Boat Names (367)
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Latest additions to the list
17.03.19 - 1890 : 2754 : 3037 : 3218 : 3708 added
13.04.19 - 3800 : 3802 added
28.04.19 - 3805 added
06.07.19 - 3804 added : 3751 amended : 3463 picture added
22.07.19 - 3341 : 3588 : 3761 : 3782 : 3803 added
23.09.19 - 3394 amended
03.12.19 - 1810 : 2989 added
07.01.20 - 844 added
15.04.20 - 3594 corrected.
16.09.20 - 3367 added
19.09.20 - 3803 amended : Maumahara added
18.02.21 - 3338 added
11.03.21 - 2696 added
12.03.21 - 1711 added
26.03.21 - 1999 : 2100 : 2448 : 2487 : 2804 :3009 added
| # | Boat Name | Original Owners(s) / Crew | Etymology [Person supplying information] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kate | Charles Leafe | A play on words - Syndicate (syndi Kate)- the group (Jack Holt, Beecher Moore, Noel Jordan, Tony Howard, Bernard Lee and Veri Wagner) behind the building of the prototype Merlin. [Mike Liggett (& The Merlin Rocket Book)] |
| 2 | Wizard | Reason not stated - but probably from the slang word meaning 'excellent' or 'first class'. [The Merlin Rocket Book] | |
Re-named:- Merlin | Group Capt Haycock | The Group Capt had tired of the RAF slang word and so changed the name to Merlin who was King Arthur's wizard. He then added the insignia in the shape of Merlin's hat.
[The Merlin Rocket Book] | |
| 40 | Enchanter |  [Patricia Jones] | |
Re-named:- San Fairy Ann | Re-named by:- Miss. S. Caines | A play on words from French Ca ne fait rien meaning 'that’s nothing' [Mike Liggett / Patricia Jones] | |
Returned to original name:- Enchanter | Returned to original name by:- Pat James | Pat felt it was unlucky to change the name of a boat and since the original mythical Merlin was a wizard or enchanter why change in the first place? [Patricia Jones] | |
| 180 | Killick | 'Killick' is Royal Navy slang for a Leading Seaman (from the badge worn on the uniform : a single anchor). Everyone would rather their boat was leading. [David Cooper] | |
| 187 | Naiad | A river/lake dwelling nymph. [Mike Liggett] | |
| 227 | Rockettoo | Built by Wyche & Coppock and so named as the first Rocket to(o) conform with the Merlin Class rules. Sailed in the 1950 Champs. by Bruce Banks (6th) and 1951 Champs. by Howard Williams (3rd).
[Mike Liggett] | |
| 292 | Chinook | Robin Judah | A warm moist wind affecting weather along coast of NW United States. Came 5th. in 1951 Champs.
[Mike Liggett] |
| 447 | Nerine | A mythical Roman water nymph. [Mike Liggett] | |
| 575 | Arion | Chris Starr | Named after a successful race horse of the time
[John Cooper] |
| 666 | Hell Cat | Mike Astley | 666 is the number of "the beast"/the Antichrist/ the Devil. [Mike Liggett] |
| 684 | Crew Cut | Tony Fox | The boat was helmed by John Oakley but owned by the crew (Tony).
[Patrick Blake] |
| 844 | Bumper | It has been suggested that 'Bumper' was linked to the drinking of champagne. Bumper is an obsolete expression to describe a glass filed to the brim. The second owner, Roger Stapleton, planned to change the name but on his first outing managed to ram another boat. The plan to change the name was dropped. At some later date the name was changed. [Roger Stapleton] | |
| 999 | Rozzer | Clive Curtiss | Slang name for policeman. [Mike Liggett] |
| 1027 | Team Spirit | John Laing & Son Ltd | This belonged to the John Laing & Son Ltd. sports club. [Mike Liggett] |
| 1066 | Ten-sixty-six | Leslie Brain | The date of the Battle of Hastings [Mike Liggett] |
| 1079 | Passing Cloud | Harry Harris | A reference to the cigarettes smoked by Harry - a habit he got whilst serving in the army during WW2. Passing Cloud cigarettes (manufactured by WD & HO Wills) - oval in cross section and in a pink pack. [Robert Harris] |
| 1198 | Popocateptl | Alan Warren | Alan had a 'thing' about volcanoes - they were big and went off with a big bang. Popocatpetl is an active volcano, located in Central Mexico. [Alan Warren] |
| 1205 | Binzee II | Peter Binns | A play on words with the owners name - I guess his second boat. [Guy Gurney] |
| 1275 | Skish | Frank Warren (father of Alan) | Named her 'Skish' for the sound a boat makes when going through the water. [Guy Gurney] |
| 1488 | Dugout | Doug Pearson | A play on words with the owners name. [Mike Liggett] |
| 1493 | Katy Lou | Gordon Payne | First owned by Gordon (at Upper Thames) and was named in honour of his daughter. [Chris Rathbone / Ross Jackson] |
| 1584 | Cotapaxi | Alan Warren | Continuation of a previous theme (1198). Cotopaxi is an active stratovolcano in the Andes Mountains. [Alan Warren] |
| 1620 | Whiplash | Owned by Rod & Jo since 1975. They never liked the name, which was never written on the boat, but chose not to rename it. However, they were continually asked by fellow sailors (in France & Belgium) C’est quoi ça, comme bateau? It was therefore decided to display the information where they hoped everyone would read it. [Rod & Jo Andrew-Becker] | |
| 1685 | Too Scared | Phil Tyler | A continuation of a theme - Phil had previously owned 162 - 'Scare' [Mike Liggett] |
| 1693 | Magic Dragon | Anthony Evans | Named after a popular tune of the time "Puff the Magic Dragon". [Tony Lane] |
| 1697 | Beatle Cut | Patrick Blake | The boat was completed in 1963 and the Beatles were taking the world by storm. Patrick had long floppy hair so it had to be Beatle Cut.
[Patrick Blake] |
| 1711 | Fearless | Fearless was exported to Belgium in 2013 and rebuilt by Rod Andrews in 2017. Unfortunately nothing known about the reason for the name. [Francois Podevyn] | |
| 1723 | March Hare | Mike Jackson | Mike had already desgned (in 1962) a N12 and named the design 'March Hare' This boat - a Sugar Plum - was also one of his deisgns. [Mike Liggett] |
March Hare | Mike Jackson | Mike had already desgned (in 1962) a N12 and named the design 'March Hare' This boat - a Sugar Plum - was also one of his deisgns. [Mike Liggett] | |
| 1810 | Seagoon | John Lawrence | John, a fan of The Goon Show. One of the main characters was Neddie Seagoon - played by Harry Secombe. [Brian Hackett (the crew)] |
Re-named:- Natbites | Not known | Boat renamed after it was sold by John in 1969 [Peter Male] | |
| 1850 | Dunker | Frank Dunning | Frank was always capsizing so boat was named accordingly! [Barry Dunning] |
| 1890 | Dai Bach | Dai Davies | There seem to be various translations of Dai Bach - take your pick. |
| 1895 | Rampage | Not known | Name taken from the dictionary definition "to go about wildly" [The Merlin Rocket Book] |
Re-named:- Exe Profundis | Not known | Not known [Year Book] | |
| 1911 | Alfa Mo | A yellow boat. The original owner towed her around in a bright yellow Alfa Romeo. [Hywel Bowen Perkins (jnr)] | |
| 1939 | Royal Dutch | G. Chick | 'G' worked for Royal Dutch-Shell. [Mike Liggett] |
Re-named:- Tarcus | Re-named by:- P. Melvin | [Peter Male] | |
Re-named:- Englands Glory | Re-named by;- D. Holtham | [Peter Male] | |
Re-named War Horse | Re-named by:- Mike Liggett | Mike considered this sounded a fighting name.
(War Horse was also a London stage play - following a film - based on a book) [Mike Liggett] | |
| 1945 | Marmite | Terry Stark | Terry and his crew went down to Bob Hoare's to pick up the boat. There was much discussion on names and it got to the stage that the dinghy was launched - still without a name. At this point Terry's crew said "Which do you like best, Bovril or Marmite?" Terry replied "Marmite" His crew
responded with "I name this boat Marmite". [Mike Liggett] |
| 1965 | Dougout Too | Doug Pearson | Doug followed a theme from his previous boat (1488). [Mike Liggett] |
| 1999 | William the Conquerer | Will Godfrey | One of a series of boat commisioned by Will, all named with his eponymous ‘Will’ theme. It is thought that William the Conquerer was the first. [Noelle Wright] |
| 2004 | Rage | Spud Rowsell | Follow of the theme from 1895 [The Merlin Rocket Book] |
| 2018 | Krakatoa | Alan Warren | Continuation of a previous theme (see 1198 & 1584). Krakatoa erupted in 1883, in one of the largest eruptions in recent time. Krakatoa is an island volcano along the Indonesian arc. [Alan Warren] |
| 2095 | Wotfree | Alan Warren | The boat is a A. E. Watts 'Wotnot' design and it was built by John Freeman. It was the trend at the time to have 'Wot' included in the name of the Watts' designed boats. [Alan Warren] |
| 2100 | Willpower | Will Godfrey | Following a theme (see 1999) [Noelle Wright] |
| 2102 | Salted P-nut | Peter Rainey | The 'P' is for Peter and he used to sail GP14s - hence he was considered the nut as the Merlin was supposed to be more difficult to sail than a GP14. The boat was definitely salted as Peter sailed it on the sea.
[Peter Rainey] |
| 2121 | Original name:- Half Cut | Patrick Blake | At the time Patrick ordered this boat they were getting wider. He though that the latest Proctor Mk XVII was a bit too extreme but liked the underwater lines of the Mk IX. He spoke with Bob Hoare who was sailing fast himself and building fast boats and hatched up the idea of a IXd. It was the Mk IX shape underwater but flared out to make it wider.
The name may also have reflected Patrick's alcohol intake but he considered that it was never a fast boat and not the best name either. [Patrick Blake] |
Re-named:- Morgan Le Fay II | Re-names by:- K Burford | Morgan Le Fay was a powerful enchantress in Arthurian legend. Wanton and sexually aggressive with many lovers including Merlin. [Mike Liggett] | |
Returned to original name:- Half Cut | Returned to original name by:- Chris Barlow | Chris Barlow, who rescued and restored the boat, was told to take this old boat away before it gets cut in half. Then he found out the original name! In 2016 the name was still appropriate as the helm was a former pub landlord.  [Patricia James] | |
| 2143 | Hob Goblin | T.D. Evans | [Miles James/Mike Liggett] |
Re-named:- Paper Moon | Re-named by:- Miles James | Miles re named the boat after a book his sister was reading in the 70's - Paper Moon. [Miles James] | |
| 2204 | Outrage | Spud Rowsell | A follow on of a theme - (see 1895 - 2004); A Rolling Stones song. [Spud Rowsell] |
| 2221 | Fantasmagorical | Chris Rathbone | Inspired by the film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. [Chris Rathbone] |
| 2225 | Near Myth | Patrick Blake | At the time of this new boat, Patrick considered that the hair cut theme had run its course (see 684 ; 1697 ; 2121). He thought a new theme would be in order and hit on the name Near Myth. He thought it was quite clever because he wanted it to become a famous boat although he knew it almost certainly wouldn't be. Also there was a bit of a double entendre - if you spoke with a lisp it had a similar if slightly different meaning. He have been trying to explain this ever since but no one else gets it! [Patrick Blake] |
| 2246 | Waribashi | Guy Gurney | Japanese word for a small piece fitted into the scabbard of a Japanese sword. Translates as “split chopsticks”. (Guy was heavily into Japanese art at the time.) [Guy Gurney] |
| 2249 | Toad | Not known | [Jeremy Hudson] |
Re-named:- Bufo | Pip Hudson | The original owner wanted to retain the name (Toad) so Pip Hudson renamed it Bufo from ‘Bufo Bufo’, the latin for the common toad. [Jeremy Hudson] | |
Toad | Not known | [Jeremy Hudson] | |
| 2310 | So Wot | John Cooper | This was the first to be built to the "Wotnot Beta" design. The fashion of the time was to include "Wot" in the names of Wotnot designs built by John Freeman.
