Ah…it’s been a warm…actually almost hot couple of days. We’ve had the butterfly hatches, companionway, and forward scuttle open to let the wind blow through the boat. Clean, fresh air. Finally.

For the past month, we’ve been taking Beryl outside on a halter and leash. We hang out in the cockpit where she wanders around, playing in the sunlight on the teak grate and then hiding in the shade behind the binnacle. She clearly was an “inside only” kitty before joining us, though. When a duck flies overhead–Beryl ducks for cover! literally. Heaven help us if a goose comes by with all the racket they can make. Even the cute Grebes playing on the water with their little warbles can make Beryl jump down from the cockpit seat and hide behind the nearest set of human legs.

If a sailboat comes by, the sound of wind in the canvas is enough to send poor Beryl scurrying back into the relative comfort of the chart house. There, she sits on the chart table looking calm and in control. Only we know now that it’s all an act. That layer of glass between Beryl and the outside world is sufficient to make her feel secure.

On quiet days, David has taken Beryl on a few strolls around the foredeck. However, Beryl is much more comfy playing in the dappled sunlight of the cockpit sole–with views of the water and associated wildlife blocked, she is in the happy state of “what I can’t see isn’t really there.”

There are places in the boat which Beryl has yet to explore. Whenever she finds a new cubby hole or hide-y spot in the boat she’s thrilled with herself. She has spent quite a bit of time wandering around the things stored in the forecastle (fo’c’sle) and I do worry that she’ll end up stuck far forward near the stem where it would be hard to retrieve a wayward cat.

Yesterday, with the wind blowing through the boat, I heard a scurry, scraping claws, a squawking cat sound, and a thump from the general vicinity of the forecastle. Immediately I thought poor Beryl has fallen off the front of the anchor locker where the chain is kept! Ouch! I called to David–I think she’s stuck forward somewhere. I don’t explore forward of the anchor locker–David went looking for her–no cat. Hummm…. Oh, no, maybe she’d jumped up and out of the scuttle hatch which is open! The tempting-to-a-cat sound of small finches chirping can be heard from that hatch! David went to the back of the boat and out into the cockpit to begin an exploration of the boat deck looking for Beryl. Yep. Guess who was crouched low on the foredeck looking bewildered? Beryl. Once she saw David back in the cockpit, she got her bearings and ran directly to him and the safety of the familiar cockpit sole. Well, more like “scurried” directly to him, hugging the deck with her belly trying to remain invisible in this scary world of “outside the boat.”

Putting two and two together–we think she thought the open hatch was simply an entrance to yet another part of the boat. One with cute chirp-y sounds, too! Finding herself outside, alone, was a big surprise! Sort of like the children in the C.S. Lewis book The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

Spring cleaning underway here on Mahdee. They say (I always wonder who “they” are…in this case it is the “experts” regarding good boatkeeping–that’s boat housekeeping, Dixie!)…They say that if you don’t remove everything from every locker and cabinet every 3 months or so and wipe down the inside surfaces with a bleach water or vinegar solution (depends on which “They” whether the advice is one or the other) that you’ll have moldy mustiness going on. Well, since our 4/2009 launch, I’ve been very good at keeping up with what “They” say and wiping down the interior every couple months…until last fall. I got lazy. Period. Then it was cold and yucky in all the far reaches of the boat and the last thing I felt like doing was rearranging all our stuff. So, here we are 6 months later and well, I can tell you, “they” were right. I’m finding little places here and there with musty mold evident. Yuck.

Since we came North last fall, the foc’sle aka forecastle aka scuttle has been buried with “stuff.” Lines, sails, pool noodles, extra wood, saw horses, fenders, spare bilge pumps…STUFF. Today, I finally re-arranged to the point that I can see some walls and the sole. How nice. I still need to haul all that stuff out on deck and clean out the place properly while empty–but it’s much nicer now. My new “organization” gave me room to even move a few MORE things into the foc’sle.