Clive Marsh discovered small boats while working for Canadian Pacific Steamships and is a past Commodore of the Merchant Navy Association Boat Club. In this series he shares tales from his 50 years of boat ownership.
The Tideway is a marvellous craft. My Tideway was No.462, a GRP version that was named Jackdaw by a previous owner presumably because she is black. Calling out her name on the VHF would be a bit of a mouthful – ‘Juliet/Alpha/Charlie/Kilo/Delta/Alpha/Whiskey’… too late!
But I liked the name and kept it. However, if ever I name a boat it is always ‘Tui’ after a little bird that lived in my garden in New Zealand. Tui is easy to spell out; ‘Tango/Uniform/India’.
When naming a boat it’s worth keeping to just a few letters.
