CRUISING WITH DOGS

We are five minutes out of the port of St. Petersburg, Fla., bumping up against a light chop coming across the long fetch of Tampa Bay, and Junior Seaman Sammy has what looks like a smile on his face. But I recognize that Mona No, he's thinking about giving back the breakfast kibbles that are suddenly sitting uneasily on his stomach. I can tell that he's thinking about how to keep his balance because his four legs are splayed. He's hunkered down like a basketball player waiting for the tip-off. In other words, he's trying with all the might his five-month life experience can muster to be ready for anything. He just has no idea what it's going to be.

Meanwhile, Chief Security Officer Bindi, with a year and a half of maritime work under her belt, has assumed her customary perch beside the helmsman and is dozing unsympathetically as we get underway. Ho-hum, she's thinking, at least I'm not in the car. For the day, she'll keep to the shady side and lap up a bit of water from the cockpit water bowl. Otherwise, she'll sleep or, when the sales are up, keep one wary eye Out for signs of rebellion. You can't trust a sail to stay where it belongs is her motto. She's a born powerboater.

Which is all part of the great adventure that is cruising with pets? When you introduce a dog to cruising, you can never be sure what's going to happen. Sammy, for example, has just completed his first month aboard and considers every inch of the Down runs, Sammy has his sleeping crate and a basket of toys to play with; on deck, he has boats to watch and ducks to bark at. Day and night, his home rocks gently in her slip.

But then one morning, the lines come in, the hum of the engine, and without warning his home is slurping along through the water. And Sammy's whole world changes. What's his reaction going to be, I wonder. First, the Mona Lisa smile and the Seeing that no one else seems the least bit ruffled, he searches for a safe place to settle. Thirty minutes later, he is sleeping soundly on the cockpit floor, his legs twitching as he dreams. The junior cadet is now a junior cruiser.

Sammy, like all other novice seamen, has a lot to learn about cruising on the Bay, whether he's off on a day sail or a two-week cruise. So here are some of the things that he and others like him-and, of Course, their owners—need to know.

Every dog, like every human crewmember, needs to have a sturdy, well-designed lifejacket. You want one that fits well and won't slip off, yet also doesn't impede movement. It should also have good handles for lifting out of the water, guiding on and off the dock and snagging if the dog decides to jump ship. The lifejacket should have light-reflective tapes or even an emergency water-activated beacon. Bindi wears an Aussie Natural, while Sammy sports a Paws Aboard model. Rough Wear also makes good

When does your dog need to wear it? That depends on some factors and, in the end, your good judgment. Slip it on when the weather is rough if your pooch tends to fall (or jump) off things On the afternoon, the occasional wear lifejackets offshore and in rough weather. Lifejackets are also required when riding in the dinghy more than a very short trip In calm water. When it's rough, I also add a tether to make sure they stay in the cockpit. I'll also do that while docking because mine is always ill-behaved and run around and bark. Perhaps yours are better.

For all those non-lifejacket occasions—like dozing in the cockpit and people-watching in the slip, Bindi and Sammy wear their harnesses. Bindi and Sammy's current models are called Truelove and have reflective tape all over and small but sturdy handles on the back There are some other good ones. Getting a good fit is key.

I use European leashes as tethers because they have a lot of rings to allow for varying lengths.

Finally, they need identification tags on harnesses and life jackets. I particularly like the ones from Boomerang, which slip over the straps rather than dangle from the leash ring.

For short cruises, teaching the dog to "go" on the deck or an artificial grass pad or pee pad is probably not necessary, unless you plan to anchor out where there is no land access. There are a few anchorages on the Bay with nice Sandy beaches in parkland, but most of the Chesapeake is private property and owners are often not keen on having cruisers dinghy up with their dog—especially if they don’t clean But after matter where you are, as a pet owner you are obligated to pick up pet stuff and hang onto it until you get to a receptacle. Be sure to carry plenty of biodegradable poop bags. We store the picked up poop in a separate little garbage can until we get home or into a marina. Many marinas now provide poop-bag dispensers and a separate collection can.

I've never met a marina on the Chesapeake that didn't welcome dogs. So many people now cruise with their pets that it would be bad business for them not to put out the Fido mat. As I mentioned, many now provide Poop bags. Some have designated walking areas, but if they don't, avoid the picnic areas. Common sense applies.

Some marinas are better for dogs than others, either because of their docks or because of their location more than anything else. Floating docks are a dog-cruiser's ideal. But most of the Bay's marinas have fixed docks because there is little tide change; On and off is usually pretty easy.