Naming and Christening Your Boat
While the ancient Egyptians are credited with popularizing the practice of naming boats, the ancient Greeks had a more festive take on the matter for the naming & christening of the vessel. Wearing wreaths of olive branches on their heads and pouring water on the boat to bless it; they saved the wine (a stand-in for blood) to drink toasts to the sea god Poseidon.
Breaking a bottle over a ship’s bow came into favour in the late 1700s, when the British navy replaced their expensive boat-naming ritual of “baptizing” vessels with water poured from a precious metal “standing cup” that was then tossed overboard. The use of champagne began in the 1800s.
Part of becoming the yacht owner is the ceremony of boat naming & christening. With Oceanis 51.1 owner version this is was the second time but still exciting as it were the first. We adopted a bit the ceremony to Croatian tradition bringing the olive branch symbolising the safe voyages and breaking the bottle of bubbly or wine in honour of God of the Sea Posejdon.
“I christen thee MAMAMIA”
No matter the size or type of your boat, what better way to welcome your boat to the family than a christening ceremony? Celebrating the addition of the new boat to the family is a popular event. We tend to encourage and take part in the celebrations as part of the #yachtlife.
