What's in a name?

[Matthew P]

I've pinched this topic from the venerable Drascombe Association News.  Boats are personal so their names often have interesting origins, reflecting the owner's outlook and background.
 
To kick off with, the reasons for calling my BR20  Gladys are multiple.  Gladius is Latin for sword, (think "gladiator") so as a Bayraider there is a tenuous link, perhaps slightly aggressive, with a weapon. Gladioli flowering plants are named because the shape of their leaves are similar to swords. 

On a friendlier note, Gladys is a girl's name that seems to be associated with Wales and of course Bayraiders are made in Wales.  Gladys seems to me slightly quirky, old fashioned in style and perhaps unusual – not a bad description of a Bayraider.  Most importantly to me, it's in affectionate memory to my Aunty Gladys - who was outwardly quite respectable but I suspect enjoyed quite a lot of fun we were not told about.

Dare you divulge the origin of your boat's name? 

Matthew
BR20 Gladys

[Graham W]

Turaco is the name of our favourite bird when we lived in Nairobi, Kenya, decades ago.  We had a small forest at the bottom of our tiny garden and it would make regular visits to a giant fig tree there.  It has a green body and red wings, as does my Bayraider. 

[Tony]

(Good game, this!)

My father in law named a boat "Amchar", after my daughters, Amy and Charlotte. (Didn't quite work, did it.) Two girls later I named my Cardigan Bay Lugger "Four Sisters" to save accusations of favoritism.  I like the vaguely  'fishing boat' resonance it has. (Like "Three Brothers"?)
A classically minded friend said "Um...Shouldn't it be 'SEVEN Sisters'?" thinking of the Pleiades.
"NO!" said my wife, vehemently, thinking of something else entirely.

[Ape Ears]

My late father was a shipwright by trade and 50 years ago he built a fleet of a dozen 'Gremlin' dinghys for our family and colleagues to sail on a pond at Killingholme gas works. The design was basically a gunter rigged pram dinghy similar to an 'Optimist',and it was the biggest boat in length capable of being built from a single 8ft sheet of marine plywood.

The first two were named 'Gribble' and 'Teredo' as the curse of shipwrights, wood boring crustacea and marine worms. My boat was called 'Numbskulll' with an eponymous figurehead on the prow.

Can anyone guess the etymology of the name of my previous boat, a 'Mirror' dinghy called 'Noidr' after its owner. Is it Welsh?

[Rock Doctor]

I called my BR20 Gryphon after a pub near Brecon where I have had a few brown mineral waters over the years with a distant relative. I used the archaic spelling "Gryphon" rather then "Griffin" (the name of the pub as "Griffin" is a common name in the corporate scene here.

My previous yachts were an early diagonal strip planked Flying 15 "Ushaia" (one of the first six built in WA), another and later Flying 15, a Hobie Cat and a very old Heron "Methuselah". The latter we sailed on salt lakes near Kalgoorlie in the early 1970's after some very heavy summer rains then up north off the Pilbara coast. Have also crewed on OPYs (other people's yachts) including an S&S34 and Viking 30 on offshore and match racing events.

[garethrow]

Nothing so original for me I am afraid.

Gwennol Teifi was the first production model Storm 17 that Swallow Boats made. Living locally and having a passion for West Wales she had to be Called Gwennol Teifi - which is welsh for Teifi Swallow.

Regards

Gareth Rowlands

[Michael Rogers]

I learned to sail in a boat called 'Cambridge District' which my siblings and I thought was  an almost embarrassingly unromantic name. It recorded the fact that she was a retirement present to my grandfather, from his staff in the Cambridge district of the London and North Eastern Railway before WW2. In 1964 I found myself, as a junior doctor at Addenbrookes Hospital, caring for a retired railway porter who remembered my grandfather as 'a real gennlemun' and recalled, as a 14 year old, putting his pennies in the 'hat' which came round for the gift - 'we bought him a boat: fancy that, but that's what he wanted'. Needless to say, he was no-end chuffed (no rather abstruse pun intended) to hear about my connection with the boat in question.

