Catalina Fleet Of Santa Monica Bay Origin of boat names

			Click here for De-naming Ceremony

Aloha Nui Jeff & Trudy Briggs			Our C-30’s name was Aloha - this stemming from Trudy and my deep love for the Hawaiian Islands, the culture and the heritage. When our 30 was destroyed and we bought our new C-36, we added the word Nui behind Aloha. Loosely (very loosely) translated, Aloha Nui means Aloha II or bigger Aloha i.e. C-30 to C-36.

Aphrodisiac Norm & Charlene Perron			Our C42 is actually the second Aphrodisiac we have had. The original was a Newport 27 back in 1979. One day after a relaxing weekend at Avalon, we were sitting in El Torito's enjoying happy hour when one of our guests commented: "Sailing is such an aphrodisiac, isn't it?" Norm perked up and said "That's it!" "What," she asked. "The perfect name for our boat" was his reply.

*Arlion* Lionel & Arlene Garbus			Arlion:This is our 3rd boat named for the "Ar" of Arlene and "lion" from Lionel

Breez'n Garry & Marci Willis			One of our favorite recording artists when we first met and decided to get married was (and still is) George Benson. George had an album at the time called Breez'n. When we bought our first boat (a Catalina 22) and tried to think of a name for it, that recording came on the radio and we thought "perfect; when you're sailing, you're BREEZ'N right along." All four of our boats have now been named Breez'n.

*Dolfino* Rick Liolio			Had to pick name quickly to fill out documentation papers. Narrowed to 3 choices. Charlie pointed out that boat names cost by the letter, so that ruled out Metamorphosis. I asked the documentation clerk which she liked and she picked Dolfino, a defunct maker of skimpy Italian swimwear, over "Tomcat" which struck her as sexist.

*Enchantress* Steve Cordova			In Feb. 1984 when my boat was new we took a trip to the back side of Catalina. We left at 11:30 PM and made a night sail in 25 knots wind and got pounded real good! Somehow, half way across, we decided to head for Avalon for the first two days. After spending a beautiful day aboard the boat, my friend said "We should call the boat 'Enchantress'." With a couple of cocktails put away, I said, "Sounds good to me." The boat has enchanted me for the past 15 years and will continue to do so in the future.

*English Lady* Bill & Mary Felgenhauer

*Gleeman* Dick McKinney			A "Gleeman" is a minstrel who traveled from castle to castle telling tales of heroic knights saving fair maidens from fierce dragons and by extension from port to port telling tales of brave seamen, fair maidens, fierce sea serpents and horrendous storms.

*Hale Kai* Herbet & Elaine Strickstein			The couple we purchased the boat from had a mooring at Catalina Island. They sailed there boat from Alamitos Bay almost every weekend. The boat truly became their "house on the water" - at least for weekends. Hence the name Hale Kai meaning "House On the Water."

Irish Dream Mark & Sharon Wood			We had always dreamed of having a cruising sailboat. Our dream came true when we purchased the C36, and since Sharon is Irish, the named seemed perfect.

*Just Kidding* Craig & Mary Anne Fritzsche			Just Kidding gets it's origin and brings fond memories from when our 3 children were small. When teasing one and another or making a mistake or simply a slip of tongue they always said "JUST KIDDING". When we were trying to name our boat lots of strange suggestions were followed with the phrase "JUST KIDDING" we all agreed that this was the perfect name. We get lots of feed back from the name and decided that when we get our Catalina 42 the name will have to be Not Kidding.

*Las Brisas* Debbie Talbot			Las Brisas is named after my favorite restaurant in Acapulco.

*Last Resort* Dick and Sharon Drechsler			So idyllic do Dick and Sharon Drechsler find their sailing time together, that they plan to eventually retire from their careers in the resort industry and sail away on their Last Resort. And if things get really rough out there for the Catalina 36...they can "resort" to their Boston Whaler, The Very Last Resort!

