What's in a name?

We often get asked how we came up with and decided on our business and boat name -Detour. As we look back, it was quite the process, until it wasn’t. How’s that for a non-answer?

Getting started on the naming process, we tried to make it fun. Amanda and I decided we would make a list and then have friends and family vote on their top three choices. We would then scientifically tally the names. Surely if we got a large enough number of votes, it would produce one of the top names ever! In addition, it would garner family buy in and give me another opportunity to talk about one of my favorite topics, boats and sailing. Especially to those family members who were very tired of talking about boats. And sailing.

I love history, and as a retired Coastie (Coast Guard guy), my first inclination was to immediately scour the list of famous Coast Guard Cutters and Coast Guard heroes. Duplicating and rehashing names has worked for the Coast Guard for 231 years, so why not for us? I was sure this would provide a winner. But, just for good measure, I looked online for some cool names as a backup.

Armed with a solid list, we distributed the same. However, when the returns came back, the unthinkable happened. No clear winner emerged. The name choice distribution was about as flat as….. Technically, the name choice that won by a hair was Splendiferous. You might wonder which mighty deeds Coast Guard Cutter Splendiferous performed. The correct answer is none. There has never been a Coast Guard Cutter Splendiferous and that was a trick question to see if you were still paying attention. So, for a week we settled on the name Splendiferous. I loved it. I pictured myself having all kinds of fun telling people, “Yeah, that’s my splendiferous boat over there.” Splendiferous - adjective: extraordinarily or showily impressive.

However, Amanda was not sold. She generally liked the name, but reminded me about the time we chartered the sailboat Rigil Kentaurus. We had sailed the vessel from Grenada to St. Vincent and the Grenadines and back. Two separate countries with extensive and exhaustive customs and immigration forms requiring that Rigil Kentaurus be written many times on each form. Did we want to be responsible for saddling ourselves, and others, with writing a similarly long name? Especially when people really just want to quickly clear in and swim with the turtles. Good point!

Then it happened. Amanda came up with the name, Detour. She said it kind of described us as we had rented our house to friends and had been working and exploring the west in our travel trailer. We took a Detour in life. And we hoped others would, too. Take a detour in life to relax, enjoy, and reconnect or create new memories with friends and family. What better way to do that than spend a week or two in the British Virgin Islands? I admitted that she was right. However, as a proud Coastie, I had to get something to save face. I assented under one condition; that the dinghy be named Shortcut. The deal was made, and the rest is history. Detour - noun: A long or roundabout route that is taken to visit somewhere out of the way; synonym: splendiferous catamaran in the British Virgin Islands. Shortcut – a more direct path to a destination; synonym: our dinghy.