Episode VII. Onyx and the floorboards

From Tales of Onyx the Cruising Kitty

by Onyx Blackwell
Chief Editor and Cruising Kitty

Onyx watching Alex replace the floorboards...

My people bought our “new” vintage ocean cruiser on the Chesapeake Bay and decided to bring her home over Fourth of July weekend. Given that it was a four day adventure and they were heading offshore, they thought I’d like to come along. Lord knows why they would think that.

I like to sleep. And sleeping offshore is pretty tough when the wind is always blowing, the boat is always heeling over sideways, and we never stop for days. Do you know how hard it is to eat and use the litter box on an angle? Well let me tell you, after three days offshore from Virginia to New Jersey , I’d had just about enough. I was tired and cranky.

Somehow my people weren’t too cranky. I got the sense they were concerned about something but they weren’t scared and they weren’t angry so that was good. Finally, we reached a place they called Sandy Hook and we pulled into an anchorage where they dropped the sails and the anchor and the boat finally stopped moving. I couldn’t believe it. I was finally going to get some sleep. So I curled up in my cubby hole and bid them good day.

The next thing I heard was the dinghy heading away – I figured that they were going ashore for dinner as usual . The next thing I heard was the dinghy coming back. I stayed in bed barely able to lift my eyelids.

Some time later there was a racket that woke me up. I realized I was hungry and thirsty and had to go potty. I got out of bed, stretched as usual and cathunk jumped outside my cubbyhole. But what I saw next took my breath away. As far as I could see, the floor was wide open and there were holes down into the bottom of the boat. Although it was interesting and I thought about exploring, there were more important things to take care of first. I couldn’t walk to my food, I couldn’t get to the litter box. What was I to do?

Alex replacing the alternator...

Well you know, I still hadn’t had my beauty sleep and I was still cranky. But now I got even crankier. I had to go! I was hungry! I was thirsty! And here heple had torn up the whole boat so I couldn’t go anywhere. I had had enough. I just couldn’t take any more. I decided it was time to have my say and let heple know I wasn’t happy. Then he’d have to close up the floor so I could get to all my stuff. I mean really. Who was in need here anyway? First they kept me up for three days, then this?

So I walked right up to him and gave him a piece of my mind. I said, “Mrrrreeeeoooow. Meow meow meow. Rouw weow. RRRRRRRR, reow. Meow, meow, meow, meow, meow.” And furthermore, “meeeee-ow that!” He looked at me totally baffled like I’d never seen him before. Sheple came out and said, “Well, Onyx gave you a real tongue lashing just as I had thought about doing, didn't she? Onyx, I've never heard you so upset. I guess you don't like this place in such a mess. I can understand that. Just like you, I can't go anywhere or do anything. It's very frustrating, isn't it? Even though it's necessary, I don't like it one bit either. I'm with you.”

Heple said, “Okay, okay, I’ve got most of the stuff finished, I can close some of this up now.” So he closed up some floorboards so I could get to my things. And as he did, I gave him one final “mrrow” in passing and that was the end of that.

I did what I needed to and realized I was completely exhausted by the whole ordeal. So I just lay down on my favorite rug, just for a minute to rest up. Sheple rubbed my ears a bit and made me feel happy again. And you know what being happy means? Purrrrrrrr and snore.

As you all know by now, I’m Onyx Blackwell, the black sea cat, The Cruising Kitty. I’m going to see the world. But first I need to take a nap.

Onyx resting after the ordeal...