[John Cooper] |
| 2379 | Miss Conception | Sheffield University Sailing Club | This was the first new boat built for Sheffield University and the start of their 'Miss' series.
[Geoff Wright] |
| 2404 | Original name:- Q.E. Too | Not known | Not known [Year Book] |
Re-named:- Julia Dream | Tony Vowell | Julia Dream was the 'B' side of a on a Pink Flloyd single. [Tony Vowell] | |
| 2414 | Bob's Wot | Robert Deacon | The design is a Wotnot and it was the style at the time to have 'Wot' in the name. [Jeremy Deacon] |
| 2427 | Nyaminyami | M. Holland | The Nyaminyami (pronounced Yamin Yami) is a snake like god that said to reside in the Zambezi River and control the life in and on the river. [Peter Male/Mike Liggett] |
| 2446 | Mythbegotten | Patrick Blake | At this time Patrick had just met up with Keith Callaghan who had recently designed 'Hotspur' and decided to have one built. Patrick wanted to continue the 'Myth' theme (see 2225) and came up with a pretty terrible pun. The idea was that her ancestry was a bit dubious, having come from this young designer who had no track record!
She was a nice boat and quite quick, specially in light airs. [Patrick Blake] |
| 2448 | Will Shakespeare | Will Godfrey | The 3rd boat in the 'Will' series. See1999 and 2100. [Noelle Wright] |
| 2465 | Original name:- Miss Pepper | A. G. Dixon | [Mike Liggett] |
Re-named:- Delirious | Renamed by:- Phil Mason & Paula Lay | This was Phil & Paula first boat and rescued from a barn in London! It was quickly painted with pink/mauve Dulux. Being big Prince fans they named the boat after a track taken from his 'Album1999'. There are lots of references to, 'can't steer', 'lakes' and 'Can't win a race'. However, being Prince, the lyrics have an edge! [Phil & Paula Mason] | |
| 2495 | Repandu | E. P. Cundy | The boat is a Hotspur - an early wide design. The boat name is a french word which translate to 'widespread' [Jim Hook] |
| 2523 | Gigolo Girl | Chris Rathbone | Chris previously owned “Gigolo” (2222) having bought it from Graham Pike and Patrick King, so he kept the theme going! [Chris Rathbone] |
| 2527 | Joyrider | John Ibberson | Joy - John's wife. [Geoff Wright] |
Re-named:- Vertego | Re-named by:- D Osbourne | It is assumed that the change to Vertigo in more recent Year Books is a typo. [Mike Liggett] | |
| 2553 | Brontesaurus | Chris Haworth | This was Chris's first design and he hoped to design more boats using dinosaur names. Also, the Bronte family (authors of Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights etc) lived in the village of Haworth.
[Chris Haworth] |
| 2567 | Original name:- Miss Carriage | Sheffield University Sailing Club | The second boat built for Sheffield University (see 2379) and continued the 'Miss' theme. [Geoff Wright] |
Re-named:- Gybe Talkin | Re-named by:- D. Anderton | [Mike Liggett] | |
| 2575 | Myth Isle | Patrick Blake | Having launched Mythbegotten (2446) Patrick and Keith teamed up for the year. Whilst sailing together Keith came up with a new design. They went to Spud Rowsell to build this one and she was a lovely boat. Patrick considered that they we were seriously quick. 'Myth Isle' - Another pun on the 'Myth' theme but a nicer name really.
In those days Spud had a year long waiting list so another one was ordered for next year. [Patrick Blake] |
| 2604 | Satisfaction | Spud Rowsell | A follow on of a theme - (see 1895 - 2004 & 2204); A Rolling Stones song. [Spud Rowsell] |
| 2612 | Hickory Dickory Doc | Peter Rainey | Peter had just achieved his Doctorate and was definitely dickory at times.
[Peter Rainey] |
| 2663 | Tyrannosaurus Rex | Chris Haworth | Following the dinosaur theme. (see 2553) Chris liked "the King" element and 'T Rex' were topping the charts at the time.
[Chris Haworth] |
| 2681 | Not Known | Not named by original owner. | |
Atomic Mustard | Richard Dee | The boat was yellow and at the time discussion about nuclear weapons was high on the agenda. [Chris Martin] | |
| 2696 | The Specialist | Dick Batt | Dick's first Merlin. Bought as bare shell from Graham Edwards and decked in the front room. Named in homage to “The Specialist”, a classic little piece of American literature by Charles Sale. The subject is Lem Putt, the champion privvy builder in Sangamon County. [Dick Batt] |
| 2710 | Captain Snort | John Cooper | John was a Captain in the Army when he completed this boat. Named after Captain Snort of Pippin Fort in the children's TV programme "Camberwick Green" which was a favorite of his son. [John Cooper] |
| 2713 | Mythelated Spirit | Patrick Blake | A continuation from 2575 - a 'Hornblower'. Keith tweaked the design a bit to produce a 'Hexagon'. 'Mythelated Spirit' - Another pun on the 'myth' theme with a double entendre but somehow reflecting their mood - elated spirit. [Patrick Blake] |
| 2737 | Close to the edge | Tim Fells | Close to the Edge was the fifth studio album from the English progressive rock band Yes [Tim Fells] |
| 2748 | Miss Anthropist | Sheffield University Sailing Club | One of a pair of new boats (see below) and the name continues the 'Miss' theme of previous boats (2379 : 2567)
[Geoff Wright] |
Re-named:- Ghostly Bloater | Re-named by:- P. Greatrex | [Mike Liggett] | |
| 2749 | Miss Ogynist | Sheffield University Sailing Club | One of a pair of new boats (see above) and the name continues the 'Miss' theme of previous boats (2379 : 2567)
[Geoff Wright] |
Re-named:- Soporific Spirit | Re-named by:- M. Wilson | Martin was newly married when he bought the boat from Sheffield University & therefore 'Miss Ogynist' wasn’t very appropriate. It is a Phantom Kipper design so, deliberately misinterpreting the name (as a ghostly sleeper) he came up with 'Soporific Spirit' (sleepy spirit) [Martin Wilson] | |
| 2752 | Hippoboffamous | F.A.Boff | A play with words by original owners [Mike Liggett] |
| 2754 | Jig A Jig | Not known | A Hornblower design - hence the link. [Rob Holroyd] |
Re-named:- Rising Sun | Re-named by:- Rob Holroyd | It was a 'Bright Orangey Red' boat [Rob Holroyd] | |
Re-named:- Enfin | Not known | [Rob Holdroyd] | |
| 2760 | Red Rooster | Spud Rowsell | A follow on of a theme - (see 1895 - 2004 - 2204 & 2604). A Rolling Stones song. [Spud Rowsell] |
| 2763 | Evening | Barry Dunning | The design is a G.G Gregory 'Echo'. The boat was sponsored by the Southampton Evening Echo.
[Due to an error in setting out the boat was built too long and 1inch had to be sawn off the bow before it would measure] [Barry Dunning] |
| 2778 | Wide Guy | Guy Winder | Guy's previous boat was 1285 - a Mk9, so was much looking forward to 2ft extra beam. [Guy Winder] |
| 2804 | Last Will and Testament | Will Godfrey | The last boat in a series - see 1999 ; 2100 ; 2448 [Noelle Wright] |
| 2805 | Blonde on Blonde | Ian Tinker | Ian had long blonde hair and the boat was white. 'Blonde on Blonde' was arguably Bob Dylan's greatest album. [Geoff Wright] |
Re-named:- Flaming Bavarian | Re-named by:- F. Schlund | [Mike Liggett] | |
| 2847 | Special Brew | Malcolm Molyneux | Named his’ Smokers’ after his regular tipple [Geoff Wright] |
| 2863 | Admiral Benbow | Peter Rainey | The name of the design and this was chosen by the designer - Martin Jones. [Peter Rainey] |
| 2865 | The Red Baron | Will Rainey | Back in 1974, 'Snoopy and the Red Baron' were all the rage, with the now very familiar posters of Snoopy sitting on his kennel in his flying googles. Also the Hotshots had released their single in 1973 - it got to #4 in the charts. Will's first new Merlin had to be The Red Baron. [Will Rainey] |
| 2868 | HARP | Hywel Bowen Perkins | Hywell was sailing with his brother Rhys.
Hywell And Rhys Perkins
[Hywel Bowen Perkins] |
Re-named:- HARPY | Re-named by:- M O'Connor | [Peter Male] | |
| 2887 | Late night extra | Guy Winder | The radio programme Guy listened to whilst he was building the boat. [Guy Winder] |
| 2892 | Fadeaway | Spud Rowsell | A follow on of a theme - (see 1895 - 2004 - 2204 - 2604 & 2760). A Rolling Stones song. [Spud Rowsell] |
| 2932 | Therapist | Dave Griffiths | Dave had qualified as a doctor. On the boat there was a slight gap after the third letter - could be worrying! [Geoff Wright] |
| 2941 | Chrysalis | Chris & Liz Wilkinson | A play on the Christian names of the original owners.
[Mike Liggett] |
| 2945 | Infibulation | Barry Dunning | An Infidel design. The name was a play on words to describe what the boat had done to Barry's romantic life for a whole winter whilst fitting it out. [Barry Dunning] |
| 2946 | Opium | R Deacon | This was a 'Fadeaway Satisfaction' - a variant of the 'Smokers Satisfaction' - hence the smoking connection.
[Jeremy Deacon] |
| 2948 | Winder Box | Mrs Greenhalgh | Designed & built by Guy Winder - Also the design name - I guess it is self evident. [Peter Male] |
| 2958 | Moriarty | Phil King | Was whimsically named after the Goon Show character. [Phil King] |
| 2967 | Original name:- Myrddin Emrys | In the Arthurian legend, it is suggested that Merlin is based upon a figure in medieval Welsh legend - Myrddin Emrys. [Peter Male] | |
Renamed :- Ice on Fire | Re-named by:- S. Mellor | [Mike Liggett] | |
Returned to original name:- Myrddin Emrys | Returned to original name by:- Peter Male | [Peter Male] | |
Renamed:- Ice on Fire | [Peter Male] | ||
Renamed:- Cold Feet | Re-named by:- R. Meek | [Mike Liggett] | |
| 2988 | Moonshadow | Keith Callaghan | Simply because he said he liked the poetry of the name. [Rod & Jo Andrew-Becker] |
Re-named:- Hysteria | Re-named by:- Don Hearn | Don became aware that by some accident there was no boat named after the design. He rectified the situation. [Rod & Jo Andrew-Becker] | |
Re-named:- Foreign Affaire | Re-named by:- Rod & Jo Andrew-Becker | Rod & Jo lived on the continent (Belgium & then France) and chose the name to reflect the export/import of the boat. Spelt with the final ‘e’, in English it had the connotation of a saucy french love affair (with the boat of course!), which seemed right. The French ‘affaire’ has multiple meanings**, generally around the theme of a ‘business/event/thing’ so being a foreign thing brought to France. Written on the transom rather than side, Rod hoped that people would be in the best position to read it there!
