The Evie Shane became the Caynine on July 4, 2001. Harry and Evie owed our boat before us. My husband, Brian, and I used to walk by the Evie Shane, slipped in C5 of Dana Point Harbor, every weekend with our dogs, Eiffel and Sierra. It was exactly the kind of boat Brian wanted. As an Arizona native, he grew up with boats. As a California native known for getting seasick, I did not.
We rarely saw anyone on the Evie Shane. One weekend, we spotted two people having lunch. The boat was two slips down from the breezeway so, as we stood by the railing, the couple looked up at us and said, “Beautiful dogs, you have.” To which we said, “Beautiful boat you have.”
“Care to come aboard?” the man asked. And so started a beautiful friendship. We came aboard, dogs and all. Evie and Harry, each in their eighties, had recently married after their respective spouses succumbed to long illnesses. Since Evie was a bit frightened of going out to sea, they usually used the boat for lunch dates. Theirs was a great love story and we so enjoyed their company.
Harry kept the 26-foot Bayliner immaculate. As it turned out, they were planning to move to Arizona and wanted to sell the boat. Agreeing on a fair price and time frame, Brian and Harry co-captained a lagom deal, which included Evie and Harry using the boat whenever they were back in town and our assurance that we would change the boat’s name.
There was no shortage of name suggestions from our friends. Paula-Sea … Eiffel in Love … Desert Dog … King of Somewhere Hot! I was pondering a few when Brian and I were walking the dogs one evening and suggested “Caynine”— love of the sea and dogs. That was it; Cap’n Brian decided no other names were to be entertained.
The Caynine, still based at the great and social slip of C5 in Dana Point Harbor, has provided crazy, fun adventures over the years.We have hosted friends and family from Arizona, Oregon, Illinois, New York, Wisconsin, DC and Texas. Kids from Milwaukee saw their first dolphin — ever! We have been to Catalina more times than we can count. We have seen whale, sunfish, rainbows, secret coves and kelp beds. The Caynine has provided us access to dive spots we never would otherwise have seen allowing us to dive with grouper, yellow tail, mackerel, stingrays and lobster. Brian, a great captain, has gotten us through scary weather and seas. Miraculously — and it is a miracle — I have never been seasick on the Caynine. Never.
The last couple of years, as life’s priorities ebb and flow, we have not taken the Caynine out as much, but she draws us to her, nonetheless. We enjoy the Christmas Boat Parade and 4th of July festivities, sharing her with friends and family. We dinghy around the harbor with our current dogs, Morgan and Reggae, on Caynine’s tether, the Bad Shrimp. And, from time to time, we simply have lunch on the Caynine, toasting Harry and Evie.