In December 2016, I went on my second sailing expedition with my friend Saul, who owned a 30-foot catamaran when I first sailed with him, from Panama to the Caribbean island of Providencia, via the San Blas islands and San Andres.
This time, however, he had an impressive, new 45-foot catamaran. We - Saul, his wife, Rosie, and briefly, another companion and I - sailed from France to Spain to Morocco and the Canary Islands.
In the Canary Islands, as we sailed south off the eastern coast of Fuerteventura, Saul spotted the name of a boat he recognised on our AIS marine traffic console.On board were a Swiss-French couple whom Saul knew well. We had by then been sailing for a few weeks, but they had been sailing for several months.
They were not too far from us, so Saul made radio contact with them.
They had another catamaran in tow, but no specific destination for the night, so we all agreed to anchor in a quiet coastal bay called Gran Tarajal.
Soon after we arrived in the afternoon, Saul and I swam over to their boat for a visit. But before I could embark, their excitable Spaniel Jabby dived straight onto my head.
The boat has a dog-slide, but it had not yet been extended. So, with no other way to get in the water, Jabby leapt from the top of the boat when she saw me rounding the corner to the stern.She was a fairly large dog, and I was a little startled by the collision. My snorkel was dislodged too, but no harm was done.
We played together in the water for awhile.
That night, we used our dinghy to meet the couple at a restaurant on the beach while Jabby stood sentry on their boat.
When we left the next morning we sailed past their catamaran but I struggled to get a good photo of my plucky playmate because she was running around the boat frenetically chasing shadows (or something more canine-distinct).
• 'The Notebook' is our new column about chance meetings and unforgettable encounters people have had on their travels. Send us your story - no more than 400 words - and, if published, you'll receive R500. Mail travelmag@sundaytimes.co.za with the word Notebook in the subject line...