Well, you see Tom-cat, how I ended up in the back alleys of this city...It all began the day I jumped off the sailboat onto the dock, never to return.
It had been quite a weekend out on the sailboat, which is indeed a strange place for a cat, one might think.
The trip started well enough with the first morning off the dock the usual pleasant adventure. It was windy, so the sailboat was moving right along. My owner and friend sailed the SV Athena down the river, around the Sanibel shoals, and then right up the coast of Sanibel, Captiva, and Cayo Costa. The mainsail was double reefed and the only way I was allowed top decks was by leash. We didn't quite make it up to sail through the Boca Grande pass in time before dark, so we anchored Gulf side of Cayo Costa, which provided some shelter from the winds that had been blowing out of the east for some time. It was quite windy and the Gulf swell made it's way to our anchor spot and set the boat to rocking most of the night, albeit not as bad as I've seen it on previous occassion. The next morning we set off for the pass...
It was rough and getting rougher. SV Athena was heading with current but plowing directly against the wind and waves. I was tucked up in the v-birth when the bow started to oscillate up and down in larger and larger swings, 5 feet up, 5 feet down. The sound of waves splashing over the bow into submergence and water filling the anchor locker. Then it happened... The sound of chain plummeting over the anchor roller! The anchor had made its way loose and was now sinking towards the bottom of the tumultuous channel! Prior to continuing its decent it banged into the bow of the boat, which often results in the sinking of not so well made boats...
My owner also heard this sound and started shouting in a very concerned manner. I heard one of the companion way boards being removed and wondered if this might be my time to escape! I like to drive my owner crazy by darting onto the deck during the most unopportune moments. I decided to forego this time and stayed below. More action and concerned voices above on deck as my owner and friend frantically moved the heavy wind catching dinghy from the bow to access the anchor locker and cleat off the anchor rode, but not until all 96 feet of 5/8 inch chain had gone over. Luckily the chain was attached to 100+ more feet of rope. With the anchor rode cleated off, things seemed to settle down. Then my owner came down to check on me and close me into the bow birth so that I could not escape through the companionway, which it seems was now missing the top board...
Then my owner and friend somehow managed to raise the anchor back onto the boat and we were heading out the channel as things were better secured. Several attempts were made to turn the boat around and head back through the channel, but the engine just could not power through the wind and waves, even with the assistance of some sail. We headed back out to the Gulf, nearly defeated. After some time, now almost all the way back out the channel past the islands, one last attempt was made to get through the channel using an approach closer to shore. There was still some rough waters, but we made it through. It remained fairly windy the rest of the trip and I didn't dare venture out top deck. I vowed to leave the sailboat upon returning to dock. I was so scared and tears in my eyes. Even though I love my owner very much, I did not think I wanted to continue living the sailboat life...
Upon docking the next day, my owner's friend had set off, and my owner was about the marina doing errands. I jumped onto the dock, and only looked back once.
and that, Tom-cat, is how I ended up in the back alleys of this city...
of note, the above is a story. Peppermint Patty still resides on SV Athena, although the other facts in the story are true and many lessons were learned. more to come.
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