As you go sailing to Oblivion, you can name your boat almost anything except Mayday and Vessel In Distress. As long as it will make sense when hailing the Coast Guard on marine radio, they don’t care. Amusement arise when one tries to hail Tow Boat US three times on Channel 16, because it sounds very much like Toy Boat, which is hard to say three times.
The hailing port below the name is another matter. People think it has to be where the boat is physically, but it’s okay to list the home venue of the owner. Thus a boat can be from Palm Springs, California, when in fact the nearest water is, well, way far away. USCG regulations stipulate: “The hailing port must be a place in the United States included in the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Federal Information Processing Standards Publication 55DC.”
The sailboat is located at Crown Point Marina in Hayes, close to the opening of the York River to the Chesapeake Bay. It’s popular with watermen. This boat nearby is a waterman’s deadrise that’s undergoing work on the hull. 2 x 8 strips of pine are laid horizontally and will be glassed in. It’s hard work, almost as hard as fishing year-round on the river.
To reserve a date to go sailing, click here.