**but curiously NOT usually a love affair, or ‘liaison’, unless explicitly, ‘affaire d’amour’
 [Rod & Jo Andrew-Becker] | |
| 2989 | Seagoon | Not known | Seagoon was a name originally used for 1810 which was renamed after it was sold in 1969. [Peter Male] |
Re-named Bare Essentials | A Wright | Re-named in 1986 [Peter Male] | |
| 2994 | Asp | Jerry Rook | An acronym from "All Scrounged Parts". The boat was fitted out using surplus parts donated by Barry Dunning. (others have suggested that Asp was short for "All Spare Parts" or "All Strange Parts" - but this has been discounted by Jerry) [Dan Alsop] |
| 2998 | Hexpresso | Play on words, the original owner hoping this Hexagon design would give express performance.
[Chris Martin] | |
| 3000 | Solace | Peter Rainey | Peter won the boat in the 1975 MROA raffle. He was selling tickets (at £1.00 each) for the raffle and had one left. His brother did not want it so he had it and it won - ticket number was 800. [Peter Rainey] |
| 3009 | Mustard Caress | Malcolm Molyneux | Malcomn's previous boat was 2847 (a Smokers). This boat is a Mustard Seed design. He found it very hard to find a linked
name but after a few 'Special Brew' he came up with “Mustard Caress”. [Geoff Wright] |
| 3016 | Saint Frideswide | M. Herman | Legend has it that St. Frideswide was a Princess who founded a priory in Oxford. She is Oxford's Patron Saint [Mike Liggett] |
Re-named:- Miss Spent Youth | Sheffield University Sailing Club | Re-named to continue their 'Miss' theme (2379 : 2567 : 2748 ; 2749)
[Geoff Wright] | |
| 3023 | Cry Havoc | Nigel Wakefield | The origin is in the Shakespear play 'Julius Caesar'. In the scene where Mark Antony is alone with Julius Caesar's body, shortly after Caesar's assassination, he delivers a soliloquy and reveals his intention to incite the crowd at Caesar's funeral to rise up against the assassins. ‘Cry Havoc and let loose the dogs of war’. [Jeremy Hudson] |
| 3035 | Oomeegees | Tony Johnson | A name with a play on letters. [Tony Johnson] |
| 3036 | Miss Guydid | John Pattinson | John crediting his boatbuilder on this early Winder Box. [Guy Winder] |
| 3037 | Highly Spiced | Rob Holroyd | A Mustard Seed design - hence to pun. [Rob Holroyd] |
Re-named:- Matthew 13-31 | Re-named by:- A. Whitehead | Matthew 13-31 - The parable of the mustard seed. ........... a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. 32 Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, ............. [Yearbook] | |
| 3046 | A Touch of Magic | Chris Rathbone | Inspired by a discussion in the bar. Someone mentioned that they needed a touch of magic with their sailing so Chris snaffled it. [Chris Rathbone] |
| 3054 | After Myth | Patrick Blake | In 1975, feeling elated (2713), Patrick decided to move on and bought a Flying Dutchman so that he could have a shot at the Olympics selection. In the 1976 trials he missed out, been beaten by Rodney Pattison. Patrick then ordered a boat from Laurie Smart to compete in the Nationals.
In the aftermath of missing out at the Olympics selection - what else but to continue with the 'Myth' theme (see 2225-2246 - 2575 - 2713) and therefore 'After Myth'
[Patrick Blake] |
| 3067 | After Burner | Alan Warren | Alan was a competitor in the Montreal Olympics 1972. His boat, with others was shipped out to Canada in a container and rough weather during the crossing resulted in boats breaking free from their cradles. Alan's boat was severely damaged and he spend most of the time allocated to local training repairing the boat. However, the repairs were never able to return the boat to it's original condition and after the games Alan considered it uneconomical to return the boat to the UK. The boat was burnt on the beach - much to the annoyance of the RYA. This was Alan's first Merlin after the event.
[Alan Warren] |
| 3072 | Sweet Charity | Richard Bramley | Taken from a
musical that was popular at the time. The title song was "Sweet
Charity". - Richard's advice was to read the words. [Richard Bramley] |
| 3078 | Miss Laid | Sheffield University Sailing Club | The last new boat built for Sheffield University and continuing their 'Miss' theme (2379 : 2567 : 2748 : 2749 : 3016)
However, the 'Miss' theme for the university was interrupted by John Pattinson with another 'Miss' name for his slightly earlier Winderbox (see 3036) [Geoff Wright] |
| 3091 | Blind Date | C. Humphrey | Keith Callaghan received a commission to design and build the boat. It was therefore seen as a bit of a blind date when the owner was introduced to the new boat. [Keith Callaghan] |
| 3104 | Legend | Phil King | A pun on the boat being at the 'leg end' of the crew. [Phil King] |
| 3109 | Misty Blew | Steve Leney | A play on words related to a popular song of the era - Misty Blue [Steve Leney] |
| 3125 | Foot Loose | Peter (Spud) Rowsell | Nothing to do with fancy free - the first boat with a loose footed main. [Peter Male] |
| 3136 | Substitute | Barry Dunning | Originally built by Laurie Smart with a dagger board. The Class Assoc. changed the rules within two weeks on hearing of the build and Laurie had to "substitute" a normal centreboard case for the dagger case. [Barry Dunning] |
| 3146 | Sledgehammer | A Peter Gabriel song of the late 70’s [Chris Martin] | |
| 3147 | Just Blew | Steve Leney | A continuing theme from Steve's previous boat. (3109) [Steve Leney] |
| 3158 | Bellerophon | Nick Aubrey | Bellerophon is a hero and slayer of monsters in Greek mythology. His greatest feat was the killing of Chimera.
[Mike Liggett] |
Re-named:- Ancient Footprints | Re-named by:- E Whalley | The name was not registered but it was painted on the boat. It would also seem that the ownership was not registered. [Geoff Wright] | |
Re-named:- Time Passages | Renamed by:- Geoff & Noelle Wright | Time Passages was named after an Al Stewart Album - it seemed to fit. [Geoff Wright] | |
| 3165 | Panatella | R Deacon | The hull is a Smokers Satisfaction and therefore it was considered that the name of the cigar followed the theme [Jeremy Deacon] |
| 3169 | Sidewinder | Martin and Rene Watts | Named their Disguys after 'Guy made a missile'. [Geoff Wright] |
| 3174 | Thwartless Blues | Steve Leney | The first boat without a thwart. Also following a theme from previous boats. (3109 & 3147) [Steve Leney] |
| 3175 | Pyeyed | Tony Johnson | Tony and his crew - Ian Matthews - liked a bit of a drink. Tony liked the play on letters in the name.
[Tony Johnson] |
Re-named:- Captain's Log | Re-named by:- N. Baker | [Peter Male] | |
| 3179 | Woodstock & Friends | Peter Rainey | The naming of this boat links back to 2102 and the characters from the Peanuts cartoons. [Peter Rainey] |
| 3184 | Silk Cut | P. Frampton | A NSM design - clearly named after the popular brand of cigarette - Silk Cut.
(NSM = New smoking material) [Chris Martin] |
| 3185 | Hamlet & Wildfire | Alan Jackson | The boat is a Smokers Satisfaction - so it was named after the cigar (Hamlet) which gave you that satisfaction. [Alan Jackson] |
| 3194 | Original name:- Silicon Ship | Robert Grew | Silicon Ship was built in the days of the emerging personal computer era. All the talk at that time was of Silicon Chips, so the boat, (obviously a play on words) was named to reflect the thinking at that time. [Robert Grew] |
Re-named:- The Bitterest Pill | Renamed by:- Phil & Paula Mason | A new addition to the family saw a turn in direction with less time for sailing, their 'new' boat (3515) was sold and Silicon Ship bought to keep a connection.
However, they never really had the time and never did take to going back to an old boat and hence re-named it 'The Bitterest Pill', a track by the Jam.
In 1982 Phil had bought tickets to see the Jam in concert and subsequently sold them at a profit and didn't see them play live. It turned out to be their last tour, the wrong decision? It kind of fit, they had bought an old Merlin, a lovely boat, but it never did fill the gap. [Phil & Paula Mason] | |
Returned to original name:- Silicon Ship | Returned to original name by:- Jim Hopton | Jim was the original crew for Robert. In addition to returning the original name to the boat he also painted it the original colour. [Jim Hopton] | |
| 3199 | For Ever Autumn | I Copsey | For Ever Autumn was a single from the Jeff Wayne's hit War of the worlds [Dougal Henshall] |
| 3200 | Original name:- Seren Caer | H & W Wright | The boat was commissioned by Henry Wright and his father Walter, to sail at Bala. The name was, because of where she was to be berthed, intended to be a play on words, in welsh, of their surname. The welsh for “Wright” (as in shipwright, wheelwright etc) is “Saer”. This was miss-spelled by Henry and Walter as “Caer” . (Caer is the welsh to describe a Roman stronghold, equivalent to the English “Chester”. )
“Seren” is welsh for “Star”! Hence the boat was intended to be called, in welsh, “Wrights’ Star”. It is not known if the miss-spelling of “Saer” was intentional of an administrative error.
[David Harries] |
Renamed:- Luffchild | Renamed by:- Colin Palmer | [Peter Male] | |
Returned to original name: Seren Caer | Returned to original name by:- Peter Male | [Peter Male] | |
Renamed :- Eternal Flame | [Peter Male] | ||
| 3201 | Rumours | Rumours was named after the hugely successful album by Fleetwood Mac. [Graham Willianson] | |
| 3204 | Batty Bat | D Robinson | Two records albums that were hits at the time the boat was built featured 'Captain Beaky and his Band'. Batty Bat was a member of the band and a hero in the song. [Dougal Henshall] |
| 3208 | Stiletto | Guy Winder | This boat was designed to be sailed heeled, but then much modified. [Guy Winder] |
| 3211 | Bananas | Phil King | Money was tight, Phil was between jobs, and R & M boats were expensive. Spud phoned with the final price ( considerably more than the estimate from many years previously because of the waiting time, and far more than Phil had ever paid for a boat from other builders), and asked for the name and paint colour. Phil thought that he must be bananas spending so much money on a hobby. He responded; Paint it green and call it Bananas. Spud never asked him why. Phil reported that the boat was a revelation, worth every penny, and jumped him to the front of the fleet. The year it was launched, he almost won the 1980 Weymouth nationals winning 2 races, having previously never been in contention. It was another 11 years before he had a boat that was as good. (3471 - Savage).
[Phil King] |
| 3218 | Breakfast in America | P. Robinson | [Yearbook] |
Renamed:- If Only | Re-named by:- Rob Holroyd | Just a reaction to the original name [Rob Holroyd] | |
| 3222 | Hi-Risk | Derek Hanrahan | This was the 3rd boat that Jon was to build since starting-up on his own. The name represented Derek's risk in having a boat from Jon, when the fashion was strongly with the established builders. On collection Derek was so impressed that he immediately placed a substantial deposit for his next boat (Seventh Heaven - 3296). [Jon Turner] |
| 3230 | Turncoat | Dave Griffiths | Dave Griffiths had always had Rowsell boats, and had insisted that his later ones were built by Jon Turner. When Jon went on his own Dave followed, becoming a turncoat. [Jon Turner] |
| 3245 | Twocan | J.S.Nixon | |
Re-named:- Jonathan Livingston Seagull | Re-named by:- J. Haslam | A book first published in the 1970's [Peter Male] | |
Re-named:- Golden Snitch | Re-named by:- Magnus Smith | The boat was yellow when purchased by Magnus, and he fancied a literary name which did not require a re-paint. His wife suggested a term from the Harry Potter books which had gripped them both. It refers to a winged ball that is nearly impossible to catch. Such a mascot hangs from the boom.
