Making the Rounds

Since Dee Dee successful navigated her first overnight crossing the crew has been making the rounds at a variety of marinas as we initiate our tour of the Florida west coast. First, they spent several days relaxing at the Clearwater Beach Marina. While they weren't allowed on the beach, they were able to walk on the sidewalk nearby. They loved taking long walks each day and meeting the people coming off the beach.

When we left Clearwater we made a short hop to Marker 1 Marina in Dunedin (pronounced, "Done Eden" - I didn't know).  Dylan took up his usual post on the flybridge helping the captain pull away from the dock. While Dee Dee settled into her favorite spot in her crate. Will I ever reclaim that salon space? Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to put the old bed comforter in there when I bought a new one...

We spent several days enjoying Dunedin and the beautiful sunsets.

We then left for Gulfport Municipal Marina. The town of Gulfport has a real funky feel and some very interesting shops and restaurants. There's a neat park with trails throughout where the crew walked and enjoyed (OK, barked at) the wildlife. Dylan continued his wildlife search for dolphins when we took off for St Petersburg.

He hadn't seen any in days and was getting a bit lonely. We're guessing it was because the water outside the ICW was too shallow for them to swim in. But on the way to St Pete a few did appear much to Dylan's delight.

St Petersburg is a lovely small city with so much to do. The kids are really enjoying the many walkways and parks along the water. We've been taking in some of the restaurants. Maybe too many as Dee Dee showed her displeasure by destroying the downtown map.

Too bad for her, they had plenty more at the St Pete Municipal Marina office. We plan on spending a few days taking in the sites, meeting with some boating friends, and enjoying the sunsets. Oh, and going on lots of dog walks. Gotta keep the crew happy!

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.

Leaving Panama City

We knew the day had to come that we would leave Panama City Marina even though it was getting pretty comfortable there. Marina manager Stan Jones snapped a picture as we pulled out of the marina. We think she looks good! We know we'll be back.

The crew did enjoy their time in Panama City. They had multiple walks each day and were cooed over by other boaters and folks we just met along the way. Mostly they liked having a routine.

The nightly sunsets were beautiful although the crew was usually deep into their evening meal by then. It was the last place we would be in the Central timezone which the crew had settled into very nicely. There were different places to walk, even a small field to sniff in. The kids were enjoying themselves.

We were enjoying the restaurants and took a tour around to the other marinas in the area. Stan drove us over to see the St Andrew's Marina which has a nice floating dock and a charming little town right on the marina's doorstep. We also visited the other Sponsor marinas in the area, Lighthouse Marina and Pirate's Cove Marina are near the beach. Bay Point Marina is in a gated community with a golf course walking distance from the boat.

But we were getting worried that if we stayed much longer we'd have to change our residency. So we threw off the lines and set off. The crew immediately took up their stations.

Dylan kept watch for dolphins.

Dee Dee took Dyna's favorite spot at the foot of the flybridge stairs.

But Dee Dee was most happy cuddled with Dylan on the pilothouse settee.

It was a nice hop to Port St. Joe Marina where we found several other transient boaters waiting for a window to cross over to Florida's west coast. The crew met up with Janet and Bob on Harmony who they first met last June on the Hudson River when Dee Dee was just a little drip of water.

Port St Joe is a lovely town with pretty much anything you could need just a walk away. Dee Dee especially liked the wrapped dog toy that the marina put on the stern every morning. She found a similar toy left at Grandma's house every morning too.

But Dylan and Dee Dee's favorite thing is the four miles of walking trails right beside the marina. They now have a new favorite routine for their walks. It is a terrific place to be "stuck" waiting for a weather window to cross from the Florida panhandle to the west coast.

It's lining up for a noon departure tomorrow for a 27 hour run to Clearwater. This will be one of Dee Dee's biggest firsts yet - an overnight crossing on the boat. I'm sure she'll look to Dylan's experience for what to do and he'll be the perfect mentor.

Christmas

This was Dee Dee's first Christmas. In past years we have enjoyed decorating the boat with small items for the holiday season. But with an 8 month old puppy that still thinks, "if I can reach it, it should go in my mouth," well, we decided it was better to just enjoy the beautiful Christmas tree in the Panama City square.

The real excitement began when we started getting ready for the big trip to grandma's house. This was Dee Dee's first road trip since we picked her up in Maine in June and drove to the boat on the Hudson River. It was a 9 plus hour drive and both crew members were in top form.

They shared the backseat without a fuss and just a little bit of playing.

But mostly they slept.

Dylan was the perfect big brother. Sweet Dylan.

We spent Christmas week at Grandma's house. It's the longest Dee Dee has lived on land since she arrived on the boat at 8 weeks old.

Dylan showed Dee Dee the spot to watch for squirrels and neighbors and other dangerous things.

Dee Dee found lots of "Dee Dee No" items at Grandma's definitely not puppy-proof house. Heck, it was pretty much one big puppy toy box.

It's a good thing she's so darn cute and knows how to work Grandma when needed.

Each day was full of walks and visitors and new experiences. By the end of the day the crew was ready for a good night's sleep. It was an exciting week.

