Latest in Life Jacket Fashion

Miss Lily made it the whole boating season without falling off the boat. Not because she was a smart dog but because her masters maintained a strict watch, kept her on a long leash most of the time, and kept a salmon net at the ready just in case. A bit nerve-wracking.

But with Miss Lily's new personal floatation device (PFD in nautical vernacular) we think she will pop back to the surface if she does manage to mis-step off the boat.

Notice how the blue matches her eyes.

Notice the reflector stripes.

Notice the handle which will let us use the pike pole to bring her back aboard.

The Ditzy Doxie Dinghy Hammock (pat. pend.)

When you've got a ditzy doxie whose legs are too short to let her see over the side of the dinghy while you are rowing around, you've got to come up with something.

Miss Lily has really taken to the revolutionary Ditzy Doggie Dinghy Hammock.

She can look over the edge to the left; or she can look over the edge to the right, and sometimes, but not often, she looks straight ahead.

She often will nap on her left side and sometimes on her right; or if it is time for a little belly tanning, lies on her back with legs in the air.

She's comfortable and safe making this a valuable new product.

Soon to be in a pet store near you (...maybe or not)

Boating has changed

In the early 1980's, our 1978 40-foot Cruise-A-Home was one of the big boats in Puget Sound. With it's seaworthy hull and insulation, we took many a Christmas-to-New Year's cruise into the San Juan Islands or to Victoria, BC. When we would dock at a marina there would be nobody on duty as the facility would be closed during that time of the year. There were no other boats on the water as few were being built for the Pacific Northwest winter conditions.

Things change. Boats got taller and wider to a point where boats the same length as us tower over us, can overnight more people, and have more storage. Whereas boats used to have one shore boat, now it isn't surprising to see stacked on deck and/or towed behind four boats of which 2 will be kayaks.

Radars used to have huge tubes that you kept your eyes focused in but with computerization and chips, radars are now very compact and powerful and best of all affordable for even the small boats.

Another bit of new electronics are the domes at the top for satellite communications and TV. These folks always want to sit at a dock to keep their systems aligned.

And the latest and greatest toys we are seeing a lot of are "thrusters". Because boats have gotten taller they have more windage and though the boats are heavier they still blow around. Because of the hull height, it is harder for the crew to get the line to the dock except at the stern off the swimstep. The thrusters are designed to give the boat a bit of a push sideways to help with the parallel parking. That's the design. The expected usage. (of course, those as experienced as my captain can do the same with judicious use of his twin engines and transmissions)

Well...My theory is that husband wanted the new toy and has to use it often to prove to wife that it was well worth the expense. The thrusters make a unique noise and you can hear their "erk" noise when is use. You would expect the thruster to be used during docking but we are amazed at how often they are used in normal cruising. In Reid Harbor which is about 1 1/2 miles long you can here the "erk" "erk" "erk" noise coming from the time the boat gets in the harbor all the way in.

Of course, having all these new toys doesn't make you a pro. Practice, practice, practice. Just this week at our yacht club a huge fancy boat with thrusters and a remote (joystick) bashed into the pilings holding the fuel float to the marina. He could never find "reverse" with the remote. It never occurred to him to go back to his navigation station and take control by hand. He just stood on his foredeck playing with the remote. When he finally made it to the fuel dock, he did find reverse. Thank goodness.

Alaska and northern west coast Canada waters have become the place for the rich and famous to explore (if they like to freeze - this area is definitely not the Caribbean). Like the Odessa we saw last week, many have crew members to keep the boat off the rocks and to do the maneuvering. Some of the boats are freighted from one cruising locale to another through the Panama Canal and the owners reboard when the ship gets to the new location. Of course, many of the anchorages in AK/CA waters are deep and small. Having a 150' boat in the anchorage may take up all the room. Last time we were north, a big yacht tied to shore from one side of a waterfall to the shore on other side. What a great view they had. What a great view we didn't.