Furry Friends Part 2: Koa

This post has been a long time coming and my apologies for not writing it sooner. There is so much to write about this guy that it always seems such a daunting post. So this post may be a bit lengthy, but here goes...

Koa adapted surprisingly well to the boat life, which we introduced him to at the age of 5. After living on the streets of Baltimore, we weren't sure how boat life would suit him, but he has thrived. He really just likes to be wherever we are and since we are usually around him 24/7 while on the boat, he seems happy with this crazy life choice.

The first few weeks were trial and error - teaching him to use the bathroom on deck, getting him in and out from below deck, on and off the boat - these were all obstacles we had to figure out together. First, we built this sophisticated ramp that ran from the top of the companionway stairs to the top of the galley counter below. The stairs in boats can be a bit tricky for dogs as it is similar to climbing a ladder and we had read that people had success with these ramps. It was a great feat to build and we even covered it with carpet so that it wouldn't be slippery for him. We used it exactly twice before one day he just jumped up the stairs on his own. Well, at least we didn't have to cart that ramp around!

Next came getting him to go to the bathroom on board- this was a bit trickier. He went the whole day while we were motoring down the ICW without peeing. We both took him out on deck and tried to coerce him, but no go. Finally that night, in one last ditch effort, I took him out and squeezed on his bladder (which I don't recommend unless you know what you are doing!) and voila! He peed! We praised him and gave him all kinds of treats and after that, he was good to go! At first he just peed anywhere, anytime. At one point, he even peed directly into a porthole and onto our setee - which was hysterical to me, it's not like I could get mad at the guy! Eventually though, (and we still wish we could take credit for this, but it is self-taught) he started peeing overboard. Much to our happiness, and the delight of everyone who witnesses this event, he goes to the bow, puts his head alongside the head sail, raises his leg and pees completely off the boat. It. Is. Amazing. For real.

We lucked into the open transom on this boat; this has been a godsend with getting Koa on and off the boat. We pull the dinghy up alongside and he just jumps right in. In fact, one day we couldn't find him anywhere on the boat and were both in a panic when I looked back and saw him sitting in the dinghy which was floating tied to the back of the boat. He must have been standing on the transom for an hour waiting for it to float close enough that he could just jump in. Of course we couldn't resist that cute face just waiting in the dinghy by himself and we took him for a quick ride.

Koa loves dinghy rides and swimming. We try to take him to shore at least once a day, mostly just to swim and tire him out. As he has gotten older, he has developed some joint issues and swimming is great for him. And he will swim for hours! We quickly learned our snooty water dog doesn't like the taste of salt water, so any kind of fetch toy that gets saturated is quickly denied retrieval (ie, tennis balls). We invested in half a dozen hard water floating water toys and he loves them all. After a few rounds of fetch, he is content to flail around in the sand for a bit and make sure everyone around him is also adequately covered before going in for another dip.

His favorite toy!

He doesn't much care for sailing, but we finally found the trick is to bring his bed outside into the cockpit and lay it on the floor in between the seats and he will lay right down and go to sleep. He rolls to whichever side is the lee and settles back against the seat and is out like a light. And this way we know he won't fall off. During rough weather or overnight passages, we tuck both of the pets downstairs and keep them there until calmer seas or daylight prevails. But, give this dog a light 10 knot breeze and he loves nothing more than to sit back beside the helm, nose up and sniff the air. Or curl up on one of the seats looking out over the water as the scenery passes by. And Koa is a born fisherman! Put a fishing line in the water and he goes crazy! He will bark at first, then settle down to just stare at it - for. hours. Literally. As soon as we have a fish on, he goes crazy again.

Looking out over the water:

Loves sitting at the helm:

He loves these folding chairs as much as we do!

Being on the boat is a bit of a small environment so we let him up on all the couches and beds. Otherwise he would only have about 10 feet of space to walk in. And this is fine with him, because he is a cuddler; he must be touching one of us at all times. And he firmly believes everyone who gets on this boat is there just to pet him.

We have enjoyed having him on board and although he makes it a bit trickier to travel, we wouldn't have had it any other way. As he is getting older, it is getting a bit harder for him to get around the boat and he is a factor in our decision to swallow the anchor. He has put in his dues on the boat and we are more than happy to give him flat land, soft beds and walks around the neighborhood whenever he wants.

