From the Boathouse: What’s this about Boaty McBoatface?
The newly built RRS Boaty McBoatface splashes across the Internet and goes viral.
Do you salty dogs know what the prefix RSS means in the nautical world? I will tell you in a couple of weeks, but you can Google it.
The National Environment Research Council decided to ask for help to name its research ship and the website has crashed by the number of active hits. Boaty McBoatface is leading the number of votes over suggestions such as Henry Worsley and David Attenborough.
This vessel’s cost is expected to be just under 200 million pounds (about $287 million). The maiden sail is scheduled for the Antarctica to perform research in 2019.
However, I do not think that the NERC board members will let her sail with the name of Boaty McBoatface.
James Hand, who is a former BBC radio host, is noted as the person who suggested the ship’s name and is now kicking himself for the suggestion. I expect the ship will be named after an explorer or an action of cause in lieu of the comical title.
BoatUS’s top-10 boat names in its graphics department were Serenity, Seas the Day, Andiamo, Aquaholic, Second Wind, Island Time, Happy Ours, Journey, Serendipity and Relentless.
The International Burgee Registry listed: Island Time, Seas the Day, It’s About Time, Liberty, Serendipity, Second Wind, Dolce Vita, Aquaholic, The Good Life and Nauti Buoy.
Even our local electric boat builder and Newport Beach City Council member, Marshall “Duffy” Duffield has a list of funny electric boat names at duffyboats.com. This are listed in no particular order: Charge It, Bay Watter, High Voltage, La Priama Volta, Shock Therapy, So Watt, Sparky, die Sparkenfahrter, Electrifying, Disconnected and Ohm Away From Ohm.
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•Tip of the week: Recently, a whale-watching cruise out of Dana Point aboard the Capt. Dave’s Dolphin and Whale Safari’s catamaran got their money’s worth. A rare false killer whale (Pseudorca crassidens) gave birth while the passengers watched in from the boat. As the name implies, the false killer whale resembles a killer whale (Orcinus orca).
The false killer whale has a crossbred offspring named the wholphin. The whales and a bottlenose dolphins are known to mate in the wild and in captivity, and the new mammal was named in 1985. The only living wholphin in captivity is Kekaimalu living at Sea Life Park on Oahu Island.
However, if you decide to go whale watching, remember there are boating regulations to protect the whales.
The federal agency responsible for protecting gray whales is the NOAA Fisheries Service, which abides by the 1972 Marine Mammal Protection Act. The regulations are necessary to protect the whales from harassment, and for a safe, nondisruptive migration swim.
A quick review of the regulations, remember when paralleling whales within 100 yards, boaters should not operate at speeds faster than a whale or group of whales.
Skippers need to maintain a constant speed while paralleling or following whales within 100 yards of the mammals.
Also, you cannot cause a whale to change direction by your actions at the helm.
Additionally, swimmers and divers cannot approach whales either, and never attempt to feed whales.
Never try to swim out to a whale to “pet” it, as whales have been known to flick swimmers away.
The boaters I know are very considerate to the ocean’s creatures and would never harass the whales.
However, there are always a few who the regulations are written for, and you should report anyone intentionally harassing the whales. Boaters can radio the Coast Guard on VHF marine channel 16, or call the hotline at 1-800-853-1964.
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•The original boating program, “Boathouse TV & Radio Shows,” has stretched from coast to coast for more than two decades.
See the details at boathousetv.com, facebook.com/boathouseradio and twitter.com/boathouseradio.
Safe Voyages!
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MIKE WHITEHEAD is a boating columnist for the Daily Pilot. Send marine-related thoughts and story suggestions to mike@boathouse.com or go to boathousetv.com.