Polaris - Dennis Clarke & Jo-Ann Lawson

On our wedding day Jo-Ann and I received a poem written about two stars, "Cross" and "Polaris". The Southern Cross represented Jo-Ann, a rather complex system of not just one star but several, it was an important navigational aid to mariners and was an object of reverence in biblical days. Polaris represented me. Polaris has long been an important star to sailors and the boat is important to us. Perhaps more than any star other than the Sun, Polaris has been regarded as the most important star in the heavens, and only second to my wife the boat is very important to me. Greek navigators of old called Polaris Kynosoura, which means "the Dog's Tail". The name came into our English language as Cynosure, which means "an object that serves as a focal point of attention and admiration", and again our lives often revolve around the boat. To a human's eyes, Polaris appears to be motionless at the center of the field of circumpolar stars, a "still point in the turning world". I find that being on the boat is an activity that is very "centering".  All the other stars appear to circle around Polaris, and much of our activity centers around the boat. The Arabs were of the opinion that the contemplation of Polaris cured ophthalmia, an infection of the eye. We find that time on the boat also cures many of life's little day to day troubles or "infections". Polaris is not the largest or the brightest star in the sky, nor is the boat the largest, or most modern boat in the marina, but it is ours and it belongs to Cross and Polaris. The name just seemed to fit nicely in so many ways with so many nautical connections.

That's the story of the naming of Polaris, how about yours?

.._/)*...  PS: If you haven't figured it out yet the little logo I use on my signature represents Polaris the boat sailing along with spinnaker towards Polaris the star!

Last updated  13 January, 2006 - © Aloha Owners Association