Re-Naming a Sailboat

July 7, 2021 has now become a day of celebration! Te Ara has officially entered the ledger of Poseidon as a vessel fit to sail on his mighty seas! Happy birthday Te Ara and thank you to all who helped in the ceremony this past week!

For those of you unfamiliar with nautical tradition, the naming ceremony is a very big deal for any ocean going vessel. It is absolutely full of champagne, superstition, more champagne, and good friends to drink with. There are speeches, toasts, and pleas for safe passage. There is also quite a bit of work that happens before the ceremony. In the following post, I wanted to share the experience with you all. But first, I'll explain the name Te Ara.

Te Ara is a Maori term that translates to "The Path" or "The Road". My intent is to sail this boat to New Zealand one day, so the Maori bit makes sense.... but why The Path? The answer lies in my favorite book series (and hands down the best of all time). I read Tolkien's "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings Trilogy" when I was very young. It has been a major factor in my life ever since and to this day, it remains as my favorite reading material. Anyone familiar with the series will notice that Tolkien has a consistent backdrop throughout his adventures. For many of the characters, songs, and poems, they confront heading out on "The Road" and the uncertainty and excitement of that. I have always loved this theme, and it has driven me to make some of the more adventurous decisions in my life.

"It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to."

Getting this boat has been the culmination of a long time dream and one of the most adventurous decisions of my life. I couldn't think of a more fitting name for the ship that will accompany me through it. (Anyone who is a super LOTR nerd like me will also notice that the font used for the boat name is from Bilbo's book "There and Back Again").

Pre Ceremony Preparation

Ok, on to the details! As I mentioned, there is a lot of work that goes into the preparation for the naming ceremony. The boat has to be cleaned spotless (can't have her looking slovenly on her first day). On top of that, you have to comb through the boat and remove everything with the old name. If the object with the name can't be removed, it has to be defaced so that you cannot see the previous name of the ship (this includes official USCG documentation). Only once you have removed all traces of the name from the boat, can you proceed with the ceremony. This took me close to 5 hours of work with sharpie and whiteout....

Purging Ceremony

The first part of the actual ceremony involved removing the previous name of the vessel from the ledgers of Poseidon and the powers that be. You have to write the old name on a metal ingot and recite the following, all while pouring half a bottle of champagne into the ocean, East to West:

"Oh mighty and great ruler of the seas and oceans, to whom all ships and we who venture upon your vast domain are required to pay homage, I implore you in your graciousness to expunge for all time from your records and recollection the name (mention the old boat name), which has ceased to be an entity in your kingdom. As proof thereof, we submit this ingot bearing her name, to be corrupted through your powers and forever be purged from the sea"

You then drop the ingot into the water off the bow. Being made of steel, it will rust and degrade over time. This is meant to symbolize the removal of the previous name from existence. McKay handled this part for Te Ara.

Re-naming Ceremony

Once the previous name and memory of the ship had been purged, we could start the re-naming ceremony. This is where Cooney, Chelsea, Sandy, Nick, and Elli pitched in. Once again, we had to recite:

"Oh mighty and great ruler of the seas and oceans, to whom all ships and we who venture upon your vast domain are required to pay homage, I implore you in your graciousness to take unto your records and recollection this worthy vessel hereafter and for all time known as Te Ara, guarding her with your mighty arm and trident and ensuring her of safe and rapid passage throughout her journeys within your realm.

In appreciation of your munificence, dispensation, and in honor of your greatness, we offer these libations to your majesty and your court"

Then, from west to east, you pour another half bottle of champagne into the ocean.....

Once the naming has been complete, you ask for fair winds and seas on any future voyages. Our group took turns reciting this part while tossing champagne into the ocean as a gift.

"Oh mighty rulers of the winds, through whose power our frail vessels traverse the wild and faceless deep, we implore you to grant this worthy vessel, Te Ara, the benefits and pleasures of your bounty, ensuring us of your gentle ministration according to our needs."

Next, address each wind god individually. In facing north, pour champagne into a champagne flute and toss the libation to the north as you say:

"Great Boreas, exalted ruler of the North Wind, grant us permission to use your mighty powers in the pursuit of our lawful endeavors, ever sparing us the overwhelming scourge of your frigid breath."

To the west, repeating the champagne pour and toss:

"Great Zephyrus, exalted ruler of the West Wind, grant us permission to use your mighty powers in the pursuit of our lawful endeavors, ever sparing us the overwhelming scourge of your wild breath."

Face east, repeating the champagne pour and toss:

"Great Eurus, exalted ruler of the East Wind, grant us permission to use your mighty powers in the pursuit of our lawful endeavors, ever sparing us the overwhelming scourge of your mighty breath."

Lastly, face south, pouring the champagne and tossing it while reciting:

"Great Notus, exalted ruler of the South Wind, grant us permission to use your mighty powers in the pursuit of our lawful endeavors, ever sparing us the overwhelming scourge of your scalding breath."

You may have noticed that there was a lot of champagne tossing in this ceremony. It should be noted that there is also a lot of champagne drinking. You are required to drink as much as you throw in. On top of that, we had beers and wine to celebrate after the ceremony. All in all, the ceremony was a great success and I got to cap it off with one of my favorite cheers:

"Here's to tall ships!

And here's to small ships!

Here's to all the ships that sail the seas!

But the best ships are friendships,

So here's to you, Te Ara, and me"

I hope you all enjoyed this look into nautical tradition. It certainly was fun to participate in and thanks again to all of my friends who helped out. If any of you are curious about other nautical traditions, let me know. I suspect the next major one that we do will be the crossing of the equator in a few years time.

Until then, may you have steady winds and following seas.

-Gavin