Nautigirl, it’s the name of my boat. But why did I choose this name? Well, it’s very simple: I just fell in love with it when I saw it printed on an old T-shirt, hanging among others of the same kind on the wall of a bar located in a remote spot in the Southern part of Fakarava island, in the Tuamotu Archipelago (French Polynesia). The friends I was sailing with and myself were dreaming of an ice cold beer, and our quest had led us to that place, the only one offering this type of service within several nautical miles. While savouring my Hinano, I was taking a closer look around more out of boredom than by real interest. This name printed on a grey T-shirt immediately caught my eye. I found it fitted well ! My mind started wandering and I imagined an all-female crew had donated this garment to the beach bar so it’s owners could add it to their collection of polos, T-shirts, caps with the name of various boats and flags from all around the whole world.
I like the double sense of that word « Nauti-girl » : first, a girl who sails (in latin, we have « nauta » meaning « sailor ») then, of course, « naughty girl ». I have to admit that I’m a little upset that the word has evolved to a «dirtier» meaning when it comes to girls, when it hasn’t changed a bit when it comes to guys : a naughty boy is just a bad boy, not a hot guy showing his ass and pecs to a bunch of hungry girls.
Anyway. I fell in love with this name which I found very original, and swore to myself at this very moment, that if one day I’d own a sailboat, I would name her Nautigirl… not knowing that I was going to buy one six months later…
And here I am, at the end of December 2016, a few days away from Christmas, driving to the Z’abricots marina near Fort-de-France, Martinique, where I will visit the only sailboat I could find that fits within my budget. I am with a friend I met in the Canary Islands just before my transatlantic crossing . He owns the same kind of sailboat, crossed the Atlantic ocean with it, and offered to help me check the state of my potential future acquisition. Unfortunately, we start arguing on the way and he asks to be left on the side fo the road halfway before the marina. I pull over and he climbs out, pretty upset. I drive away, feeling pretty irritated myself. I accelerate and soon his silhouette disappearing in my rear-view mirror.
The cause of the argument? Pretty simple: my appointment is scheduled at 3 pm with the seller and I – of course – have planned to be on time… unlike my adviser who has decided to party a little bit before, even if that means showing up late for the visit. He said we should stop at his friend’s house to drink a couple of beers and maybe have a BBQ, and go the appointement later on because « It’s Martinique, everybody is always late here… we call this the Martinique delay. » I replied that I really appreciated his offer to help me out, but that showing up 2 hours late was not an option for me: I didn’t want to upset the seller and more important, I didn’t want the boat to be sold to someone else before I even had a chance to look at it. So if he wanted to help me, he should totally commit to it, which implied respecting the schedule fixed by the seller. But I added that if he really wanted to stop at this friends, I could just drop him and go to the appointment on my own. My offer, as well as my attitude and tone of my voice, seemed pretty correct to me, but my friend looked more and more upset and finally said « Let me get out right here, right now! » I obeyed, still offering to drive him closer to his destination, but he refused.
Too bad for him, but now I have some extra time to get to the marina which could be useful since I’m still new to Fort-de-France and don’t know the neighboorhood very well. On the way I keep asking myself what I am going to do when I get to the marina and to the boat itself: I have no particular knowledge regarding boats, don’t really know what questions I should ask the owner, nor what I should check before making a decision. I have to admit that the idea of buying a boat came to me a little bit as a whim and I am not really prepared for this thing yet. My transatlantic crossing have gone so well that I just want to go on with that good feeling, only this time on my own boat, with all my belongings and « toys » (read: my kitesurfing and diving gear). I want to sail around the world and stop wherever I can practice my favorite sports, whenever I want. Pretty much what I did most of 2016, when sailing in French Polynesia with my ex boyfriend Patrick.
I am now on the freeway, still a few kilometers away from the marina, when the owner calls me: the couple who just visited the boat fell in love with her and decided to buy her. I hang up, disappointed, and start looking for the next exit. I’m on my way back home, stuck in the traffic when he calls me back: the lady had managed to convince her very enthusiastic husband that the boat was too small for them and they should better buy a bigger one, thus cancelling the sale. I can’t believe it: the boat is free and I am the next visit ! I do a another u-turn with some difficulties … they should definitely put up more road signs over here, trust me ! I eventually get the to marina, quickly park at the very end of the parking lot, close to the dock where I have to meet Frédéric, the current owner.