Keeping it cool:

Furry Friends Part 1: The Moo

Although all of our friends, family and strangers that we meet are interested in what we do as sailors and in our travels, our furry friends top the list of intrigue and we have found that our most asked questions are about our four legged crew members, Koa and Moo. So I will devote a couple of posts to them and answer some of the pressing questions that I know you all have. ;-)

When we bought the boat, we already had the pets and it was never even a discussion between us, just an assumption: if we go on the boat, so do they. Luckily, they were young enough and adaptable enough that it has never been a problem. Moo was the easy one, so we will dedicate this post to our feline crew.

Although he doesn't love sailing the high seas, he loves the outdoors and so he quickly decided that the boat life is not too shabby. We call him our sentry because we often find him prowling the deck, making the rounds searching for birds that dare to land on his floating home. He has the run of the boat and will run from bow to stern and back again over and over throughout the night. And much to our chagrin, he has made the canvas on our boat his lounge area. This is not optimal for us since it causes our canvas to sag, but it is old and in need of replacement anyway and there is no way to win the battle, so we let it be. He can usually be found hanging with his head down in between the dodger and bimini spying on us from above. Or his new favorite spot is on top of the mainsail cover, where he has an unobstructed view of the whole boat. He likes to have us in his sights though so usually he is hanging head down in a hatch on deck keeping an eye on everything down below.

His litter box is lashed down on the floor of the Vberth and he has claimed the entire Vberth for his own room. Since we don't often have guests, like many other cruisers, we have turned the forward cabin into our "garage" of sorts. We store all of the things that don't fit anywhere else up there. This includes extra food rations, wine, beer, pet food, cat litter, paper goods and our spinnaker...just to name a few things. Whenever I stow everything, I make sure to leave a blanket on top of a storage container available for Moo to use as his bed. Although it seems these days he just prefers to lay on the spinnaker...a true sailing kitty I guess.

For the most part, Moo stays on the boat, although he has fallen in three or four times. While at the dock is when we have had the problems with him. He will attempt to jump from the boat, over the netting on the lifelines and onto the dock. Most of the time he makes it, but there have been times when the wind will catch the boat suddenly changing the distance he has to travel and in he goes. After the first time, we invested in a large fishing net to scoop him out. While we have had to use the net twice, we is usually able to climb back up the pilings and make it back to the boat by himself. Good thing he has nine lives...

Typical to cats, he insists on laying right in the middle of whatever we are doing and he always settles close to wherever we happen to be at the moment. He loves small spaces and takes particular interest whenever I pull out one of our many bags.

He is outside to greet us whenever we come back from a dinghy trip and he is the first to greet new visitors who come to the boat. In his mind, everyone visits with the sole purpose of petting him. At one dock, he visited our neighbor on her boat for over a week before we even knew about it! She would feed him cheese and lunch meat and so he kept going back....she loved him!

He keeps us constantly entertained with his antics and for that, we are glad he is part of our crew!

A Few Days in Heaven

1.21.15

This is the best place on Earth….we have officially decided. We have been to almost all the islands in the Exumas and this is the best. There are mooring balls because it is inside the Exuma Land and Sea Park boundaries. It is hard to get into – only during mid and rising tide can boats with a 5 foot draft enter. And, although it is in the Sea Park, no one ever goes there. We have anchored there 4 or 5 times and have only had another boat there once.

There is a beautiful crescent beach and plenty of hiking. There are surrounding sand bars that are beaches to explore at low tide and most importantly, again, there is no one there! It is fabulous! We let Koa off leash to run amuck as he pleases and we can relax and watch all the other boats pass us by as we enjoy the anchorage all to ourselves.

Always fun for everyone!!

After two days of this peace and tranquility, we usually move on South. We headed this time to Warderick Wells, park head-quarters. We enjoyed a day there, exploring the beaches and meeting some of our fellow cruisers.

Unfortunately, as we are beginning to notice as the trend of this trip, another front was rolling through and we needed to get to a more protected anchorage. So, again, much to our chagrin, we skipped over many of the beautiful Exuma islands and headed South to Staniel Cay, home of the infamous Swimming Pigs.