South Florida Sun Sentinel from Fort Lauderdale, Florida • 40

WATERFRONTS SOUTH FLORIDA SUN-SENTINEL 8C Friday, December 24, 2004 NWS -V a .1 These books take you outdoors 0 1 tilt VP' I if, in 1 t. 'Mi J. i ST 1 1 I r- I ,1 I 1 7 Jfc V. "3 9 ti 1 WHAT'S IN A NAME? The name on a boat's transom can tell a lot about the owner and his interests. However, some names require an explanation.

Staff file photos Many floating sessto ns NAME GAME Whether commonplace or obscure, boat names reflect the owner's passion. 0 Fishing trends LAKE OKEECHOBEE With weather warming, fishing should improve. "The cold had turned it off some," said George Poppa at Roland Martin's Marina in Clewiston. "As soon as the front leaves it'll be better." Poppa suggests fishing the South Bay area. Flsheating Creek, Monkey Box and Moonshine also are good bets.

"Just fish wherever you can find Clearwater, really," Poppa said. "everglades Judy Bridges reports that anglers out of Everglades Holiday Park have been catching "largemouth bass, which was hard to believe, as cool as the weather's been. They've been heading out to Jhe Alligator Alley. Our guides have been bringing back 15-25 bass." And they've been decent-size fish, too. "They're 3-4 pounders, and that's nothing to sneeze at during cool weather," Bridges said.

"And they were using artificial worms, not shiners." Bass also are being caught at Sawgrass Recreation Park. "A few 5-pounders," Lynn Carter said. "The water is still a little high, but they are biting." FLORIDA BAY 10,000 ISLANDS Anglers are finding lots of trout and redfish in the backcountry, but the bonefishing has been a little slow due to the cold weather. Look for that to change with temperatures getting a little warmer. GOLD COAST OFFSHORE Tom Greene, at Custom Rod Reel in Lighthouse Point, reports anglers are enjoying the best sailfish bite of the year.

"We've had many, many customers catching anywhere from 3-10 fish in one day," said Greene, who anticipates the upcoming front also will improve the dolphin and kingfish bites. "But the biggest thing we're waiting on is we think we should get a good swordfish bite if the wind goes southeast," Greene said. On Wednesday, Dale Meckler caught and released a small white marlin 8 miles off Boca Raton on his boat Kianamar. PIERSINLETS Mackeral Spanish and 'iero are biting at area piers, with the usual suspects: blue runners, jacks and bluefish. At Juno, "Tide makes ho difference," Mike Scheele said.

"You just got to be here when they're here." Things have been better at Deerfield in the late afternoon. At Pompano, morning and early evening have been producing the best bites. The snapper bite at Dania has been best on the evening high tide. Dania also reports some flounder. THE KEYS Sailfishing has been a little Sslow, but fishing the reefs for M.yellowtail, grouper and kings "have made up for it.

Ricky -jStanczyk at Bud N' Mary's Marina in Islamorada said the 'the party boats have been doing real well. It's supposed to Z3yarm up a little, so I think it stay pretty good. The sailfishing, I know, will get better." Richard biebrich IDENTITY CRISIS: A boat is just a floating mass of fiberglass until it is christened with a name. Then it becomes an entity with a personality of its own. By lew freedman CHICACOTRIBUNE Ted Nugent is the hardest rocking outdoorsman out there.

His tastes may not be for the stuffed shirts among outdoorsmen, but there is no ambiguity about where he stands on the issues. I'm not sure Nugent's book, God, Guns Rock and Rolfwas the best outdoors or adventure book I read during 2004, but it surely does have the catchiest title. And it certainly is fun to read. Nugent is a proselytizing hunter, who believes everyone in America should carry a gun and, above all, that everyone in America should be trained to carryagun. He is a true believer in putting meat on the table with guns that make the loudest bangs, in hunter-safety, and in wise gun-handling.

"The rules are simple," he wrote. "All guns are always loaded, and never point a weapon at anything you're not willing to destroy. All other safety talk is superfluous. Dad installed a safety lock on my brain." God, Guns Rot fe and Roll is a wild ride with perhaps too many words in capital letters and too many exclamation points, but also with plenty of intriguing hunting stories, philosophies on teaching youngsters about the outdoors, and Americans' right to bear arms. Here are some other books I read during the year that might make good gifts for the outdoorsman: A Voice in the Wilderness.

