DIANTHUS? Why?

So by now you're wondering, why in the hell is their boat named DIANTHUS?  And maybe you're wondering what the hell is a Dianthus?  Answers below!

Well, when Carol and I first started dating, or whatever it was we were doing, she bought a house in October 2006 and I stopped by and left a pumpkin and a Dianthus plant for her.  She planted it in her flower bed and in the spring, lo and behold she had more Dianthus.  We dated for over a year and then "took a break" to borrow a phrase from FRIENDS.   That lasted about 3 months or so and then we started going out again.  The plant came back again in the spring (2008).  And the next year (2009) it came back also. So we were outside walking around and she said "look, it came back again", I said, "yeah, I thought they were supposed to be an annual".  Carol replied with her usual quirky sense of humor, "yeah, I was supposed to be an annual too!"   I couldn't help but crack up over her sense of humor about me dumping her.  (although she says she broke up w/ me.)  We've since figured out the plant just re-seeded itself since it was the annual type although there are also perennial species.

Now, when naming a boat you have to really think about how the name sounds and looks.  It has to be easy to say, easily understood on the radio (think Maydays to the Coast Guard!) easy to pronounce and not be cutesy or some stupid play on words.  Think anything w/ the word "SEA" or "C" in the name.  Usually powerboaters do this.  I also didn't want something that might be a little too risque; maybe if it was purely a race boat, but not for a boat we'd be cruising on.

I had always liked the idea of using DIANTHUS but wasn't completely sold on the name.  It was on the short list though and one day I got to wondering if there was ever a Navy ship named Dianthus.  Well, our good friend "the GOOGLE" *  answered that right away.  Turns out there was a USS DIANTHUS, SP639, for Section Patrol boat.  During WWI,  also known as The Great War, the US Navy took over private yachts and used them to patrol the coastal waters to defend against German U-boats.  Dianthus was a private motor yacht used for 1 year and then returned to its owner after peace broke out.  What was interesting is she was designed and built by Nathaniel Herreshoff in Bristol, RI which is where we bought our boat.  I figured that was as good a sign as any that DIANTHUS should be the name.

Oh, and here is a picture of some Dianthus from my flowerbed.  They come in over 300 species of various colors; pink, red and variegated being the most common.  Also known as Sweet William.

* Gotta love "W"isms!