The previous owners of my sailboat christened her Alpha, and they wrote the name everywhere: on the stern, on the sailcover, on the cushions, on the dock slip.
When David, Charles and I became the owners, we agreed that the name stunk, but we couldn’t agree on a new one. That’s one of the problems of having three partners. So for four years we sailed as Alpha.
It’s not a great name for a boat. If you saw the movie Up, you know what an Alpha looks like–the dog on the left.
Alpha and Friends
See, you don’t want to be sailing an Alpha if you can help it.
Continuing with my Up theme for a moment, poor Dug has been forced to wear the Cone of Shame.
What’s that got to do with sailing? Well, twice last year we had to call for a tow, an event that Lynda refers to as the Tow of Shame.
The first was after a squall with winds clocked at over 60 mph. Trust me, you do not want to be out in one of those.
The second was in milder conditions–the winds were only 35 mph but the seas were 6 feet, and trust me again, this is a bad time for a fuel line to break. These two events prompted our new friend Captain John of Sea Tow to pronounce, “You men are always a challenge.” We looked at each other and knew this was the name we had been looking for.
So this spring our boat was re-christened. She is now—and we continue to be a—Challenge.
Sammy's Blog 
This is so fun!! Thank you for sharing these great stories!
You’re welcome, Kasey. I had a little time on my hands last week.
Love the story! Love the new name! 🙂
Hey Sammy, Rach here as usual I’m playing catch up on the daily readings …. I just finished 1st and 2nd Kings … and I’m intrigued by the story of Elisha, the word of the Lord and the harpist … in Chapter 3. I know that the sounds of the people, music, instruments and voices usher in the word of the Lord and prepare the hearts of His people but I was wondering when did this start and is it explained in detail in the bible?