Harbour Names and Suchlike

[Castletine]

A couple of us were recently talking about how place names can realistically reflect the nature of the sailing area/marina/port.

For example, the majority of us are disgusted at price hiking at Poole Marina. Our thoughts were that it's true name should be BOTTOMLESS POOLE, a nautical version of bottomless pit.

The WASH is the Wash because when the tide is out, there's not a hell of a lot else to do but Wash the boat.

A few have been changed over the years; e.g. HAMBLE we feel should now move up a letter and become GAMBLE after all the near-sighted, beer swilling petrol heads that associate the word 'boom' as the noise made when they collide with something.

Anybody want to add to this?

 

[steve_cronin]

Have you visited Men A\'r Porz in Brittany?...nm

..

 

[Twister_Ken]

Ars en Re

There's a nice little dryingh port on teh Il de Re, called Ars. Presumably because you can see its bottom every time the tide goes out?

 

[charles_reed]

Re: Ars en Re

In fact both chambers at Ars en Ré have sills and don't dry - but the 1.5M channel thro' the Fier d'Ars dries out and there are two lovely big humps about 2/3rds of the way up which are only navigable on the top half of the tide.
Last year the old (marked channel) had a bloody great sandspit across the end just by the first PHM.

 

[Guest]

I promise, they do speak nicely in Falmouth!