We finally got around to officially renaming Moitessier. Up until now, we've had her old name "Scout" on the side of the boat, and it just didn't feel right to us. We were a little reluctant in officially renaming her because of all the superstition behind changing a boat's name, but it simply had to be done. Until owning a boat, Frank wasn't really superstitious, believing that his fate was in his own hands, however since moving aboard, that tune has certainly changed. Not that we're now super-superstitious, but the cosmic pranks that we fall victim to all to often have been a little too obvious to be ignored. Better to be safe than sorry I guess.
The ritual behind renaming is quite involved, and we found this great article that guided us through the whole thing. Link First step to all of this is that the old name needs to be purged from the Ledger of the Deep. This ledger, according to legend, is a record of every vessel by name known to Poseidon. In order to rename your vessel, you must get rid of anything bearing the old name. An identity stripping of sorts, as described by the article. This step turned out to be the most tedious part of the ceremony as we had to go through every document on the boat and make sure that "Scout" was nowhere to be found. Scout seemed to have littered every page of our survey, old receipts from its previous owners, and pretty much all of the paperwork we had on her. Our weapon was an X-acto knife, and we cut out every name we could find, At the end of it all there was an envelope full of Scouts. To add to histrionics of the ceremony, we threw the envelope overboard as we called to Poseidon, "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, implore you in your graciousness to expunge for all time from your records and recollection the name, Scout, 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. (Here we threw the envelope overboard). In grateful acknowledgment of your munificence and dispensation, we offer these libations to your majesty and your court. (Poured a glass of Champagne into the sea from the bow of the boat).
After this came the official renaming ceremony where we invited all of our marina friends to toast to Poseidon and the gods of the winds, and made offerings of Cristal and champagne to appease them (Funny sidenote on the Cristal; we had inherited this ridiculously expensive bottle of champagne from my parents who got it as a gift a few years back, and we saved the bottle for this occasion. We couldn't sell it; we tried. Turned out that it wasn't worth all the hype, and our first impression of liquid gold tasted a bit like soy sauce...haha...)
The ceremony, which we more or less followed to a tee according to the article, began with what we believe to be a very lucky sign from the "gods"....DOLPHINS. Just as we were about to toast to Poseidon, a pod of dolphins emerged from the water only a couple of feet from our boat, playing away. I know I sound like hippie, and whether it was a coincidence or a powerful deity sending us a sign, that was one of the more magical moments we've had. After this we called to Poseidon (with a little more faith), "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, implore you in your graciousness to take unto your records and recollection this worthy vessel hereafter and for all time known as Moitessier, 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. (At this point, one glass was poured into the sea from West to East as we all toasted).
We then called to the four "gods" of the winds, addressing each brother by their name, "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 Moitessier the benefits and pleasures of your bounty, ensuring us of your gentle ministration according to our needs. (Faced north, poured a generous libation of Champagne into a Champagne flute and flung to the North as we intoned: ) Great Boreas, exalted ruler of the North Wind, grant us permission to use your mighty powers in the pursuit of our endeavors, ever sparing us the overwhelming scourge of your frigid breath. (Faced west, poured the same amount of Champagne and flung to the West while we intoned:) Great Zephyrus, exalted ruler of the West Wind, grant us permission to use your mighty powers in the pursuit of our endeavors, ever sparing us the overwhelming scourge of your wild breath. (Faced east, repeated above and intoned:) Great Eurus, exalted ruler of the East Wind, grant us permission to use your mighty powers in the pursuit of our endeavors, ever sparing us the overwhelming scourge of your mighty breath. (Faced south, repeated above :) Great Notus, exalted ruler of the South Wind, grant us permission to use your mighty powers in the pursuit of our endeavors, ever sparing us the overwhelming scourge of your scalding breath."
