A Tug at My Heartstrings: A Look at Tugboat Naming
I can’t explain why, but whenever I see a tugboat I want to be on it. I want to know what it’s doing that day and be a part of the action. Maybe it’s because all they do is help other boats and I like that selflessness. Maybe it’s because tugboats are the perfect blend of being cute and functional. Like a search and rescue dog.
Last weekend while having lunch part way through a bike ride, I saw a couple tugboats helping a tanker navigate the Carquinez Strait. Using a monocular, I tried to see what the boat names were. The cargo ship was easy: ADVANTAGE SPRING. Whatever that means. However, tugs are relatively small craft so I couldn’t make out the relatively small names. At the time, my partner (who has better vision) thought it was DELTA CATHRYN, but we weren’t certain.
When I got home I found a ship tracking website and looked for the tug we saw. Sure enough she is named DELTA CATHRYN. I also saw a slew of other tugs all around the bay so I started looking at what other tugs were named and some themes emerged:
Hard work and dependability
Tugboats work hard, all the time, every day, around the clock — so it’s no surprise that people name them to sound hard-working, careful, and reliable.
COMMITMENT
VIGILANT
SOUND RELIANCE
GULF RELIANCE
Patriotism
There are still some good things about this country worth celebrating. Some less so.
PATRIOT
REVOLUTION
VETERAN
VALOR
LIBERTY
People names
The most classic way to name any vessel — commercial or pleasure, big or small — is to name it after someone important. Go to any shipyard or marina and you’ll see a lot of boats with people’s names across the stern.
KEEGAN FOSS
CADEN FOSS
BRYNN FOSS
RICH PADDEN
ARTHUR BRUSCO
PETER M
SARAH REED
BERNICE LIND
SANDRA HUGH
SARAH
BOB
DELTA CATHRYN
Locations
This naming style is new to me. It’s not something I’ve seen with pleasure craft like sailboats and motorboats. But hey, whatever floats your boat.
SAN JOAQUIN RIVER
CORPUS CHRISTI
POINT LOBOS
Animal names
I like the whole -CAT thing going on with a couple of these. That feels cool, in part because it’s unexpected, like a cat enjoying a swim.
RIVERCAT
BEARCAT
EAGLE
SEA HAWK
Thanks for joining me on this trip around the bay looking at tugboats. And if anyone out there is willing to let me join them for a day on their tug, please email me. That’d be rad.
