Sailing with your dog?

[Yachting_Monthly]

Hi All,

Snooks here in official capacity Rather than the unofficial snooks, we now have the official Yachting_Monthly user, you can still Email any comments/feedback to yachting_monthly@ipcmedia.com or now you can PM us here as well.

Anyway that's the introduction over and done with

Do you have any pics and short anecdotes about life on board with your dog?

If so YM would like to hear from you...

We have a feature about someone cruising the west coast of Scotland with their dog, and we'd like to hear your pros and cons of sailing with dogs.

Please Email any pics (to the address above), or attach link, and post you stories and advice for sailing with man's best friend

ps Fear not we're not copying PBOs Seadog of the month, this is just to accompany a feature in the Oct issue of YM

 

[Judders]

I haven't got a dog. If anyone else claims they have pics of sailing with my dog then they're fibbing because I have not had a dog since I took up sailing!


I did once sail with a chap who's Labrador had sailed for years without incident before one day deciding he fancied a dip thirty miles north of Cherburg.

My first doggy sailing experience was whilst calibrating an autohelm on a Benny 42s7 in the Orwell. Unfortunately the polarty had been reversed and before we worked it out, even the engineers black lab had been sick!

Try Mark Chapman of Global Yachts. I beleive Lola sails with him occasionally.

 

[bobgoode]

Holly....



... I love dogs, I love boats but not dogs on boats.


SWIMBO loves dogs, can take or leave boats, unless there is a dog on board ...
so you can guess the outcome there.

 

[Iota]

somewhere I have a copy of a pic you took of our retriever with Simon Jinks when you did 'the second look' at a Moody 336, I will try and find , then scan it.

 

[Yachting_Monthly]

I knew I'd photographed someone with a dog, and I remember you telling me that when you were getting your new boat (also a moody IIRC) the companionway was important .....don't worry about the pics -we still have them on file here - but if you do have any stories, it would be good to hear them

All the best

Graham

 

[Iota]

Graham, I will put something together at the weekend and send in. The retriever is 13 in a couple of weeks and still sailing with us.

 

[snowleopard]

The thing that immediately springs to mind is the dog's toilet requirements. Some lucky owners manage to train them to use a suitable spot on board but most of us end up having to take them ashore 3 or 4 times a day. In fine weather and daylight it's not too bad...

but in rain or darkness or when, like here at Cawsand, there is a dog ban on the beach it becomes a real pain.

While sailing, few dogs get seasick and they are happy to doze away the time...

But when it gets a bit rough they may need a bit of reassurance...

 

[Maree]

I sail with cats. Can they join the party?

 

[zaragozo]

My dog - Yorkshire terrier mixed with something else, flattens in panic when he gets on the marina pontoon. Hates it when we lift him on the boat and whimperingly cowers when in the cockpit. It upsets my wife which then upsets the dog even more and the whole day is generally spoilt or gets cut short.
And I haven't even got to the piss and poo time yet.
Dogs and sailing don't mix.

 

[Danny_Labrador]

A few years back a dog, (seem to remember it was a Labrador), jumped off a yacht some miles off the west coast, (in bad weather ? cant remember). Not retrieved and owner believed it to be dead.

However turned up on the beach must have swam for miles and miles.

In the news at the time would be worth a mention in the article.

 

[curve]

I have a great story...what's the fee?

 

[shmoo]

It has taken nearly two years, but we now have a boat-dog

Although Fred, our Jack (some would say Parson, since he has long legs, but that is a whole other story) Russel can only keep his legs crossed for about 12-14 hours at a time he is now an official boat dog.

Last year he wouldn't go below unless both of us did and that meant he got tired and cold on overnight trips. This year on our summer cruise he came of age. The first leg, from Orwell to Dover we always do overnight and although he wouldn't go below, he did sleep. By the time we got to Mount's Bay he was completely at home, happy to go below on his own, and even sleep below while we are under way. We anchor off when we can and make a point of getting him ashore as soon as we can and he seems to understand and appreciate that. We sail when the weather and tide are right without regard for the clock, and that sometimes means keeping odd hours and that doesn't seem to phase him.

We are building up a list of good dog spots: Yarmouth has super walks across to the south of the island; the forts above Dover are surprisingly accessible and dog friendly; Edgecumbe Park in Plymouth Sound is outstanding; and the huge Eastern Green beach at Penzance actually has a sign saying "Dogs are permitted on this beach" and there are many others.

He always wears a lifejacket when topside at sea and a fleece at night. He insists on walking round the sponsons on the inflatable and falls in occasionally but scrambles back on immediately.

