Hi there travelers, and stationary people. It is me, Karl. German Shepherd. World traveler. Certified Morale Officer, First Class. You are welcome for showing up again.
A few days ago I was telling you about our sail through the Great Whale Passage. We were in Pelican Bay and approaching the town of Marsh Harbour. I could smell the town before I could see it. My nose is extremely powerful and professionally calibrated. I let out a yip of excitement. You are welcome, everyone, for that early warning system.
Dad slowed the boat down. We were heading into a channel to enter the inlet near town. Mom told Sister and me to stay put. It was time to put down the sails. We had to stay in the cockpit. We always had to stay in the cockpit when the boat was moving. Those are the rules. I know the rules. I follow the rules. Mostly.
Mom went up to the bow of the boat. That is the front, for you landlubbers. I know you know this by now because I have been very patient about explaining things. After the sails were rolled in, Dad fired up the engine. Then Mom took her place standing up front, keeping watch because Dad was driving from all the way in the back and could not see everything. She used hand signals to tell him when he needed to steer around things in the water. Mom was in charge of what went on at the front of the boat. Dad almost always did the driving. This is their system. It works. I supervise both of them. That is my system.
I was watching Mom and also monitoring the water situation personally. The water here wasn’t as clear as it was out in the open ocean. Not good swimming water. Probably not good to drink either. Not that I would know anything about that. As long as Mom isn’t looking. Moving on.
Mom kept pointing at things in the water. She had warned Dad there would be a lot of what she called “obstructions” because of the same hurricane that had wrecked the town over on Green Turtle Cay. Hurricane Dorian. This storm had absolutely destroyed this whole area. We had watched it on the news before our trip but after we made friends here, we learned how bad it really, truly was. Many lives were lost. Nearly every building in this inlet was gone. There were boats still under the water with only pieces of them sticking up, some out in the middle of the channel, some along the shore, just sitting there. Mom said it was eerie. I did not know that word, but I understood what she meant. I am very emotionally intelligent. It is a gift.
Mom directed Dad to a good anchoring spot. Then he turned us around and held the boat steady while she dropped the hook. That is the giant anchor that keeps our home from floating away into the Atlantic, which would be inconvenient for everyone. Mom let it out with a whole bunch of chain. Then Dad reversed the boat hard to make it dig into the ocean floor. He really hit the gas to make sure it bit in good. And then you know it isn’t going anywhere. Then the engine goes off.
And then…
The real work begins.
This is my favorite part. Off come the life jackets and I come LAUNCHING out of the cockpit to assist Dad. It is time to get our house all set up for living on the hook. This is our life and I am extremely good at it.
The very first thing we always do after anchoring is check our work. Someone has to dive down and confirm the anchor is properly dug in. Dad does the diving. I swim circles around him to make sure he is doing it correctly. Quality control. Very important. Then we get out and I shake salt water all over the entire boat. This is also important. Do not ask me to explain it. Some jobs simply must be done.
Next: we take down the dinghy. This is our little boat, which is essentially our car for getting back and forth between our sailboat and civilization. It will take us to the dock so we can go explore town. I have been waiting for this. You have no idea.
After that, the essential task: fresh water rinse. For the boat AND the Shepherds. I know what you landlubbers are thinking. You are thinking, Karl, why would you rinse off a dog who just got wet? Excellent question. Salt water on a boat gets oily and slippery and results in dangerous falls. Salt water on a Shepherd results in a smell that even I find offensive, and my nose has smelled some things. A quick fresh water rinse fixes both of these problems. Science.
Mom said we could go explore as soon as setup was done. I COULD NOT WAIT. I ran back and forth down the full length of the boat. I grabbed things and carried them for Dad. Some of them were things he actually needed! I am an exceptional first mate. We are all professionals at this point so setup takes about an hour. We are very efficient.
One thing we noticed while we worked was that there was a LOT of music coming from shore. A bar and grill called Colors was visible right from where we were anchored. It had a dock and a patio and you could take your dinghy directly to their front door. That is the kind of engineering I can respect.
This town sounded happy. We were ready to find out why.
I don’t know what amazing things Marsh Harbour had waiting for me but I will tell you about all of them very soon. Because I am Karl. And I notice everything.
Karl out.