Always a fun thread. My first boat, an Alan Gurney design Oday 27, was called "Luffer" when I bought it. Needless to say, that's not me. Renamed it "Steinlocker". I'd just come back from 3 weeks in New Zealand and had discovered Steinlager beer and its involvement with the round the world race and its sponsorship of "Steinlager 2", the winner.
Touche' was so named from build and has remained Touche' through 5 owners. It's on the original invoice to paint Touche in the cove stripe in gold leaf. Being a very well known boat on Lake Pontchartrain, many local sailors implored me not to change the name. I just changed the logo to a much stylized version of "Touche'" and re-christened it with a modified Vigor's naming ceremony and a keg of beer in front of the yacht club. Old timers still come up to me at regattas with a "Touche'" story. Always interesting owning a well known boat. "Isn't that B.B.s old boat?" or "I raced on Touche' in nineteen ought 6" or some such tale." Always post race and after a few beverages. Anyway, the story is that the first owner, one A.J. "Skip" Carpenter, wanted to win Gulfport to Pensacola. He did the research and bought Touche'. Touche' was first to finish the race in June 1972, winning class but losing fleet to a boat from a slower class. The story goes that in the bar afterwards, Skip approached a long time rival and said....."Touche'". Ed, you may know a different story but that's mine and I'm sticking to it. According to Ed Levert, Touche' also had a nickname, "Little Red". In the 70's there were three red boats actively raced on Lake Pontchartrain, "Tiare", a Cal 48 (Big Red), "Whistling Wind II", a C&C Redline 41 (Middle Red) and "Touche'", C&C 35 (Little Red). In 2003, all three won their class in the Lake Pontchartrain Racing Circuit with Touche' winning spinnaker fleet. As each boat representative came up to get their class trophy, the crown chanted "Red boat! Red boat! Red boat!". Quite exhilarating until a few weeks later when the PHRF rating committee slapped each red boat 3 seconds. Fame is brief. Dennis C. Touche' 35-1 #83 Mandeville, LA
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