First, he doesn't sleep in a crate, at all. He finds a corner on the "pit" in the boat - usually next to me, and stretches out his full 50 lbs to be sure he can capture all the room available. Eventually after being poked, prodded and moved, he finds a corner and stays there! He doesn't require his "bed blankets" and they stay pretty much tucked away.
Secondly, he has a few toys and can actually have his favorite "rolling" toys because there is no place he can roll it that he cannot get to. This is very important as those toys are banned at home because there is no peace when he rolls a toy under the couch or table or chair and cannot get it out. I have a broom under my couch now so that I can use it to retrieve a toy he's pushed too far under. On the boat he can run from one end to the other and always retrieve the toy he has tossed! However, a favorite game of his is to toss the toy into the air and sometimes that means he has tossed it down through the companionway door which he has no hope of retrieving it. When he is in his tossing mood, I have to put the lower boards in the companionway door so that he can't toss the toy down below. Other than that, he can do pretty much what he wants.
Thirdly, he is pretty quiet on the boat, content to stare out at the water to check out the birds, boats, other dogs and whatever comes into his view. He has become a great boat dog. His only drawback is that he has to be lifted down below and doesn't cooperate when his feet are off the ground. His 50 lbs becomes 100 lbs of dead weight and he struggles as he is being lifted through the air until his feet touch bottom again. This results in multiple scratches to whoever is the lucky one being handed BD Billy for the evening!
He is quite agile, especially after his foray in the water having missed the boat and taking a dunk. See previous post! He can jump up to the boat from the dock, slide under the lifelines to get on and off the boat if the finger dock doesn't extend to the lifeline openings and isn't too eager to march up to the front of the bow while we are underway.
We departed our slip Easter afternoon heading north. No real plans - just north until we turn around! However this afternoon we needed to get to Halifax Yacht Club to give us a three hour head start for Monday. Monday Dave was meeting two high school buddies in Palm Coast for a 2PM lunch hence we needed the head start.
It was a beautiful day and the trip to Halifax was uneventful. Halifax Yacht Club basin is shared with the Halifax Marina basin and is plenty big with lots of depth. This was fortunate because there was a small motorboat tied up along the dock we were going to spend the night on. We had to proceed into the basin and sit tight until the boat owners were located in the bar and left the dock. Once it was clear, we came right in and settled in for the evening.
Billy had a great place to run and exercise just down the street in the Halifax Municipal Marina area. It was an easy walk, didn't require crossing streets as Billy about took me down the last time we were up here. Crossed Orange Avenue to walk in the park and he took off in a run pulling the leash and my toe dug into the street - almost fell face first on Orange Avenue.
Since we are just south of the Memorial Bridge which opens at 9AM, we left at 9AM on Monday, April 9th heading to Palm Coast. We were in a parade line of boats heading north out of Florida. Lots of sailboats and many trawlers were making their way back home after spending a winter in So Florida or the Bahamas.
As predicted arrived around 1:00 in time for our 2:00 lunch. One couple, Tom and Gina live in Palm Coast and we visited them over New Years. The second couple Dave & Carol drove over from Ocala and Dave hadn't seen either of them since high school. While the men caught up on 50 years, we ladies gabbed about everything else. It was a pleasant lunch bringing right into the evening.
Left Palm Coast around 9AM and headed up to St Augustine for a few days. Forest fires were raging in North Florida and the air was thick and heavy. As we passed Mantazas Fort you can see the haze hanging in the air.
It's always tricky coming around the bend at Matanazas as it shoals up quickly and we've seen many sailboats sitting out here stuck.
Coming into St Augustine we were greeted by the wonderful St Augustine lighthouse. Just a few years ago we took the kids camping in St A and climbed the lighthouse -- rather they did, I took pictures! I do not..... do....lighthouses!!
Soon we were in our slip on the north side of the Marina with the Bridge of Lions behind us. Always a great view.
Since they have finished the construction on the bridge, it is most pleasant here. The completed mooring field is huge and we are looking forward to spending time on a mooring ball but for now we are going to stay in the marina and enjoy all the conveniences.
There is a very nice park now just outside the miniature golf course at the Marina and a great place to walk Billy. He was quite at home here, able to spring on and off the boat with ease and marches his way up the dock to the dog area. He is also becoming very socialized and polite; doesn't naturally assume everyone he sees has made a special trip just to see him. Also gets along fairly well with the other dogs he passes -- at least ignores them if they get carried away!
We took Billy into town and walked the streets of St Augustine. Billy did very, very well with the crowds. We had lunch at the Spanish Bakery where Billy curled up under our table while we ate our campenadas and sausage rolls. Stopped at Savannah Sweets for pralines and turtles to celebrate Dave's birthday....any excuse. For dinner we celebrated at a new Brazilian restaurant a few streets over from the Marina.
It was very good. They kept bringing us "apertifs" we didn't order but were really, really good - Caipirinha made with cachaca - anyway when we got the bill they charged us for all these un-ordered drinks. We let it go this time but figure if they keep it up, someone will complain.