It was a popular name choice at the time; Alan Warren sailed 'Golden Snitch 2' during the following season, though the '2' was not visible on the boat. The RYA registration forms concerning the name choices probably arrived in the same week.
[Magnus Smith] | |
| 3274 | Vampire | Dick Batt | Vampire - species of bat [Chris Martin] |
| 3275 | Adrenalin | Steve Leney | After so many years the reason is lost in history. [Peter Male] |
| 3279 | One Samba Walk | Alan Jackson | Named after a dance step. [Alan Jackson] |
| 3283 | Family Affair | Patrick Blake & Roger Taylor | Ge'd up by his success in Merlins, Patrick decided to buy another Flying Dutchman and have a further shot at the Olympics. This time he was successful but it was 1980 and Moscow and the RYA boycotted the games. Patrick continued to sail Flying Dutchman but was keen to do Salcombe week and the Nationals, which in, 1970, he did in a borrowed boat with Roger as crew.
Roger, the husband of Patrick's sister-in-law was keen to to do club racing and open meetings so the family decided to share a boat.
[Patrick Blake] |
| 3287 | The Message | Peter Scott | This was a buzz phrase at the time and was a good name for the boat. 'T' shirts were made saying 'I've got the message' and the trailer was liveried as The Message Carrier! [Peter Scott] |
| 3291 | Paranoia | Lawrie Smart | At the time Lawrie built this boat he was under a lot of grief from many directions. [Lawrie Smart] |
| 3296 | Seventh Heaven | Derek Hanrahan | Derek's seventh Merlin. (7th is highest of the heavens in Islam) [Geoff Wright] |
| 3297 | New Potato | Peter (Spud) Rowsell | New Potato was named by Phil Morrison. The boat was quite radical at the time. It was designed and built in the Spring and Phil M wanted to relate the (design) name to the time of year - and the thought of new potatoes popped into his head.
[Phil King] |
| 3300 | Perfection | Chris Rathbone | When Chris saw the boat being built by Laurie Smart, it looked one of the most beautiful boats that he'd ever seen. That name came very easily. [Chris Rathbone] |
| 3302 | Co-respondent | Dave Griffiths | Dave spending too much time with his boats? [Geoff Wright] |
| 3309 | Nora Batty | R. Harris | A Summer Wine design, named after a character in the TV series "The Last of the Summer Wine". [Chris Martin] |
| 3314 | Passion | Jon Turner | The name reflected Jon's feelings about Merlins and sailing them. [Jon Turner] |
| 3317 | Shared Affair | Patrick Blake and Roger Taylor | See 3283 'Family Affair' - it was time to update - so a continuation of the theme. [Patrick Blake] |
| 3330 | Nice Legs | I Holt | A 1980's pop song which also included the words " shame about the face" [Peter Richards] |
| 3338 | Uptown Girl | Nick Aubrey | A Billy Joel hit from the period which includes the punchline “I’m
going to win”. A very classy lady. Since taken out by (to quote the
lyrics again) some ‘backstreet guys’ and ‘downtown men’ [Geoff Wright] |
| 3339 | The Flame | Peter Scott | Once the paint was chosen - the name became self evident. [Peter Scott] |
| 3341 | Avalanche |  | |
| 3344 | Die Fledermaus | Dick Bat | Die Fledermaus - german for The Bat
[Chris Martin] |
| 3348 | Wasp | Jerry Rook and Dan Alsop | A follow on from Asp (2994) - Wasp = "Wasn't All Scrounged Parts" [Dan Alsop] |
| 3353 | Master Blaster | Richard Whitworth | Having picked the boat up, on turning a sharp corner Richard managed to pass a lamp post with the car to one side and the mast on the other. 'Blasting' the mast. Also a song by Steve Wonder. [Richard Whitworth] |
| 3354 | Desiree | Chris Rathbone | Everyone thought that she was a New Potato design but in fact she was an NSM2. The name came from a character in a musical called “A Little Night Music" [Chris Rathbone] |
| 3367 | Bad Attitude | Tim Bird | Tim named the boat after a Meetloaf album that he liked at the time. [Tim Bird] |
| 3368 | Debutante | W & W Wright | The design is an 'Uptown girl' so the name speaks for itself [Jeremy Deacon] |
| 3372 | Diamond Smiles | Ian Holt | Diamond Smiles was a song on a Boom Town Rats album. [Broz (via Forum) / Mike Liggett] |
| 3389 | White Whale | Phil King | White Whale arose because of the shock of seeing a gleaming white lump trestled up on the concrete in the Easter sunshine of Spud's yard. There was a distinct sense of betrayal about the way the boat was made (melamine coated ply painted white). However it was meant to be a functional racing boat, not a piece of furniture. Phil joked that it looked like a white whale, and that seemed a good enough name. Phil hoped it would be suitably ironic for a fast boat.
[Phil King] |
| 3392 | Flighty | J. Docherty | [1988 Year Book] |
Re-named:- Mithrandir | Re-named by:- N. Brinn | In J. R. R. Tolkien's 'Lord of the Rings' there is a wizard called Gandalf and he has many nick-names. One of these is 'Mithrandir'. In the story, Sindarin is the everyday language of Elves and in this language 'Mithrandir' means grey pilgrim. The boat was grey. [Chris Martin] | |
| 3394 | Who's a Pretty Boy | Alan Jackson | The hull ended up being painted a soft pink. You can't turn up on the start line with a pink boat called Bruce. [Alan Jackson] |
Re-named:- Bandelero | Re-named by:- M. Candelas | Mark's first Merlin but fancied neither the name nor colour (re-painted pale blue) and being half Spanish thought 'Bandolero', (Spanish for Highwayman)
sounded good. A namesake of Mark was, Luis Candelas, Spain's most
notorious highwayman (the Spanish 'Dick Turpin'). [M Candelas] | |
| 3398 | Out of the Blue | Brian Drake | Out of the Blue was named after the immensely successful album by the Electric Light Orchestra. [Graham Willianson] |
| 3400 | Dangerbat | Dick Batt | The bat reference is obvious - Dangermouse was a popular children’s cartoon in the mid 80’s, could be a connection. [Chris Martin] |
| 3403 | The Refrigerator | Peter Scott | This was sister ship to the 'White Whale' (3389) so the word play was on the white goods angle. At the same time there was an American Footballer of some girth (and speed) named William Perry whose nickname was 'The Refrigerator' - for some reason this was Peter's nickname in the hockey team for which he played!! ( Also known as the bulk of the team!!) [Peter Scott] |
| 3407 | No limits | Steve Leney | When buildiging the boat, Steve's objective was to view only 7 planks for the hull and use the 8th plank to create a complete half barrel in planks. In order to do this the design had to be based on the maximum exposed limit, a phrase in the rule book at the time which hounded Steve. [Steve Leney] |
| 3408 | Original name:- Dynabyte | Shaun Frohlich | |
Re-named:- Rising Tsar | Renamed by:- Graham Williamson & Nick Yeoman | Red was the preferred colour of the weaponry for this duo, and the name is a play on the russian link, and their climb towards stardom and the 1993 nationals which they lost on countback.
[Graham Willianson] | |
| 3431 | Charge of the Light Brigade | Mike Lennon (& Kevin Driver) | At a time when the perceived wisdom was that 24 stone was needed for successful Merlin sailing, Mike & Kevin weighed in at around 19 stone, unshaven, dressed and wet! Hence the allusion to the famous attack by lightly armed soldiers taking on the heavy guns. [Graham Willianson] |
| 3434 | Love Over Gold | Bruce Mager | Named after album by Dire Straits [Patricia James] |
| 3438 | Simple Minds | Phil Emery | Phil was sailing with David Hawkins so no explanation needed! [Phil Emery] |
| 3439 | Nessie | Colin Brockbank | A reference to Colin's ancestry. [Colin Brockbank] |
| 3442 | Armed Forces | J Lewis | A well known album by Elvis Costello. [Chris Martin] |
| 3451 | Deep Thought | Chris Rathbone | The design was a 42 and the name came courtesy of the Taylor's and the Blake's via the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. (Chris thinks it was mainly Debbie's idea.) The current colour isn’t what Chris envisaged as “a highly intelligent shade of blue”- which was a darker blue than the current shade. [Chris Rathbone] |
| 3459 | About time | Alan Jackson | A boat builder building his own boat, plus a long lead time. [Alan Jackson] |
| 3463 | Sulaco | G. O''Neil | [Mike Liggett] |
Re-named:- Smoke Over Water | Re-named by:- R.Waller | [Mike Liggett] | |
Re-named:- Smoke on the Water | Re-named by:- Peter Walker | A song on the Deep Purple album Machine Head (1972). The inspiration was from a major fire at the casino in Montreux with the smoke spreading over Lake Geneva. The group were in Montreux for the recording. [Mike Liggett] | |
| 3466 | Thunderclap | John Cooper | Name chosen by John's family with reference to an incident in Chaucer's Millers Tales, when a character stuck his bum out of a window and farted like a hunderclappe. (The boat is a Canterbury Tales)
[John Cooper] |
| 3467 | Twice Shy | Alan Warren | Named as a follow-on to Once Bitten (3355) - a boat already owned by the Warren family [William Warren] |
| 3470 | Roaring Forties | George Dalby | The boat is a Phil Morrison '42' design and George was in his 40's when he built it. [Andy Dalby] |
| 3471 | Savage | Phil King | Named after the Annie Lennox album, my wife's haircuts (also in the style of Annie Lennox) and the perceived attitude needed to win a championship. [Phil King] |
| 3474 | Skimbleshanks | Tony Johnson | Tony's daughter, Louise, had just started sailing when she went to see the musical 'Cats'. This was followed by a school poem project and the subject was 'Skimbleshanks' the railway cat. [Tony Johnson] |
| 3476 | Tales of Marco Polo | Geoffrey Cox | The boat was commissioned by Geoffrey Cox when the issue of new Merlin numbers was approaching those of his childhood Cadet - Marco Polo CK 3476. Geoff took a keen interest in the appearance of the boat during construction and spent much time making sure that it was going to be a really beautiful boat.