We always use to go to France before we had a dog but we were put off this year by the logistics of returning the dog without a car. He is chipped and passported and next year we have decided just to to France as usual and sort out the dog-return issue when when its time to come home.

Remaining downside: the days of us getting from East Coast to Devon in 4 days are past becuase we simply can't stay at sea for long enough at a time. I guess we can live with that.

 

[ianfr]

Sailing with your Dog

Ours just jumps out of the dinghy if we don't keep an eye on her!

Otherwise she climbs into anyones dinghy!

 

[Bajansailor]

I met an amazing dog called Bonnie on a 36' Austrian boat here years ago - they had just crossed the Atlantic.
Bonnie had a mat on the foredeck for doing her business which she was happy about. And she could negotiate the companionway steps, no worries.
Best of all, when at anchor she would happily fling herself over the side if she wanted to go for a swim to cool off, and then (unassisted) climb back up the boarding ladder on the transom. This was a forward raked transom (no sugar scoop bathing platform), so the ladder was at a steep angle.
I think she was an old English bull terrier or similar.

 

[shmoo]

she would happily fling herself over the side if she wanted to go for a swim to cool off

We are in two minds about encouraging this. I am not sure ours has the good judgment to resist doing it in the Felixstowe big ship channel.

 

[fmoran]

Cocker Spaniel Bramble

Our Cocker Spaniel Bramble has sailed over 11,000 miles in 9 years. His first long trip was from the Solent to Largs when he was only 10 months old. That thought him to poo and pee on the foredeck which has been great ever since. We can go for days with him without needing to go ashore. He has been everywhere up the West coast of Scotland, to the IOM, Wales, and Ireland many times. Last year he did Poole, Scilly, Baltimore, Bangor, Largs. In fact he broke his leg when in Bangor and sailed back to Largs the next day before heading up to Stirling to get fixed.

This year round Ireland - Circumnavigation of Ireland 2009 - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=28997&id=1068522419&l=3b3f2caf4c

He loves the close company and is very happy to be aboard. Being a Spaniel he loves the water and gets very wet but we have a zip-up terry towling to put him in to dry out with us below.

Bramble before and after a trip ashore ( Inner West Loch Tarbert on Jura - 2007 ).

 

[Boreades]

We sail from Plymouth with our Golden Retrievers, Isla (mother) and Ruby (daughter). They're fascinated by anything like crabs and shrimps that our children catch. So far (touch wood) they've not jumped off the boat.

The great thing about having dog(s) or Child(ren) on board is that it's soooo much easier to start a conversation with people, instead of just a polite nod or grunt.

Pic 1............................... Pic 2.................................... Pic 3 ......................................
Waiting for dinner ............ Guarding the laundry ............ Back from a swim on the slipway

 

[Allan]

Lilly, the devil dog!

We sail with my SWMBOs dog Lilly. She is a rescue dog and some sort of terrier cross. Most people think she is lovely but at the our club (Cardiff Yacht Club) she is known as the devil dog. Although she looks like "butter would not melt", whenever she is around, our friends' Lurcher runs away and starts to shake! Although Tigger, the Lurcher is much larger, something Lilly has done seems to have affected him deeply! When sailing in company with Tiggers owners we put both dogs into one, very small, inflatable for a toilet trip. I thought Tigger was going to pull his owner, Louise, out of the boat, while he was trying to escape Lilly.
Whilst anchored off Porlock last year, I took Lilly ashore for a toilet trip. As we approached some steps I realised I had the painter in one hand and the caribeena on Lilly's lifeline in the other. To free up my hands to sort out my arrival at the steps I clipped Lilly to the loop on the end of the painter. She jumped onto the steps and ran up, pulling the dingy into the steps! I thought the guy stood at the top of the steps was going to fall in, he was laughing so much!
I have attached one picture of Lilly, we have lots more.
Sailing with Lilly is never boring.
Cheers,
Allan

 

[TamarMike]

Was he concentrating on the chart or dozing off?

Not long after this photo was taken a pilot whale broke the surface alongside, Tavy (the dog) was most alarmed by its deep breaths through its blowhole and barked so much that it dived again before I could grab my camera. It was in 1997 and the boat was the lugger I then had which I had just re-rigged with a dipping foresail. Tavy is now 13 years old and needs a bit of help climbing aboard the yacht from the dinghy etc. nowadays.

 

[TeamSpirit]

My hard working crew joined as puppies and jump at every chance to get afloat......