[Rhodes22-list] Splash "Red Rover"

[Steve Alm]

Doug,

Here's some info on changing the name on you boat that you might find
(A) Helpful
(B) Useless
(C) Humorous and whimsical
(D) Long-winded and boring
(E) None of the above

We did this as prescribed, sort of, and so far we have not been struck by
lightening, cannon balls, other vessels or any other forms of malfeasance
attributed to the bad luck or curse on those who dare to change the name of
their boats.  It's important to note there are two distinctly separate
ceremonies here.  One is to say goodbye to the old name and the other to
christen the boat under the new.

Good luck!
Slim
S/V Fandango, formerly...umm, I shan't mention it.

http://www.pocketcruisers.com/art_rename.html

How To Commission A New (To You) Sailboat
In Fifteen Easy Steps
(or, at least, how we did it)
1. Buy boat
2. Get boat hauled to where you can work on it.
3. Get boat spiffed up and ready for "inspection"
4. Eradicate all traces of boat's former name.
5. Choose new name (if you're married, do this in a manner which avoids
domestic discord).
6. Affix new name to vessel according to local custom, lore, and yarn.
7. Festoon boat with appropriate bunting, flags, memorabilia, etc.
8. Settle on a script for the ceremony (we used John Vigor's).
9. Select someone famous for conducting the ceremony. If you can't get
someone who's famous, your brother in law, neighbor, or local lackadaisical
lackey will have to do.
10. Arrange for stirring music (in our case the Fryeburg (Maine) Academy
band), but a boom box or marching kazoo section will do. We chose "Anchors
Aweigh", but there's no accounting for taste in music. As an added touch,
choose several reliable individuals and provide them with compressed air fog
signals.
11. Send out invitations (See example below). The guest list is unimportant,
only the numbers count.
12. Include appropriate instructions/cautions for any landlubbers likely to
attend (See example below).
13. Lay out copious amounts of grub and grog.
14. Prepare to anoint ship. Champagne is optional. We used a pitcher of the
best low tide elixir the Gulf of Maine was serving up that dayŠtrucked
inland at great expense (the trucker ate three burgers and half a plate of
deviled eggs).
15. Climb aboard to the ship's fog bell, ring it to get the attention of the
assembled multitudes, cue presiding famous person, cue person (owner or
owner's spouse) with anointing elixir, cue band, cue fog horns. Let the
pandemonium begin.




WINDWARD II 
Invitation to Vessel Denaming/Renaming Ceremony
You are cordially invited to this nautical ceremony at 10 Smith Street,
Fryeburg, Maine on Sunday, May 28, 2000, at noon. Our "new" (to us) Seafarer
26 will be struck from Neptune's logs under her former name, and
recomissioned under her new name, Captain J. L. Fribblefarth, BOD, (Babbling
Old Duffer) presiding.
The boat will be open for inspection/tours for those so inclined. Libations
and refreshments will be served. Sea stories and other lies will be told.
This is strictly informal. Guests who come dressed up will be escorted from
the premises. This is not an occasion for bringing gifts, although repeated
comments like "nice boat" are permitted if not encouraged. At the end of the
gathering three or four of the gentlemen present will be honored with the
special invitation "Hey, help me lug the mast up onto the boat!"
Hope you can make it. Let us know so we can lay in an adequate supply of
grub and grog.
Nancy (owner) 
Buzz (master)
 
Landlubber warning
A Note On Climbing About Sailboats
If you're a sailor you'll want to climb aboard if no other reason than to be
able to say (to only yourself of course) "well I sure wouldn't have done
that the way they did." We understand, that's part of the game. As a sailor
you don't need to read the rest of this note, but If you're of limited
experience in climbing around boats, here are a few suggestions:

