A Floating Retreat

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A Floating Retreat

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“Would you be interested to pet sit Crew onboard Black River?”, Doug and Amy inquired. 

“Absolutely!” “when? where? let’s talk details!” was our enthusiastic response.

We met Doug & Amy and their dog Crew in the Bahamas about a year ago.  Black River and Terrapin were two of the many boats that arrived in Bimini before a stretch of weather that we waited out together at Bimini Sands Resort and Marina.

If Doug and Amy want to travel together to the States, they look for a pet sitter rather than bringing Crew along.  Crew is not a big dog, but he is too big to fly under the seat in the cabin of a plane and they don’t want to put him in the cargo section of a plane.  When they don’t have a pet sitter, they take turns traveling so one of them is onboard Black River with Crew. 

Planning Trip Details

As we talked about logistics, Doug suggested we come a week early and stay a week afterward to enjoy time sailing and exploring together.  Excellent idea!  The time beforehand also allowed us to learn all about their boat so we could take good care of their floating home as well as take care of Crew.   

“This is going to be a win-win for all of us!” was a frequent comment by all as we put together the overall plan. 

• Doug and Amy get to travel together
• Tony and Julie get time on the water and will see new places
• Crew gets special attention and Black River is well cared for while Doug & Amy are gone
• All four of us get time sailing together, sharing adventures, and building a closer friendship

And in the end, there were many other positives and highlights of our trip that we didn’t necessarily plan. 

Our stay on Black River ended up being like a “floating retreat”.  We didn’t plan it to be a retreat.   It was the happy result of a peaceful place to rest, the people involved, and being open to learning and growing.  

Highlights From Our Floating Retreat

Recharge Our Bodies

Our stay on Black River was full of rest.  For one thing, we seem to sleep better when we are on a boat.  There’s nothing like the motion of the water under the hull to lull you to sleep.  Our days were never rushed or hurried.  There was plenty of opportunity for reading, naps and taking leisurely walks. 

We believe that spending time with Crew was also helpful to our physical health.  Did you know studies show that having a dog can have a calming effect, help lower blood pressure, and reduce stress levels?  I believe that is the case, especially for Tony.  We took his blood pressure a few times and it was so nice and low!

Whenever we spend time on the water, it brings us a sense of calm and happiness.  The book Blue Mind by Wallace J. Nichols explains the science of why many people are drawn to the water.  The subtitle “how water makes you feel happier, healthier, more connected, and better at what you do” gives a hint of some of the book’s stories and the science behind some of the benefits of being in, on, or near the water. We find it is true!

Enriching Conversation

It didn’t take long for the four of us to recognize we all felt at ease living with one another on their sailboat and how easily conversations flowed about all things.  Some of our discussions were casual, light-hearted, and good-humored.  Others were quite serious and prompted introspection.  Through sharing, listening, and encouraging one another, we all took this opportunity for personal growth.  

Crew

Crew is Doug and Amy’s “best dog ever” boat dog.  He is a social dog and makes friends easily.  Wherever we went with Crew, he is welcomed and well-liked.

On Shore

During our couple weeks of pet sitting, we developed a routine of taking Crew on a long walk every day to explore the area.  Whenever Tony & I travel, we tend to take multiple walkabouts to explore and get to know the area.  Here we got to do our walkabouts with Crew!  Some days we’d head to one of the beaches for our walk.  It’s always interesting to see the beach activity and to watch the boats out on the water.  On other days we headed into different neighborhoods and admired the homes and gardens.  One time as we passed by the golf course, a walker mentioned a hiking path on the outskirts of the golf course so we checked that out.  The trail went in a wooded area which provided nice shade on the hot sunny days.  While in town, our standby stop for a little nourishment was the food truck Clean Food’NJooce. There are picnic tables nearby to sit and enjoy a smoothie or a sandwich and visit with whoever happens by at that time. 

For a special outing, we thought it would be fun to go by taxi to explore a different town on the island, but we learned not all taxis will take dogs.  A friend at the food truck helped us out by recommending one that allowed small dogs. 

Our taxi outing to St John’s was on a Saturday, which is market day, and there was a cruise ship in port.  Needless to say, it was busy!  We quickly found our way to a quieter part of town and enjoyed a little shopping, a delicious meal, seeing a few monuments, and walking along the dock by some big boats.

