What's in a Name

Adagio: at a slow tempo - used chiefly as a direction in music (Webster)

Our boat was registered under the name, Arial, when we got her. But that moniker sounded too much like The Little Mermaid, so we searched for a name that seemed more fitting for a vessel about to undertake a journey like the Great Loop. But after months of suggestions and ideas, nothing sounded quite right.

One Sunday after our church choir had finished singing a beautiful piece, we were discussing how much we enjoyed music. Wouldn't it be fun to name the boat something musical to carry happy memories of church choir with us on the journey? So we began brainstorming musical terms.

A trawler typically travels very slowly - about 8 miles per hour - due to its design and the need for long-range fuel efficiency. We considered musical terms to describe slow movement and Andante came to mind, but still seemed a bit fast. Adagio is a little more leisurely, and we liked the Italian sound of it. Even better, we learned that Adagio means "at ease" in the original Latin, which is how we picture ourselves on the Loop. So it was settled. Arial became Adagio and seems to like her new name just fine.