Our beautiful Nautilus Belle Amie – we bless you – for safe journeys across the seven seas

Time for the official naming of our beautiful Belle Amie – with special thanks to Ernie Brooks, Wyland and Zale Parry.

Oh what a party we had to commemorate the official naming of our beautiful Belle. It kind of feels like our girl started life as a poor neglected orphan and that she needed a good home and lots of love to fully blossom. The ship was built at Bollinger Shipyards in Louisiana in 2007 but the original owner went bankrupt in 2008 before the Belle Amie was fitted out and finished. A guy named “John” purchased the ship and renamed her “Where’s John” and brought her to Gran Peninsula Shipyard in Ensenada, Mexico where she languished, unloved, forgotten and neglected until we found her last year covered in pelican poop. We put a massive 60,000 hours into completing the build and restored her original name of (Nautilus) Belle Amie.
The problem is that all boats need to be properly named in order to be happy, lucky ships. We goofed on that by rushing the Belle into service without doing things properly…
So.
It was time to stop, breathe, do some great diving with lots of manta love and have a naming party at anchor at San Benedicto Island.

We had awesome food, loud conversation and lots of wine, beer and drinks on the sundeck at sunset. I started things off with a short benediction and prayer for our Belle.

The beautiful and amazing Zale Parry helped out with a big kiss and hug and smashed the customary bottle of champagne with a right hook that was so ferocious that she took the paint right off the steel bulwarks. wahhhooooo.

I love Ernie Brooks. He was amazing as always and touched all of our hearts as he blessed the ship and bestowed all his good karma.


Then it was time for our perfectly shined Canadian Loonie (the dollar coin, not the other kind of loon!) to be passed around for good wishes and then fitted in it’s permanent home under the mast of the ship for good luck by Captain Gordon and Chief Engineer Bob.

Zale rang the ship’s bell and officially restored the official name of the ship back to Belle Amie to shouts and cheers and raised glasses. whoioeeee.

Last order of business was for Wyland, the amazingly talented and really good, great and generous guy, to reveal his manta rendition to bring even more good luck to the Nautilus Belle Amie. Just wait until we post the drone video of Wyland perched on the front of the dodger creating the manta!!!
Our hearts were overflowing and we feel sure that our poor little orphan girl now feels lots of love and security.
“Our beautiful Nautilus Belle Amie – we bless you – for safe journeys across the seven seas.”
May 8, 2015
Socorro Island, Mexico
Captain Mike Lever