After a month-long contest and over 100 submissions for our new boat name, we have selected a winner! The winning name is Albatross, which was submitted by Mike Park of Washington. Congratulations Mike, you’ve won a personalized, embroidered Angling Unlimited Jacket!
Here’s Captain Tom’s explanation for why Albatross was such a great fit for his new boat.
Black-footed Albatross
An albatross in flight is one of the great sights in nature. They soar and bank on the wind; they ride the push of air atop the Pacific swells. They are effortless. Albatross have so mastered efficiency in flight that their heart beat when flying is barely higher than their resting heart rate. They appear to glide directly into the wind – which barely seems possible. They are also the longest lived birds on the planet and the great albatross has the widest wingspan of any bird – a whopping 11 feet. There is a Laysan albatross that returns to Midway Island each year that was first given a leg band in 1956. The black footed albatross that we commonly see offshore of Sitka have a 7 foot wingspan and weigh a mere 3 to 5 pounds – a great design for gliding.
What’s the association of albatross with bad luck? This stigma comes from the Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Coleridge. In the story, the Mariner’s ship is blown off course toward Antarctica by a storm. An albatross, considered a sign of good luck, comes to show the way, but the Mariner kills it with a cross bow and the ship remains at the mercy of the currents and weather of the Antarctic. As a punishment, the crew hangs the albatross around the Mariner’s neck. We know better than to harm an albatross and hope that the new boat leads us to many fish, lots of great stories, and safe harbor at the end of each day.