Sailing Magazine
by Richard Crockett
The author of this feature, written for the October 2002 issue of SAILING Magazine, was John Vigor. I knew Vigor when he was a newspaper journalist in Durban, writing a humorous daily column under the pseudonym of “The Idler”.
He is a fine journalist and avid yachtie too, having cut his teeth in distance racing with David Cox aboard ‘Diana K’ in the 1971 Cape to Rio Race.
He emigrated many years ago, sailing his 30-footer, together with his family, to the USA. There he carved out a niche for himself as a yachting journalist, with his work being highly acclaimed and sought after. He also ventured into writing books of specific subjects of our sport.
“Vigor’s Inter-Denominational Boat Naming Ceremony” is one of his offering, and is a very interesting read. The subject of whether one should re-name a yacht or not is debated hotly in yacht club pubs around the world. Some say it brings bad luck, and other simply dismiss this notion out of hand.
Whatever your view, this is an interesting read with sidebars covering the denaming ceremony and also the christening ceremony.
READ IT HERE: 2002 10 – SAILING Magazine – OCR