Wear sneakers, boat shoes or similar. They'll provide better traction and
won't mark up the deck.
ladies will feel more comfortable doing this if wearing shorts, jeans or
similar.
Hang on. At sea the old saying is "One hand for you; one hand for the ship."
For these purposes two hands for you is the better plan.
The companionway ladder down into the cabin is awkward and steep. It's
probably one of those things we'll get around to changing in year two or
three. You might feel more secure going down it "backwards", that is turn to
Face the stern before you descend (towards the back of de boat...not the
pointy end).
The cabin table will probably be "deployed" in its fold down position. As
such you'll notice it's supported at one end by a single leg, and definitely
won't hold you if you try to sit on it. (It will however serve admirably if
you decide to have your lunch in the cabin.)
When walking around the deck, keep in mind that the side decks are canted
slightly outward and downward, and with the boat on the level as it is (in
our backyard anyway) that'll seem somewhat strange, but you won't fall off
(you wouldn't dare fall off).
Don't take the lifelines too seriously. We don't. They're a last resort.
Quite frankly their major function is to provide a visual cue as to where
the edge of the deck ends and the short trip to the water begins, (or in
this case the ground).
Although she'll be ready for commissioning (and sailing, just as soon as we
can have her hauled to the coast) "Windward II" is definitely a "work in
progress". Not everything will be installed or spiffed up in Bristol fashion
when you see her. That'll be year four or five. But she'll provide a good
enough excuse for a party just the way she is.
 
http://www.48north.com/aug97/denaming.htm



Due to an overwhelming number of requests for copies of John Vigor's
Interdenominational Boat Denaming Ceremony, we are rerunning it again. Now,
take care to save this one!

------------------------------------------------------------------------
I once knew a man in Florida who told me he'd owned 24 different yachts and
renamed every single one of them.
"Did it bring you bad luck?" I asked.
"Not that I'm aware of," he said. "You don't believe in those old
superstitions, do you?"
Well, yes. Matter of fact, I do. And I'm not alone. Actually, it's not so
much being superstitious as being v-e-r-y careful. It's an essential part of
good seamanship.
Some years ago, when I wanted to change the name of my newly purchased
31-foot sloop from Our Way to Freelance, I searched for a formal "denaming
ceremony" to wipe the slate clean in preparation for the renaming. I read
all the books, but I couldn't find one. What I did learn, though, was that
such a ceremony should consist of five parts: an invocation, an expression
of gratitude, a supplication, a re-dedication and a libation. So I wrote my
own short ceremony. Vigor's inter-denominational denaming ceremony. It
worked perfectly. Freelance carried me and my family many thousands of
deep-sea miles both north and south of the equator, and we enjoyed good luck
all the way. I used the same ceremony recently to change the name of my
newly acquired Santana 22 from Zephyr to Tagati, a Zulu word that means
"magic," or "bewitched." We're hoping she'll sail like a witch when I
finally get her in the water this summer after an extensive refit.
I'll give you the exact wording of Vigor's denaming ceremony, but first you
must remove all physical traces of the boat's old name. Take the old log
book ashore, along with any other papers that bear the old name. Check for
offending books and charts with the name inscribed. Be ruthless. Sand away
the old name from the lifebuoys, transom, top-side, dinghy, and oars. Yes,
sand it away. Painting over is not good enough. You're dealing with gods
here, you understand, not mere dumb mortals. If the old name is carved or
etched, try to remove it or, at the very minimum, fill it with putty and
then paint over. And don't place the new name anywhere on the boat before
the denaming ceremony is carried out. That's just tempting fate.
How you conduct the ceremony depends entirely on you. If you're the
theatrical type, and enjoy appearing in public in your yacht club blazer and
skipper's cap, you can read it with flair on the foredeck before a gathering
of distinguished guests. But if you find this whole business faintly silly
and embarrassing, and only go along with it because you're scared to death
of what might happen if you don't, you can skulk down below and mumble it on
your own. That's perfectly okay. The main thing is that you carry it out.
The words must be spoken.
I compromised by sitting in Tagati's cockpit with the written-out ceremony
folded into a newspaper, so that any passerby would think I was just reading
the news to my wife, sitting opposite. Enough people think I'm nuts already.
Even my wife has doubts. The last part of the ceremony, the libation, must
be performed at the bow, just as it is in a naming ceremony. There are two
things to watch out for here. Don't use cheap-cheap champagne, and don't try
to keep any for yourself. Buy a second bottle if you want some. Use a brew
that's reasonably expensive, based on your ability to pay, and pour the
whole lot on the boat. One of the things the gods of the sea despise most is
meanness, so don't try to do this bit on the cheap.
What sort of time period should elapse between this denaming ceremony and a
new naming ceremony? There's no fixed time. You can do the renaming right
after the denaming, if you want, but I personally would prefer to wait at
least 24 hours to give any lingering demons a chance to clear out. (Scroll
down for the wording of the ceremony.)
Afterwards 
Now you can pop the cork, shake the bottle and spray the whole of the
contents on the bow. When that's done, you can quietly go below and enjoy
the other bottle yourself. Incidentally, I had word from a friend last month
that the Florida yachtsman I mentioned earlier had lost his latest boat, a
22-foot trailer-sailer. Sailed her into an overhead power line. Fried her.
She burned to the waterline. Bad luck? Not exactly. He and his crew escaped
unhurt. He was just very careless. He renamed her, as usual, without
bothering to perform Vigor's famous interdenominational denaming ceremony.
And this time, at long last, he got what he deserved. Vigor's Denaming
Ceremony 

