Bringing a dog to Desolation Sound?

[Seaquel]

We are attending this year's Desolation Sound cruise. It is has been 20 years since the last time we made this journey, and this will be our 1st with Tugnuts. We always boat with our dog, Moxie, a very well-behaved Golden Retriever. We brought a dog on our last time to Desolation, but wanted to check with those who have been more recently and also those who have gone previously with Tugnuts if bringing a dog is appropriate, or what challenges we would face. I welcome any input!

-Mark

 

[bradcarolR29S]

We always take our two Irish water spaniels and have not had any problems.

 

[Seaquel]

Thanks for sharing your experience. I assume there are plenty of places to take a dog to shore, or on a trail? Our only time at marinas will be the initial phase at Comox and Gorge Harbor; otherwise we plan to explore and cover a lot of ground, er, water! 😉

 

[adventres]

We do not have puppies. But my girls love petting them when we went to Desolation Sound last year. They are looking forward to this year and seeing all the puppies that come along! Our friend Robert on Navigator Son has two Shih tzu and he is bringing them. We love them!!
Lisa

 

[Navigator's Son]

Lisa - Thanks for the shout out 🙂

Yes, I am bringing my two deck hands with me for their second trip to Canada. They did very well for all portions of the first trip to Poets Cove. Each leg from Everett to Anacortes to Poets Cove was under 5 hours. Going to Lady Smith, Comox and eventually Gorge now pushes that to 7 or even 8 hour legs. Given the dogs are home alone all day I'm at work anyway, I'm thinking 8 hours on the water is going to be fine.

Mark, I think your concern is more about going further into Desolation Sound after the factory cruise ends at Gorge, and whether or not there are marinas readily available to let the dogs off the boat and stretch their legs a bit, correct?

In my case, I will not be going any further past Gorge into Desolation Sound, I will be heading back and looking to stay at marinas along the way, versus cove anchorings, heading home. Worse case, if I can't find a place to get the pups on shore, I'm mentally prepared to let the dogs use the deck as necessary and break out the Simple Green afterwards.

 

[Seaquel]

Robert and Lisa,

Thanks for sharing your respective perspectives. The only thing Moxie loves more than water are kids! She makes friends very easily.

Yes, my concern is more about extending our trip beyond marinas. We are planning on another 10 or 12 days of exploring beyond Gorge, all anchoring, with no further stays at docks/marinas. When we boat the San Juans and also the Canadian Gulf Islands, we seek remote anchorages with hiking, kayaking, and SUP boarding our passions (Moxie enjoys the kayak and SUP board as much as hiking). We will need to find places to take Moxie to shore at each anchorage.

Looking forward to meeting you at Comox and beyond next week!

-Mark