Going down with All Hands

RRS Boaty McBoatface

Last week NERC launched a competition to name its new £200m research ship, due for completion in 2019.

'Shackleton. Endeavour. Falcon. These are just some of the names suggested for the UK's next world-class polar research ship as part of a campaign launched today for the public to put forward names for the state-of-the-art vessel to be built in the North West of England', trumpeted its press release

But no mention of 'Boaty McBoatface,' which is the current frontrunner. As I write, it has almost ten times as many votes as the next most popular, Henry Worsley (21,867 against 2,746).