AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A CAT ON A JOURNEY FROM CAPE ...

astern. The boat would rise to the steeply running water, pause for an instant, and thensurf down the wave, which was quite a feat for a big heavy steal ketch. At one point I wasconsidering a stroll and had actually climbed out of the cockpit when a mass of watercame right onto the deck and wet my paws. I can assure you I did not appreciate that. Ileapt right back into the cockpit and wiped my feet on Philip. It served him right. Helaughed his head off when I got wet.Aside from that the gale presented no problem. The crew took down the jib andmizzen and we sailed on under the full main and the little forestaysail. We were goingalong very nicely and in the right direction, which made everybody happy, me included. Ienjoyed immensely the sensation of speed as we tore down the seas, and also the sense ofsecurity that was achieved after the first few hours of the gale had shown us that the boatwas sound. Fatso was the only one of us who did not need such reassurance, since in pastyears he had already skippered two trans-Atlantic crossings aboard TINA (our boat'sname), but for me, and for the others, it was comforting to have had her soundness testedand found reliable.Because of the gale, I even began to take pride in my adaptability, something thathad never been necessary before. I admit that I was and am used to making the worldconform to my requirements, but it is a measure of true greatness to accept the inevitablewithout regret. Therefore, I was justifiably proud of myself when I learned how to walkand sit in a manner not typically feline. Anybody who has watched a cat cannot helpbeing impressed by our daintiness. When moving, we place one foot in front of another,as though we were walking a tightrope. When sitting, our front paws are side by side,almost touching, a posture that is both elegant and refined. But on the boat and during thegale, I learned to walk with my paws as far apart as was possible to compensate for themotion and I would sit with five inches between my feet, a position that would have beenridiculous ashore but which was in keeping with conditions at sea. Needless to say, theentire crew found this development extremely amusing and would howl with laughterwhen I made my way about the boat or sat in front of my bowl, waiting for my dinner.That is the way with ignorant beings. They were being thrown all over the boatwith every surge. They could not move from the stove to the table in the salon withouthanging on with both hands and half the time they still ended up bashing into a bulk heador sitting unexpectedly on a berth, often with somebody asleep in it. They would spendtwenty minutes staggering about the place trying to make a cup of coffee and then, afterspilling half of it over the carpet, would put it on a shelf and then swear prodigiouslywhen a sea came along and turned the cup over. And they were laughing at me, the onlyone on the boat who could be counted on not to fall against something.But I had my moments of revenge. Once, when I was sitting on the edge of a bunktrying to wake up Tony, they all came running below in response to Philip's call to comeand have a look at me. We were heeling at the time and there was a slight roll to the boat,so of course, was seated on the only part of the berth that was upright most of the time--the edge. As the ship moved I would compensate and lean against the movement in orderto maintain the vertical. That was the only sensible thing to do. I was perfectlycomfortable, had almost succeeded in waking Tony, a job that required patience andperseverance, and there they were, bumping into each other, ramming their heads againstany protuberances that were handy, tripping over their feet, and generally maimingthemselves, and laughing at me while making remarks to the effect that I was better than31