Several people have asked why I have chosen to name my boat, which apparently for all of its life until it came into my possession has been named Vagabond, Grizabella.

Invariably these people reply in the negative when I ask them if they are familiar with T. S. Eliot's book "Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats."

If you know the book, you know that it is the basis for Andrew Lloyd Weber's famous Broadway musical "Cats!" My girls like the play (we have a video of it) and my wife and I saw it twice many years ago when it was still on Broadway. If you know the play, you also are familiar with Grizabella, the Glamour Cat.

For those unfamiliar with Grizabella, she figures prominently in the play, although she was not in Eliot's book.

Wikipedia tells us that she likely is derived from Eliot's poem "Rhapsody on a Windy Night", which did not end up being included in "Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats":

Remark the cat
Who hesitates toward you in the light of the door
Which opens on her like a grin.
You see the border of her coat
Is torn and stained with sand,
And you see the corner of her eye
Twists like a crooked pin.

The Wikipedia entry reveals my reasoning for concluding that Grizabella was a good name for my 42-year old Pearson:

"Grizabella is, at the time of her appearance, a very old cat, withered by her age to the point that she no longer resembles the proud, carefree, flamboyant dancer of her youth."

"The name Grizabella is probably derived from 'grizzle' which means either 'grey' or 'disheveled', and 'bella' which means 'beautiful'. Hence 'Grizabella'; 'The grey beauty' or 'the disheveled beauty'."

In its day, the Pearson Wanderer was quite a nice and not inexpensive boat and could race as well as cruise. It is well made and nicely styled. Mine shows her age a bit, though, and is in need of some attention to her aesthetics. Even in her state of slight decreptitude, however, I still get compliments on her styling and lines, and she remains a solid boat and sails well. She is indeed the grey beauty.