Team Polar Bear grows in number to three.

Announcing the newest addition to Team Polar Bear: Fitzroy Maximus Decimus Meridius Getchell Dearn. (Fitz for short.)

Mr. Fitzroy (a.k.a. Fuzzy Muffin, Puppers, Honey Bear, Dog-dog and Woofy) was named after Vice-Admiral Robert Fitzroy of the British Royal Navy. Bob (as we know Captain Fitzroy) mapped much of South America and was the inventor of modern weather forecasting. Fitzroy was a dignified sea-faring name for our dignified sea-faring dog.

Fitzroy has been part of Team Polar Bear for a little more than a week. He is a pure bred Portuguese Water Dog. PWD's have been bred for centuries to be working boating and fishing dogs. They have instincts to swim, retrieve ropes, fish and save drowning people. They also have slightly webbed feet and a coat made of hair, not fur, which is especially suitable to cold ocean swimming. (It also means that they don't shed and are hypoallergenic!) The dog breed is fairly rare now that it has been replaced by mechanical fishing equipment, but is slowly making a resurgence as family pets.

Fitzroy will be a medium-sized dog, although as an eleven week old puppy, he is awfully big, so we suspect he'll be a big boy for his breed. We expect him to be about sixty pounds. He is very smart, has a calm but energetic temperament, and has already learned several commands and walks on a leash. He had his first ocean swimming lesson on Sunday with great success (i.e., he swam without Simon having to get into the water).

He also has a fan club on the marina. We walk down the boardwalk at least twice a day and literally dozens of people have specifically sought us out to meet him.

Simon and I are asked two things constantly these days: "what kind of dog is that; I've never seen that breed before" and "what is your boat made out of; I've never seen that hull material before." Team Polar Bear is nothing, if not unique!!