A new drone takes off from the boat

Date: Dec 30 2019
Weather: Sunny and searingly hot
Waters: Choppy, especially out in Sinki Fairway
On board: C, A,  J2, R and Pudding (the dog an afterthought)  
New gear on board: The DJI Mavic Mini drone  

The last outing for 2019. We made a total of nine trips this year, going out at least once a month except in January, July and September. We had two outings in October. Wishing we could be out on the water more often. 

We are missing J1 on board today. He's laid up with a bad throat infection.  

We hadn't planned on bringing the dog along, but he put on his best "sad face"... Of course, when he realised we were at the marina, this aqua-phobic doggo must have regretted his Oscar-winning performance of grievance heartily. While leashed, he was doing his darndest to pull away from the dock, away from all that water. 

Anyway, he was part of the crew for the day, so he bore his suffering for the next one hour 10 minutes as Little Wanderer 2 powered towards St John's Island. Without the usually-seasick J1 on board, we picked the farther-away destination. 

It was blisteringly hot as we pulled into the lagoon between St John's and Lazarus Island and dropped anchor. Pudding ducked below deck. As R says, we can just jump into the (rather chilly) water to cool off, but the poor boi cannot just shrug off his fur coat and jumping into the water isn't much of an option. Maybe his doggy mind has made a note to himself: If hoomans are dragging out the icebox, do not - I repeat, DO NOT - put on sad face and beg to tag along. 

C brought out his newest toy, a DJI Mavi Mini, which took off from the back seat of the boat and flew rather self-assuredly into the sky. Both stills and video clips were taken. 

C piloted his Mavic Mini without problem. His earlier
drones seemed more difficult to control.
Advances in technology since the earlier versions ?  

 

You can just make it out in the centre of
this shot. Pic by C

That's us in the BIg Blue off St John's/Lazarus islands.  Pic by C.

We are wondering now if the dog won't be as keen
to join us if only he can find out in advance
where we are going. We all know he's not keen
 on the water or swimming or any kind of
water-based activity. 

Portrait time. 

Portrait time Part Deux. 

The doggo chills on the journey back, seemingly more
 relaxed than during the outward journey, when he
cowered beside A for more than an hour.

Back at the marina, the drone was sent up again to capture one of Raffles Marina's legendary sunsets.

That's the environmentally-damaging Forest City condo development on the skyline, built by a Chinese developer with zero regard for the effect of the construction on the quality of the water in the Strait of Johor. Pic by C.