These are collected columns from the late Tribune outdoors writer John Husar. If Nugent's writing, like his music, resembles ocean waves crashing to shore, then Husar's prose can be likened to the gentle lap of water licking creekside rocks. Short pieces contained in this work involve fishing trips, hunting trips, commentary on the environment and being in tie field with friends and relatives. Swimming to Antarctica. Lynne Cox is the most amazing cold-water, long-distance swimmer of all-time, and this is her wonderfully crafted story Don't ask me how she survives swimming in 32-degree water.

The Home of the Blizzard. Douglas Mawson was an Antarctic explorer in the early 20th century, and this tale is about some of his adventures in temperatures much colder than 32 degrees. Although it is cheating to veer off to a book I previously read, another book of his, Mawson 's Will, is far superior and certainly one of the greatest survival stories of all time. Fly-Fishing the 41sL James Prosek's style is pleasant to read, and his story of fishing his way around the world is fun, whether one fishes in the Skokie Lagoons, in a Montana creek or on Lake Michigan. The Everlasting Stream.

Walt Harrington, a University of Illinois professor and former writer for the Washington Post, has written an evocative hunting book that should appeal not only to avid hunters, but to those who strive to understand the sport in a 2 1st century, buy-your-meat-at-the-grocery-store society. This is one of my favorite hunting books. Most popular boat names then and now, as compiled in the annual BoatUS survey: 2003: Happy Hours, Carpe Diem, Reel Time, Sea Biscuit Freedom, Summer Wind, Aquaholk, Serenity, No Worries, Mental Floss. 2002: Liberty, Victory, Aquaholk, Bite Me, Endless Summer, Seahorse, Footloose, Silver Lining, Miss Behavin, Moondance. 2001 Second Wind, Endless Summer, Happy Ours, Time Out, Fish Tales, Island Time, Sea Ya, Lazy Daze, Luna Sea, Serenity.

2000: Serenity, Irish Eyes, Island Time, Sea Spirit Obsession, Time Out Reel Time, Escapade, Southern Comfort Serendipity. 1999: Misty, Flying Cloud, Serenity, Irish Wake, Wind Dancer, Seas The Day, Odyssey, Gypsea, Luna Sea, Osprey. 1998: Serenity, Osprey, Obsession, Wind Dancer, Therapy, Destiny, Fantasea, Escape, Odyssey, Tide Runner, 1997: Obsession, Osprey, Wind Dancer, Odyssey, Therapy, Serenity, Fantasea, Escape, Wet Dream, Liquid Asset. Serenity, Obsession, Osprey, Escape, Therapy, Liquid Asset Wet Dream, Diversion, Sundancer, Predator. 1 995: Obsession, Odyssey, Osprey, Escape, Liquid Asset Wet Dream, Serenity, Hakuna Matata, Fantasea, Therapy.

1 994: Odyssey, Serenity, Obsession, Sea Breeze, Osprey, Escape, Wet Dream, Therapy, Liquid Asset, Solitude. 1993: Serenity, Obsession, Osprey, Fantasea, Liquid Asset, Therapy, Seaduction, Happy Hours, Solitude, Wet Dream. 1992: Serenity, Wave Runner, Sea Dancer, Liquid Asset, Obsession, Therapy, Happy Hours, Miss Behavin', Seafarer, AWOL 1991: Osprey, Therapy, Windsong, Serenity, Windwalker, Obsession, Happy Hours, Miss Behavin', Escapade, Liquid Asset. By Candus Thomson THt BALTIMORE Sl'N After signing all the papers including the check to take ownership of a boat, perhaps the most important decision is what to name it. The practice dates back centuries, before the invention of marine insurance, to the Egyptians, who no doubt needed a way to tell one floating pile of papyrus from another.

Over the ensuing years, some boat names have become part of everyday landlubber talk. No one wants to be in the unenviable position of "arranging deck chairs on the Titanic." America went to war against the Spanish in 1898 with the battle cry, "Remember the Maine," for the battleship that blew up in Havana harbor. And everyone remembers the words to GUligan 's Island theme, especially the "three-hour tour" aboard the S.S. Minnow. Boat names are funny, romantic, sentimental or a tribute.

