Ten years laTer Herbert is very much part of the family. Unlike our two daughters, however, he much prefers to stay at home. Our girls at 24 and 21 have both left – one having a year off from uni to live in Berlin while the other is living in a flat in Coogee (in our home town of Sydney) and working. Meanwhile, partly because the girls have moved out and partly because our dog had to be put down when she was 14, Brett and I decided to leave home as well. We own a very comfortable two-bedroom, two-bathroom (or cabins and heads, as Brett unsuccessfully tells me to call them) 43’ yacht. The sun and warmth were calling, so we prepared to sail from Sydney to The Whitsundays over a five-month (plus) period. But what to do with Herbert? I would as soon give away one of my girls as I would him. landlubber caT I knew that Herbert loved his home and that he really didn’t like going to strange places – for an understatement. He disliked, intensely, other cats so hated being boarded at the vet or cattery. He also cried (yowled) when we tried to leave him with friends, which drove them crazy. Our first plan was to gently ease him into boat life. We put him on our boat (called Amble) when it was still on the mooring, so that he could potter around with us onboard to get used to the different spaces, movements, smells etc. We failed. As he hates water, sudden movements and new sounds etc, he was miserable. He hid under the pillow in the front bedroom in a raggy heap. This was even before the boat was underway. Every time I picked him up for a hug, he would start shaking, climb out of my arms and head back under the pillow. Not a good start. As he was so unhappy and probably very stressed, I decided to try another tack. Plan two. Technically, as Herbert is Ali’s cat, we decided to try leaving him with her. Ali was delighted and we all thought Herbert might settle in. After all, her bedroom looked the same in her flat in Coogee as it did at home. You couldn’t see the floor for clothes, and we had moved all of her bedroom furniture over there. We thought the sights and smells would be familiar and comforting. We gave Herbert a few test runs with Ali. We’d take him with us while we stayed a short time, gradually lengthening each visit. When he seemed happy staying for two or three days at a time, Brett and I went on a three-week sailing holiday to Turkey. Although we had a great time while we were away, Herbert did not. Ali ended up taking him to the vet as he had started banging his head against a wall. He was also shaking uncontrollably and he had
Until, of course, we turned the next leg of our adventur on the engine to start Herbert dived. Then the bo e. Under the pillow over some waves, creaked anat tipped slightly, bounced non-house-like-manner. A d generally moved in a Not a happy cat. However, s for the anchor noises . . . his pillow) and, phew, not he was very placid (under seasick.
stopped eating. While Ali was terrified at the thought of him having a brain tumour, it turned out that he had ‘grief and depression’. He was missing me. (What a sensible cat.) Although it was awful news, Ali was relieved (and offended!). It also solved the ‘What-to-do-with-Herbert’ issue. He was coming with us on our trip north. Gulp. leaving land Brett, Herbert and I left Sydney on the June long weekend in 2011. Brett and some of his mad but lovely sailing mates generously undertook the first stage of our trip by sailing the boat nonstop from Sydney to Coffs Harbour. Herbert and I flew. Now this was a successful plan. For me! If I had been onboard, we wouldn’t have left either Sydney or land as an east coast low hit the coast that weekend. After setting off in the sun and gentle breeze, the fellows sailed into gale-force winds, big seas and swell, and driving rain. This lasted for almost the entire trip (despite the weather forecast). Although they were seasoned sailors, they were all seasick and exhausted – with their skin in varying shades of white to green when they finally arrived (about 40 hours later) at Coffs Harbour. Herbert and I found it bumpy enough on our 90-minute flight from Sydney to Coffs! He was not impressed in his travel cage but, true to breed, he just flopped on the floor of it and didn’t say a word – at least, when I was with him. He did attract a lot of attention as he rolled out on the luggage carousel, looking both innocent and curious, at Coffs airport. Once onboard Amble, I let Herbert out of his cage whereupon he immediately dashed off to hide under the pillow. My main consolation was that I knew he’d be just as unhappy back in Sydney. Oddly enough, the initial bad weather was quite helpful as it ensured that we stayed snug and safe at the marina. Although it rained for the entire week and the wind was howling, it gave Herbert the time to peer out from under the pillow, then to start exploring the bedroom, lounge room, kitchen . . . and then the great outdoors of the cockpit. He was starting to relax.
HerberT THe sea caT As it turns out, Herbert is a natural! Much to my relief, he is really content and has taken to sailing life. By the second night of sailing he was out in the cockpit with us, sniffing the night air. He seems to like walking around the boat (promenading) when the boat is at anchor, moored or berthed. He loves sitting on the transom (back step) that is just above the waterline – yes, water – as he watches things move below him. His eyes and ears even follow the sunlight as it glitters on the water. He is alert and intrigued. When, of course, he is awake. This sea life is exhausting – we sometimes have to leave early in the morning in order to meet the tides over the bars going into ports. Plus the spray, wind, rolling and tipping, and sun take it out of a cat. Herbert’s eating more than he used to. He’s doubled, seriously, his intake of wet food but significantly reduced his intake of dry. When I asked a vet about this (Melissa Catt, from The Paddington Cat Hospital, see her article on p4) she thought it might be because dry food contains more salt. He’s getting enough as it is from grooming his coat, and perhaps his body seems to know. In addition, Herbert is sleeping well. It’s Brett and I who wake him in the morning, rather than the other way around. Generally, he just looks very content. And big! He’s telescoped. (He looks very small when he’s frightened or miserable.) Gone are the days of hiding under the pillow – I hope. As for me, it makes our trip even better. I don’t have to worry or wonder how he’s getting on with my daughter etc. He is great company and he certainly makes the boat more ‘homey’, right down to white and grey cat hairs over everything. So far, things are working out really well. Herbert is indeed a sea cat. I don’t know how he managed living on land for the previous 10.5 years! I wonder if Australia’s entrant in the America’s Cup needs a large, hairy – and very cute – mascot?
For more news about Herbert the sea cat, visit www.sailblogs.com (search for ‘amble’)
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