After having to put to sleep our dear loyal 19 year old NZ cat “Murphy” before we left NZ we have spent the last three years sailing through Asia and the Middle East avoiding the plight of the countless cats that ply the waterfronts casting their pitiful looks our way for, at the least, kindly eye contact or ,at the most, a morsel of food. There are literally so many that even animal friendly people like us have to bite the lip and walk on.
That was until 10 December 2009 when one of the numerous dock cats (or “Kedi” in Turkish) at Marmaris Yacht Marina decided to board Musketelle uninvited through a small open porthole while we were out and help herself to a bread roll and then settle down on our bed.
When we returned in the dark B entered the aft cabin and thought she heard the floorboard make a funny squeak but on turning on the light found instead that the squeak was a ”hello” from a quite unconcerned and comfortable cat. Said cat was not at all phased at being sprung and gave the distinct impression she was pleased with herself. We were impressed by the fact that this visitor had used some nous to get in and make herself at home. She eventually departed and we laughed at her cheek but thought nothing more of it.
Later however said cat returned and started making the usual feline overtures that we interpret as friendly but we sent her on her way. However she persisted with more visits of variable duration, sitting on the deck and amusing us with her meercat impressions as she peered over the cockpit coaming to watch goings-on on the dock.
We then made the fatal mistake of giving her a name – a sure sign we had been twisted round her (not so little) paw. At the time we were having difficulty with the internet wifi signal at the marina being very unstable and, like the cat, coming and going. So we named her WiFi.
Thus far we had a visiting and named cat. However feline domestic bliss was not assured for this is really a wild cat that had been fending for itself around the marina for several years. At times she showed her real self – difficult to handle, untrusting and with a lightning left hook with claw advanced usually when least expected and when we thought we were only being friendly. Still she manages to amuse and winter and Xmas are both coming up fast…
No sooner is she installed on board and sleeping under the dodger than we start getting visits from other dock cats seeking to dislodge her from this board and lodging. The siege continued and one night B observed WiFi walking down the dock towards Musketelle when another cat shoulder barged her in a good rugby style tackle straight into the tide. Proving that cats can swim WiFi hauled herself out soaked through and very shaken. Of course she got the big dry towel rub down and much fussing over. Maybe it was all a set up as this event now had us protecting WiFi in her patch.
Next problem was that we were about to depart for France and London for three weeks for Christmas – what to do with WiFi ? Other cruisers rightly noted that we could just leave her to look after herself but guess what, we weakened. At vast expense, we put a stray dock cat, perfectly capable of fending for itself, into the cattery at the Vets.
The die was cast. WiFi now had all the appearance of an official crewmember of SY Musketelle and whilst in residence at the Vets she had all necessary vaccinations and treatments to allow her to sail to the EU and beyond, a microchip inserted in her neck and “pet passport” (ie health papers) issued. At this stage as far as we know she has not a single sea mile under her collar but the prognosis is good for at least getting around the Med and across the Atlantic to America. Not a bad turnaround for a homeless Turkish Kedi.
Wi Fi takes up the story
Mid January 2010 my new friends collected me from “the cat prison” and I was bundled in a new fancy cat bag back to my regular haunts at Marmaris Yacht Marina where we stayed until May which allowed me to get back into my old routines on Hotel Pier. This is the pier that I was introduced to after my birth somewhere in the marina back in 2007. It’s the place where I have survived nicely thank you for over 3 years befriending hundreds of cruisers from all over the world. I’m an expert at getting my way with most of them and as a result more food than I can eat has been available most of the time particularly during spring, summer and autumn. Winter is the big problem so I have to really work hard on finding a safe haven for this harsh time for vagrant cats.
Here I am on 'my' dock at Marmaris Yacht Marina
Would you believe I have been taken on board a number of yachts on a semi permanent basis and some have even named me. I have been variously named “Arabella”, “Cleopatra” and then a lovely Swiss couple Trudi and Jurg got all regal and called me “Princess India” because at that time I was doing a stint on India Pier. Next Jeanette and Charles from the Dutch yacht Happy Days befriended me and called me “MiMi”.
Now I have fallen in with this lot aboard Musketelle who call themselves “Kiwis”. I have established that a Kiwi is a bird that cannot fly and, as a cat, that certainly interests me but these guys don’t look like birds and he even has fur on his face. She goes by the name of B and he P and they are not bad if a little pushy with me to settle into their routines aboard their yacht. They seem to forget that I know more than a little about yachts and theirs is by no means the best and biggest that I had the choice of selecting. So I keep up my guard that has served me well in my survival to date in the tough world of wild life at Marmaris Yacht Marina.