Dinghy Rides

Crew loves to take dinghy rides!  We learned to not make it too obvious we were going to shore until we were almost ready.  It’s hard for an excited dog to understand the idea of “be patient” while we packed our backpacks, shut all the ports and hatches, and lowered the dinghy. 

Games Onboard

While onboard Black River, a favorite pastime for Crew is playing fetch with one of his toys.  One of us would tell Crew to sit in the cockpit or near the helms seat and then throw a toy up on the cabin top.  Crew is very agile and had no trouble running and jumping up there to retrieve it.  If we were feeling a bit lazy, we could throw the toy out of the dinette port onto the trampoline.  Crew knew not to jump through the port to get it.  He had to go the long way out into the cockpit, around the cabin, onto the tramp, and then back.  We sometimes got tired from watching him get his exercise! 

It was a pleasure for Tony & I to hang out with such a happy, well-behaved, and entertaining dog!   

Appreciate What’s Going On Around Us

While on the mooring ball in Jolly Harbor, we were easily entertained not only by Crew, but also by simply looking off our stern.  A local sailing school often had their students learning to tack around a nearby channel marker, some of them quicker learners than others.  Other things passed by our stern such as a big dredger on its way to and from a job.  And it is always interesting to watch another boat come to pick up a neighboring mooring ball.  As needed, one of us would hop in the dinghy and go offer a hand. 

Our mooring ball had a clear view of boats coming and going from the marina.  There was a Westsail 32 in the marina that went out sailing a few times, so pretty!  We admired her and remembered Terrapin.  We also had some day brighteners in the form of beautiful rainbows off our stern after an occasional downpour.  

Spiritual Boost

Doug and Amy asked us if we wanted to do a little Bible study with them.  I don’t think they realized what a big and impactful step this would be for us.  We have been hesitant and guarded about any resemblance to an organized church or bible study activity after the sting of conflict with church leaders many years ago.  But since we’re so comfortable with Doug and Amy we found that as we did a little Bible study with them, we were reminded of the good and positive memories from our past church groups.  This was a refreshing and healing first step for us to possibly re-engage with an organized church or study group at some time.

Embrace the Unexpected

Sometimes there are memorable experiences that come from unexpected moments.  Doug describes these as being “open to opportunity”.   A couple of our unexpected memories happened while we were anchored off Green Island. 

1. Boat Tour and Visit

One was a spontaneous visit with a young couple from the Netherlands who sailed a gorgeous small boat. 

As we were entering our anchorage off Green Island, Tony and I both noticed an adorable, traditional-looking, well-kept, little sailboat named “Puff”.  After we dropped the hook, Tony and I were comparing notes: “What kind of boat is that?” “I love that boat!” “It would be perfect for us” “What size do you think it is?”  We were smitten with Puff! 

I suggested we just dinghy over there and ask them all our questions.  As we were preparing to do just that, I noticed they were in their dinghy heading to the beach so I waved them over.  During our conversation, we learned they had Puff listed for sale.  If she didn’t sell soon, they were planning to bring her back to Europe where steel boats are in higher demand.  They invited us to come over the next morning to see Puff.  Doug joined us for the boat tour and visit and thoroughly enjoyed hearing about the couple’s backgrounds and stories.  Tony & I were very taken with their boat, the layout & storage & seaworthiness, and the knowledge of the couple, but it wasn’t our boat.  We’ll know the right one when we find her. 

2. Kite Boarder Landing

Another unexpected memory involved a kiteboarder.  This area of the anchorage is shared by kiteboarders and boats at anchor.  However, some kiteboarders are better at sharing than others.  Although we enjoyed watching the kite boarders zip back and forth, it did seem to us that some of them went quite close to the bow and sterns of boats at anchor.   We were just having a slow, relaxing morning when “thump!” “whoosh” “Hey, there’s a kite on your solar panel” all transpired quite quickly!  Amy is a nurse and went right into ER mode “Are you OK?” she yelled as we were all running up on deck trying to locate the person who crash-landed into Black River.  The brief moments of silence with no reply made us a bit nervous, but we found the kiteboarder and she appeared OK near the starboard bow.  “I don’t know what to do” was her reply.  She was a bit stunned.  Doug asked if she was unhooked from the kite, good question!  She was.  We directed her to follow the kite strings over to the port side and then around to the stern rolling the string up as she went.  We invited her aboard Black River and waited for her rescue dinghy.  As we waited, she said, “I’ve had many things happen while kiteboarding, but never this!”.   We’ve never had a kiteboarder hit our boat either, a new experience for both sides.  