But more and more often, boat owners are using the transom to make a statement, signal a lifestyle change or thumb their nose at convention. "The names reflect the times," says Scott Croft, spokesman for the Virginia-based Boat Owners Association of the United States (BoatUS). "Right after 9-1 1 we were very patriot ic with Victory and Liberty. Now, we've sort of separated ourselves from that and returned to more traditional names." Web site www.redskyatnight.com has compiled a list, along with owners' comments. A family that keeps its 32-foot Bayliner in the Elk River at the top of the Chesapeake Bay settled on BAY BEE, combining geography and priority.

Ballroom dance iastructors from Connecticut named their Regal 2660 Waltz on Water. A Coast Guard Reservist from Allentown, who cruises around local lakes in his 19-foot bowrider decided to go with a name that explained his type of boating and gave a tip of the cap to his service with Puddle Pirate. Sailing the famous but sometimes tricky Hauraki Gulf prompted a New Zealander to put basic instructions on his boat upside down naming his 29-foot Carpenter, Don 't Panic. But there are names that don't need any explanation: Barely A Wake, Fah Gel A Boat It, Beached Buoys and Harvey Dockbanger. Others require a slight pause for thought before the inevitable smile.

How about a catamaran named Here Kitty Kitty or a boat-and-dinghy combo of Caviar and Roeboat? "I tell people to make sure it's something they care about, because they're going to live with it for a long time," says Croft, who bought his 2l-foot sailboat during the Fourth of July holiday a decade ago and christened her Constitution. BoatUS has conducted an annual survey of names for 13 years. As the most popular 1998 and 2000, Serenity leads the fleet. In most other years, it was a top-five pick. and Osprey made the cut each year until the turn of the century, when they disappeared without a trace.

In a commentary on the times, Therapy appeared each year until 1998, before being deep-sixed by new boat owners. For 1 1 years, Boating magazine, which serves the powerboat crowd, has run a contest to find the best boat names. The winners last year were: Sotally Tober, Floating Doc, Liquid Medication, Miss Mymoney and Wet-Ever. Some boaters believe it's bad luck to rename a boat. But that's bilge, says Croft.

"I tell people, 'Be happy with the name you pick, but you don't have to live with someone else's he says. "I've heard of elaborate ceremonies people do to rid a boat of old spirits, but I've never heard that they've done any good." As a public service, the California-based magazine Latitude 38 compiled a seven-quest ion test for boat owners who think they've struck name-game gold. Of course, one only has to look around any marina to see that there are a lot of Cand students out there: The explanation test. How often do you want to explain what the name means? Bizarre Greek gods, in-jokes and Latin phrases usually fail this test. The non-cute test.

How sappy is the name? Puns, childhood nicknames and in-jokes usually fail. The brevity test. Imagine repeating your boat" name hree times, especially if calling "Mayday." The hubris test. If you're racing, try not to pick names like Magic Bullet unless, of course, you have that one-in-a-million boat that actually wins every time. The "Been There, Done That" test.

There already are a lot of boats named Obsession and Odyssey. The omen test. Naming your boat the Money Pit one day may mean you need a new engine the next. The radio test. Slithery, for example, sounds pretty funny on channel 16.

Regardless of the name, old-time salts almost always call a boat "she," although no one knows why, exactly. In a recent issue, Boating speculated that vessels take a female pronoun "because the captain is married to it, because the captain loves his boat more than his wife or because boats are beautiful and expensive, like women." The Baltimore Sun is a Tribune Co. newspaper. CALENDAR MM" Wednesday: Early turd special, 7:30 a.m., Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge, Boynton Beach. One-mife fording walk, bring binoculars, field guide and insect repellent.

NOTEBOOK ing Is 6 p.m. Jan. 5 at the clubhouse at 501 Fifth west Palm Beach. Call 561-832-6780 or visit www. Safe boating: U.S.

Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 36, Boca Raton, is offering three safe boating programs in January at the Marine Safety Building, 3939 N. Ocean Boulevard, Boca Raton. Boating Safety is 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Jan. 1 5.

Cost is $40 for materials. A seven-week 8oating Skills 81 Seamanship course starts Jan. 1 1 and meets from 7-9 m. Tuesdays. Cost is $50 for materials and $25 for additional family members A 12-week Advanced coastal Navigation program starts Jan.

