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Happy Birthday, Dora?

When Dora found the Red Head crew, it was determined that she was somewhere around 5-6 months old. That would put her birthday sometime in September or October. Yesterday we celebrated Dora’s 1st birthday. How did we know it was her birthday? Well, her…

The Results Are In!

Dora’s DNA tests results came in today.  Surprise! She’s a hound (a Treeing Walker Coonhound to be specific) with a bit of terrier thrown in. It certainly explains a few things. Mom and Dad had to look up this coonhound breed as they had never hea…

Baltimore

Red Head has spent the past two weeks hanging out in Baltimore. It’s been many years since we were last here. Dylan is the only current crew member who has been here before and that was on aCappella and he was with Dyna. 8 years…The crew has been enj…

Curiosity

  Mom and Dad are often asked, what type of dog is Dora? While it’s pretty obviously she has a lot hound in her – you should hear her bay – there’s definitely something else there. She looks a lot like a foxhound but she’s not quite big enough. Ma…

A Long Day

Mom and Dad decided to try something different for Red Head’s cruise down the New Jersey shore. It’s never been a favorite passage. The plan was to leave the Sandy Hook anchorage and go nonstop to the Cape Henlopen anchorage in Delaware. It’s a 125 nm passage. If the crew could leave at dawn, then Red Head could be in by dusk. A long day.

The crew was awakened at 4:30 am, happy to receive breakfast early. Dee Dee and Dora quickly settled on the pilothouse settee.

While Dylan chose to settle in front of the starboard side door to catch some breezes. Mom and Dad started hauling the anchor and left the anchorage as the sun rose.

For Dora, it was another first. Her maiden voyage on the ocean. She loved sniffing the ocean air. It was a good trip, although a bit bouncy in the middle of the day. So how did she do?

Why, she handled it with aplomb!

Uh-oh!

The crew had intended for today’s blog entry to be about throwing off the lines and heading down the Hudson River. While everyone enjoyed the time at Shady Harbor Marina, the crew was itching to move on to new adventures. 


They wanted to tell you how Dora had finished going through heat. Mom and Dad had gotten through a dozen items on their project list. Maybe show some more of those cute cuddle pictures. But things went a little differently. 

Ever since Dora made her way to Red Head’s roof during a past docking at Shady Harbor, she has been tethered in the pilothouse whenever the boat is docking. In retrospect, it probably wasn’t needed any more since Dad constructed gates to keep her contained on the pilothouse level when underway.

Plus, she has pretty much chewed through the leash that was being used. But tethered she was…
As is typical, she cried when her dad left the pilothouse with remote in hand to undock. At some point, Dora became quiet and an unfamiliar alarm sounded but then stopped. Hmmmm, strange.
Mom finished clearing the deck of lines and fenders, then took over at the helm so Dad could make his log entries and put away the remote. Pretty much like any other docking. Then Dad said, “Uh-oh.”

He had discovered what caused the alarm and Dora’s silence. She had consoled herself by chewing on the remote’s cable.
This is not a remote where one can just run into Radio Shack and buy a replacement – wait, are they even in business??? In fact, it is one of the most expensive pieces of electronics on the boat. Of course, we only have one – Mom and Dad had been talking about getting a backup but, well, refer to the previous sentence.

Fortunately, Dad had a summer job in college at a board manufacturer and learned to be a soldering expert.

It took most of the morning but he was able to splice the cable, all 21 wires. She may not be pretty but she works.

Fortunately, Dad has a soft spot for the littlest crew member. She managed to survive the ordeal. But Dora honey, don’t push your luck. 

Dad Has Bread…

Not Much…

Many of you are wondering what has been happening with the Red Head crew. Not much, really The kids enjoyed their week at the farm. Dora even touched noses with a llama – of course, Mom didn’t have her camera. Red Head went back into the water last Fri…

Oh, the misery…

Red Head pulled into the well at Scarano on Sunday ensuring she would be hauled Monday morning. After a few snafus, she was blocked on the hard and being inspected. Some tapping, some scraping, and a hole the size of a dime was revealed. Today the repair begins.


Mom was tasked with managing the dogs. It was hot, really hot, and humid. She found an old picnic table in the shade of the building.

The crew made the best of it.

However, by noon it was in the full sun, so Mom decided to get the rental car and crank up the A/C. Much better.

Dylan, Dee Dee, and Dora finally made it to their new digs just in time for supper. It’s a studio apartment located on a farm. There are lamas…

and donkeys. And even some chickens.

The crew has a little fenced in yard where they are making their own private dog park. And when they become bored with each other, there’s plenty of other things to bark at.

Everyone is hoping for a quick repair but for now the crew is resting in the A/C while they wait for Dad to return from the boatyard.

It’s deja vu all over again…

Red Head left Sag Harbor yesterday to head back to the Hudson River. There is some water coming in through the hull. Nothing serious – if you talk to Karen’s mom make sure not to use the word “sinking” – but it was decided it wouldn’t just heal itself and would probably get worse, so the crew is heading back to the boat yard.

This morning we made our way through New York Harbor. It was 8:00 am and rush hour was in full tilt. There was a strange roaring sound followed by a seaplane flying low overhead which landed in the harbor.  It was followed by a half dozen more.

Seems to be how some commute.

The crew is making the best of it. Dylan and Dee Dee helped Dad at the helm.

While Dora just took it all in.

We’re not complaining. It’s a beautiful trip up the Hudson River. Plus, the crew will get some more dog park time.  Hoping for a quick repair and then we’ll decide what our new plans will be.