Multiple Mentions Of Nautical Sites

It's been a good week when it comes to PR for Nautical Sites.

Monterey Boats put out a blog post yesterday that mentioned several of my websites, and included links, in an article about boat names: The Name Game

And on Monday, BoatUS announced their BoatUS Angler “Catch of the Month” photo contest, which has four major sponsors - one of which is BoatNameGear.com!

The latter news has already been mentioned in a few publications across the country - including the Paramus Post, the Bladen Journal,  and Captain Ken Kreisler’s Boat and Yacht Report (THANKS TO ALL FOR INCLUDING THE BOATNAMEGEAR LINK) - and I suspect more will follow.

Here's the full release from BoatUS...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press Contact: D. Scott Croft, 703-461-2864, SCroft@BoatUS.com

Take Your Camera on Your Next Fishing Trip and You Could Win Big

BoatUS: Contestant Callie Shumway of Bellefonte, PA

There’s a lot to pack before you head out for the spring fishing season. Just don’t forget the camera to take shots of your catch to submit to the BoatUS Angler “Catch of the Month” photo contest at www.BoatUS.com/angler/contest, which kicked off this week and runs monthly through October 31.

Monthly winners, one freshwater and one saltwater, will receive a one-year BoatUS Angler membership with basic on-water towing and roadside assistance, a $50 Visa gift card and a “prize pack” filled with fishing and BoatUS Angler gear. In addition, winning photos will appear in BoatUS Angler Magazine and Tacklebox monthly fishing e-newsletter. 

Monthly winners will be automatically entered to win the grand prize in November: an upgrade to unlimited on-water and on-road towing assistance, a high-quality fish replica from The Fish Mount Store, and a $50 gift certificate from BoatNameGear.

BoatUS Angler’s roadside assistance “club” for boat trailers and tow vehicles and its on-the-water towing service helps anglers spend more time fishing and less time worrying about breakdowns. Visit www.BoatUSAngler.com for more. Anglers can also check out all of the photos submitted at:
 www.BoatUS.com/angler/contest

About the sponsors:

BoatNameGear offers a unique, hand-picked selection of high-quality personalized gifts, clothing and gear. BoatUS members enjoy a 10% discount on all products plus free shipping on all orders of $99 or more. 

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Our Most Popular Boat Names of 2011

(The following press release went out this morning. It was a lot of fun to sift through the thousands and thousands of boat names in coming up with this list. Hope you have as much fun reading it as we did writing it... Enjoy!)

Most Popular Boat Names of 2011
The top ten most popular boat names of 2011 confirm that boaters are seeking serenity

Newington, CT - April 19, 2011 – FirstBoat.com, the premier boating information site for new and experienced boaters, today announced the most popular boat names of 2011. A trend seems to have emerged from this year’s list that demonstrates how boaters enjoy their time on the water. “Boat names like Serenity, Happy Ours, Family Time and Just Chillin dominated this year’s top ten,” stated FirstBoat publisher Andrew Canepari. “It is clear from these names, perhaps now more than ever, that boating really provides people with a way to relax and make the most of their time with family and friends,” Canepari added.

The list is compiled annually by FirstBoat in collaboration with www.CustomBoatNames.com - where boaters design their own boat name lettering online, and www.BoatNameGear.com - the leading retailer of personalized gear and gifts for boaters. FirstBoat is also the home of the original Boat Name Machine, featuring over 100,000 randomly generated boat names. The Boat Name Machine and other boat naming resources are available online at www.FirstBoat.com.

Following are the top ten most popular boat names for 2011:

1. Serenity (In addition to “Serenity” we saw variations such as “Serenity Now!” of Seinfeld fame, as well as clever misspellings including “Sea-Renity”)
2. Happy Ours (Time was a common theme in boat names this year. Variations on this boat name included “Happy Hours” and “Happy Hour”)
3. Feelin' Nauti (This one surprised us when it rose to the top five, as there are so many other popular boat names that include “Nauti” in the name)
4. Family Time (Another variation of the Time theme that we saw again and again. There were many other boat names that referenced Time that came close to the top ten.)
5. Liberty (Always a favorite, we also saw variations such as Miss Liberty, Lady Liberty, and Liberty Belle)
6. Black Pearl (Every boater feels like a pirate sometimes. Just plain “Pearl” was popular as well, but it didn’t crack our top ten)
7. Andiamo (Let’s Go! A quick internet search will show you that this is not only a popular name for boats, but also for Italian restaurants in America)
8. Knot On Call (Several boat names used the word “Knot” cleverly, but only this one made the top ten)
9. High Maintenance (Yes, this describes most boats very accurately)
10. Just Chillin (Looks like relaxing is on the mind of even the younger generation of boaters)

About FirstBoat.com
FirstBoat.com is the flagship site of Nautical Sites Media, which publishes a network of websites that provide information and resources to recreational boaters. To learn more about FirstBoat and other properties in the Nautical Sites network, visit www.NauticalSites.com or call 800-306-8708.

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Media Contact: Andrew Canepari, (860) 249-1166, andrew@firstboat.com

Interview with About.com

I was interviewed by Ericka Watson a couple of weeks ago. Ericka is the About.com Powerboating Guide - she asked me a bunch of questions about boat names. Some of them made me think; some of them made me wish I had answered them differently. After not hearing from her for a couple of weeks, she let me know today that this article was appearing on her site.

Needless to say the interview seems to have gone pretty well. Not only did she get my company names and website links correct, she pretty much quoted me accurately throughout the article. Most importantly, she actually pulled some good advice out of me for naming a boat - when I re-read her article, I realized that I shared many tips that I have never mentioned in my own How to Choose a Boat Name article or on the Boat Name Blog.

In addition to the interview, Ericka also created a forum for people to share stories about how they named their boat. You can share your own boat name story on About.com here. And here's the link to the interview: Naming a Boat - Suggestions From an Expert (Guess who the "boat name expert" is! :-D)