12 and meets from 7-9 p.m. Wednesdays. The program includes basic and advanced piloting Cost is $75. Register for the courses from p.m. Jan.

6 or at the first class. Call Krls- --r- Target shoot jf f-tfJ The Bud Wolfe f-'l Classic sporting toPff clays tournament is Sunday at the CTTlJlJ Markham Park Target W. State Road 84, Sunrise. The 100-target National Sporting Clays Association registered shoot features 1 3 sporting target presentations at the Markham sporting clays course. Entry fee is $65 for NSCA members, $65 for the hunter class and $30 for sub-juniors and juniors.

Registration Is a.m. Contact Wayne South at 954-538-9953 Of at wsouth2bellsouth.net. Boating safety: The Fort Lauderdale Power Squadron will start a Basle Safe Boating Course Jan. 3 at the squadron facility at 2029 SW 20th St. in Fort Lauderdale.

Registration is 6:45 p.m., with instruction from 7-9. Call 954-523 3577 or visit www.flpower-squadron.org. Sailfish Challenge: The ninth annual Key Largo Sailfish Challenge is Jan. 8-9. Registration and kickorf are p.m.

Jan. 7 at the Sheraton Key Largo, mile marker 97. Entry fees are $295 for the first angler and $250 for each additional angler. A maximum of four anglers per boat is allC wed.The top team wins 1 500. Proceeds benefit Admiral Handicap Scuba Adventures a nonprofit organization headquartered In Key Largo that serves the disabled with scuba, snorkel and fishing adventures in the Keys.

Call 305 852-9337 or 305-240-3474. Sailfish Derby: The West Palm Beach Fishing Club's 2005 Silver Sailfish Derby is Jan. 6 8. Captains' meet- tine Collna at 561-391-3600 or visit www.cgauxboca.org. Sunrise results: Brad Mllsteln caught five fish weighing 1 1 pounds, 1 5 ounces to win the Sunrise Bass Club tournament Sunday out of Everglades Holiday Park.

Geoff Balog was second at 8-7. Paul and Unda Bernard were third at 6-9 and Linda had Die big bass at 4-7. Bassmasters results: Sal Am-brlco caught five fish weighing 12.84 pounds, including the big bass of 5.6, to win the Everglades Bassmasters of South Florida December club tournament on Lake Okeechobee out of Belle Glade. Pete Menderson was second at 10.75, followed by Dan Potts at 10.32, Mark Sommer at 9.92 and MattCelestlat9 88. Flyrod tournament The fifth Islamorada invitational Flyrod Sailfish Championship, set for Jan.

4-6, features an all-release event with anglers required to use 12- or 16-pound tippet supplied by organizers. "This is the only sailfish flyrod tournament in the continental United States," said tournament co-chair Sandy Morel "When you're sailfishing with a flyrod, you can't troll your fly. You have to cast, so boats troll with live bait or with teaser rods, and then when the fish comes up behind the bait, you bait and switch." The event is set up as a boat team tournament, with no more than two anglers per boat allowed. Only registered anglers can fish, althougn captains and mates can participate in the teasing process. Entry fees are $695 per boat, and the field is to be limited to 20 teams.

For information and registration details, call Florida' Keys Outfitters at 305-664-5423. Meet at Marsn iran. Call 561-732 3684. Jan. 1-Oct 31: Sea trout season, South Florida.

ian. 14-1: Fort pierce Billfish Derby, Fort Pierce City Marina Call 800-91 6 0065 or visit www fortpiercebillflsh com. Jan. 14: Snow Bird Open sporting clays tournament, Markham Park Target Range, 16001 State Road 84, Sunrise. Call 954 289 2005.

Jan. 19 22: Buccaneer Cup Tournament Sailfish Marina, Palm Beach snores. Call 561 818-6095. Jan. 21-22: 16th annual Cheeca Lodge Presidential Sailfish Tournament, islamorada.

Entry tee $595 for first angler, $545 each angler Call Liz Hill at 305 451-5094 Jan. 23: ESPN Outdoors Bassmaster Series tournament. Lake Okeechobee out of Clewiston Visit www bassmaster com. Jan. 2S-29: Swamp Guides Ball Fishing Tournament lor redfish, bonefish and snook, 4 orelei Restaurant, tslamorada Entry fee $700 per team.

Call Jim Trice at 305-664-3864..