Sailboat names

[CassidyNZ]

Originally Posted by MicHughV

yep, gotta be able to pronounce and spell the name.....

I remember a South African race boat that was named " Dabulamanzi"...it's a Zulu word for " cleaver of the waters"....cool name, but try spelling that to the Coast Guard....

You gotta pick a name that is easily said, easily understood, and easy to spell...a single name is best....forget about the "Betsy Sue" stuff...and other multi word names....

Actually “dabula” in Zulu means “shoot” and “amanzi” means water, the logical translation would be “shoot through the water”. I remember that boat in Durban, I recall it being a 36ft Miller & Whitworth, quite a successful campaigner.

Another similar Zulu name at that time in the same club was “Shayamoya” which translates to “hit the wind”.

Many years ago when I was new to named boats, a sailing friend said to me to be careful of choosing names that are difficult to phonetically spell and cited a bad choice as being something like “Spirit of Philadelphia”

[JPA Cate]

Just a little PS, here. I remember, in high school (more years ago than I can conveniently count) we had to read a poem called The Chambered Nautilus.

Now, many years later, having collected both regular and paper nautilus shells (all gone, now, to breakage: the paper ones are very fragile), I googled the poem, and re-read it with the background of so many years' sailing, some in nautilus waters.

Here's a link to it. Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., never saw a live one. Somehow, it makes me fee very grateful..... It was his imagination, and I've been to those coral reefs. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poe...bered-nautilus

Ann

[DMF Sailing]

Originally Posted by StuM

I'm quite fond of Dilligaf

You'd want that one on a speedboat that buzzes kayakers

Or a Moody 42 that blows through a dinghy race

[dokondr]

Originally Posted by TrentePieds

Hm... Nautilus is not very imaginative let alone unique in my opinion. But so what?

Since you are talking about an Albin you might think about a name that is common in Scandinavian waters: Örnen (Eagle), or even as rendered in English, particularly in Scottish English: Ern.

Simple, easy to remember, not easily mis-heard or understood on the radio.

TrentePieds

Good name, thanks. Yet if going for a bird name I would rather choose a name of a small, cheerful bird for Albin Ballad. :-)

[ChrisJHC]

What about “Love Me”?

Then your dinghy would be called “Love Me Tender”!

[LittleWing77]

Originally Posted by dokondr

Too long for a name :-)

Yes! Imagine trying to spell that to the Coast Guard in phonetics in an emergency....!
(That's always my test)

Nautilus have beautiful shells. Just because Jules Verne took it for a submarine name doesn't mean, in my humble opinion, that you couldn't take it for your sailboat's name. It's a rather cool name, don'cha think?

Since they're native to the South Pacific (I found one on a beach in Vanuatu once), maybe if you name your boat "Nautilus", it means that you will be drawn to travel to the South Pacific!

Warmly,
LittleWing77

[MicHughV]

speaking about Dabulamanzi, I've just read where the "new" guv'mint of South Africa wants to rename the town of "Port Elizabeth" on the east coast to "Gqeberha"....I won't even try to pronounce it.......

Speaking of shells, I can't remember the year anymore, but Disney wanted to bring a cruise ship into the Abaco Islands, in the B'mas. To this end, they blasted a new deep water channel adjacent to Great Guana Cay. The spoil from the dredging operation was dumped nearby, forming another island. The locals called it " shell island" as the dredging operation was unearthing a mother lode of shells in pristine condition. To this day, I have some in my shell collection, having had the good fortune to be amongst the first to pick thru' them, but my prize shell is a Large Red Bullmouth Helmet Cameo Conch Shell in pristine condition, and I mean spotless, that I found by pure luck, while diving for some lobster. I've often seen these, but not in the totally spotless condition I have.

I've taken to start painting shells on canvas now as a hobby...shells and marine life...gotta do something while C-19 does it's thing. Havn't tackled a chambered nautilus yet....but it's in line...

[MicHughV]

btw....that's a very good poem....excellent !!!

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by MicHughV

speaking about Dabulamanzi, I've just read where the "new" guv'mint of South Africa wants to rename the town of "Port Elizabeth" on the east coast to "Gqeberha"....I won't even try to pronounce it...

Gqeberha: Can you pronounce Port Elizabeth’s new name?
The "Gqe" is a tongue click, "bear" for "be" and adding a guttural "g" before the ha: "Click bear gha."
➥

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJLmPSdNh-k

[MicHughV]

that's funny....my efforts to pronounce it would be equally hilarious.......I've always known "Port Elizabeth" to be known as "PE"...Pee-Eee...that's how the locals say it......who dreams this stuff up ??? Seriously ??

[Bill Seal]

They can spell or pronounce it any damn way they want, but Napoli, Livorno, Wein, Ateni, Rodos and hundreds of others are spelled and pronounced differently in English than they are in their native language.

[MicHughV]

South Africa has 11 " official" languages....11.....plus several dialects, no telling where this will go..
Wonder if they'll mess with the name " Cape Town"...also known as "Kaapstad" in the Afrikaans language....
I can see where this headed...

"oy, where are you from ?"
"I'm from QVX125.....y'know, the suburb of XyLapatia, just outside Gqeberha...."
"oh sure..that place...."

[dokondr]

Originally Posted by LittleWing77

Yes! Imagine trying to spell that to the Coast Guard in phonetics in an emergency....!
(That's always my test)

Nautilus have beautiful shells. Just because Jules Verne took it for a submarine name doesn't mean, in my humble opinion, that you couldn't take it for your sailboat's name. It's a rather cool name, don'cha think?

Since they're native to the South Pacific (I found one on a beach in Vanuatu once), maybe if you name your boat "Nautilus", it means that you will be drawn to travel to the South Pacific!

Warmly,
LittleWing77

Thanks for your inspiration, makes sense! :-)
I am also thinking to name a boat Jini after my dog Jin.
For 12 years I was sailing with Jin on different charter boats. Now, it is three years already, that he is gone and I miss him. My true friend and mate, Jin got his name after one of the fabled genii, a good spirit. Never let me down… When he was alive, out of some superstition I can not explain, I have never published his photos online. Now I can.
Couldn’t find so far Jini boats, which is good. Simple name and easy to put on air: Juliet, India, November, India.
What do you think?

[CassidyNZ]

Originally Posted by dokondr

Thanks for your inspiration, makes sense! :-)
I am also thinking to name a boat Jini after my dog Jin.
For 12 years I was sailing with Jin on different charter boats. Now, it is three years already, that he is gone and I miss him. My true friend and mate, Jin got his name after one of the fabled genii, a good spirit. Never let me down… When he was alive, out of some superstition I can not explain, I have never published his photos online. Now I can.
Couldn’t find so far Jini boats, which is good. Simple name and easy to put on air: Juliet, India, November, India.
What do you think?

Fits all my criteria - short, easily spelled, has meaning for you, easy to pronounce by anybody, fits easily on even the smallest boat real estate. What’s not to like?

[Joh.Ghurt]

The name is nice, it passes the Coast Guard test and it isn't a stupid name with a corny pun. The latter brings severe bad luck to you and everyone abiding your actions.

There are rumours that boats with puns as their name attract jet-ski-hooligans in anchorages, debris in seawater-pumps and cockroaches. And who would like to take that risk?