[Kieron Mason] |
| 3477 | Rebel Yell | Rob Radbourne | The boat was built by Rob using the first Jon Turner foam sandwich shell which had come out a bit heavy for Jon to use. It was therefore ideal for using Rob's idea of using a spaceframe to take the loads. The half foredeck was to save weight as it didn't need a full one for stiffness. The name derived from a variety of sources - a song by Billy Idol - the design being a bit rebellious (the space frame) and the rebell yell ( yee-haw) Rob & his son Jay tended to do when screaming off on a planing reach. [Rob Radbourne] |
| 3486 | The Quickenings | John Harris | Believed to be a reference to the film Highlander. The lead cast member of the television series, Adrian Paul, explained, "The Quickening is the receiving of all the power and knowledge another immortal has obtained throughout his/her life. It is like the receiving of a sacrament or a massive orgasm". [Chris Martin / Mike Liggett] |
| 3490 | Wing and a Prayer | Peter Scott | This was a brand new Phil Morrison design that (hopefully) would be a good weight carrier. (See 3403) It was and this was the 'prayer' element of the name. When the boat was first launched it was rigged with a wing mast that was the same section as used on the Tornado catamaran - a failed experiment - but gave the 'wing' element to the name
The design became known as 'Thin Ice'. [Peter Scott] |
| 3496 | Seren Y Mor | H. & W. A. Wright | Henry & Walter, who sailed at Bala, had a long tradition of giving their boats welsh names. Seren Y mor is welsh for Sea star. [Chris Martin] |
Re-named:- Smokin' | Re-named by:- Steve Essex | Possibly a reference to the film “The Mask” [Chris Martin] | |
| 3498 | Wizard of Odd | Julian Parry | play of the epic "Wizard of Oz". This was an 'odd' boat - a Thin Ice design but without a thwart - which was unusual for a Rowsell boat. [Julian Parry] |
| 3501 | Empi | Jamie Seymour | Named by Jamie after an elbow move in the martial art of Tomari-te. [Graham Willianson] |
| 3502 | Shindig | Alan Markham | Alan had previous boats (not Merlins) called 'Shambles' (GP14) and 'Shammozle' (Moth). The boat name continued the 'Sh...' theme with the word having a meaning of "having a party or having a ball". Furthermore, the family of Sue (his wife & crew) were fans of folk dancing. [Alan Markham] |
| 3505 | Sterling Crisis | Will Rainey | 18 years on from The Red Baron (2865), on the 16th September 1992 (Black Wednesday), as Britain saw interest rates hit 15% before deciding to leave the Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM), Will thought - sod it - it is time for a new boat. So Sterling Crisis it was. [Will Rainey] |
| 3506 | Smarty Pants | Patrick Blake | When Patrick came to order this boat, a Canterbury Tales or Let it Ride seemed to be the option. However, he wanted something different. He went to Laurie Smart and they studied the drawing of the current boats to come up with a new derivative that they considered would beat all. Most of the ideas came from Laurie so 'Smart Pants' as in 'how clever' but there could be another interpretation. (see 3620) [Patrick Blake] |
| 3508 | Red Dragon | Phil Emery | This was a book that was the prequel to Silence of the Lambs
[Phil Emery] |
| 3509 | Dingbat | Dick Batt | Again, the bat bit is easy, maybe Dick enjoyed this early 90’s board game? |
| 3511 | Heaven Sent | Alasdair Evans | Andrew Mills advises that the story he had about Heaven Sent came from Judith Massey and corroborated by Rob O'Toole, who sailed the boat in her 1st championships.
Alasdair Evans came into a pretty large inheritance and went to Jon Turner,
who was turning out foam sandwich CT's at the time for somewhere north of £13,000. He requested him to design and build the best Merlin he could, money no object. The bill was quite large, and the boat was known colloquially as"Evans spent"
 [Andrew Mills] |
| 3512 | Flying Cloud | Peter Chester | It is understood that the name relates to the clipper ship that set the world's sailing record for the fastest passage between New York and San Francisco. The ship held this record for over 100 years. It follows on the theme from a previous boat (3483 - Cloud 9)  [Peter Male] |
| 3513 | Pipistrelle | Dick Batt | Following the theme from his previous boats - another species of bat.
[Chris Martin] |
Re-named:- Sticky Fingers | Re-named by:- Nick "Boris" Heginbotham | [Chris Martin] | |
| 3515 | Slap & Tickle | Phil & Paula Mason | Named after a track on the 1979 'Cool For Cats' album by Squeeze. Musical taste and influence had moved onto a retro stage. The new boat coincided with getting engaged in 1994. The track was a ballad about a couple getting together. It seemed to just fit in a light hearted way if not romantically ... and included the lyric ... "Never chew a pickle with a little Slap Tickle!"
[Phil & Paula Mason] |
| 3517 | Shooting Tsar | Graham Williamson & Nick Yeoman | A follow on from Rising Tsar (3408) - continuing the red/Russian theme and the next step along the way. [Graham Willianson] |
| 3518 | Smoked Salmon | Duncan Salmon | Rather self indulgently, named after its eponymous first owner. [Duncan Salmon] |
| 3519 | The Newark Eel | L. Ross | [Mike Liggett] |
Brain Salad Surgery | Album by Emerson, Lake & Palmer [Peter Richards] | ||
| 3529 | Pass the Parrot | Alan Jackson | The term came from an over active workshop phone. [Alan Jackson] |
| 3530 | Sir Topaz | Mike Colles | Mike bought the bare hull - a Canterbury Tales. Chauser's Sir Topaz was also unfinished. Sir Topaz was portrayed as a great hunter. [Mike Colles] |
| 3531 | S Monk | Not named by original owner. [1996 Year Book] | |
NV | Steve Watson | Before purchasing this boat, Steve and his son Tobi sailed a NSM IV that was a rather questionable shade of green. As a result, Steve and Tobi were known as Team Green at Midland SC.
The new boat was therefore called NV - which stands for Nouveau vert (French) or Nuovo verdi (Italian) - and means “new
green”. The new boat was blue and yellow, which when mixed together makes green. Or was there a sense of being green (team) with NV (envy).
[Steve Watson] | |
| 3534 | Valley Freight | John Dalby | This boat, designed & built by John, was supposed to be the first of a line, all to include the noun Valley (John was a member of Trent Valley SC.) To manage peoples expectation, in case it was not a rocket ship, John thought of Freight to acknowledge the nearby railway. The next would have been Valley Express - but it did not arrive. [Andy Dalby] |
| 3535 | An Bradan Fease | Colin Brockbank | The name is related to Irish mythology. A tale about a 'Salmon of knowledge' - a fish that has gained all the world's knowledge and this is passed to the first person that eats the flesh. [Colin Brockbank] |
| 3536 | Original name:- Blazing Saddles | S. Wragg | [Paul Hollis] |
Renamed:- Mine's a Double | Renamed by:- Paul Hollis | When Paul purchased this boat he had just become the licensee of the Needlemakers Arms at Studley (see 3610) [Paul Hollis] | |
| 3539 | Gangsta Paradise | Phil King | Named after Kevin Driver, the boat's builder who at the time wore dark clothes and black hats, and the (almost) eponymous song by American rapper Coolio. [Phil King] |
| 3540 | Cheers Easy | G. Forshaw | [Chris Martin] |
Re-named:- M&M's | Re-named by:- Mike Allen & Mark Archer | Not only a reference to Mike & Mark. - M&M's are also a chocolate confectionery coated with hard candy shell [Chris Martin] | |
| 3546 | Gilt Complex | Will Rainey | Following on the theme from Sterling Crisis (3505), Will's next new boat was a simple play on words. The quickest boat he ever had. [Will Rainey] |
| 3547 | Moondance Assasin | Mark Barnes | The name and colour scheme comes from the rave/drugs culture. Having been sailing new high speed designs for the previous 10 years, Mark came up with the concept that one must be on drugs to spend such a large amount of money on a 14 ft. wooden boat. The name comes from the Moondance Rave (Funky - still going strong in 2015) and Assasin (instead of Assassin) as in high as a kite.
The yellow inside reflects a bad trip and outside the calming of the blues / Van Morrison, from where/who the Moondance Rave takes it name. [Mark Barnes] |
| 3548 | Tam htab | Tony Larder | This photograph has not been reversed [Kieron Mason] |
Re-named:- Firestarter | Renamed by:- Kieron Mason | Kieron had been inspired by 3549 - Unfinished Business - and was looking to move up from an old Phantom Kipper. When 3548 came on the market he seized the opportunity. The quick refurb turned into a fairly long one over the winter with many cups of tea and of course music playing . The original name and graphics went with the sandings and was replaced with the 'Firestarter' – a track by The Prodigy. It had been played a thousand times during the refurb and seemed appropriate as the anticipation of getting the ‘new’ boat on the water grew. Kieron wasn’t disappointed as the boat repaid the hard work with some sublime moments. [Kieron Mason] | |
| 3549 | Unfinished Business | Mike Calvert | Having ordered the boat, the delivery was longer than anticipated. Mike's request for progress reports indicated that it was not finished. The expression 'unfinished business' evloved over a period of time. [Mike Calvert] |
| 3550 | She's a Cracker | Tony Johnson | The farther of Tony's crew (Robert Smith) had a boat called 'Cracker' and Tony liked the name. Furthermore, the boat looked good. [Tony Johnson] |
| 3554 | Stud Muffin | Julian Parry | Nothing more to it other than Julian liked the name.
[Julian Parry] |
| 3556 | Make it so | Lawrie Smart | 'Make it so' was an expression used by Admiral Lord Nelson, who would go on deck, give an order to an officer and culminate with 'make it so'. Lawrie copied this style by using the expression when giving instructions to his assistant.
[Lawrie Smart] |
| 3557 | Out of the Blue 2 | Guy Winder | Although sail numbers do not show this - Out of the Blue 2 was the first Winder foam sandwich boat out of the mold - just out of the blue. [David Winder] |
| 3561 | Snorting | John Cooper | A carry over from Captain Snort (2710) [John Cooper] |
| 3565 | Original name:- Spotted Dick | Dick Batt | |
Re-named:- Scallywag | Renamed by:- Andy Bownes | Andy did not like the idea of being 'associated' with Spotted Dick. Scallywag was the nickname used by Andy's father and the name was chosen in his memory. [Andy Bownes] | |
| 3569 | Time Zulu | Graham Williamson & Nick Yeoman | Time Zulu is zero hour - the time from which all other times are measured - as happens when winning races. Following Nick's untimely death after sailing the boat only once, John Bell acquired his share, and the name proved fortuitous as the boat won the nationals at the first time of asking (2000). [Graham Willianson] |
| 3570 | Second Thought | Chris Rathbone | Chris was carrying on a theme from his previous boat. (3451) [Chris Rathbone] |
| 3571 | Hakuna Matata | Andy Jones | Andy took his three children to see The Lion King. The song took their imagination.
Hakuna matata is a Swahili phrase; roughly translated, it means "no worries".
 [Andy Jones] |
| 3573 | Rong Number | Paul Davies | The builder carved the wrong number in the hog. [Paul Hollis] |
| 3574 | Holy Grail | Hywel Bowen Perkins | Merlin > Wizard > King Arthur > the Holy Grail. [Hywel Bowen Perkins] |
| 3575 | Gavadlax | Duncan Salmon | Following the theme - (see 3518) - this boat was one of the first wave of Winder CTs, wonderfully built and engineered but lacking the mahogany fore and side decks and sycamore gunwales - so called Gravadlax , almost smoked salmon but not quite the same. [Duncan Salmon] |
| 3580 | Chambulls | William Warren | Chambulls was William's first new boat. A popular drink at the time which seemed to sum up his shambolic sailing. [William Warren] |
| 3581 | Prologue | Mike Anslow | The boat is a Canterbury Tales and Mike was looking for a name with a literary connection. [Mike Anslow] |
| 3582 | Never been to Salcombe | Richard Estaugh | Although Richard was a regular competitor on the Open Circuit, at the time the boat was purchased (2000) he had never been to Salcombe. Since then the boat has been to Salcombe and is now known as NBTS. [Peter Male] |
| 3583 | Original name:- Kind of Blue | John Andrews | Kind of Blue is a reference to a Jazz record - arguably the most significant in the world of jazz [Robert Grew] |
Re-named:- Back to the Future | Renamed by:- Chris Martin | Chris sold a Winder boat 3602, to buy a wooden boat 3543. After three years he sold 3543 and bought 3583, obviously another Winder - moving Back to the Future. (The name given to a trilogy of Sci-fi films) [Chris Martin] | |
| 3585 | After Hours | Glenn Truswell | A hull by Tony Locke, fitted out by Glenn working on it after hours at work.  [Graham Willianson] |
The name in 2017 after the boat had been modified by John Fildes. | |||
| 3586 | Same Old Magic | Mike Fitzpatrick | [Kieron Mason] |
Re-named:- Shadowplay | Re-named by:- Kieron Mason | Kieron acquired the boat after it had been in storage for some time. This had been less kind to the fittings and the majority needed replacement so another refurb was underway (see 3548). Kieron wanted to flip the trend for ‘traditional’ white waterlines and decided on black. He admired the very dark grey of 3743 so black and grey it was.
