With a sense of relief one learns that SAS Amatola, one of the controversial new corvettes, is due to dock at Simon's Town today.

Relief not at the lifting of any military threat against us, nor indeed even at the prospect of effective action at last against the foreign trawlers which are plundering our marine resources. No, the relief is more immediate - at the fact that she carries a sound, appropriate name, not something dreamed up by the politicians and ideologues as happened in the past. Nobody has interfered.

Amatola is the name of a mountain range in the Eastern Cape - also of a battle during one of the frontier wars. I understand Amatola's sister corvettes will all be named after distant battles - including Majuba - which is highly appropriate, a combination of history and geography.

Our warships used to be named after provinces and cities - Transvaal, Natal and Bloemfontein. Then they were named after Boer presidents, which was okay in its way but a little one-sided politically.

Our submarines were named after women of SA history (possibly because they were of the French Daphne class) and that was plain embarrassing. SAS Emily Hobhouse just didn't sound right.

Then we had the "minister" class of strike craft, in which all manner of Nat worthies were honoured, including the Groot Krokodil himself.

To their credit, the Department of Defence have spared the navy's officers and crew further embarrassment. Splice the mainbrace!

With acknowledgement to The Mercury.