He opens the gate leading to dock n°6 where the sailboat is located. He walks me to an attractive monohull with a white dress, a sharp nose and a round hull. It is a 28 foot Sail 902, built in 1979. That makes her younger than me but not of many years and she shares the same year of birth with my younger brother, which, I say to myself, is certainly a good sign (when you have no technical knowledge, you tend to cling to whatever reassuring thought crosses your mind…… even if they are not very rational) ! She is beautiful and clean. I like the blue main sail cover and soft top. The paint of the hull, the one of the deck and the anti-skid seem recent. I see the structure of a windvane pilot at the back which already pleases me being used to sail almost exclusively with it while being on my ex’s boat. I go back inside. It looks relatively big to me for a boat of this size, 2m90. At the same time, my only reference is Patrick’s 28 ft sailboat which is much more narrow than this one with a 2m50 width if my memory is good… The side cubbyholes are empty just like the other storages of the boat, which of course reinforces the impression of space that I have (only will I realize it later on).
I timidly ask questions to Frédéric. « Can I can see the engine? » He removes the three steps allowing to get in the boat and hiding the main access to the engine. I ask him to start it. I listen, paying attention to the slightest suspect noise an amateur like me could hear. It seems to operate smoothly. Frédéric turns it off. He tells me that she is a good vessel he bought 6 months ago to learn to sail but now that he has to go back to France for work he is putting her back on the market. He praises her recent 5-year rigging, her complete set of sails (a new mainsail and the former one, two genoas – a heavy one and a light one -, a fore staysail and two storm jibs). I do not know how to use half of them but it doesn’t matter, I am going to learn ! As I try to measure up asking more questions, I realize I really like this boat. Shie is in a good state, she is in my budget and I haven’t found any other one which I could compare to her… even if I have to admit I haven’t looked much. Besides I want to complete this project of sailing to French Polynesia as soon as possible ! So I need a boat, I need to learn, train, get ready, sail to Panama and get to the Pacific Ocean quick ! I am afraid to wait before making a decision. What if the next buyer says yes right away ? I can already see him approaching the boat. What do I do ? Yes, no… yes… no… YEEESSSS ! « OK, I take her ! ».
From now on, Nautigirl is mine. Well, she is not Nautigirl yet. My sailboat is still named “Arwez”, a Breton name Frédéric gave her 6 months ago. He renamed her as well… but not really : he just changed a single letter, the former owner having named her “Arvez”… Aaahhhh, these Breton guys !!! The « v » was simply transformed in a « w ». I personally foound it very strange to have changed only one single letter without even modifying the pronunciation. In fact, the woman who took care of the customs formalities still remembered Frédéric’s visit. She had, too, been taken aback by his choice.
I quickly file all the paperwork. I still need a few more days to obtain a beautiful sticker with the right typography for her new name. I also choose a model of blue eye I stick on both sides of her nose. These two will be in charge of protecting the integrity of the hull and avoiding all floating obstacles we could meet while sailing. I spend a few more hours to unstick the 5 letters making the former name… Bits of plastic stuck with an ultra resistant adhesive ! And finally, I rename my sailing vessel and I give her her two new sight organs.
NAUTIGIRL IS BORN !
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PS : This story is real but names in the article have been changed to protect anonymity except prior express permission.
DreamChaser & Nautigirl 
Hi there,
I just bought a boat and named her Nauti girl 🙂
Later I found your articland also later had so many issues with my brother regarding this name.
Was wondering how it’s like for u having this name?
I am a girl, 35 yo, gonna live aboard .
I loved the name from the start, somehow it came up to my head after many weeks of trying to find the right one.
Now I am on my way back home and my brother insists that it would be the wrong impression and I must change before I enter. Especially that I am a girl alone and don’t want to create the wrong impression.
Would love to hear from u regarding different feedbacks.
Thank you 🙂
Adar
J’aimeJ’aime
Hi ! Quite a few boats are named Nautigirl in fact when you make researches. Most of the time people, hearing the name of the boat, smile and that’s it. Some people react like your brother and in that case I would play dumb saying it stands for « Nauti(-cal) girl » and that’s not my fault if some guys think otherwise because they have this need to interpret it otherwise.
I should also say that, being French, maybe some people would also think that I did not realize the true double meaning behind this name.
And also, a lot of French sailors I met did not even know what naughty means…
And if a English native guy would try to bother me with the name, I would answer that when I hear « naughty girl », I, myself, get the image of a young girl being scolded for being « naughty », not the image of a woman showing all boobs and butt…
I am so fed up sometimes by the way some guys think… Should we be the one to change or should they ? I think they should be the one changing their way of thinking.
After my opinion is the opinion of a girl whose native language is French. But my closest American friends all loved the name of my boat.
Keep me posted once you will have make your definitive choice : any one is good as long as you love it !
J’aimeJ’aime