Just a Fisherman's Daughter
From time to time, I am asked about my geocaching name and where "Mistraluna" came from.
Well, I am a fisherman’s daughter, and proud of it too!
My father is a professional fisherman, as was my grandfather, and my great-grandfather before him. Fishing is in our blood.
When my father was having his first crayboat built for him (a 42’ fibreglass Westcoaster), he asked me if I could think of a good name for her.
Mmmmmmm. A name suitable for a crayboat???
I thought long and hard about it until, eventually, I came up with the name “Mistraluna.”
The Mistral is a strong, cold and usually dry regional wind in France, coming from the north or northwest. It has a major influence all along the Mediterranean coast. The mistral is usually accompanied by clear and fresh weather, and it plays an important role in creating the climate unusually sunny climate (2700 to 2900 hours of sunshine a year) and clarity of the air of Provence. When other parts of France have clouds and storms, Provence is rarely affected for long, since the mistral quickly clears the sky. The mistral also blows away the dust, and makes the air particularly clear, so that during the mistral it is possible to see mountains 150 kilometers and farther away.
Luna of course in for the Moon, Earth's only natural satellite. The moon’s gravitational pull is responsible for the oceans tides, and to some extent, the swells, which are important considerations to all fishermen. But the moon has another significant effect for the crayfisherman – when the moon is at it’s fullest, the crayfish don’t feel safe at night to go out and feed, regardless of how tempting the bait in the craypots might be. Instead they stay safely hidden in and under the rocks, sand and weed, hiding away from any predators that might be out looking to eat them. So the full moon is not a good time for catching crayfish. And fishermen aren’t terribly romantic, so the full moon is wasted on them.
There is probably nothing more annoying to a crayfisherman than going out in rough seas caused the moon’s powerful pull, in a howling wind, pulling up pot after pot for few or no crayfish. So, both the wind and the moon are important considerations to fishermen, but especially to crayfishermen.
And I must add here, that there is nothing harder to placate than a crayfisherman who isn't catching crays! But that is another story.
Oh, I should probably tell you that he never did name a boat "Mistraluna", despite having had several boats built over the years. Oh well, the name was obviously meant to be used elsewhere. And that is how the name finally found itself in the world of geocaching.
FTF Congratulations Joo and Eth (and their geokids)
CHALLENGE: I hope that other cachers, both experienced and newbies alike, will all place a cache explaining how they came up with their geocaching names. Go on, do it!!.