Lagoon 380

Sailing With Your Dog

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 6 Comments

#sailing

If you bring your dog sailing with you in the Bahamas, I hope you don’t mind sand and salt water on your boat.

Farley plays in the waves off Stocking Island beach in the Bahamas. He loves it, but I always keep an eye our for sharks or sting rays. I don’t want Farley to meet up with either of them.

We discovered the hard way that if a dog is stung by a sting ray, the only treatment is to wash the wound with very hot water, as hot as the dog can stand it, and that should take the pain away. Farley hasn’t had this misadventure yet, but our friends’ springer spaniel has been stung twice.

Dingy Dogs

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 3 Comments

#dogs

Does your dog like to travel in fast moving boats? Ours does.

Farley, the wheaten terrier, likes to lean over the side. Jasper, the springer spaniel, likes to be up front. They always choose the same place and I have no idea why.

Walking the dog while living on a sailboat means getting in the dingy. When the weather is rough or it’s raining, it might not be too fun. Most of the time it’s great. Training your dog its on the boat makes life easier, but they still like the ride to shore.

Bahamas welcomes pets and the process for clearing in is easy. It’s just too much fun having a dog here.

Sea Turtles

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 11 Comments

#sailing

One of the joys of cruising is that the view from our home changes every day.

This lovely sea turtle swam by our stern. We were lucky and the waters were calm, giving us a perfect view. This guy stayed with us for a while, driving the dog crazy, but we loved it.

Who knows what will swim by us tomorrow.

Beach Parties

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 1 Comment

#sailing Cold weather doesn’t deter a good gathering on the beach.

When cruising, the dingy becomes our car. The shoreline becomes the parking lot. The beach becomes the bar.

Happy Hour is a popular activity, but sometimes there are too many of us to meet on a boat, hence the beach!

Dogs are welcome and can roam free.

But be careful – you might get wet feet getting to your car!

Curious Jasper

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 4 Comments

#dogs #sailing How many ways can you entertain your dog while cruising? Jasper came spear fishing with us and used his skills to search for lobster.

The lookie bucket has a bottom made of plexiglass and gives us a great view of the sea bottom. Some of us don’t like to get in the water unless there is something interesting to look at.

The bucket is an essential tool on all cruising boats and is easy to make. Well, I think it was easy because my husband made it. We use it to check our anchor if neither of us wants to swim on it. A good night’s sleep depends on the set of the anchor!

Jasper thinks he’s being a big help, although we’re not sure what he’s actually contributing here except to make us laugh.

Check out DogLeaderMysteries if you like to see photos of dogs. There are some fun one’s every Friday on DogLeaderMysteries.

Cruising Friends

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 5 Comments

#sailing It’s Wednesday again and time to post about cruising in the Bahamas.

I thought it was time to share some other boats that we cruise with. Buddy boating is a lot of fun, and we tend to meet with different friends on and off throughout the season. Here is Jabulani (Africat 42) chasing us into an anchorage after a beautiful day on the Bahama Banks.

We have a Lagoon 380, S2, but hang with all kinds of boats. The power catamaran can blast past us if they want, but they like to be social too. Part of the fun of being in the isolated anchorage is bringing our own friends with us.

Someone always catches a fish, and then they get to provide dinner.

Dogs, Snow and Cruising

~ Kristina Stanley ~ Leave a comment
Farley, Panorama BC

#sailing Does your cruising dog miss home?  I have no idea if mine does. I sometimes wonder if Farley remembers snow. It’s been three years since he’s seen it, but he sure seemed to enjoy it. I’ve gone from removing balls of snow from his fur to removing sand burrs. Neither is much fun.

Farley seems happy on the beach or in the snow.

Farley moved on board when he was 9 months old and had no problem adapting to a boat life. I think the younger a dog is when it makes this transition, the easier it is for the dog. Or . . . Farley is just a really happy dog and doesn’t care where he is.

How did your dog do when it first moved on board?

Related articles

Cruising Dogs and Weddings

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 5 Comments

#sailing #dogs Being a cruising dog, our wheaten terrier has all kinds of adventures. Farley loves to go to a wedding. Our friends got married, barefoot on the beach, and they invited our dog to be part of the party.

Farley caught the bouquet, but hasn’t found another dog to marry yet. Maybe this year he’ll meet someone nice and settle down.

Spotted Eagle Ray

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 4 Comments
Near Cambridge Cay, Bahamas

#sailing The Bahamian waters are crystal clear and make viewing sea life easy.

This beautiful spotted eagle ray swam along side our Lagoon 380 at slow speed. I was so excited that I had time to get my camera and snap this photo. The water is nine feet deep here, but it looks like we are about to go aground.

Dogs and Writing

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 11 Comments

#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?

Who's writing this novel?Are two dog ideas better than one?