Playful Tiger

No one really knows the true origin behind Ah Cha’s name. The story goes that her original owner was traveling in Indonesia and a shop keeper yelled “Ah Cha! Ah Cha!” at him. He wasn’t quite sure whether the guy was calling out in greeting or anger and, liking the ambiguity, took the phrase for his new Islander.

The thing is, “ah cha” doesn’t really mean anything in Indonesian.  It is, however, a very common phrase in Hindi, where it is an incredibly versatile word. Technically, it means, “good.” But it is usually used more as an expression that can convey understanding, surprise or whatever it is you are feeling at the time.

What we do know is that Ah Cha came to us, rather reluctantly, from Tom Fitzsimmons, a retired Battalion Commander with the Chicago Fire Department. Tom sailed her for years out of Monroe.

He let her go when his wife pointed out that his hips no longer jibed with sailing. His loss, your gain. Like her sister I36, Marilyn Anne, she is a delight to sail.

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