But let me tell you not all the cruisers have been cat friendly and some have downright mean, probably due to the ablution habits of us wild Kedi and particularly those dirty old tomcats that spray everywhere. Would you believe one Canadian cruiser gave me major grief by throwing me into the water one day in front of other cruisers. I sure gave that boat a wide berth thereafter.
Winter has passed, it’s now March, spring is in the air and surprisingly this stay aboard Musketelle has turned into one of my longer visitations for a number of reasons. Firstly they relented on my access to and around Musketelle and in no time at all I had the run of the ship with the exception a few no go areas like the dining table and the navigation station. But they at least dedicated a few sleeping spots for me which is a nice touch and if it was really cold I was even allowed on their bed.
The one difficulty was they started locking me in at night which was a real hassle to begin with. The other major hassle was that they put a plastic tag on my collar with a message in English which of course being a Turkish Kedi I could not read. But the long and short of it was my multiple feeding opportunities which I had perfected with the cruisers disappeared and in no time the only food I was getting was from the owners on Musketelle. I immediately smelt a rat and concluded they had betrayed me with a “please do not feed me” message. So to supplement my diet I made it my business to stay out on full moon and very still nights which is the best time for felines to pickup miscellaneous fodder and supplement the Whiskas diet they persist with.
The other nights I hankered for were when the men that keep the waters clear of debris with their big nets were on the Pier and they would throw me little fish, the absolute best meal on the pier. I would often take a sample back to Musketelle and liberate it alive and kicking in the cockpit which always got them going I can tell you. B obviously dislikes fish but P is with me on this even if he does not share my catch with me.
Early on we got the necessary ablution issues sorted out and they provided a dedicated cat potty with high tech crystals that mean no smells, so that was appreciated and I now use it all the time rather than going on other boats and in dinghies like all the other wild life around the marina. There is talk of another Kedi from the marina that goes to the loo on the ship’s human toilet but they have another thing coming if they think they are going to get me to perch on the porcelain, a parrot I am not.
P and B kept talking to me about sailing to America and New Zealand. Well I have been to India Pier so thought that America Pier and New Zealand Pier sounded fine. However it seems that this was not what they had in mind.
On the last day of Spring 31 May the owners played a trick on me that I was least expecting, and they cast off from Marmaris Yacht Marina as I was awakening from my afternoon snooze and now I am on the way to who knows where. As usual the owners are fussing around making life as comfortable for me as they can but even with four legs this continual slip slopping around at sea does take some getting used to.
Over the last three weeks we have sailed to some neat spots in Turkey visiting Bozburan and Bodrum and we even had a taste of Greece with visits to the Aegean Islands of Kos, Leros and Lesvos, my first foreign country. I could easily have got off at the fuel dock in Kos and had a walk around and even done a runner, but did not think it looked anything special.
I am making it my business to keep an eye and ear on everything that is going on around me aboard Musketelle and there is a pattern developing. Each morning we get up, we all have breakfast, they turn on the noisy generator to power us up, cool the freezer etc then they listen to the MedNet on the SSB (Single Sideband Radio) with other cruisers all over the Mediterranean and then listen to the weather forecast in Turkish and Greek, eeks !!
Then we up anchor and sail away to then drop the anchor at a new spot in the afternoon to relax and watch the sunset and then we all have dinner. At least I don’t get locked in at night now and can use the porthole next to my bunk to wander round the decks at night if I wish.
Initially I was upset at the main engine starting up when I was “below” (that’s a nautical term for downstairs you know). Now I am pretty relaxed about it especially if I can sit on the back deck and watch the water shooting out the exhaust at the transom (back of the boat). The only thing that really gets my hackles up is the water making machine that sounds like a jet engine and freaked me out when they first started it. Cat-astrophe! I accidently bit B’s hand and she had to go ashore to a local hospital for a Tetanus shot. Luckily I had a Rabies injection in January and the owners have been vaccinated to. I was very embarrassed by that outburst but it was only because I was really scared.
I am a little concerned we are leaving my homeland Turkey but I am now legally allowed to travel with the owners as evidenced by the official release documents issued by the Turkish Authorities in Ankara and Marmaris with the all important stamps and signatures. But can you believe under the heading Breed they have had the cheek to called me a “Cross Breed”. That hits a nerve let me tell you.
Currently we at Ayvalik near the Dardenelles not far from Gallipoli and we are sailing to Limnos Island in Greece on Sunday 20 June.......I will let you know how we get on.
Ships Cat WiFi
