It has taken many an hour thinking about the name of our new yacht and I definitely believe that getting the name right really affects the energy on board.

Koru is the name of our Beneteau First 36.7. Koru is a Maori word meaning new beginnings, positive change, peace and harmony and our yacht certainly provides these strengths for all those many many clients who are fortunate enough to sail her.

We ask a huge amount of Koru. She spends an enormous amount of time and patience with all those who join us for teaching, whether from beginners to RYA Yachtmasters. She also keeps safe all those who venture further with us across the Channel and I trust her implicitly.

Koru also allows herself to be put through her paces when we race her and this is where I think we ask too much of her. She rarely gets to race against other 36.7’s and I think that her handicap is harsh when compared to other yachts of similar size.

So, we’ve added a J80 to our fleet and after much deliberation we’ve decided to call her Wairua, another Maori word meaning ’strength of spirit’ and ‘dream’. It’s been my personal dream to have the opportunity of racing in yachts which are identical and amongst an active fleet, such as they are in the Hamble. It’s also been a dream to teach in a big dinghy that won’t capsize!

At the weekend I spotted a 40ft Legend with the name ‘Breaking Wind’ and wondered whether that was a name chosen with meaning? I also heard of another berthed on the Medina called ‘Where the **** are we?’ I wouldn’t want to call the Coastguard with that name!

If you have an interesting name for your yacht (even if you don’t yet have a yacht) then we’d love to hear from you and if you’ve seen any names on yachts that you know you wouldn’t have, then let us know (excluding ‘Wet Dream’- numerous, not very imaginative and definitely not a yacht we would want to sail on!!)