05 March 2007

A Boat With No Name

You see I've been through the ocean on a boat with no name
It felt good to be out of the rain
In the ocean you can remember your name
cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain
La, la ...

- with apologies to America and Neil Young since everyone thought it was his song anyway

The deed has been done, I now have a Boat with No Name. I performed the de-naming ceremony on Saturday. I now have to wait some time until the lingering old name juju wears off and I have the appropriate weather to place the new name on the transom.

I did a few things right by the book....I read the ceremony loudly and officially. I was on the boat at the time. All traces of the old name are off the boat. And I didn't pay attention to my 18 month old son poking around in open lazarettes with dangerous crap in them. I even wore an official Polka Dot Racing Tee Shirt (last season's) to let Ol' Man Neptune that I care about this boat.
ceremony


I did one thing off the books, I didn't use champagne. Not out of cheapness but out of concern for our mighty Sea God. If you think about how many new boats are commissioned every year, how many boats change names, and then factor in how often drunks spill their alcohol....that's a lot of Fermented Juice in our Oceans. Besides, I don't really drink and I'd hate for Neptune (and worse yet Aeolus) to think of me as a hypocrite.

So, I didn't spare on the bottled water:
libations

I poured some off the stern, some on the bow, and some down the ol' hatch. That 1 Liter Mountain Spring Water got spread around. On that boat I own, the one With No Name.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nordstrom was a simple man
Who had some non-conformist plan
To save his ass

Every night he danced alone
And blotted out the monotone
That was his past

He packs his bag of mysteries
And leaves the lonely memories
Where they belong

They came and went so easily
This rising tide identity
Sings like a song
Lets sing

Lage nom ai nom ai
When you know that life is just a game
Lage nom ai nom ai (oh!)
He's the man who gave up his own name

In the roll of the cosmic dice
You win one heart and lose it twice
Before you know

Love is fine until you taste
This melancholy bouillabaisse
Called letting go

Lage nom ai nom ai
When you know that life is just a game
Lage nom ai nom ai (hey!)
He's the man who gave up his own name

He moved on up to old beantown
And summered on the vineyard sound
To pass the day (day ay ay oh)

Island hopping crab key bound
Tendin bar he thinks hes found
A better way (ay ay ay oh)

Now were back where we belong
Without a clue and still without
A master plan (ay ay ay oh)

Incident or accident
It all depends on if youre meant
To understand (ay ay ay oh)

Lage nom ai nom ai
When you know that life is just a game
Lage nom ai nom ai
He's the man who gave up his own name
He's the man who gave up his own name

EVK4 said...

I am officially speechless.

"Raps" said...

It is good to see tradition hasn't been lost with our sailor whippersnappers!!! Good Show EV! I can't wait to see the new name on your big blue something!

Not sure that came out right....

Anonymous said...

sailing hasn't been left out of the blogosphere. First-hand, immediate, written accounts of life at sea

check out
www.yachtscharter.org/sailing/

Bruce and Jan Smith said...

I know this is sort of off-topic, but did you see the news story last week about the two American cruisers who rescued some Haitian migrants after their boat had caught fire and blown up at sea? Bruce and Jan Smith are the two Americans! They tell the story of the tragic event and emotional rescue on their blog at www.brucesmithsvoyage.com, including some photos.

It’s really an amazing and heroic story we thought you’d find interesting, especially as a fellow sailing enthusiast. It also ponders a question every cruiser has probably thought about at one time or another … with the threat of piracy and other dangers when sailing miles offshore, would you risk your own safety to save someone else? The Smiths’ story provides food for thought.

Posted by Mike Bernstein of Bahama Breeze for Bruce and Jan Smith, who are currently anchored off Santa Barbera De Samana, Dominican Republic.

Brendhan said...

Dude-spam really sucks. You had a whole moment there prior to Bruce Smith taking us off topic.