The 10-year-old Jack Russell who serves as the skipper has sailed a 54-foot yacht to the Caribbean, rode a Harley Davidson in a French biker festival, and has been disqualified from the Mount Blanc boules championship for interfering with the balls.
The 48-year-old Weston-under-Lizard, Shropshire, resident and his travel companion Jon Taylor just got back from a nine-week van tour of Europe that included stops in France, Switzerland, Italy, Andorra, and Spain.
“He’s a great traveling companion”, said Jon, a real estate entrepreneur. “He gets along with everyone and is willing to eat anything, including a great piece of steak. He even used his bare teeth to get lobster while we were in the Caribbean.”
Skipper’s first trip outside of the country occurred soon after Jack adopted him as a puppy when the two took a flight to the Canary Islands in 2008.
They then traveled to Rodney Bay on the Caribbean island of St. Lucia aboard Jon’s 54-foot Hallberg-Rassy yacht.
“Skipper took to traveling like a duck to water,” stated Jon.
The two spent five months cruising the Portuguese coast in 2011 after setting sail from Falmouth to the Azores.
They abandoned the yacht this summer and traveled through Europe in a silver VW Camper van instead.
The adventurous travelers, who were joined by Jon’s partner Frances, traveled through the Channel Tunnel, across France’s champagne region, and then on to Mont Blanc.
But despite all the enjoyment, traveling with Skipper can be costly and frequently challenging.
For a fee of £750 for a journey to the Canary Islands and above £1,000 for a transatlantic flight, Skipper is kept in the hold during flights.
He gets examined at St George’s Vets in Wolverhampton before leaving, and any necessary shots are also given.
When he returns to the UK, he must then be examined once more. Long-haul flights require a dog passport.
Jon, however, is still planning a tour of Scandinavia on a big adventure motorcycle.
He is like a member of my family, and I will always include him in my vacation plans, the man declared.
