Many years ago, I built a 28 footer from a fiberglass hull and deck purchased from Liberty Yachts. I had a great dog at the time named Rosie. She was a black standard poodle and full of life. Unfortunately, she could not be kept in the yard even with a six foot fence. She was hit by a truck and killed while I was building the boat.

I wanted to name the boat after her, but I did not want to name the boat Rosie. So I played with many variations on the word rose. Finally, late one night, I hit upon Rosebud. It just sounded like a great name for a cruising sailboat. And I loved the reference to the sentimental yearning from the movie, Citizen Kane. Rosebud was the last word uttered as he died alone. It had been the name of his sled that was left behind in his boyhood.

So in February, 2003, I purchased a boat named Satori. Satori is a zen word for the moment of enlightenment. It sounded like a great name for a boat but I just could not get comfortable with it. It seemed like an almost impossible aspiration to pin to a slow, aging ketch. I thought of renaming her Rosebud but that also didn’t quite fit. She had classic lines, but she was not the beauty that Rosebud was.

One day, as Ginny and I were traveling down to spend the weekend getting to know her, I was playing with combinations of the six letters in Satori. When I came up with Rosita, I knew that would be her name. It tied in with her previous name and with Rosebud. One person commented that perhaps a mixed up moment of enlightenment was somehow appropriate.

So many people name a boat about themselves, their dreams or something funny. I have always thought that a boat should have a real name so she could establish her own personality. Now, I am slowly discovering Rosita’s personality and I am growing to love her as I do.