat and named her after his former community.
We had no sooner bought the boat, than Linda and our daughters began to exert considerable pressure for a name change... but how could I do that to my dear friend's memory. I tried to argue that it had a nice ring to it. I even told them to be thankful that Bobby hadn't come from the community further down the Bay... which was called "Dildo".
Alas, I was fighting a losing battle; especially when we realized that the other boats that had come into the harbour onto med moorings (later than we had) had all been moved to finger docks, yet there had been absolutely no suggestion from the MAC chairman that we might want to move Spreadeagle out of mooring number 69 on C-dock. Although there is a rumor that when his wife saw our plea for a mooring change, and why, she told him (in no uncertain terms) to comply.
One morning, Linda awoke and told me that the perfect name had come to her in her sleep. Innocently, I asked what that might be. Fool's Gold she said with a sly grin... it's got a lot of gold coloring on the decks and topsides... and it's yours! I thought about it for a minute (trying to avoid the obvious) and said I thought Fool's Gold was indeed the perfect name. However, the image I had in mind was the gold colored mineral, iron pyrite, that is often mistaken for real gold, because I thought about the cost figures that pop into people's minds when you say you have a sailboat as compared to the real value of ours. Not being overly superstitious, we didn't worry about the "bad luck" aspect, but our good friends Carol and Fran snuck down and glued some coins into the base of the mast... just in case. And, superstition aside, they're still there.
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By Will Moizer
I will always remember driving around a suburban corner in Holland, Michigan and getting my first glimpse of an 8.5 meter catamaran we had driven ten hours to see. ‘Oh wow, he wasn’t lying’ I remember saying; she really was in excellent condition despite being a 20 year old wooden boat. This would be the perfect family boat for us to sail out of NSC, I just knew it. There was one problem though; the name INTENSE emblazoned in 12” letters down each side. It turns out the boat was named by the builder’s ex-wife, and as a result he was none too attached to it and thought my suggested name of ‘Bagheera’ (after the Jungle Book black panther) was nice, although thinking back I suspect he was just being diplomatic. “Wait ‘til you sheet in the main for the first time man, it’s gonna blow your mind”. Now this, I soon found out was no gold-toothed sales pitch, and the first sail in over 15 knots of wind had us all in agreement: “That was totally INTENSE!” So the name stuck, but only when the wind blows, so we have two names for our big Cat, the gentle and accommodating ‘Bagheera’ which we do privately call her by when lazing about, and of course ‘INTENSE’, for all the other times that leave me exhausted from the adrenaline rush and my young crew unimpressed from being fire-hosed off the front trampoline!
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By Jonathan Watson
I am not actually a member of the club, but I visit on a regular basis and of
course advertise in Tell Tale. I am fascinated in the Tell Tale to see the history
of boat names and thought the story of Janet might be fun.
Janet is a 33 ft. Victorian sailing gaff cutter built by William Roberts in 1899 in Chester, England.
The building was commissioned by W.R. Reade and Billy McCulluch who were intrepid Victorian climbers and wrote regularly in climbing journals. One of the climbs they opened up in Snowdonia, Wales, was the Devil's Kitchen or in Gaelic "Twll Du" (pronounced "Toolk Dee").
The pair had a mutual maiden aunt who was mortified that they had not named the vessel after her. "Twll Du' remained "Twll Du" until 1910 when the maiden aunt lay on her death bed. The pair were summoned and in the presence of her lawyer she stated that unless they changed her name of the boat to Janet, they would be cut out of her will.
The name of the vessel was immediately changed to Janet and has remained so for the last 91 years.
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By Andy and Avril Gemmell
We think your idea of stories about boat naming is great, and we still get a chuckle when we think of the process we went through to name the "Ladybird". She's a Siren.
When we started to think of a name (she had previously been nameless), we first thought of the origin of "Siren" and recalled from the a ncient depths ofour schooling that Sirens were mythical creatures mentioned in Homer's Odyssey. We recalled they were reputedly beautiful and made wonderful music. Sounds just like a sailboat!
When consulted our favourite dictionary, we found that a Siren is, among others things:
| "[...] 2) Greek and Latin myth. One of several fabulous monsters, part woman, part bird who were supposed to lure sailors to destruction by their enchanting singing. Late ME." |
We have long liked those cute little bugs that are so helpful around the home at keeping plants and flowers free of aphids: ladybirds.