Belinda (his wife) and Kieron had spent many hours working late into the night as students listening to Joy Division and their track Shadowplay. Thoughts of this brought back memories and it seemed to fit the boat pretty well.
 [Kieron Mason] | |
| 3587 | Mitral | Ted Kington | Ted’s present to himself after major heart surgery which included the provision of new Mitral valves. [Chris Martin] |
Re-named:- Mistral | Re-named by:- Frank Fern | Frank thought the name on the boat had been mis-spelt and had it 'corrected'. [Chris Martin] | |
| 3588 | Merlinium | A boat built at the start of the 3rd millennium [Peter Male] | |
| 3589 | Fat Bottom Girl | Colin Brockbank | As we all know - boats are feminine. Merlins have a wide beam and a flat(ish) bottom. A play on words. [Colin Brockbank] |
| 3592 | Boadicea | Judith Massey | Boadicea was perhaps the greatest of the Warrior Queens, and something of an inspiration for its lady owner. [Graham Willianson] |
| 3593 | Insomnia | Richard Whitworth | A song to which Richard would listen prior to sailing to get him 'in the groove'. [Richard Whitworth] |
| 3594 | Summit Fever | Phil Plumtree | Name taken from a book by Andrew Greig which focused on the addiction of mountaineers wanting to reach the top at all costs and the euphoria of the achievement. Also the typeface of the cover was used by David Winder as a basis
for the name on the side. [Phil Plumtree] |
| 3597 | Quidditch | Steve Crook | The boat was purchased at the time when Harry Potter was big box office. Merlin was a wizard and Quidditch is the game wizards play in Harry Potter . [Steve Crook] |
| 3598 | Bah Humbug | Jim Hopton | After years of persevering with older boats Jim decided if couldn’t beat the owners of new boats he would join them. [Chris Martin] |
| 3599 | Harry | John Harris | Named after John & Robert's father. [Mike Liggett] |
| 3601 | Millennium Falcon | Will Rainey | In 2000, a new design was conceived over supper at the Looe championships.
The film the Phantom Menace had been released the previous year and as a Star Wars fan - Will's next boat just had to be metallic silver and called Millennium Falcon, the fastest space ship in the galaxy.
It was, after all, the year 2000 and a Merlin is a species of Falcon.
A further twist in the theme is the now infamous port v starboard incident with Dave Winder in the boats first open meeting at Abersoch, when Will hit Dave (WIll's fault). Dave then called his new boat The Phantom Menace (3611). [Will Rainey] |
| 3604 | Aunt Fanny | Laurence Tosh | [Year Book] |
Re-named:- Desafinado | Re-named by:- Tim Barr | The name of a song written by Tom Jobim. The word means off key or out of tune. - Helm or boat? [Tim Barr] | |
| 3606 | Take it easy | Phil King | Alluding to the corny cowboy salutation (another reference to Kevin Driver's black hats) and the hope that the boat would do all the work. [Phil King] |
| 3608 | The Shed | Phil Emery | Phil - an avid Chelsea supporter. The Shed - the home end at Stamford Bridge. [Phil Emery] |
| 3609 | Time Lords | Graham Williamson & John Bell | A development of the 'Time' theme (3569), and an anagram of Old Timers. The boat was purchased at a point when John & Graham were consistent winners of the Centenary Trophy for a combined age over 100... [Graham Willianson] |
| 3610 | Needlemakers | Paul Hollis | When purchased, Paul was the licencee of The Needlemakers Arms, Studley, Warks. [Paul Hollis] |
| 3611 | The Phantom Menace | David Winder | The story continues from 3601. Dave was also a Star Wars fan and The Phantom Menace (Star Wars: Episode 1) was a film that had just been released. The Millennium Falcon (a silver boat) and The Phantom Menace (a black boat) are on different sides in the Galactic Republic. [David Winder] |
| 3615 | Edgar | Andrew Hilton | Named in memory of grandfather. [Andrew Hilton] |
| 3617 | --- | Richard Estaugh | Richard did not name the boat |
Nearly all Over | Matt Biggs & Dave Crockett | When purchased by Matt & Dave it was anticipated that Dave would soon have to give up sailing - however - see 3665
[Matt Biggs] | |
| 3619 | Dark and Stormy | Richard Page | Richard had been taking part in a 'round the Island' race. This was followed by drinks in the Royal Corinthian YC. The crew from another boat started the group on 'Dark and Stormy'. A great time was had by all. The boat was named as a reminder of the memorable evening. [Richard Page] |
| 3620 | Cool Cookie | Patrick Blake | Patrick had started a new theme for his boat names (see 3506). An alternative version of 'Smarty Pants' is sort of slang terms for attractive young women - after all boats are feminine. So he came up with 'Cool Cookie', it sort of followed on with a nod towards his home club at Cookham. [Patrick Blake] |
| 3625 | Point Break | Richard Bramley | The term is taken from surfing. When two wave which are approaching at different angles collide, this results in a bigger wave. Name given by Lawrie Smart, who at the time, had just returned from surfing in Australia.
[Richard Bramley] |
| 3626 | Business as Usual | Mike Clavert | Following a theme from Mike's previous boat (3549). Having taken delivery of Unfinished Business Mike went on to win (in 2002) the National Championship. The hope was that the new boat would ensure continuing success. [Mike Calvert] |
| 3627 | Snorter | John Cooper | A follow on from Snorting (3561) and Captain Snort (2710) [John Cooper] |
| 3629 | Zero Gravity | Will Rainey | Getting the weight out of the ends of the boats was the theme of the day (Will considers that he went a bit far with this boat as it had 28kg of correctors).
Wishing to continue with the space theme, Zero Gravity (also metallic silver like Millennium Falcon 3601) was an obvious choice. Sadly, this was not Will's quickest boat.
[Will Rainey] |
| 3634 | Ministry of Pleasure | Phil King | A reference to the then prevalent 'Ministry of Sound' club culture and the hope that the ship would deliver happiness.  [Phil King] |
| 3637 | Delerium | Richard Whitworth | An upbeat song to which Richard would listen before going sailing. [Richard Whitworth] |
| 3639 | Carbonator | Steve Leney | Prior to obtaining this boat Steve was sailing a wooden boat with an aluminium mast. He felt there was a considerable disadvantage compared with the newer boats with carbon 'bits' - hence 'Carbon (h)ater'. [Steve Leney] |
| 3640 | Smart Tart | Patrick Blake | Patrick had a theme running (see 3506 - 3620). Following that theme but also giving recognition to the boat builder - Laurie Smart [Patrick Blake] |
| 3643 | Moist | William Warren | The name was a result of dinner party silliness. [William Warren] |
| 3644 | Poached Salmon | Duncan Salmon | Following the theme (3518 - 3575) - Duncan needed to upgrade to a Winder 4 but was having liquidity issues because of a recent house move. Fortunately, a house restoration fund was being accumulated to pay for essential repairs / updates to the 100 year old North London property. Cash was liberated from the fund and the boat called Poached as in 'to steal fish from another's property' as distinct from 'to cook in simmering hot water'. However when his wife found out, the latter was just as relevant.
Dave Winder got the joke and the boats name was sign- written in medieval script to reflect the poaching reference. [Duncan Salmon] |
Re-named:- Marleen | Re-named by:- Jon Bloice | Jon acquired the nick name 'Boycie' - the character in 'Only Fools & Horses'. Boycie's wife was Marleen. [Jon Bloice] | |
| 3645 | Blue Velvet | Barry Morant | Named after the film [Jeremy Deacon] |
| 3646 | Wuthering Heights | Miles James | Wuthering Heights - a romantic novel by Emily Bronte. Miles built the boat in the garden of his wife to be and the name was a statement of his feelings. [Miles James] |
| 3647 | Mr Bright Side | Andy Davis | A song from the band 'The Killers'. [Andy Davis] |
Re-named:- Liquid Dreams | Re-named by:- Hywel Bowen Perkins (jnr) | For a long time Hywel had dreamed of owning a Winder Mk4, so when he finally got permission from his wife to buy the boat he got very excited - 'liquid dreams'. [Hywel Bowen Perkins (jnr)] | |
| 3650 | Headcase | Lawrence Tosh | At the time of buying the boat, Tosh lived in Looe. Whilst standing on the balcony of his house and wondering about the name, he got the insparation from the name above the hairdressers across the road. [LawrenceTosh] |
| 3651 | Jupiter | Colin Brockbank | For Colin this was a reminder of his school days when, with his mates, lived in a fantasy world of 'Jupiter' - they were all 'Jupiterians'. A trip in to nostalgia. [Colin Brockbank] |
| 3652 | Time & Tide | Graham Williamson | Further development of the 'Time' theme (3569 & 3609). Time & Tide, as we know, wait for no man but lead from the front!
[Graham Willianson] |
| 3653 | Artemis | Judith Massey | Artemis was another famous warrior queen (see 3592) - in this case the highly respected Greek goddess of hunting. Watch out chaps.... [Graham Willianson] |
| 3654 | Tales of Acapulco | Geoffrey Cox | Following the theme from a previous boat - 3476 - Tales of Marco Polo
[Kieron Mason] |
| 3656 | Wild Card | Rob Wilder | Bought with a bequest from his grandfather, Rob was only slightly known in the fleet, but felt the new boat would make him the Wild Card in the pack - a good play on the family name. [Graham Willianson] |
| 3657 | Revolution | Phil Emery | A continuation of the Chelsea FC theme (see 3609) Roman Abramovich was considered to have started a revolution when he became the owner of Chelsea FC. [Phil Emery] |
| 3658 | Batto | [Peter Male] | |
Re-named:- Er-Entry | Re-named by:- David Gates | Rockets re enter the atmosphere. David was returning to the fleet after an absence. [David Gates] | |
Bernard | Chris Jennings | Did not like Re-entry so had to find another name.
Inspiration taken from the Blackadder series. A character called Nursey turned out to have the name Bernard. Chris started to use 'Bernard' for all things without a name! But - of course all boats are female.
[Chris Jennings] | |
| 3659 | Zeno | Julian Parry | Zeno was a Greek philosopher - who had a 'hare & hound' theory (paradox) - if, in a race, you keep halving the distance between the hare & the tortoise then the hare never catches the tortoise. Like buying a new Merlin - by the time it is ordered built and fitted out you can never catch up with the latest developments. [Julian Parry] |
| 3660 | djelibeybi | Will Raney | Will abandoned his Star Wars themes for this boat. Sir Terry Pratchett had published Pyramids, as part of his Discworld series, and 'djelibeybi' was a fictional middle eastern country in the story. As you would expect, djelibeybi was painted/sprayed a deep rich blackcurrent colour. [Will Rainey] |
| 3662 | Attack of the Clones | David Winder | Although Will Rainey had moved away from the Star Wars theme for his new boat (3660), Dave was still a fan. The new boat was black, the same as 3611 and when it was taken out of the mold it looked just like a clone. Attack of the Clones was Star Wars: Episode 2. [David Winder] |
| 3663 | Bronte | Chris Haworth | This relates to Chris's surname and the Bronte sisters who lived in Haworth, about 3 miles from where the boat was built. [Chris Haworth] |
| 3665 | Still Not Over | Matt Biggs & Dave Crockett | The earlier expectation (see 3617) that Dave would have to give up his sailing did not happen and they upgraded to a new boat. [Matt Biggs] |
| 3672 | Bola Bola | John Cooper | This is Malay for one of his families favorite expletives - 'Balls' or more usually 'Bollocks'. John had served in the Malaysan Army.
