Monday morning, August 9th, a ferry left Oak Bluffs on Martha’s Vineyard bound for Woods Hole, Massachusetts on Cape Cod. Unbeknownst to the family of Chesney, a 12 year old Brittany Spaniel, she had decided to escape the car in which she was riding and go for a swim in the choppy waters of Vineyard Sound as her family steamed away. When the captain of a passing passenger ferry bound in the opposite direction crossed paths with the ferry in which Chesney had been riding, he was alerted to the possibility of a missing dog. Sure enough, shortly thereafter the captain spotted something in the water. As it turned out, it was Chesney. The captain of the approaching ferry, at first, contemplated a rescue but felt it was going to be difficult due to the high sides of his vessel. Spotting a recreational fishing boat a short distance away, he hailed the boat with emergency signal blasts of his horn. The captain of the fishing boat, realizing that something was amiss, recognized the signal and spotted the dog in the water. After approaching Chesney, he put out a fishing net into which she happily swam. They brought her on board, tired, but none the worse for wear. Chesney was then transported back to the Oak Bluffs harbor where the harbormaster took her in. Feeling that Chesney had enough for one day and wasn’t in the best of shape to be put back on a ferry for Woods Hole, he and his wife decided to deliver Chesney back to the family personally in his own boat. A short trip across the waters and Chesney was reunited with her family. All in all it was a great story of survival, cooperation, heads up seamanship and a family pet that just wanted to go for a swim. For the entire story, view this link: https://vineyardgazette.com/news/2016/08/08/dog-overboard-nantucket-sound-rescue-team-effort