Renaming a boat/ship

skenn_ie

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Is anyone familiar with the ceremony for renaming a boat ?. Is there a sacrifice to the sea gods, prayers, incantations or any such ?.

Shane
 
Yes, Dancing virgins and wine (or other libations) also come into it, depending on who you want to cultivate or ward off!
 
Renaming a boat

I want to ward off any possibility of upsetting anyone/anything. Fate does seem to have been conspiring against me, and I don't know if my boat doesn't want to relocate, change use, or be renamed !.
 
Then you probably ought to dress up as Neptune and paint the boat black. BTW make sure you deal with the practical bit if the boat is registered on Part 1 as you can't duplicate names there.
 
Changing a boat's name is often said to bring bad luck - but I must say that I always thought it was supposed to bring a change of luck. From my own perspective, this would almost certainly involve the virgins.
 
Is anyone familiar with the ceremony for renaming a boat ?. Is there a sacrifice to the sea gods, prayers, incantations or any such ?.

Shane

At one time - when Britain was great and its ships were highly successful - sailors put themselves and their ships in the care of Almighty God when they went to sea - wasn't always 100% successful, but I'm sure it had the edge over all other rites.

The cynics may now disport themselves.
 
The cynics may now disport themselves.

The cynics can do as they wish but on behalf of sceptics I would wonder whether putting onesself in the imaginary hands of an imaginary construct would do much good at all. Renaming of captured enemy vessels was common at one time and I'm sure it was a purely administrative procedure. However I am happy to support proposals for drinking and dancing whether those involved are virgins or otherwise.
 
The cynics can do as they wish but on behalf of sceptics I would wonder whether putting onesself in the imaginary hands of an imaginary construct would do much good at all. Renaming of captured enemy vessels was common at one time and I'm sure it was a purely administrative procedure. However I am happy to support proposals for drinking and dancing whether those involved are virgins or otherwise.

It certainly would not - if it were imaginary!

NB Both Drake & Cook renamed their vessels.
 
it wouldn't surprise me if the blood of a goat wasn't used in certain countries

but im not sure i would want to to have anything to do with such a boat !
 
If you do a search here I'm sure you'll find something. The topic has come up many times.

I don't remember the detail but it involves removing every thing on the boat on which the previous name is mentionned. It also involves various incantations, liberally accompanied by offrands of the water of life - preferably filtered first through the kidneys....
 
I was admiring my neighbour's boat a couple of weeks ago. He has spent a few months restoring it - replacing some soft wood and painting it immaculately.
While doing this work, he discovered various dimensions carved onto the stem post and it was while admiring this work that I asked him why he was re-naming the craft with 2 newly carved nameplates on the bow. "I'm naming her after my mum who has a significant birthday soon." He said that the previous owner had spent years trying to find the original name prior to 1926, when she was renamed "To Be". He was fed up with it being pronounced Toby or Tobe and hence the change.

I'm sure it took me less than 45 seconds back in my boat to shout up to him "Mary Askew!!"

In the pub that evening, he seemed somewhat pensive and was obviously considering whether to backtrack and return her to her launch name.
 
A old trick is to cut the snake tail. I've tried it a few years ago when I renamed my boat, and... I've had a hell of good time with that boat.
It's very simple, here is how its work : The first time you go sailling after you renamed you boat, you should sail in "S" figure, so you draw some loops on the water (the snake !), then you sail back 180 degrees to come back aproximatively where you started and turn back 90 degrees to cross one of the first loops, now you've cut the tail and have nothing to fear anymore.
Good luck !!;)
 
Go ahead and rename her. No worries !
Just leave a link to this forum with your relatives before you leave port ! Ha Ha !!
 
This thread seems to be getting a little confused. Just the virgins and the wine will be quite adequate. Probably quite a lot of wine and no too many virgins ...
 
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