[John Cooper] [John Cooper] |
| 3673 | The Oldie | Alan Warren | The inspiration came from the magazine "The Oldie" [Alan Warren] |
Re-named:- Desperate Housewife | [Peter Male] | ||
Returned to original name:- The Oldie | Returned to original name by:- Caroline Croft |  [Caroline Croft] | |
| 3674 | Autumn Gold | Mike Anslow | This was (planned) to be Mike's last new boat. The boat is 'yellow' to match the seasonal colour. [Mike Anslow] |
| 3676 | Hot Totty | Patrick Blake | Following the theme from previous boats (3506 - 3620 - 3640) [Patrick Blake] |
| 3678 | Nora | Stu Bithell | Stu only owned the boat for about 3 months. It was his first real attempt to win the championships and the money to pay for it came from his grandmother who had just died. She was called Nora hence the boat was named after her.
[Steve Crook] |
| 3680 | Shaka Zulu | Steve Watson | Continuing a theme from a previous boat (3569 - Time Zulu). The boat that replaced Time Zulu was Time Lords. Therefore Steve continued with the Zulu theme.
Before moving to Birmingham, Steve worked in South Africa.
Shaka Zulu was the founder of the Zulu nation, based in Natal, South Africa, in the early 1800s.
He was a ruthless warrior and never lost a battle.
 [Steve Watson] |
| 3681 | Midnight Flight | Emma Flight (& Richard Bates | A double meaning on Emma here with romantic connotations for them. [Graham Willianson] |
| 3683 | Bluebird | Tom Stewart | The boat was wedgwood blue. [Ben Holitch] |
| 3684 | Keyser Soze | Andy Davis | From the film 'The Usual Suspects'. Keyser Soze is a 'crime lord' who is not to be 'messed with' - worse than the devil. [Andy Davis] |
| 3685 | The Black Pearl | William Warren | The boat was bought during the height of The Pirates of the Caribbean films, William's boys were of an age when pirates were fun and therefore it had to be 'The Black Pearl'. [William Warren] |
| 3686 | If | Paul Aldridge | After conversations at the bar - what if I buy a Merlin? - Only if you would. [Jeremy Deacon] |
| 3687 | Mellow Yellow | Alan Jackson | Alan was in a pretty laid back part of life. [Alan Jackson] |
| 3688 | - | Not recorded | Not named by original owner. |
Who Dares Wins | Ben Hollis | Ben was a fan of the TV programme 'Only Fools & Horses' and the lead character - Del Boy (Derek Trotter) - used the phrase 'Who Dares Wins' on a regular basis. As a joke, Adam (Ben's brother), stuck the name on the boat whilst Ben was absent. It is also the motto of the SAS. [Ben Hollis] | |
| 3689 | Ticket to Ride | Hywel Bowen Perkins | Ticket to Ride - the boat design was a variant of a Let it Ride and the inspiration came from the Beatles song.
[Hywel Bowen Perkins] |
| 3690 | General Lee | Andy Dalby | This was the last desperate and wild act of a poor bloke about to tie the knot! Andy simply wanted to create the General Lee car from the Dukes of Hazard TV show. Dave Winder needed some persuasion and called Andy just before he made it to make sure! Andy thought it would stand out so he would definitely have to hold back on the start line instead of pushing it and getting OCS. It certainly worked! [Andy Dalby] |
| 3691 | Quick Fix | Mike Calvert | Mike had not being happy with his previous boat (3626) and was unsure which direction to pursue for the replacement. While thinking about the issues he needed a short term solution in which he could keep his winning ways - in other words a Quick Fix. [Mike Calvert] |
| 3693 | Slippery When Wet | Will Rainey | Bon Jovi was the inspiration for this choice. 'Slippery When Wet' was their third album and included tracks such as 'Living on a Prayer'. The real reason is the original album cover design (which was not used except in Japan). [Will Rainey] |
| 3697 | Too Dark and Stormy | Richard Page | A follow on from the previous boat (3619). Dark and Stormy II was not an option. [Richard Page] |
| 3700 | Brazilian | Phil Emery | Named after Phil Scolari, the Brazilian Chelsea FC manager, who was sacked soon after. A continuation of the Chelsea theme - (see 3608 & 3657) [Phil Emery] |
| 3702 | Salmon en Croute | Duncan Salmon | Following the theme - 3518; 3575; 3644 - Salmon en croute or crusty salmon - Duncan's 50th birthday present to himself! [Duncan Salmon] |
| 3703 | Faithless | Richard Whitworth | A continuation of the theme Richard used for a previous boat (3593). Faithless was the artist that sang the song 'Insomnia' [Richard Whitworth] |
| 3705 | 2 Pints of Lager | Matt Biggs | At the time Matt sailed with Rob Kennaugh and this was the typical request after sailing! [Matt Biggs] |
| 3706 | Monkey Puzzle | Kevin Anderson | Kevin was in business with Alex Jackson and they decided that they would have new Merlins so they ordered a pair of boats from Winder Boats. Initially the idea was that Kevin would call his boat ' Monkey Business' and Alex would use 'Slap the Monkey'. However, Kevin's wife was not in agreement and held the view that the boat name should relate to a tree or a plant - hence Monkey Puzzle. [Kevin Anderson] |
| 3707 | Monkey Business | Alex Jackson | See 3706 - Monkey Puzzle. [Kevin Anderson] |
| 3708 | Wicked | Rob Holroyd | A beautiful green which Rob considered 'wicked'. He also loved the musical (show) [Rob Holroyd] |
| 3711 | Bad Wolf | Richard Bates | A reference to events in Dr Who. [Dave Lee] |
Re-named:- Seawolf | Re-named by:- Dave Lee | Dave wanted to change the name and he understood that nautical folklore allowed you to avoid bad luck by retaining part of the boats original name. At the time Dave had just finished reading the Patrick Robinson novel, Seawolf, and thought it seemed a better name.The novel is about an American submarine. [Dave Lee] | |
Re-named:- Sylvia | Re-named by:- Sam Thompson | Sam named the boat in honour of his Grandmother. (Sylvia lived in Sutton Coldfield - West Midlands and it is a Royal Town. This status was granted by Henry Vlll and for over 500 years a tutor rose has been associated with the town. A close examination of the boat name shows that a tudor rose has been used for the dot over the 'i'.)  [Sam Thompson] | |
| 3712 | Oakey Dokey | Jon Gorringe | Jon previously had several boats (not Merlins) with names related to dragons. The family used a child entertainer who had a little green dragon which was called Oakey Dokey. It therefore followed Jon's theme.
[Jon Gorringe] |
| 3715 | Truly Scrumptious | Paul Rayson | Paul wanted a name that reflected the beauty and appeal of the boat as well as following a theme, characters from musicals. After much family debate they settled on Truly Scrumptious, the character from the film and stage production of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. So far the theme has continued with our inflatable (used to get to Millbay in Salcombe) being named Jemima after the daughter in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. [Paul Rayson] |
| 3716 | Carbon Footprint | Steve Leney | Following on the theme from his previous boat (3639) - Carbon footprint was a new 'buzz word' for the era.
 [Steve Leney] |
| 3719 | Fluffbum Babylove | Nick Barnes | Believed to be the pet names for original owner and crew. [annon] |
Re-named:- Fluff 'n' Stuff | Renamed by:- Jeremy Deacon | An abbreviation on the original name to avoid the bad luck associated with changing the name of a vessel. [Jeremy Deacon] | |
| 3727 | Fragile | Tim Fells | The boat was ordered from a hospital bed the morning after a back operation. Fragile is another track from an album by 'Yes'. Continuing a theme from a previous boat - 2737. [Tim Fells] |
| 3728 | Volski Queen | Judith Massey | Continuing with the theme of warrior queens (3592 & 3653), this boat was named after Camilla, queen of the Volski, who was rumoured to be able to run on water.. Jude just couldn't call a boat Camilla.... [Graham Willianson] |
| 3729 | Shabazzle | Jon Turner | Jon considered the name sounded magical and if checked out 'on line' it has fantastic 21st century connotations. [Jon Turner] |
| 3730 | Blood Sweat & Beers | Paul Hollis | Paul's wife originally suggested 'What are you doing down there again', however this did not find favour with Paul.
He decided to search an internet site that gave suggestions for boat names and selected this.
 [Paul Hollis] |
| 3731 | Mayhem | Andy Jones | The naming follows a light hearted debate at a dinner party. Andy agreed that the expression reflected the way that he and his daughter - Maddie - sail. [Andy Jones] |
| 3732 | Ben Rayner | Ben did not name the boat. | |
Nutwood Express | Alistair Glen | When Alistair met his future wife he was in the habit of wearing a chequered scarf in cold weather, somewhat (in her mind) similar to that worn by Rupert Bear. Her nick (pet) name for him ever since has been 'Rupert'. Alistair was looking for a boat name that contained an element of speed, humour and warmth. 'Nutwood', being the town were Rupert lived and had his smashing adventures with his chums together with 'Express' seemed to be the perfect mix. [Alistair Glen] | |
2 Planks | John Cooper | John & his crew Becci had been sailing RS400's for 18 years when they were encouraged to buy a Merlin. They wondered if they were been a couple of planks to do so. The inspiration for the artwork came from an Eric Sykes film "The Plank". [John Cooper (Lymington Town)] | |
| 3733 | The Dark Side | Tom Stewart | A dark grey boat. [Year Book] |
Re-named:- Smokey | Re-named by:- Nick Simmons | A dark grey boat (a smokey colour). Sailed by ......... The inspiration for the name came from the film "Smokey & the Bandit". [Nick Simmons] | |
| 3735 | Clone Wars | David Winder | Continuing a theme - see 3611 & 3662. Another boat out of the mold. Clone Wars was an animated series made for TV [David Winder] |
| 3736 | Metachrosis | Graham Williamson | All Graham's previous Winder boats had been purple, without any issues, but at the 2011 nationals he was called OCS, and the only evidence to support it was a comment that "the purple boat is close to the line". Graham decided that it was time to get a blue boat, like so many others. Metachrosis is the process of changing colour to blend in. [Graham Willianson] |
| 3738 | Superfast Jellyfish | Simon Blake | A protest song - Lyrics refer to Neptune and water breathers. [Simon Blake] |
| 3739 | Dory | Ben McGrane | The inspiration for the name came from the film "Finding Nemo". Dory is a Regal blue tang (fish). [Ben McGrane] |
| 3740 | Why Ask | Patrick Blake | Partrick was running out of names that followed his theme (see 3506 - 3620 - 3640 - 3676) without getting too risque; He considered that maybe 'Blue Rinse' might be more appropriate!
He was on holiday in the West Indies when I saw a traditional racing boat in Bequia called 'Why Ask'. He thought that this was a good name and maybe the start of a new theme.
 [Patrick Blake] |
| 3743 | Pokin the Turtle | Matt Biggs | A name chosen by his children, who knowing the vernacular meaning of the expression, found in very ammusing when they heard "no pokin the turtle" been shouted by the warden on the beach at a turtle colony. [Matt Biggs] |
| 3744 | Mylo Xyloto | Chris Martin | A name sake (Chris Martin) was the co-founder of a band called Cold Play. In late 2011 they produced an album called 'Mylo Xyloto'. [Chris Martin] |
| 3745 | Where's Wooster | Steve Cockerill | |
Re-named:- Outnumbered | Re-named by:- Simon Hoult | There can only be speculation about the new name. Simon had 3 children so it’s possible he renamed it after the TV comedy about 3 children and their beleaguered parents. The third owner was Paul Dean and he also had 3 children so this seemed apt and the name was retained.
