Dog on!

This Sunday our dog Ramona took her first steps off of dry land and lept (in all honesty was carried and shoved) into our world of sailing. Our day at the boat began as usual with some boat improvement and maintenance. Once again, Brent totally surpassed all my expectations. He was able to dive under the boat, find the spot on the keel to attach a cable and then find the tiny hole in the bottom to shove the cable into so I could attach it to the wench. Presto! We have a working retractable keel!
Once the chores were completed, we shoved off of the dock,and off of another dock, and off a boat, and off another boat and headed out to open water. Apparently the change in the keel also changed the response time in the steering. Oh well at least we didn't damage anything.
The weather was perfect and Ramona handled the wind and the waves like an old salt. She wasn't a huge fan of heeling over but gained confidence over time and best of all she did not get sick. Our little boat was flying on a broad reach the whole way home, taking half the time to return as it did to go out. Brent took a turn at lowering the sails and then skippered us into a perfect landing back into our slip.
After settling our boat we headed out to the deck for a beer and Ramona met a fellow boat dog named Amber. After Ramona got her land legs back they ran and played and swapped stories of the sea. Well maybe not stories of the sea, but they did take turns smelling each other's butts. I think she will make a fine sailor!
Later!