Dog overboard

So here we are, moored, getting ourselves ready for the day. Paul is making breakfast and I am taking a swim/bath in the ocean off the stern. Charlie is being the lifeguard, keeping the birds off the boat and warning me if any dinghys come by. He spots his friend Zoe from Sapphire and he gives a bark which gets her barking back. This is how the friendship goes. She’s heads off to her boat with her owner and Charlie proceeds to chase the birds. Next thing you know he goes sliding off the back of the boat and into the drink. Now, I must admit, his timing was perfect. I was only a few feet away and already in the water. He took a pretty good dive too, with a flip and all on the way down. As soon as his head popped up I called him and he swam straight to me with that ‘rescue me’ look in his eyes. It was like he couldn’t believe he just did that. It took him a bit to recover letting me hold him close while I had him wrapped in a towel. So he gets the award for being the first to accidentally fall off the boat. We are thankful that it didn’t happen while under sail.