But as much fun as they had, we all were happy to be back home where all is familiar and most "Dee Dee No" items have been tucked away.

The entire crew on aCappella hopes you had a wonderful holiday season and wishes you a very Happy New Year!

Garmin Revisited!

We received some terrific pictures and a video from our Garmin guests that the crew insisted we had to put on their blog. I think they were just wanting to relive the good times they had. Mom and Dad seem pretty boring in comparison.

Dylan helped setup their equipment.

 Dee Dee kept an eye on everyone.

Joe setup the scene.

While Conor actually did some work.

But the best part was the dolphins!!

Joe captured a video that showed the action!

In the end it was an exciting and tiring time. But the crew can't wait for Conor and Joe to visit again!

The Perfect Host and, well, Dee Dee

When it comes to having guests onboard, Dylan is an old pro. He has become the perfect host offering just the right amount of doggie love without going overboard. As for Dee Dee, well...

We just finished having 2 Garmin design engineers onboard for 4 days. These are the guys that get to design the future Garmin products. Can we tell you what they revealed? Possibly, but we're pretty sure that then we'd have to shoot you.

Fortunately, they were both big dog lovers and surprisingly, they remained so after 4 days onboard with Dee Dee. It was one exciting moment after another with events like, "Someone came onboard!" and, "Someone walked up the stairs!" and, "Oh my gosh, they're still there in the morning!" Needless to say there was an abundance of extra attention lavished on both canine crew members.  Dylan certainly managed to get his share.

We spent several nights at anchor, traveled the ICW, and even had another offshore adventure for Dee Dee. The goal was for Garmin to gain real life boating experience to help them design better products. I think that was accomplished even though there were a few distractions, like, DOLPHINS!

If you've even casually followed the crew, you know how Dylan feels about d-o-l-p-h-i-n-s. It seems that Joe and Conor were pretty enamored by them as well. And as for Dee Dee, she actually noticed them for the first time.

It would have been pretty hard not to notice them as these were some of the most active dolphins we have ever encountered. They were literally leaping several feet into the air over and over. Truth be told, we all were having a good time watching.

But there were other modes of entertainment as well, like water bottles and hats and oh, both Joe and Conor wore watches. Dee Dee thought the fun would never end. She liked them both but developed a special attachment to Joe. Maybe his smell? I mean, Joe owns a pug...

She fell head over heels and quite frankly was crushed when they finally left. She stood on the bow with Dylan watching them walk down the dock to the taxi. She kept looking out the window and was sure every noise on the dock was Joe coming back. She ran down to the guest stateroom to look in. She will never forget him and will likely mourn until... what's that?

Wow, a big box full of dog food and treats was delivered right here to the boat! Life is good! Life is beautiful!

Sorry, Joe...

Another First

This cruise has certainly had a lot of first's for all of us. The Hudson River, the Erie Canal, the Great Lakes, all the way down to the Gulf have all been places new for this crew. It's one of the reasons we wanted to take this journey, to experience new things.

But for our littlest crew member everything has been a first. From her first time underway to her first dinghy ride to the first time she cruised into saltwater, she has been facing new experiences. Today Dee Dee had another very important first.

We had spent a week at The Wharf Marina in Orange Beach, AL where Dylan and Dee Dee enjoyed daily walks to the large field for a run. While we enjoyed the restaurants and movie theater and a lovely Thanksgiving day at Marie and Bob Austin's.  We then made the 11 nm trip to Orange Beach Marina where the crew met other boat dogs while out on the docks. One of the many appeals of Orange Beach Marina is that it is only minutes from the Perdido Pass Inlet.

So mid-afternoon today we threw off the lines and headed out the inlet into the Gulf of Mexico. Right away Dee Dee knew something was different. We had some heavy swells coming out of the inlet and things got only slightly better as we turned east. It wasn't a day we would have normally gone but we have a bit of a schedule, eww.

We bumped along for a couple of hours until we pulled into the Pensacola Inlet and onto our anchorage. Dee Dee was a champ. At first she clung to me, then curled into a ball on the settee. She drooled just a bit but finally settled down and fell asleep.

An offshore passage has now been added to Dee Dee's list of first's. She's becoming quite the boat dog. Of course, she has the best teacher in our first mate Dylan, who by the way also had a first today. It was his first time in the Gulf of Mexico. But to a seasoned salt like him, it was no big whoop.

Dolphins!!!!

We had almost finished crossing Mobile Bay with Jeff at the helm when he suddenly says, "Dolphins!" I looked out to see the familiar fins moving through the water towards the boat. I grabbed the wheel as Jeff hustled the dogs out to the bow while I tried to snap some photos through the window. It was Dee Dee's first dolphin sighting after all...

Dylan immediately knew what was up and ran to the edge to peer over. Dee Dee also knew something was up but couldn't figure out what. Jeff tried to coax her to look down at the four dolphins that were riding our bow wake.

But she was only interested in smelling the breeze. That's fine. There will be lots more dolphins in the coming months and with dolphin expert Dylan there to guide her, she'll catch on.