*Lorraine* David & Lorraine Sykes			Husband: Is it O.K. if we buy a bigger boat? Wife: Yes, as long as we name it Lorraine Husband: O.K. You're on! But it must be a Catalina 36.

*Lucky Duck* Dave & Jan Polancic			After many discussions nothing seemed right. During a family conversation, Dave said, "I'm such a lucky duck." Our sons, David and Scotty, said, "dad, that is a perfect name for the boat; it would be named after your hero, Donald Duck"

*Lucky Lady Too* Joe & Sharon Boyle

*Mandela* Harold & Judy Pruett			I decided on Mandala, since the Mandala is often a symbol used in meditation - an old Sanskrit term. referring to the center of the universe - wholeness - usually represented as a circle within a square. I liked the notion of "center," "wholeness," meditation as concepts surrounding the term Mandala, hence the name.

*Nameless* Philip & Dorothea Gatsoulis			All my boats have had a very significant personal meaning. The previous boat was G...Fours. That had the following meanings: G for Gatsoulis and Four for the 4 of us; also, being an engineer, the G was for gravity force; the G also stood for my nationality, Greek. I still haven't found a personal meaning for my C36, it is Nameless.

*Our Journey* Boris & Judy Dobrotin

*Perfect Match* Roger & Gisela Dawson			For the perfect match between Gisela & Roger. And the boat being a Perfect Match for us.

*Peter Cooper* Nelson & Christine Willis			Named after the 19th century industrialist, presidential candidate, inventor of Jell-O and educational pioneer. Engineer, manufacturer and philanthropist, born in NYC, New York. With little formal education, he worked in various trades, laying the basis for his fortune by making glue and using glass. In 1928, he started an iron works in Baltimore, where he built the first steam locomotive in the USA, Tom Thumb. His many business interests, mostly involving iron mining and manufacturing, included the telegraph company that laid the first transatlantic cable. Quick to adopt the latest technology such as the Bessemer Process, he invented several laborsaving devices including a washing machine. He founded Cooper Union (1859, in NYC) to provide free education to adults in art and technical-scientific subjects which still functions as the Cooper Institute. He was active in civic affairs and in 1876 was the Greenback Party's candidate for president.

Polar Bear Robert & Geraldine Salkeld			My Wife frequently traveled the non-stop polar flight LA to London - a bear of a trip.

R Treat Bob & Marlene White			After chartering sailboats for a number of years we decided to buy a boat in preparation for our retirement. After much consideration, we decided that "R Treat" best captured our anticipation of our future boating plans. To date, the name has been representative of our boating experiences.

*Raggedy Anne III* Dick Hopkins			All of our three boats were named after this doll. First because our first boat was ugly and we added the "e" on to "Ann" in honor of our five year old daughter and one of her favorite dolls. We kept the name tradition as we moved up in boats to our beautiful Catalina 36.

*Salad Bowl*			Look familiar???

*Scootchee* Brian & Tannis Frankish			Tannis named the boat. The name has mystic & spiritual meaning. I could tell you what it means but if I did, I'd have to kill you, so it remains a secret.

Sea Trek n.g. John & Nancy Celick			Our boat had two previous owners and the two previous names were Pair-o-docs and Hotel California. Knowing that changing the boat name is unlucky... we've simply added a new last name. So correctly stated the name of our boat is Pair-o-docs Hotel California Sea Trek n.g. We've been Star Trek fans and thought it would be fun to name our boat Sea Trek adding the "n.g." (Next Generation) to see if anybody noticed. 13-14 boys canoeing past our transom at Emerald always notice.

*Second Chance* Jim & Mary Anne Mendel			Our present boat is our third Second Chance. Our first boat was already named Second Chance when we bought it because the man we bought it from had just undergone open heart surgery and was told by his doctor to find a relaxing hobby. He bought the boat and since he had a second chance at life.... When we bought the boat, we had just been married -- the second marriage for both of us and we also had a second chance at life, so we thought the name was appropriate and adopted it as ours.

*Selkie* Walter & Karen Burnett			The Selkies are mythological Scottish sea creatures that are seals in the water and shed their skins to become human-like on the land. They are know for their singing and dancing on the beach. And presumably drinking, too?

