The Southampton Boat Show

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What a weekend! Dogsail hits the Southampton Boat Show, Svea gets a new life jacket, and we discover that sailors really do love a book about sailing with a dog, a chatbot and a Swedish Viking.

The Southampton International Boat Show is always a fantastic celebration of all things boating, but this year was extra special for us. We headed to the opening weekend with copies of Dogsail – Sailing Round Britain with a Dog, a Chatbot and a Swedish Viking, ready to share our adventures around Britain with fellow sailors, dog lovers and anyone who has ever dreamed of doing something a little bit different.

And what a weekend it turned out to be!

A huge thank you to the Westerly Owners

First of all, a massive thank you to the Westerly Owners Association for welcoming us onto their stand and giving us the opportunity to promote Dogsail. As proud Westerly owners ourselves, it was lovely to be among people who understand the joys (and occasional challenges!) of life afloat.

We took along our books, shared stories from our 2,000-mile circumnavigation of Britain, and chatted about what it's really like sailing with a 37kg Bernese Mountain Dog on board.

Apparently, the stories struck a chord!

We sold our entire stock of Dogsail books in just two days. Every single copy gone!

We were absolutely delighted. There is something rather special about meeting readers face-to-face, hearing about their own sailing adventures and watching people get excited about our slightly unconventional voyage.

Of course, selling out meant we had a small problem: no more books to sell!

Luckily, our friends at Book Harbour came to the rescue with a few copies of their own. We were able to sign those, meaning that even after our own stock had disappeared, Dogsail could still make an appearance at the show. Phew!

Svea gets a rather special present

While we were busy talking boats and books, Svea had her own important business to attend to: making friends and generally ensuring she received the attention she considers her due.

Her efforts clearly paid off!

The lovely people at Mustang Survival gifted Svea a brand-new life jacket. Needless to say, she was rather pleased with this development. We're incredibly grateful for their generosity, and it's reassuring to know our four-legged first mate has some new kit for future adventures on the water.

Sailing with a dog means thinking carefully about safety, and a properly fitted canine life jacket is an important part of that preparation. Svea may be a confident sailor, but we'd rather not leave her safety to chance!

Reunited with Tom Cunliffe and Ros

One of the highlights of the weekend was catching up with the wonderful Tom Cunliffe and his wife, Ros.

Tom is a familiar and much-loved name in the sailing world, so it was a real pleasure to see them both again.

We also had a special gift for Ros: a copy of Dogsail to add to her collection of books by female sailing authors.

That meant a great deal to us. Sailing has an incredible community of storytellers, and we're proud to be adding our own slightly unusual tale to the mix. After all, there aren't too many sailing memoirs featuring a Bernese Mountain Dog, a chatbot and a Swedish Viking!

We hope Ros enjoys reading about our adventures as much as we enjoyed living them.

Thank you for being part of the adventure

A heartfelt thank you to the Westerly Owners Association, Book Harbour, Mustang Survival, Tom and Ros, and everyone who stopped by to chat, bought a book or shared their own stories with us.

And, of course, thank you to everyone who has supported Dogsail so far. Every sale, review, recommendation and conversation helps us spread the word.

Who knows? Perhaps our next adventure will inspire someone else to cast off the lines, bring their dog aboard and discover what's waiting just around the corner.

Fair winds and happy sailing!