Getting Ready

Who would have thought cats would have so much fun on a boat on the hard? We've traveled and lived on board for 16 months and our cats have adapted beautifully, though Juan isn't entirely comfortable. He's young and likes to get out his prowling boots every night...... unless it's cold. We let him go or it's a miserable night for us. He returns every morning, eats a little regular cat food then demands a treat, a little cream into which I've added some echinacea. Then he sleeps the sleep of the contented cat.

 It has been the habit of Maggie and Juan, at precisely 7:00 each evening, to chase each other fore and aft of the boat, sounding like a small herd of elephants over our heads. When Juan least expects it, Maggie jumps down into the boat and Juan can be heard calling plaintively for her to return. She may or she may not.

 However, now that he and Maggie and even ole Ridley can dash up and down the ladder with abandon, the "Game's afoot"! The chase now incorporates the ladder, and to see their coats rippling with excitement makes us smile.

We've had a pleasant time at this marina in Tarpon Springs, manatees, owls, dolphins, and sunsets to catch the breath.

We did not have floating docks which made it hard at times to come and go, especially for Ridley as he's our senior dude and was never a good jumper. So Jackson made a gangway just for him. He manages the ladder though, no worries there.

The tide was often our friend if we honored her schedule but when we ignored her it was at our peril. Here we are grounded mere yards from our dock. :) We made the best of it. Friends helped secure the boat and we settled down for dinner and drinks while we waited for the waters to rise. Really a pleasant experience. A few years ago we sailed from Bristol, Rhode Island to Saint John New Brunswick where they have some serious tides. We anchored every night and when we could afford it paid for a mooring buoy. One of the safe harbors along the way, Scituate Harbor, Mass. to be exact, wouldn't let us anchor and we just couldn't bear to pay another 40 dollars. The harbor master sent us to a river inlet where we anchored and settled for the night. But around 1 o'clock in the wee morning, we awoke suddenly sensing the boat was seriously tilting. She had slipped her anchor just enough that we were pushed closer to the shore as the tide sent the water out from under us. For some reason the boat tilted away from the shore which caused me some concern and so for a small eternity we sat in the dark waiting for the tide to turn. The rest of the trip I became very intimate with the Fundy Bay tides.

It's quite cold now and I'm not inclined to go outside but I'll have pics for the next blog. Hopefully, I'll be writing it in warmer waters.