Unfortunately my favorite French Pastry shop was not opened on Tuesday so Dave had to wait until Wednesday for his birthday Rum Cake. This shop opened in 1966 and the first time I visited it was in 1967 and have been coming here ever since. The original family still runs the shop. It is a St Augustine tradition .... much the same as Savannah Sweets is!
Wednesday we walked around St Augustine as though we were tourists. The winds was kicking up out of the NE - running about 25 kts so it was nice to get off the boat to the sheltered streets. Also Billy had a nice long walk all day which contributed to his sleeping all afternoon on the boat!!!
We continued to walk around St Augustine marveling at the architecture, especially Flagler College which never fails to impress. This is the Ponce de Leon Hall built in 1888 as a luxury hotel as only Flagler would build! It is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Henry Flagler's grandson, Lawrence Lewis, Jr., was the driving force behind the development of Flagler College. It was his vision to create a small, private liberal arts college on the grounds of the old hotel. Lewis served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Flagler College for more than 20 years, guiding the College through a re-organization in 1971. He directed millions of dollars through foundations, family and personal funds into new construction, restoration projects, endowment and various other programs to ensure the continued success of Flagler College.
Another interesting spot, if for no other reason than the colorful architecture, is the Villa Zoroyda also on the National Registry. Built in 1883 as the winter residence of Franklin Smith using poured concrete and crushed coquina shell. It is 1/10th scale of a section of the Alhambra Palace in Granada Spain and began the moorish Spanish revival of architecture seen in St A.
The towers of the Lightener Museum are also interesting.
The building, in a Spanish Renaissance Revival style, is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.It the former Hotel Alcazar, commissioned by Henry M. Flagler to appeal to wealthy tourists who traveled there on his railroad, and built in 1887. The hotel boasted a steam room, massage parlor, gymnasium, and sulfur baths, as well as the world's largest indoor swimming pool. However, after years as an elegant winter resort for wealthy patrons, the hotel closed in 1932. Flalger knew how to build them! It is now used as a Museum and City Hall.
The churches town are also an architectural marvel. The Memorial Presbyterian Church (Flagler Church) was established in 1824 donated by Henry Flagler and dedicated in 1890 as a memorial to his daughter who died from complications of childbirth.
Flagler, ever the shrewd developer, owned a lot of property in St Augustine. The churches owned even better properties so Flagler made deals with the churches. If the church would take his piece of property, he would build them a church. In return he would get the desired piece of property that the church owed so that he could build his hotels on. Worked out well for everyone. This is another view of the Memorial Presbyterian Church.
When walking St Augustine, you must remember to look up! Some of the best stuff is on top of the buildings!
Entrance to "Flagler Church" as it is known - Memorial Presbyterian.
United Methodist Church - also a beautiful architectural structure.
Billy is really becoming acclimated to the boat. He views it as "his home" which is probably anywhere we are. Coming down the dock he knows exactly which boat is ours, turns at the correct finger dock and hops right back on board.
A large crane has been in the marina shoveling dirt from the bottom of the marina - clearing out spots that were becoming shallow. We watched this crane at work one morning - mesmerized by the shovel going into the water and then bringing wet dirt (muck) up and dropping it on the barge. The crane moved from the back area of our boat to the other side of the marina. Billy was not crazy about this machinery - whether it was the bright yellow color or the fact that it looked like a transformer monster - not sure but he definitely didn't care for it.
On our way back down to the boat, the crane was on the opposite side of the marina. Billy must have noticed the bright yellow color or the noise because with ears back, tail tucked, he pulled me down the dock - looking back for his shoulder as if to say, "You coming or what!". He beelined it directly to the boat, hopped right in at the full length of his leash, then looked back to see where we were. Guess he felt safe once he got on the boat!
After walking around all day, we retired to the boat and decided to put the dinghy and motor into the water to make sure all was in working order.........
Dinghy motors are the bain of my existence. If you've followed our sailing stories, most issues revolve around the dinghy motor! This particular one we bought in Marathon two years ago because the "Rude" stopped working all together. Well we've had nothing but issues with this one. Dave worked on it for the past few weeks and felt, before we left, that he had the problem solved.
However, with the dinghy in the water and motor on the back, the motor would not start. Absolutely would not start. At this point, this was a deal breaker. We needed the motor to be able to anchor out on our way north to get Billy to shore.
Our choices were to stay in the marina at $87/night while we try to find a repair shop that can fix the motor immediately ..... which is an unlikely scenario.....so go back to New Smyrna and unpack, button up and proceed to Plan B which is to get the motor home ready for the trip north. We opted for PLAN B.
The winds were ripping out of the NE at 25 kts so....for once.....we were going in the correct direction! We headed out Friday morning going south. Decided as we came through Daytona Beach that few hours more we could be in our slip in SYC so kept on trucking. Got into our slip at 8:00 Friday night.
All in all it was a good trip. We managed to get away and Billy proved to be an outstanding boat dog.
Stay tuned to further adventures of Billy and his Forever Family.
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