Paul had previously owned 3371 Encore Fume and shortly after he bought Outnumbered someone asked if the boat was named after the fact he had been one of the last people at Wembley to own a wooden boat and hence felt “outnumbered” and had bought a plastic one. Maybe………!!!?  [Paul Dean] | |
| 3749 | Stanley | Nick Craig | The name was chosen by his children but Nick was not sure why. [Nick Craig] |
| 3751 | Strings Attached | Tony Johnson | A family boat - but with conditions such as it would be available for Tony to sail at Salcombe week. [Tony Johnson] |
Re-named:- Narnia | Re-named by:- Hew Reynolds | Narnia - a fictional land, the Kingdom of Aslan in CS Lewis’s The lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe. The original 1980’s series was televised
on a Sunday afternoon in winter and was a particular favourite of Huw’s
daughters.  [Hew Reynolds] | |
| 3752 | The Empire Strikes Back | Will Rainey | Will decided that it was now time to go back to Star Wars theme (The Force Awakens was in production). Following his port v starboard incident at Abersoch (see 3601), "The Empire Strikes Back" just seemed very appropriate. [Will Rainey] |
| 3754 | Didley Pokey | Jon Gorringe | A follow on from Jon's previous boat (3712). There is a welsh expression that goes:- Oakey Dokey - Didley Pokey.
This name therefore had to follow from the previous boat.
[Jon Gorringe] |
| 3755 | Tickled Pink | Peter Jackson | At the time that Peter bought the boat he had just split up with his long term girlfriend and had just benefitted from an endowerment policy. He as 'tickled pink' with his good luck. [Peter Jackson] |
| 3756 | Robert | William Warren | Named after a small boy who was being unfairly, verbally abused by his parents whilst skiing in Verbier. William felt very sorry for him and his idiot antics. The boat was named as a tribute to the underdog and his own idiotic tendencies on the racecourse. [William Warren] |
| 3757 | Space Hopper | Richard Domoney | [Year Book] |
Renamed:- To the moon & back | Re-named by:- Andy Postle | Name chosen by Andy's daughter. Rockets go to the moon and back. [Andy Postle] | |
| 3759 | Red Mistress | Sam Pascoe | Sam had a history of buying red boats. When he optained this boat he had just returned from honeymoon. His first thought was to name the boat 'Ball & Chain', but this was not approved. Finally 'Red Mistress' was approved. [Sam Pascoe] |
| 3760 | Arbuckle | Mark Reddington | Mark's introduction to sailing was when his wife bought him a catamaran called Garfield as a surprise present. All boats since have been named after Garfield characters. Arbuckle is Garfields owner. [Mark Reddington] |
| 3761 | Beast Quest | A series of books for children where decisions have to be made and these then effect the outcome of the story. [Peter Male] | |
| 3762 | RIMONIN | Malcolm Hyams | A rimonin as a grapefruit, which is a slang expression for a grenade. It was considered that this suited Malcolm style of aggressive sailing. [Malcolm Hyams] |
| 3763 | Dancing (Smiffy) Brave | Mark Barnes | The boat colour scheme and name comes from Paul Smith who should have been the crew, but sadly died of Leukemia in December 2013. Paul had trained as a ballet dancer and Mark used to do a lot of Jive dancing, the name was thought to be appropriate. The 'Smiffy' in brackets is all about Paul.
(Dancing Brave was also a successful racehouse)
 [Mark Barnes] |
| 3764 | Fancy Liquor | Tim Fells | Tim named this boat in memory of his double champs winning Lark (1993 & 1997). It is the punch line from and old joke..."I call my man Southern Comfort" [Tim Fells] |
| 3765 | Three Dee | Richard Dee | Richard was the third child of the family. He had three children. At the time Richard purchased the boat he could not see in '3-D' because of an eye defect. [Richard Dee] |
| 3766 | The Bear | Andy Dalby | After many years of racing around Salcombe and other events neck and neck with Duncan Salmon, Andy decided to create a very subtle practical joke for him. He copied the boat colour and font of 3702 - to make 'The Bear', in order to chase the Salmons. 3766 & 3702 have identical top colour but 'Salmon en Croute' has a salmon pink bottom plank and 'The Bear' has a golden/brown plank. Duncan's wife even had a special trophy (of a salmon) commissioned for the winner of 'The Salmon Steaks'! (The Notice of Race for this event has not been published. Peter Male)
 [Andy Dalby] |
| 3767 | One Love | Ben Archer | A Bob Marley song .....lets get together ............... feel alright......... [Ben Archer] |
| 3769 | Disciple | Graham Cranford Smith | Sailing is altar on Sundays. Graham realised they they were never going to walk on water and tended to follow. [Graham Cranford Smith] |
| 3771 | Skip | Richard Pausey | Richard was a roofing contractor, who, when trying to find room to keep his new boat, had to move a skip to create the space. [Lawrie Smart] |
| 3772 | Velella | Phil Emery | A 'by the wind sailor' jellyfish. They are in the same species group as the Portuguese Man of War (A nick name for Jose Mourinho, Chelsea manager). A continuation of the Chelsea FC theme (3608, 3657 & 3700). [Phil Emery] |
| 3773 | Number Thirty Four | Alan Warren | Alan's 34th Merlin. [Graham Cranford Smith] |
| 3774 | Panther | Jon Turner | This was the first boat out of Jon's new mould and to ring the changes it was decided to have it black. It was unprecedented for Jon to have a black boat. [Jon Turner] |
| 3775 | Night Fury | Tom Pygall | Inspiration for the name came from the animated film 'How to train your dragon' - which was based up on a series of books. The Night Fury is a Strike Class dragon - "Speed: Unknown. Size: Unknown. The unholy offspring of lightning and death itself. Never engage this Dragon." [Tom Pygall] |
| 3776 | Messy Monty | Nick Craig | Named by Nick's children. A cartoon character - small brown dog. [Nick Craig] |
| 3777 | Mockingjay | Simon Potts | A starting point is the view that all boats should have a girls name. Simon also wished to name it after a character with good personality. Two female characters of the time came to mind - Khalessi (in Games of Thornes) and Catins Everdeen (in The Hunger Games).
At the start of Games of Thornes - Khalessi comes over as a bit of a wet so was rejected.
With regard to Catins, Simon was worried that chavs might call their children Catins & did not want a boat with the same name as chav's kids
The boat is called Mockingjay because it is the symbol used by Catnis in the film - and Jay - for short - is still a real name. [Ally Martin] |
| 3778 | Peer Pressure | Chris Gould | Originally Chris did not name the boat but then he had a lot of people telling him that he had to and were suggesting different names for it! He eventually got bored of this and gave in to the "peer pressure" [Chris Gould] |
| 3779 | The Angels' Share | Dave Lee | This is a tribute to alcohol production and is the percentage lost to evaporation when wine or spirits are aged in an oak barrel. It was also a gentle tease for Dave's wife Kate, who helped pay for the boat - Dave told her Dave Winder had put the apostrophe in the wrong place! [Dave Lee] |
| 3781 | The Force Awakens | David Winder | This follows on the Star Wars theme from previous boats (3611 - 3662 - 3735). David felt that the class was ready for a radical change in hull design. The underwater shape was much the same as the standard Winder boat of the time but above the waterline the maximum width was extended to the transom to give more righting forces. [David Winder] |
| 3782 | Caribbee Joe |  | |
| 3783 | Born to be Willd | Miles James | This was the second Steppenwolf hull to be built but it was modified with Genii internals and rig.
Born to be Wild was a top ten song by the group Steppenwolf. It was also on the sound track of the film 'Easy Rider'
Also - wolves are wild, and according to some, Miles was a bit eccentric, not one for following the crowd. [Miles James] |
| 3784 | Strung Along | Tony Johnson | This is the same theme as Tony's previous boat - 3751. A family boat - but with conditions such as it would be available for Tony to sail at Salcombe week. [Tony Johnson] |
| 3787 | Quicksilver | Chris Martin | Quicksiver is a character in the X-Men series of films. He has superhuman ability to move at great speeds. [Chris Martin] |
| 3788 | Blue my mind | Christian Birrell | A play on words for a blue boat - Blew my mind. [Christian Birrell] |
| 3789 | Off Piste | Nick Scroggie | Nick's other sporting passion - skiing. At Parkstone (home club) - having a reputation for taking a flyer.  [Nick Scroggie] |
| 3790 | Pointer | Colin Brockbank | Colin was very committed to his dogs and often used their alter-ego as a synonym when posting on the website forum. [Colin Brockbank] |
| 3793 | Boris | Mike Budd | The inspiration for buying the boat came from Nick Heginbototham - nickname : Boris. The colour of the graphics was influenced by Boris's hair. [Mike Budd] |
| 3794 | Ichthys | Julian Harms | Julian's previous boat was Smoked Salmon (3518) and he wished to continue the theme as well as creating a talking point. The ichthys, (from the Greek=Fish) is a symbol consisting of two intersecting arcs, the ends of the right side extending beyond the meeting point so as to resemble the profile of a fish.
The graphics on the side include the symbol. The name on the transom is for those of us who do not read greek.  [Julian Harms] |
| 3796 | Roberta | William Warren | Following a theme from the previous boat (3756) [William Warren] |
| 3797 | Fata Morgana | Mark Elkington | A couple of strands to this name. Fata Morgana is equally known as Morgan le Frey (see 2121). She was a Arthurian sorceress. Fata Morgana is also the name given to an optical phenomenon which occurs when rays of light are bent when they pass through air layers of different temperatures in a steep temperature inversion. At sea the effect is that boats appear to sail/float above the water.
Mark's profession - atmospheric physicist  [Mark Elkington] |
| 3799 | Simply Scrumptious | Paul Rayson | Following a theme from previous boat (3715) [Paul Rayson] |
| 3800 | Brambles | Richard Bramley | RIchard's nick-name at school. [Richard Bramley] |
| 3801 | Pokey | Matt Biggs | Following a theme from previous boat (3743) [Matt Biggs] |
| 3802 | Khalessi | Simon Potts | Following a theme from Simon's previous boat - 3777 [Simon Potts] |
| 3803 | Close cover Pull''er Black Swan | Chris Gould | A 'default' name given to the boat by Graham Cranford Smith who wanted to ensure that every boat entered for Salcombe Week 2019 had a name displayed on the results sheet.
A play with words associated with Chris's business - Creation Covers.
Later Pull'er was written on the transom as a reminder to the crew following and unfortunate incident.
Eventually, the boat was given the 'official' name of Black Swan. It is a white boat with a black bottom. So sometimes you see white and occasionally it
is black. Chris shares the boat with Caroline (Croft) who has a deep interest
in ballet. In the ballet ‘Swan Lake’ there are roles of White Swan and Black Swan
which are usually danced by the same ballerina. Therefore sometimes seeing the ‘principal’ in white and sometimes black. [Chris Gould] |
| 3804 | Rockatross | John Flides | The name came from an amalgamation of Rocket and Albatross. Rocket is in dedication to Dick Wyche & Rod Wilson who put up with John when, as a boy, he spend his holidays hanging arround & trying to help in their boatyard. (DIck was the designer of the Rocket). Albatross came from the name of the business run by John. (Albatross Marine) [John Fildes] |
| 3805 | Nermal | Mark Reddington | Continuation of a theme - see 3760 - Nermal was a cat that visited Garfiled's home. [Mark Reddington] |
| 3806 | Blue Tit | Ben Jones & Helen Hilditch | This was their second wedgwood blue merlin. Their previous boat was Bluebird (3863) and therefore this follows the theme. [Ben Jones & Helen Hilditch] |
| 9999 | Maumahara | Rob Allen | Maumahara -a Maori word for remembering - in the sense of those who had gone before and in particular Rob's son Charlie. The fish hook symbol accompanying the name signifies good luck when travelling over water. [Rob Allen] |
We would love to hear it so that the database keeps growing.
To add the thinking behind your boat name - amend an entry - add a photograph - suggest website links - correct a typo please email:- [email protected]