Some years ago, Pete Greenfield thought it would be fun to have a 'Spot the Silly Boat Name' competition in Water Craft, suggesting that anyone, for example, who saw a pink speedboat called 'Twisted Knickers" should write in. He received a very prim letter (which he published) from someone pointing out that boat names are very personal, and how dare PG make fun..... etc etc (the writer was probably right, but he wasn't half pompous about it). PG immediately retracted and apologised, and there was no competition (which I think is probably a shame). I wrote in to point out that 'Cutty Sark' was a more than respectable ship's name AND had just as much to do with ladies' underwear as did 'Twisted Knickers'.

My first Swallowboat (yes, they were called that then, so there) had to have a musical name - that's just me. So she was 'Cadenza'. My Trouper 12 continued that theme, an attractive name to do with music. (For those who don't know, a cavatina is a solo in an opera, shorter than an aria and with an emphasis on melodic beauty.)

Michael R

[steve jones]

I hadn't given a name to any of the boats that I had restored, or built until I was forced to register my Tideway dinghy . The committee asked the question 'What's it called reply- it has no name, again a repeat of the Question - same responce until eventually, exasperated, I called it Nona Me -  satisfaction all 'round!
    On boat names ,Tony has come up with a great name for a boat  Deckie Learner. Trying to find the origin of my Cornish Crabber called Ludwen, I drew a blank . It came from the Isle of Scilly and is neither Cornish or Welsh, there was I think a King Lud any suggestions?

Steve Jones

[Rory C]

My Gobhlan Gaoithe is derived from the Scottish Gaelic word for a swallow but also translates back as "bird of the wind". My son Ben is married to Seonaid a gaelic speaker and I hope that in due course the boat will live up in Stornoway with them. I have to admit that when anyone asks me to spell out the name I quickly resort to BRe 25 which is proudly emblazoned on the sails!
Rory C

[Rock Doctor]

Marginally off topic, Michael Rogers comments regarding "Silly Boat Names" caused me to recollect a couple from the Western Australia yachting scene.

1. WAFWOM - What A F******* Waste Of Money

2. Krakatini - a reference to the days when yacht races or journeys over here were measured in the number of cans of brown mineral water consumed.

Regards to all, we at last have relief from 40 deg C plus days with some tropical rain off a cyclone out NW from here.

[Andy Dingle]

To follow on from Chris's post .. 

http://messingaboutinboats.typepad.com/sailing/2007/10/really-stupid-b.html

Some are quite clever, some funny.. a lot not either!

I quite liked 'Sir Oasis of the River'. 'Bow Movement' made me chuckle..


And what do you do when you want to change the pre-existing name? Sacrifice a bottle of 12 yr old..? Or worse ....!


I liked the use of the word 'Aquamoron' by the author of the above link which again made me chuckle - we've all met one..?!

[Michael Rogers]

Thanks for the link, Andy! Oh dear!

Of those listed, I liked 'Never Again 2': also (as a medic, I suppose) 'Cirrhosis of the River'.

Someone I knew crewed in the Sydney - Hobart race, on a boat owned by a wealthy plastic surgeon and called 'Nip 'n Tuck'.

[Peter Cockerton]

Get more days on the water by naming your boat after "The owners agent" as Rob J puts it.
Never a launch goes by without complementary comments on the looks of the sheer stunning lines of my BR20 so if the "other half" is with me you can imagine how proud she must feel that the boat is named with her nickname from me.
Never did like "pushing rock's uphill"

Peter

BR20 Joybells

[Matthew P]

Good idea Peter to label your boat so as to flatter the "owners agent". 

The worst example I think I have seen was thirty years ago when I saw a large sailing cruiser named "Betty's Fur Coat".  So wrong on so many levels! I cannot imagine Betty was pleased, a horrible name and no doubt excited attention from the Fashion Police and Animal Rights activists. 

Incidentally, after thinking I had chosen an unusual name I discovered Gladys has a widely admired namesake, a grand old lady thames barge called Gladys.  I think this association adds lustre to my humble GRP BR20.

Matthew
BR20 Gladys

[Julian Swindell]

Daisy Grace was simply my mother's name. I think it sounded nice and boaty as well. I built a tender for her that I call Nellie Grace after her sister. Auntie Nell would be furious to know that she was being towed along behind Daisy!
But my favourite boat name was always a mirror dinghy I saw in Ireland which belonged to a keen young sailor called Ruth. She kept falling out of it. She called it Ruthless...