*Siren* John Seebart			The previous owners & I both work for the fire department. I did not change the name because virgins to sacrifice are in short supply. And, as you know, it is bad luck not to follow protocol when renaming boats. I've named the new dinghy Song.

*Serenity* Eric & Cinamon Sorensen			It's not much of a story. We were trying to think of a name after we bought the boat. We finally realized that we should name the boat to reflect what we liked best about sailing & cruising. That's when we realized we liked the serene feeling, hence Serenity.

*Southern Witch* Phil & Ouida Rojas			I named it after my wife, Ouida. I thought it sounded better spelled with a "Wh" as opposed to the letter "B."

*Summer Wind* Gene and Joan Levinthal			Our first keel boat was a Tempest 21 that I built from a kit. The bright yellow hull Joan had ordered looked like a banana sitting on the trailer. Hence the name Chiquita. Racing became a major activity and our next purchase was a Santana 20, also in yellow. This was more the yellow of a traffic signal and the name Caution was painted on. After a few years of constantly being on the verge of crash and burn we decided on going up a few feet to a Ranger 26. This called for a name with a western hint and Blazing Saddle was chosen. Again we decided bigger was better and after some years bought a Ranger 29. Still Blazin seemed appropriate as a follow up. After several more years racing was no longer fun and we found a Catalina 36 to be more in touch with our needs. Big, comfortable, easy to sail and gentle as the Summer Wind.

*Sweet Dreams* Ed & Gail Gappell			When I first bought the boat I named it Brighton Beach. I was born in NYC and lived in Brooklyn until I was 17. As a young boy I spent many a happy hour at Brighton Beach, Brooklyn - but too many (other than New Yorkers) confused the name with Brighton England. So I decided to change the name. Every night before going to sleep, my wife, Gail, and I say "...good night and sweet dreams." What better name for our boat.

*The New ERA* Bill & Carol Watkins			Named for the initials of their grandchildrens's first names: Eden, Reed and Amanda.

Tomorrow Matt & Viki Clark			After I (Matt) bought my first boat, I found myself putting off giving her a name. Eventually, the perfect name dawned on me, so I put on the first seven letters and figured I'd finish it later. That name was PROCRAS... The years went by, the boat got bigger, hence MORE PROCRAS...I just put it off a little longer. Now, of course, she's named Tomorrow.

Triton Kathy Brunette & Mark Yelin			The "energy" of the deep blue/gold hull possesses an noble, elegant and regal stature. The uniqueness of the blue hull with gold striping naturally lent itself to a more classical and majestic name, rather than a whimsical, tongue in cheek name, which so many vessel in Western US waters select. After researching both Roman and Greek mythology (and coincidently integrating my affinity toward sea shells), Mark and I easily agreed upon "TRITON". Triton is named after the Greek god of the sea. Triton is a merman (half man and half fish) and god of the sea, according to Greek mythology. In a golden palace under the sea he dwelt with his parents, the sea god Poseidon (aka Neptune in Roman mythology) and his wife Amphitrite (a Greek goddess of the Sea). Triton carried a shell trumpet used as a horn to attract sirens of the sea. It is said Triton caused tremendous waves by blowing the trumpet. Ancient Phoenician coins distributed throughout the Mediterranean world were sculptured in the likeness of the triton shell.

*Whirligig* Jim Mitchell & Meryle			“Whirligig"--I loved the sound of the word from the first time I heard it--even before I knew what it really meant. “Whirligig” has a fun ring to it, even magical--a perfect name for a boat. The dictionary defines “Whirligig” as “something that whirls, revolves or goes around…a toy spinning top, a merry-go-round or carrousel, a giddy or flighty person.” That sounds like a sailboat to me.




*Windborne* Hal Avery & Fay Stevens			We choose the name Windborne for our boat as we thought it best reflected those strong silent forces, often unseen, that move us from place to place.

			Click here for De-naming Ceremony