Oftentimes, the way a yacht gets her name is a story in and of itself. I particularly like the creative way some owners combine initials of family members. The owners of JeMaSa named the yacht for their children, for example. Then there’s the former Vajoliroja, named for the mom (“Va” for “Vanessa”), the dad (“jo” for “Johnny”), and their two kids (“liro,” for Lily Rose, and “ja” for “Jack”). But, one of my all-time favorite stories is how the 162-foot Remember When got her name. While it doesn’t mention any single person, it does recall all those who the owner has shared times with on the water.

Months before delivery in 2010, that owner, John Rosatti, was stumped. He was having a devil of a time coming up with a name for the new yacht. Well, all wasn’t lost. He knew he wanted something that reflected the idea of the easygoing cruising experience. That’s why his three previous yachts used “Easy” in their nameboards. In fact, two were Take It Easy, and the third was Nice N Easy. But this time around, “Easy” just wasn’t cutting it, whether in combination with other words or on its own.

Inspiration struck, when he least expected it. (Funny how that happens.) Rosatti was sitting on the aft deck of Nice N Easy one day with a group of friends, talking about their travels together. “Remember when we did…” commented one friend, to which everyone smiled and nodded and began contributing memories. “Remember when we…” chimed in another. Then another. And then another.

And suddenly, Rosatti knew.

Tripping down memory lane, he virtually stumbled upon the name for his new yacht.

On a related side note, “Remember When” happens also to be the title of a song by one of Rosatti’s favorite performers, Alan Jackson. In addressing the ups and downs of their life together, Jackson sings to his wife, “Remember when 30 seemed old? Now lookin’ back it’s just a stepping stone to where we are, where we’ve been. Said we’d do it all again. Remember when.”

If you see Remember When get underway, keep your ears open: Her horns play a few bars of the song.

“Live life to the limit, every moment of every day. Do it! I say. Whatever you want to do, do it now! There are only so many tomorrows.”

These words might as well be the mantra of Jo Ellard. That’s her pictured at top right. Jo is a woman who knows what she wants and when she wants it. She’s also a yacht owner who knows how to get the most out of cruising. About 40 years ago, she and her husband bought their first boat, a 33-foot Chris-Craft. She was so excited that she enrolled in boat-handling classes—and took the helm every time (yes, every time) they went out on the water. Fast forward a few years, and Jo wanted to stop doing all the driving and start relaxing. So, they purchased a 64-footer. For the next two decades, Jo and her husband cruised all over the Gulf Coast. (“She’s still out there, and lookin’ great!” Jo says, with a Texas drawl.)

Just before her husband died seven years ago, Jo says he told her, “We need to get you another boat.” Despite looking at 15 different brokerage boats from five different builders, Jo couldn’t find what she wanted. Why was it so hard to find an open flying bridge, three staterooms, and a few other creature comforts all on the same boat?

It wasn’t, when someone told her about a Horizon 76 located in Key Largo, Florida. “I knew in five minutes on the boat that it was right!” Jo asserts. “I’m not a big changer; I know what I want and how I want it.”

Jo owned that yacht for six years. When she says, “We had so much fun!” you know it’s an understatement. The only reason she doesn’t own the yacht now is because she sold it, to take delivery of a new-build Horizon 98. The name? Do It Now, of course—the same name as the 76, and the words she lives by.

Those words, along with the rest of the quote at top, are on a plaque mounted in the galley aboard Do It Now. They’re from the late Pope John Paul VI, who wrote that we’d be far more motivated to live life to the fullest if we knew from the start that we won’t live forever.

Whatever your stage, whatever your age, do what Jo does: Do It Now.