November 30th
We again have acquired a school (?) of remoras under our boat. One is yellow…wait for it…ICK!! These things really creep me out, with their flat, suction heads and upside down-like mouths. Howard has somehow caught sight of them, and is now incredibly intrigued. He sits out on the swim platform gazing down off of the side and through the slats, hoping to catch a glimpse.
I insist on Howard being supervised when on these viewing missions. I’m terrified he’ll try and jump in after one if they are spotted. You may think that there’s no way a cat would willingly jump into the water, but you would be wrong here.
At our slip in Baltimore, Howard jumped from our bow…onto a duck…that was in the water! He landed squarely onto the duck, which would have been a victory had the attack happened on dry land. In this case, the duck rolled and Howard followed…into the harbor! I wasn’t so terrified that he’d gone into the water, but that he may grow a second tail from being in that “icky” water. Unfortunately, the Baltimore harbor, as you may expect, is far from clean.
Scott put his arm into the water, and Howard “climbed” it to get out (not pleasant for Scott). He careened into the boat, looking like a cartoon character, soaking wet with legs flying in all directions. He then proceeded to lick the ick off of him, and thankfully still only has one tail! He has fallen in twice since then, more by accident, but it the last has been almost a year ago. I’m worried that he has forgotten that we sit on water.
Back to the remoras. What scares me about Howard falling into the water here is the remoras sucking onto him. I don’t know their preferences..would they suck onto fur? I have visions of fishing Howard out of the water with a big bald spot on him. Yeesh.
Scott spends his supervising time educating Howard about the remoras, as they watch the water together.
Scott points out the remoras when they surface.
Scott then explains to Howard that they are in the water, and are “sucky.”
Howard seems to get it, although he hangs over the edge of the swim platform way to far for my comfort. I’m happier when he just hangs out in the cockpit, waiting for a glimpse.
His boat skills continue to develop!
Don’t forget to check the link to Howard’s photos here. We’re always updating it!
“Shells Sink, Dreams Float. Life’s Good On Our Boat!”