By Kim Russell
Thursday, May 21, 2009 at 11:42 p.m.
At the Pier 7 Marina in Bay City, all the boats have names. It is a trend you will notice across Michigan. The more than a million boaters in the Great Lake State show their love for boats by naming everything from canoes to catamarans.
"This is indigo," introduces Emery Scheibert of Sanford as he works on his sailboat. "She's a 32 ft boat."
He tells me it is a name "she" had before she met him.
"I think its bad luck to chance a boat's name so we didn't risk it."
On the other side of the marina, Ed Meyers from Munger laughs when we ask him about his boat's name.
"I've had this boat 4 years and not yet named it. I'm thinking Blues Follower."
He's not the only one who loves the music theme. Frankenmuth resident Jim Barger went for a walk to the marina to remember the good old days. He used to have a boat that he would take out on beautiful summer days.
"It was named Summer Place. Summer Place is the perfect name for a boat in Michigan, because summer is the only time you use it."
If the theme behind a name isn't music, it seems to be about relaxation or women.
"Most boats have a female personality," says Scheibert.
As for what that means, Scheibert says it isn't about love, passion, and good times.
"Boats are like women: they can be fun, but they're a lot of work."
....quite good dialogue in these PC days gone mad!! The skippers' uncovered gut however is another matter....... I await eagerly the necessary penalty from the attire committee....... IRW
