Renaming Ceremony
This was sent to me in response to a similar request. I trust John will not mind the retransmission.Vigor's Interdenominational Boat Denaming Ceremony by John Vigor Due to an overwhelming number of requests for copies of John Vigor'sInterdenominational 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 differentyachts 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 thoseold superstitions, do you?" Well, yes. Matter of fact, I do. And I'm notalone. Actually, it's not so much being superstitious as being v-e-r-ycareful. It's an essential part of good seamanship. Some years ago, when I wanted to change the name of my newlypurchased 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, wasthat such a ceremony should consist of five parts: an invocation, anexpression of gratitude, a supplication, a re-dedication and a libation. SoI wrote my own short ceremony. Vigor's inter-denominational denamingceremony. It worked perfectly. Freelance carried me and my family manythousands of deep-sea miles both north and south of the equator, and weenjoyed good luck all the way. I used the same ceremony recently to changethe name of my newly acquired Santana 22 from Zephyr to Tagati, Zulu wordthat means "magic," or "bewitched." We're hoping she'll sail like a witchwhen 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. Takethe 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, andoars. Yes, sand it away. Painting over is not good enough. You're dealingwith gods here, you understand, not mere dumb mortals. If the old name iscarved or etched, try to remove it or, at the very minimum, fill it withputty and then paint over. And don't place the new name anywhere on the boatbefore the denaming ceremony is carried out. That's just tempting fate. How you conduct the ceremony depends entirely on you. If you'rethe theatrical type, and enjoy appearing in public in your yacht club blazerand skipper's cap, you can read it with flair on the foredeck before agathering of distinguished guests. But if you find this whole businessfaintly silly and embarrassing, and only go along with it because you'rescared to death of what might happen if you don't, you can skulk down belowand mumble it on your own. That's perfectly okay. The main thing is that youcarry it out. The words must be spoken. I compromised by sitting in Tagati's cockpit with thewritten-out ceremony folded into a newspaper, so that any passerby wouldthink I was just reading the news to my wife, sitting opposite. Enough people think I'm nuts already. Even my wife has doubts. Thelast part of the ceremony, the libation, must be performed at the bow, justas 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. Buya 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 thethings the gods of the sea despise most is meanness, so don't try to do thisbit on the cheap. What sort of time period should elapse between this denamingceremony and a new naming ceremony? There's no fixed time. You can do therenaming right after the denaming, if you want, but I personally wouldprefer to wait at least 24 hours to give any lingering demons a chance toclear out. (Scroll down for the wording of the ceremony.) Afterwards Now you can pop the cork, shake the bottle and spray the whole of thecontents on the bow. When that's done, you can quietly go below and enjoythe other bottle yourself. Incidentally, I had word from a friend last monththat the Florida yachtsman I mentioned earlier had lost his latest boat, a22-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 verycareless. He renamed her, as usual, without bothering to perform Vigor'sfamous 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 thepast, and in the name of all who may sail aboard her in the future, weinvoke the ancient gods of the wind and the sea to favor us with theirblessing 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 thatblows before them: "We offer you our thanks for the protection you have affordedthis vessel in the past. We voice our gratitude that she has always foundshelter from tempest and storm and enjoyed safe passage to port. "Now, wherefore, we submit this supplication, that the namewhereby this vessel has hitherto been known (_____), be struck and removedfrom your records. "Further, we ask that when she is again presented for blessingwith another name, she shall be recognized and shall be accorded once againthe selfsame privileges she previously enjoyed. "In return for which, we rededicate this vessel to your domainin full knowledge that she shall be subject as always to the immutable lawsof the gods of the wind and the sea. "In consequence whereof, and in good faith, we seal this pactwith a libation offered according to the hallowed ritual of the sea." Christening Ceremony After a boat is denamed, you simply need to rename itusing the traditional christening ceremony, preferably with Queen Elizabethbreaking a bottle of champagne on the bow, and saying the words: "I name this ship ___________ and may she bring fairwinds and good fortune to all who sail on her." John Vigor, an Oak Harbor resident, is a boating writerand editor. He is the author of The Practical Mariner's Book of Knowledge(International Marine) and Danger, Dolphins, and Ginger Beer (Simon andSchuster) a sailing adventure novel for 8 to 12 year-olds.