Month: March 2017

Renaming a boat can be a dicey proposition. Legend has it that Poseidon and the Four Winds can really cause trouble if you’ve not paid proper homage to them and begged for their blessings. There are tales of boats going up in flames or plunging to the bottom of the sea simply because the owners changed the name and ignored the Gods.

Now Gary and I are not what you would call superstitious but since we were going to be living on this boat full time we decided that a little precaution was in order. I did my homework online and checked out the myriad ways this could be accomplished and found what would work for us.

First, we removed all items on board that had the original name on them. This is critical as you need to expunge the original name from the records and recollection of “the deep”. The original name was then placed on a piece of paper which was dropped overboard with copious amounts of champagne and a verbal request was made for the name to cease to be an entity in Poseidon’s kingdom.

More champagne was then poured on the sea while requesting that the new name be entered on the records and recollection of the deep to ensure safe and rapid passage for the Laa-Dee-Dah throughout her journeys.

After that, champagne was flung in all four directions and each of the four winds were implored, by name, to grant the benefits and pleasures of their bounty.

Now you need to understand that the requests were very flowery and Gary did a fine job of reading them in a wonderful stage voice while I poured the champagne. I’m sure if anyone was watching they enjoyed the show. We weren’t quiet about it and there was a restaurant directly across from our dock.

Now we really are the “crazy new boat owners”.

Years ago when we were flying back from Key West in the single engine airplane we decided to stop in Brunswick, Georgia for lunch and to take a look at St Simon’s Island as we’d never been there. We borrowed a loaner car at the General Aviation side of the airport and had a lovely time exploring for a few hours.

When we returned to the airport it took Gary about five minutes before he informed me we were stuck for the night as the weather had turned unfriendly. We couldn’t even get as far as Wilmington, NC to see the kids. So, I did what I always did in these situations- approached the woman behind the desk with a request for a rental car and a hotel for the night.

Now you have to understand that we were in Georgia and the woman was about eighty years old with a white beehive hairdo. In a thoroughly southern accent she told me “there’s ah Read Roooof Inn about ah mile or so away.” Now nothing against Red Roof Inns but in these situations we’ve always tried to turn the delay into an adventure. So I asked for a rental car and thought we’d take our chances on finding a different place to stay.

At the main terminal while getting the rental car the clerk, when asked, suggested we check with The King & Prince Resort out on the beach.  It’s a highly rated resort with a great restaurant and sounded like what we were looking for. Normally there was a two night minimum but they had several cancellations (probably due to the weather) and were willing to give us a room for the one night. We drove out, had a wonderful dinner and stayed in a beautiful room overlooking the water.

The next day upon returning to the General Aviation side of the airport I encountered the same eighty year old lady with the beehive hairdo. While I was signing the fuel charge she asked me where we had ended up the night before. When told that we stayed at the King & Prince her response was “well laaaa-diiii-daaaah!” We laughed all the way home.

Years later when faced with naming our new to us boat I remembered that story. It’s a good sized boat unless you’re in Florida and since the phrase is “an interjection indicating that one is impressed…usually used sarcastically” it seemed somehow appropriate. We changed the spelling a little to accommodate Gary’s requirement for symmetry.

We were the normal aging baby boomer couple anticipating retirement and not sure what to do with it. We had always anticipated staying in our house that we had lovingly renovated and decorated “just so” forever. That was until over the course of several years we moved three of our parents into retirement facilities. We watched them blossom in the new surroundings getting not only the care they needed but improved interaction with others which surprisingly made them more lively and aware of the world at large. This started us thinking (which always produces surprising results).

Years earlier we had investigated buying a 65’ motor yacht, or trawler, but quickly decided that having that and the house were counter productive so we let that dream go. Until that is, we started thinking hard about retirement and what we wanted that to look like. Re-enter the Boat with a capital B.

The short story is that we are now in the process of selling everything except some momentos and knickknacks. Business, cars, house, furniture, I do mean everything. We’ve bought a 64’ Grand Banks Aluetian which I like to call our 1800 sq. ft. floating condo. We’re getting ready to pack up the cat and move full time to the boat.

The idea is to stay in Northern Virginia from April thru September each year to see family and keep in touch with friends and then spend the rest of the year travelling south where it’s warm.

It’s been an interesting experience so far and to keep track of where we’ve been and to let friends and family know where we are I’ve decided to start this blog, Travels with the LaaDeeDah. That’s the name of our boat and of course there’s a story about the name. There always is.