Somehow it seemed reasonable to name our new boat after its mythological antecedents as well as those helpful bugs. Part Lady, Part Bird hence:
"Ladybird", Nepean for the NSC. And its symbol is a ladybird.
Published in the Oct 2000 issue of the NSC Telltale.
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By Carla & Scott Parla
When we purchased our 1986 32' Chris Craft Stinger in Las Vegas, 1999, it had no name.
We were forced to give it a name because we had financed the boat, which meant that we had to have it registered with the U.S. Coast Guard because of its size and financial rules.
We had a great deal of input from our friends and family for about 3 weeks. Some of the discussions yielded some very funny, raunchy, and clever names.
We did not want a common boat name. So, we finally decided on "Lands End". Because, to us, it meant, "where the land ends, life begins". And since we've named it, I've seen ads in boating magazines that duplicate this idea.
Carla & Scott
Las Vegas, Nevada
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By Ross Smith
In August 1993, my wife Maureen was diagnosed with a brain tumour. Fortunately, it was believed to be benign and slow growing. Unfortunately, it was in an very difficult location.
Most of the neurosurgeons we consulted, in Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto, agreed that surgery was extremely risky. Radiation and Chemo therapy had not proven to be effect for this type of tumour.
One of Maureen's biggest fears was losing her memory. She decided that the best approach was to monitor the tumour closely, and to make the best of life. Sailing became a major part of our life. We started with the RA club, sailing Albacores. Then, in August 1995 we came across a handsome little Catalina Capri 18, and to our surprise... we bought it. Before the deal was done, Maureen had chosen the name: Making Memories.
During a 13 month period, from November 1998 to November 1999, Maureen battled through more than 60 hours of surgery, at St. Michael's hospital in Toronto. There were serious complications, but she fought through it all with a strength and determination we had not seen before.
Today, she is doing very well. She still has her old memories and she is still making new ones.
In our family, she is known by the nickname "Moe". The Senators' jersey our kids gave her for her 50th birthday bears the name "Mity Moe". Her car license plate "MOE TUF". She is an incredible lady and we are so proud of her.
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By Steve Mammel
My first boat was a 1966 Lightning, 19.5 ft long, which I completely rebuilt, re-sanded, re-painted, sailed, and loved.
Typical old boat financing in that I spent $300 to purchase her and $1500 and 1000 hours working on her.
Her original name, uncovered beneath 2 layers of paint, was Abraxas, which after a little searching I found to be the ruler of the heavens. I changed it to Marine Mammel, a play on my last name of Mammel. Not bad, but I then had to explain the reasoning to every person that went by.
Only about half knew that Mammel was spelled in a non-traditional way.
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By Michael Cooke
Mistico was a name pulled from a game called Balderdash by our kids since they didn't like any of the choices we had posted on the fridge door for them to select from.
When we researched the word we were quite surprised at the meaning.
In the multi-volume of the Oxford English Dictionary a primary meaning is a
boat with two sails, a word used by the English fleet in the Mediterranean
when fighting Napoleon to describe some of the local boats (first logged in British
Navy records in 1801). Also the word in Spanish means mystical or mystique (not too
far removed from our previous boat's name Black Magic!).
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By Ivan Ross Vrána
In the fall of 2003 I purchased a Contessa 26 that was for sale at the Nepean Sailing Club - this is the first boat that I have owned. When I bought the boat her name was "Morava". I have to confess that I was pleased to find out that original name was still being used. The reason being, that in 1980 when I was ten, my father was the first owner of Morava when she was newly built by JJ Taylor and Sons. I then spent the next ten years sailing Morava with my dad in the great lakes until he sold her (to my great disappointment) in 1990. The gentlemen who bought her, brought Morava up to Nepean and my father told me that as an agreement of sale, he wanted the name removed from the stern which was done . The boat was renamed The Ides of March. The boat was subsequently sold once more and the new owner began to refer to the boat as Morava without knowing the origin of the name. In 2002, I happened to be at Nepean where I recognized the boat and sure enough, in the club directory, the boat was referred to as Morava. As luck would have it, Morava was up for sale in 2003 and I gladly bought her back.
The name comes from the river Morava in the Czech Republic. My father grew up on its banks, and for him, owning a sail boat and sailing it in Canada was one of his dreams - the name of the boat allowed him to have a link back to the place of his birth that he had to unfortunately leave. The first thing I did when I took possession was put back the name on the stern, in big block letters. I am sure that my father, who passed away in 2002, would approve. Having Morava and sailing her in Ottawa (even with the myriad of problems that come from owning a sailboat) has been pure joy since.
