Scrappy is very much like me when it comes to sailing. He is MUCH happier when it’s nice weather, there is a bit of a breeze that is nice and steady and all is calm onboard so he can come and sit outside and sunbathe.
Disclaimer: Scrappy is always attached to the boat somewhere by his lead and harness or lifejacket whenever he’s out on deck and we’re moving. (We’re a bit more relaxed when we’re stationary!)
When it gets a bit tasty, he is not amused. He does not enjoy sailing at all when it’s rough (and neither do I!). Luckily, those times have been few and far between!
Before we set sail we make sure there is a nice comfy bed made up on the sofa bed in the ‘lounge’ for us and Scrappy to go and snuggle in (whatever the weather!). It’s to give him something to cuddle up to when we’re not there to help keep him as steady as possible.
On our new boat we also have a back cabin with a little bit of floor space between the two back berths. I usually make him a little nest in there too so he has a choice of where to snuggle.
We can see straight down through the hatch if we’re both outside to keep a close eye on him. Having the mirror on the wall (check out our boat tour to see what I mean) of our old boat meant we could see him even if he was hidden behind the kitchen cupboards.
There are no cupboards in the way on our new boat but if he’s decided to get snug in the back cabin then we can’t see him and have to go in and check on him every now and then.
We took it nice and easy to start with and built up the trips as slowly as we could. We did have a couple of big trips from Grimsby to Lowestoft and the Lowestoft to IJmuiden near the beginning but there was a third crew member on board so one of us could stay with Scrappy nearly all the time to make sure he was OK and felt safe.
We pick our weather windows well to make sure that we’re not out in anything dodgy and keep the journeys as short we can to make it more comfortable for us all.
This has worked well for us over the past few years and although sailing is not his favourite thing in the world to do, he’s much calmer on passage now and settles down quickly. I think he’s only been seasick once and that was when it was rougher than usual.
We make sure he eats small meals and keeps hydrated on passage to minimise any further seasickness for him.
Scrappy prefers not to go to the toilet if he can help it on passage but we keep his piece of grass handy and make sure we give him the chance to go if he wants to regularly during any sails.
Have you been out sailing with your dog yet? How did he/she find it?
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