Another Salty Dog

Dee Dee accomplished one of her most important firsts this week when she successfully completed her first offshore overnight passage. She was fitted to Dyna's life vest, a touch loose but very serviceable and something we hoped to never take out. She seemed to know something was up and immediately ran to her crate which had the ditch bag beside it.

We left from Port St Joe's Marina about noon on Saturday and headed out to what we thought would be a few choppy hours followed by a night of calm weather - 5 knot winds with 1-2 foot seas. Perfect.

Well, it would have been if it were true. In reality we spent a snotty night of short, steep, 3-5 foot waves on the beam. We knew the crew was not happy when dinner time came and neither of them gave us "the stare." Instead, Dee Dee cuddled in a ball by whoever was nearby, usually it was Dylan.

While it wasn't the "first" we had hoped for her, she never cried or complained or felt sick. She just hunkered down and carried on. We were very proud of her.

Finally the morning came and the winds did settle down to 5 knots and the seas did reduce to 1-2 feet. And Dee Dee had added another notch in her nautical skills belt.

Even Dylan was happy to pull into the Clearwater Municipal Marina with the promise of his paws touching dry land.