In between bouts of strong west wind we spent several days in a cozy anchorage between Manjack and Crab Cays. We had nature trails to hike, mangrove creeks to row, sandy beaches to comb, sunken barges to explore, a swimming pig to feed, bucket loads of rain to collect, and thousands of mosquitoes in alliance with other blood-sucking critters to fend off.
We took Oliver to the beach, and, as usual, his curiosity took over his fears as he slowly came out of his carrier.
He got more and more confident and explored, sniffed, and rubbed every new thing he discovered, until he started showing signs of discomfort. “Can we go home now?”, he seemed to be saying.
We put him back in the dinghy, but he was so impatient that he preferred not to go into the carrier as usual; instead he took position on the dinghy’s bow as a figurehead.
We were approaching the big boat and then the unexpected happened. We were still two dinghy lengths away but Oliver apparently couldn’t wait anymore, and he just jumped into the water! He disappeared underwater for a couple of seconds, which was enough for Kathy to jump overboard as well, with hat, glasses and all. By the time Kathy reemerged, Oliver was swimming towards Ñandú’s transom. Even though it’s the lowest part of the boat, he was unable to climb and looked terrified until Kathy pushed him up.
I didn’t react fast enough to take pictures, so the next day we brought Oliver back to the beach hoping for another cat overboard drill. We wanted him to learn how to climb back to the boat by himself, and we had previously hung a net from the swim platform to see if that would help. I had the camera ready… but Oliver preferred the standard way of disembarking this time.
Way to go Oliver. Live and Learn!!! That adventurous cat will not know what to do if his mom and dad settle down on land again some day.
That’s right, LOL! This is how he handles rough seas nowadays:
(Yes, that’s our bed). Thunderstorms still scare the shit out of him, though.
Oliver is showing his bengal roots. Life on the wild side.
We continue to enjoy your adventures. Perhaps you can share some of the delight and foibles of 12 volt and comoposter living? Tiny house plus water? Thanks for sharing.
xoxox
Yeah, when we get up-to-date with the exciting things I may write about the day-to-day stuff. Thanks for following!
Great story! I’ve always wondered how our cat Motor (now deceased ) would have responded to a beach. It looks like you’re having a lot of fun. Yes, those mosquitoes on Manjack are unreal! I have anchored as far as 1 mile away (west and downwind of Manjack) and still have them reach the boat. How or why they would be out over water that far from land mystifies me.
Thanks Ross. Did you sail with Motor?
Unfortunately not. We had Motor during the years I was renting boats and it wouldn’t have worked out to bring him. He was a wonderful cat and we miss him, but we’re going to forgo another rather than try and convince one that living on a boat is fun for cats. 🙂 Oliver seems to be adapting well!