"In the name of all who have sailed aboard this ship in the past, and in the
name of all who may sail aboard her in the future, we invoke the ancient
gods of the wind and the sea to favor us with their blessing today.
"Mighty Neptune, king of all that moves in or on the waves; and mighty
Aeolus (pronounced EE-oh-lus), guardian of the winds and all that blows
before them:
"We offer you our thanks for the protection you have afforded this vessel in
the past. We voice our gratitude that she has always found shelter from
tempest and storm and enjoyed safe passage to port.
"Now, wherefore, we submit this supplication, that the name whereby this
vessel has hitherto been known (_____), be struck and removed from your
records.
"Further, we ask that when she is again presented for blessing with another
name, she shall be recognized and shall be accorded once again the selfsame
privileges she previously enjoyed.
"In return for which, we rededicate this vessel to your domain in full
knowledge that she shall be subject as always to the immutable laws of the
gods of the wind and the sea.
"In consequence whereof, and in good faith, we seal this pact with a
libation offered according to the hallowed ritual of the sea." CLICK HERE
for Printable Page of Vigor's Denaming Ceremony
Christening Ceremony

After a boat is denamed, you simply need to rename it using the traditional
christening ceremony, preferably with Queen Elizabeth breaking a bottle of
champagne on the bow, and saying the words:
"I name this ship ___________ and may she bring fair winds and good fortune
to all who sail on her."

John Vigor, an Oak Harbor resident, is a boating writer and editor. He is
the author of the following books:

*    Danger, Dolphins & Ginger Beer (Simon & Schuster) a sailing adventure
novel for 8 to 12 year-olds.
*    The Practical mariner's Book of Knowledge (International Marine)
*    The Sailor's Assistant (International marine) For publication in 1999:
*    The Seaworthy Offshore Sailboat (International Marine)
*    20 Small Sailboats to Take You Anywhere (Paradise Cay)
...return to 48° North title page.

On 8/8/04 7:12 AM, "Doug Mistler" <mistler at mindspring.com> wrote:

> "Red Rover" spashed on Friday the 6th of August in Deale, MD!
> 
> Elton the "Rain Man" Spitzer arrived with the backup van towing a beautiful
> Rhodes 22. Looking at the boat, it is difficult to tell that it is an
> "experienced" Rhodes.
> 
> Elton was very patient with this slow learner. He was very thorough and I
> had difficulty keeping up with him despite my younger age.
> 
> A side benefit to receiving the Rhodes was the opportunity while working to
> discourse with Elton about a wide variety of issues. He is a well informed
> and really nice guy with some interesting insights.
> 
> I remained on the boat in its new slip overnight with a long list of "to
> do's" to be accomplished on Saturday.  I then experienced what may be the
> Rhodes' "occupational hazard," a constant trickle of people coming by,
> saying, "what a beautiful boat!" and asking about the Rhodes.  I even may
> have sold another Rhodes! (Stan, do I get a commission?)
> 
> Next weekend we need to do the "boat renaming ceremony" to avoid incurring
> bad karma from the gods of the sea for changing the name of a boat.  Any
> experience with this out there? <grin>
> 
> Fair Winds!
> --Doug
> "Red Rover"
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> __________________________________________________
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