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She’s sitting on the rail, which is always precarious. The rail is better than the lifelines, which move, but it’s still a terrible idea. Hence, her center of gravity is too high. In fact, they both belong back in the cockpit where things are safer.
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She’s holding the dog while sitting on the rail, which is asking for trouble. As a result, any movement by the dachshund will let it drop into the water. Then she will likely get off-balance and fall as well. -
Neither of them is wearing a life preserver. They make them for dogs of all sizes. If the water is cold or she hits her head, the only thing that would save her is a PFD.
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The boat is listing too much for having someone staged seated so high on the bow. The photo looks like they’re on an even keel, but look at the shoreline. It appears to be tilting 5 or 7 degrees, which compounds the chances of them going overboard.
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There’s no netting in the lifelines for the dog. If the woman were properly seated on the deck of the bow, the dog could take advantage of netting to avoid slipping overboard. -
She is poorly dressed for boating. Elegant gowns have a tendency to get caught on snaps and other pesky things that stick out on a boat. From the tilt of her ankle, it looks like she has heels on. That’s ridiculous for a boat, even for a photo shoot. Maybe she’s barefoot.
My own experience under sail
I’ve had only three guests bring along their dogs. One was a service dog named Izzy whose owner depended on him to quell her anxiety.
Faith Boggio brought along her toy poodle, who sat in her lap the entire day, from 10 am to 3:30 pm. “She’s a rescue dog, probably seven years old best we can tell. We got him when he was three years old after six months in a foster home. They told us he was traumatized, with her name tattooed inside her ear. It’s taken a long time to bring her back since he still has a lot of anxiety.”
The only bad review I ever got on Trip Advisor involved a dog. Two couples were set to go out. One unexpectedly brought a big Labrador. He was fine, but the other couple gave me a mediocre review because of the dog. “Had we known, we would have brought our dog along,” the woman wrote.
Dogs are fine on board, once they get adjusted to the boat heeling from side to side. They have fine balance. Our own dogs are no good because as Lakeland terriers they tend to jump right off the boat through regardless of netting. Small dogs are better because their owner can hold them in their lap, as seen here with Willow.
Not many people take their dogs with them on vacation, since it’s a hassle. But it’s a lucky dog who gets to go, including on a sailboat.
As for cats, I’ve never seen one on a sailboat.
Let’s Go Sail, with my dog
Check rates and pick a day for a sailboat charter. See reviews on Trip Advisor.