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By Nancy Doherty
The name of our 40 ft Mainship Trawler is the Nan Sea D.
My name is, Nancy, last name is Doherty. My husband wanted to name the boat for me, he thought that having the Sea was a clever twist. Our best friends suggested that we add the D which gives a nice ring when referring to the name of the boat. Our first boat was named the Nan Sea D, also.
We have seen another boat with the name Nan sea, but not the D. However, over the weekend we heard a radio call to the Nancy D, and someone other than us responded. We do not know however how they spell the name of their boat.
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By Thomas Furlong
I had been planning to purchase a sailboat for several years before I could afford it.
I grew up on the Atlantic Ocean, in Nfld. and was decended from fishermen, schooner builders and sailors.
When I bought my Niagara 26 in 1999 it was named Pipit and I wanted to rename it after my paternal grandfather's 90 ton fishing schooner "Petrel". It was launched immediately afterpurchase so I had to wait until the spring of 2000 to put the new name on her.
The name originates fromthe storm petrel,a small robin sized, swallow like, sea bird that rarely comes to shore and can sail on the winds for days.
If you want to see a photo of the original Petrel, feel free to drop by "B 51"
during the boating season, when we are around.
Published in the Dec 2000 issue of the NSC Telltale.
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By Barbara Dyer
When we bought "Rascal" the transom said "Pascal".
We spent all winter dreaming up names but did not find any we liked.
In the spring Ray began cleaning the transom -- we knew "Pascal" was coming off, and discovered another leg on the "P". That made it an original "R" -- "Rascal".
We both liked that, so "Rascal" went back onto the transom.
Published on 16 Sep 2002.
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By Roger Petersen
I found your site during a search for the proper etiquette in renaming a boat. I thought I'd pass on my story of naming my first boat.
I was living down Windsor in the mid-90's and my girlfriend and I acquired a 25' MacGregor swing keel at a charity auction in Detroit. It was a steal at 25-hundred dollars. We actually almost had it for 16-hundred dollars, but a man felt bad for the charity and bid against us. Needless to say, we were now the proud owners of "Beautiful Noise".
Both of us agreed that we needed a new name, but were at a loss. I should mention that my girlfriend was American and I lived on the Canadian side. We were back and forth across the border so much that it sometimes felt like there was no border at all. At the same time, I also made regular donations to MSF, Medecin Sans Frontieres or in English, Doctors Without Borders. So all we did was drop the M and our boat became Sans Frontieres, which seemed very appropriate considering how many times that little boat carried us back and forth across Lake ST Clair.
Unfortunately, my girlfriend and I have gone our separate ways and after several more seasons on Lake Ontario, Sans Frontieres and I parted company as I moved up to a Mirage 33 named and still named Iliad. I am now cruising the west coast with her.
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By Kolin Pristanski
I am the proud owner of a Tanzer 7.5, called Seventh K and I often get asked where the name came from.
I bought the boat in 1993 and she was named Maple Sugar, which I think is a nice name but with no personal attachment or significance to myself. I didn't really know enough about how to do a traditional name changing ceremony or ritual, so I never had one, perhaps the Telltale could print some... Seventh K has been very good to me over the years, I don't believe I suffered any ill luck.
Seventh K is named after me. Kolin is spelt with a K, which is very rare, and I am the Seventh of Seven Children all with names starting with K. From oldest to youngest: Kevin, Kim, Kurt, Kal, Kelly, Katha & Kolin.
I couldn't get my wife to change Christine to a Kristine but our daughter's name is Kate and our dog's Koltrane.
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By Bob Stevenson
Many boat names cause a chuckle - some such as Tax Deduction and College Fund are too pecuniary. For my Tanzer 22 purchased in 1997 I wanted something more historical and romantic.
My namesake, Robert Louis Stevenson, was the main character in a fine Australian T.V. production a few years ago. It focussed on his efforts to help the Samoans escape colonial oppression in the 1890s. The series was entitled Tusitala or teller of tales - Samoa's name for the famous Scottish author.
What could be more suitable for my boat: an historical figure, South Sea adventure,
a mecca for sailing, and the quest for freedom.
Published in the Dec 2000 issue of the NSC Telltale.
