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DennisM · 09-06-2014, 07:21

When I bought my boat five years ago, I thought its name, “Plan B” was pretty cool, especially since, for me, Plan A was an airplane.

But with the increasing popularity of - and publicity about - the morning-after birth-control pill named Plan B, the name of my boat became more of a joke over the years. I grew tired of the lame attempts at humor from self-styled dockside comedians. And the pregnant pause on the other end of the phone or radio by someone who had requested my boat name became embarrassing. One can only say so many times, “Don’t look at me, it came with that name,” before changing it becomes a very good idea, despite whatever subaqueous gods may disapprove.

Well, with Coast Guard approval, and after a formal renaming ceremony, my boat is now named after a beautiful and swift African antelope called a Nyala, which my wife and I fell in love with during our trips to southern Africa. Below is a picture of one. You may notice that the coloration is similar to my boat’s paint scheme of black, tan and white.

The name "nyala" is the Swahili name for this antelope, which itself comes from the Zulu "inyala". Its first known use was in 1899. The word has a Bantu origin, similar to the Venda word dzì-nyálà (nyala buck).

**boatman61** · 09-06-2014, 07:34

Excellent choice..

And the superstitions are BS.. had more problems on boats with no name change than on boats I did.. lol

oldragbaggers · 09-06-2014, 08:25

We have changed the name on every single boat we have ever owned, nine in all, and since we have never had a serious accident, never lost a boat, and never been seriously ill or injured aboard, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say it's just superstition and don't worry about it.

(I am, at this very moment looking for something wood to knock on.)

Beautiful name, by the way. It's always much nicer to have a boat name that means something to you personally than to just be stuck with "whatever it came with."

SaltyMonkey · 09-06-2014, 08:30

I was a bucket full of nautical superstitions but now look to break each and everyone of them for the purpose of ridding the seeds of fear.

Except when boaty is sailing.

DennisM · 09-06-2014, 08:49

Thanks for the encouragement and kind words, everyone.

letsgetsailing3 · 09-06-2014, 09:22

I hear nyala is the nickname of the new ED treatment coming out from Pfizer.

Just kidding. It's a great name.

Fair winds and following seas.

DennisM · 09-06-2014, 09:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by letsgetsailing3

I hear nyala is the nickname of the new ED treatment coming out from Pfizer.

LMAO!! My wife and I were joking about the same thing. It would be just my luck.

Thanks for the well wishes.

**a64pilot** · 09-06-2014, 10:40

I changed the name of mine back to it's original name.
PO had named it horse, well Eqqus actually, but my boat is not a horse

**StuM** · 09-06-2014, 16:14

Should have used the correct font on the transom though

Nyala Font - FontZone.net

**capngeo** · 09-06-2014, 17:03

Man... ALWAYS do the de-naming/re-naming ceremony!
I have to go toss salt over my shoulder, rub a penny, turn a horseshoe up, pick a clover, and knock wood every time I cast off

P.S. anyone interested in buying their own bridge over the intracoastal? I have one for sale.

clownfishsydney · 09-06-2014, 23:15

We have just taken ownership today of a new yacht called Pieces of Eight. However, we propose to change her name to something (which we have already worked out) to better reflect us and our plans for the future. We will have a renaming ceremony, does not hurt to do it and is a good excuse for a party.