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Written by Graham Norbury |
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So there we were, anchored off Green Beach, Vieques (Puerto Rico) enjoying a
refreshing post-snorkle cockpit shower when our moment of cleanliness was
interrupted by Sylvester the yellow-pawed cat litter monster.
Unfortunately for him, Trudy was still happened to be wielding water hose,
and it didn't take long for him to be the proud owner of four clean, but
suddenly very soggy paws. Normally this wouldn't have been a problem, except that prior to starting our showers, we'd moved the cockpit cushions to the port side-deck in an effort to try to keep them dry. What might otherwise be an insignificant detail suddenly became relevant as our efforts at "encouraging" the wet pawed feline's remaining presence on deck resulted in him attempting to retreat to the safety of a nice dry cabin via this new obstacle course. Not more than a few seconds after I'd gone below to seek dry shorts, I found myself exceedingly surprised to hear Trudy shouting "Graham, quick the cat's in the water". Eh, uh, what the *!&^%?? After a surprisingly slow moment of contemplation, I donned my cold wet shorts, returned topside and started to witness the rather peculiar spectacle of Sylvester furiously swimming around the cockpit trying to find his way out.... Once strategically placed in the dingy, Sylvester miraculously appeared and ably assisted my efforts at scooping him up. When he was was safely on board, there were several moments of silent contemplation - possibly concerning the loss of one of his nine lives - followed by some particularly loud wailing! Despite being safe, his ordeal was far from over as he still needed to be washed down with fresh water before he could begin the long and undoubtedly arduous process of grooming himself dry.
I doubt there will be any lasting effects from his first swim, however he does currently have a very fluffy coat and a distinct reluctance to venture out of the cockpit onto the deck. |
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Crew: Trudy and Graham Norbury, and their cats Sylvester and Shadow
Written January 16th, 2004 |
