A Boat By Any Other Name
Some old salts say it’s bad luck to change a boat’s name, as risky as taking bananas, or redheads, or women on board. (So if Nicole Kidman mounts the gangway while chewing on a Cavendish, you might want to play it safe by staying ashore. Me? I’ll take my chances.) Why is re-naming a vessel so hazardous? Sailors say King Neptune keeps track of all vessels in his logbook, even the smallest pleasure boats, and changing the name of one annoys the hell out of him—so much extra bookkeeping. He retaliates by cursing the vessel.
People change boat names every day, so what’s the issue? Seems that you can placate the King of the Sea by carrying out an elaborate renaming ritual that involves placating the four winds, dumping wine overboard for the sea gods, rechristening the vessel by spilling more wine, etc. There might be something involving a virgin, too. But the most important thing
