#writetip Did someone say writing was lonely? My advice, get a dog. Cali is visiting our boat, Mattina, for the day while her owners are off kiting. Cali has decided that she’s the one writing my novel. The only problem, she has trouble articulating story ideas.
I’ve made the main salon my writing platform and like to take over the entire table. Well the dogs had a different idea. So where am I supposed to sit?
#Sailing The best way to keep your dog happy while underway it to exhaust them first. Farley and Jasper had a 5K beach run before getting onboard for a day of deep sea fishing.
I’d say they look pretty happy. And so were we after catching Tuna and Mahi Mahi.
#sailing Our dogs love the beach. While we’re windsurfing, kiting, kayaking or swimming, the dogs are able to entertain themselves. Farley and Cali have become BFFs. They watch with concern while the gang gets geared up for another windsurfing/kiting session.
There are many uninhabited islands in the Bahamas and this means the dogs spend hour after hour off leash. There’s nowhere for them to disappear to. There’s nothing that can hurt them – well, that’s not quite true.
The sting rays can be a problem for dogs. If your dog is prone to chase them, they are likely to get stung. Not a fun experience.
The dogs keep fit digging, running, swimming and chasing crabs.
#sailing How may people does it take to get a dog on a boat? Apparently four.
Two to swim with the dog, one to lift the dog onto the boat and one to clap encouragement.
I say this in fun, but there are many situations where your dog has to swim.
Here we couldn’t get the boat closer to the beach, so the only way for us to get on board was to swim.
Before you take your dog cruising, make sure it can swim.
Farley doesn’t love it, but he can do it.
#sailing Sometimes your pup needs to need to be tied and sometimes not. Cali is in the foreground, Farley in the back.
When you forget to bring a leash, it’s perfectly acceptable to use the dingy anchor.
Normally Farley isn’t tied, but we’re at Emerald Rock in the Bahamas. The island is covered with little animals that I think they are tree rats – but what do I know.
The wheaten terriers were bread as ratters, so Farley thought he was supposed to chase these little critters. So. . . poor guy actually had to be leashed.
#sailing What could be better than a downward dog to make you feel good? Farley’s answer: A downward dog on the beach with your yoga pals.
Yoga is an easy way to keep fit while cruising. If you don’t happen to have a yoga instructor handy you can bring yoga classes on an iPod and play them on the beach. You’re only gear – A yoga mat. It doesn’t weigh much and doesn’t take up a lot of room.
Doing yoga alone is okay, but it’s much more fun with friends. Farley attends regularly and find his spot near the others. If you’re not watching he’ll grab your mat before you do.
What games does your dog like to play? #sailing Many of these can be played underway.
Farley, although he can’t catch a ball, loves to try.
By standing in one hull and tossing him the ball, I can entertain him without the worry that he might go overboard.
He can run from one side of the Lagoon 380 S2 to the other.
Wheaten’s are jumpers and agile. He has no problem diving down the stairs and roaring back up again.
He gets to stretch his legs and have fun at the same time.
#writetip What do you do when the advice is to add more humour to your writing?
In a tense novel, humour can give the reader the breather they need. Garry Ryan suggested I watch my dog and see what antics he gets up to. This is only useful for writing if you have a dog in your story.
It’s so true that dogs are funny. It might not feel funny when your dog is thirsty in the middle of the night, and to wake you he swats his steel bowl against the wall until you get up and then he greets you with a wagging tail like nothing is wrong.
It might not seem funny when your dog takes a banana right out of a strangers hand and eats it. Especially after you warned the stranger that your dog likes bananas. Well, it depends on the stranger, but it did happen to be funny.
And let’s face it, when your dog lets off a ripper at an inappropriate time, that’s pretty funny too.
So now, I’m collecting stories from my dog. Hopefully, I’ll find the right one to add to my novel. My dog’s name is Farley Mowat, so I think he should write part of my novel.
#sailing Farley loves to play on the beach. What Wheaten Terrier wouldn’t? He’s spent hours back on the boat sneezing. A little bit of sand up his nose must be really irritating.
He uses the tramp to roll around and get clean.
We love this because it keeps sand out of our main salon. By the time he’s done rolling, he’s fairly sand free.
Hungry? Is Farley thinking the crab hiding under the sand is his next meal?
So far, the crabs are too quick for him. It’s amazing how fast a crab can run when motivated.
Farley – 0. Crabs – 50. Not a good streak.
Lucky for Farley we’ve provisioned enough dog food for the season.