Create Some Joy

What makes each person happy can often differ from person to person and yet it seemed easy for all of us to fully enjoy ourselves in whatever we were doing!   

So Many Sails!

Tony got great enjoyment from trying Black River’s multiple options for sails. 

Even when the symmetrical sail wrapped around the forestay, in both directions, Tony was still having a good time!  When that happened, it was impressive to see how our whole team reacted to the situation.  Doug remained calm and announced the obvious “We have a problem!”.  Followed by “I have a solution”.  Doug, Amy, and Tony worked up front to get the sail and turtle down while I was on watch at the helm.  It’s hard to say which part of trying the symmetrical Tony enjoyed most; the setting up, the deployment, or the helping to get it down, and packing it away.  He enjoyed it all! 

Puppy Love

Puppy Love – We all enjoy Crew and the puppy love he brings to each of us. Tony was always ready to play with Crew, take him on a dinghy ride, or go for a walk.  Well, most anytime…there is the exception of during his morning coffee.  Tony is convinced Crew understood this arrangement and waited for him to finish his coffee. Doug and Amy got a huge dose of puppy love with Crew’s heartfelt and excited “welcome home” after their trip. I adored how Crew kept track of me and waited and watched for me whenever I went into the grocery store or anywhere momentarily out of his sight.

Food and Company

Amy genuinely enjoys preparing meals for the group.  She was our galley chef extraordinaire!  Not only were her meals scrumptious, she also makes the best chocolate chip cookies for the cookie monsters onboard.  The food is made with love and shared in good company, can’t get any better than that!

Doug enjoys good food whether onboard (courtesy of Amy’s cooking) or at a restaurant.  He likes trying different restaurants and sharing his favorites with others – of which we were often willing recipients!  We enjoyed many delicious meals together at a variety of restaurants, each with its own specialties and ambiance. One uniquely tranquil and calm restaurant was Rokuni. It sits up on a hill and it was fun to see Black River anchored below in the distance.

Sailing

Doug is happy when he is sailing!  He and Amy are quite the team! And having additional crew available to go sailing during some higher wind and wave days added to Doug’s sailing enjoyment quotient. 

Amy prefers sailing during moderate winds and a calmer sea state.  With that in mind, I think it made her happy that Doug had additional crew onboard during some of our passages.  That way, Amy could relax with Crew (who also is not a big fan of weather) down below without concern that Doug might need a hand. 

Projects, Projects

Projects, projects.  The guys were both in their element as they worked on projects together.  As most boaters know, there’s always going to be projects.  Doug seemed to be very appreciative of having a guy to assist with boat projects during our stay (not to diminish Doug’s appreciation for Amy’s helping hand when it’s just the two of them).  Some were planned tasks like going up the mast to repair rigging and others were unplanned like diving to remove the fishing line from the prop.

As for me, some of my special moments of joy include sailing, snorkeling, and seeing new places.  Every time I took the wheel on Black River I was tickled and giddy to be sailing this magnificent yacht.  Doug was a patient and encouraging instructor as I was learning to ride the waves with their big catamaran. 

Snorkeling

I get especially excited when there’s a chance to go snorkeling.  Spending time in the underwater world observing the fish and coral fills me with awe and wonder.  Barbuda was the place to go snorkeling!  And a bonus snorkeling opportunity came for me a few days later off a beach on Green Island.  I want to be all smiles while snorkeling, but I remind myself not to smile so I don’t break the seal on my snorkel.  But, I’m smiling on the inside!

This is just a sampling of how we all have different things that we enjoy individually and that person’s happiness just seemed to overflow and touch the rest of us.  We all felt enjoyment when another one of us was doing something that they loved.  There’s joy in making one another’s day special and sharing it with them! 

A Floating Retreat

Living and sailing with Doug and Amy was a perfect blend of social time, sharing in adventures, engaging in conversation, learning new skills, and times of quiet and rest. 

And when Amy and Doug were in the States, Tony and I developed a relaxed routine with Crew and found plenty of downtime for reflection, discussions, rest time, and fun. 

We didn’t plan for our trip to be a floating retreat, it just happily happened that way. 

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