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| Our Little Fellow |
Roger is currently reading John Steinbeck’s novel--The
Log of the Sea of Cortez.
Steinbeck’s classic provides an interesting comparison of how the Sea of
Cortez appears to a visitor in 1939 compared to that of today. Of course, John Steinbeck was also the author
of Travels with Charley, his 1960s book about traveling around the
U.S. accompanied by his trusty pooch,
Charlie. This has many parallels with
our cruising with our trusty pooch, Salty.
There are a number of good cruising guides for the waters
we have traveled from Seattle down to the Mexican Pacific Coast. However, there is scant mention anywhere of
traveling with a pet. This was also true
of our experiences of cruising the East Coast with Salty. Pet owners talk among
themselves and pass bits of information gleaned from
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| Salty with his bed and toys |
experience or from the
Internet. We were told that we would
need a veterinarian’s health certificate prior to bringing Salty into
Mexico. After paying several hundred
dollars for a suitable health certificate, we presented it at our check in at Ensenada. No one was the least bit interested. This random nature of cruising with pets has
been the rule not the exception with our cruising with Salty.
There are many unique factors in cruising with pets. One is dinghy trips ashore. For cruisers without a pet, a trip ashore is
a pleasant option taken when
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| Looking for shore leave |
conditions present themselves. For pet owners, trips ashore are a necessary
event 2-3 times a day, unless your pet is trained to stay on the boat. Dinghy beach landings can be very benign--or
not. Coming down the Pacific Coast the
ever-present ocean swell creates shore waves. These may be small, but they are always present. Thus, when one comes ashore on the Baja Coast,
you learn to do beach landings with a swell. Our baptism by fire was at Asuncion, BCN. We managed to ride the waves into the
beach. But when we went to leave, a puny
two-foot swell was enough to roll our dinghy over on top of us, trapping Salty
underneath and tossing our possessions into the water. We rapidly scooped Salty up and then he
scooted right to shore, as we gathered in the rest of our possessions. We subsequently learned somewhat better
techniques--wait for a period of settled waves, put
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| At Anchor in Mazatlan |
everybody into the dinghy
except the pusher, the pusher then pushes the dinghy out well past knee deep,
jumps into the dinghy, fires up the outboard, and motors over the next couple
waves. A quick few paddles also help to
keep the bow pointed into the waves, where the dinghy harmlessly takes on the waves.
Another pet consideration is piddling and pooping (PNP). We have read and that several cruisers have
told us that given enough time at sea, dogs will learn to PNP on deck. However, Salty, being half schnauzer and very
stubborn, has only piddled on board once. He has managed to hold out for
upwards of 34 hours until we get his paws on terra firma. We have tried all of
the tricks: the grass mat, a piddled-on stump, treats and pleadings, walking
around the boat with his leash on him, to no avail. Oh well...
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Roger, Lynne, Salty &
a 300 year old olive tree |
And then there’s the matter of whether Salty is welcome to
cruise with us at the stops we would like to make. We have found restaurants in Mexico (and
French Canada and French Caribbean) are particularly dog friendly. We have been permitted to take Salty in
virtually every restaurant we have patronized with the exception of just a few of
the more upscale urban establishments. Mexican National Parks has a rule that no dogs are permitted
ashore. However, we have spoken with
many cruisers and the word is to use discretion. So long as you don’t mix up Salty in a crowd
of people or wander too far off the beach, he seems to be quite welcome. There also is the helpful consideration that
park rangers are way underfunded in Mexico and that enforcement of park rules
is virtually nonexistent.
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| Schatzi at anchor |
Of course, Salty is an important part of our crew and of
our life. Roger has often commented “If Salty
doesn’t go, Lynne doesn’t go; if Lynne doesn’t go, then Roger doesn’t go!”. Salty
seems to do well making his home on the boat with his nest of toys, his chuck it
throw balls, and his personal perch just inside the dodger. He makes our cruising much richer and we
would never dream of cruising without him. Now we just need to author the guide
book to cruising with your pooch!
Roger, Lynne, and Salty
You can reach us at 206-755-4193 or email
rdwerner47@gmail.com
