Amelia the Tropicat: Sometimes love is letting go <3
Amelia the Tropicat
I’ve had a few pets on Swell over the last 9 years, but most of them made their way aboard on their own. Aside from a lost baby seabird I found after a cyclone, my non-human guests have been uninvited. I don’t mind the geckos that often show up in a banana stock. They make cute coughing noises in the evening and cause no harm. I’ve hosted a wide variety of ants too—from teeny fuzzy black ones to enormous shiny red ones. They’re always extremely busy and don’t like being distracted, so I can’t say much for their company. A roving wasp colony lives in my spinnaker pole from time to time, but we tend to give each other our space. Once a cricket turned up out of nowhere. I never saw him but I adored his evening serenades until they were no more. While I was away on a trip to California, a newlywed rat couple from the boatyard where Swell was hauled thought they’d scored themselves a slick new pad. They promptly moved aboard and raised four handsome rat babies who explored, and chewed, and pooped inside Swell from bow to stern. Their story has a rather gruesome ending, but let’s just say it was either them or me…same song for the prolific cockroach family that sailed with me to Kiribati.
Amelia was different, though. I’m not sure whether I found her or she found me that fateful afternoon in November of 2013, but it felt fairly clear that we were meant to be together. She was a skinny little adolescent then–about 6 months old and hungry for food and love. Something about her commanding lioness air and carefree bravado made me want to give her both. I can’t estimate the innumerable forlorn cats and dogs I’ve longed to adopt over my years of travel, but it never seemed fair to drag them into my nomadic, non-routine lifestyle. Nor was I sure that I had time to properly care for a pet with my already full plate of captain’s duties. So, I don’t exactly know what got into me that day, I only remember it being unbearable to leave without her. I called her, Amelia, after the revered Miss Earhart, sensing right away that we shared a similar thirst for adventure.
Adjusting to boat life wasn’t easy at first. Life on a slippery, 40’ by 11’ hunk of fiberglass surrounded by ocean was a radical contrast to the lonesome jungle living she knew at the empty mountain mansion where we met. The new backdrop didn’t seem to phase her for long, and she adored the constant supply of cat food and caresses. She scoured every nook and locker of Swell daily for any living thing to torment. She resorted to ambushing flies, although she despised their buzzing antics. She nuzzled her food dish, watched sunsets from atop the dodger, and spent twilight dawns on the bow eyeing our fish neighbors. Her high-fangled, over-the-water acrobatics routines, soon led to a few ‘kitty overboard’ incidents. She quickly learned to dread the sea. Despite her distaste for swimming, she was amazingly good at it. She’d claw her way up my rubber dinghy to get back on board. I worried she might fall over when I was away, though, so I devised a ‘ladder’ made from a long strip of old towel that hung over the side and dangled into the sea. I came back from surfing one morning to find her wet and madly preening; she had obviously made good use of that ladder.
Amelia liked to run the show, and whenever possible, I let her. She always had a wily, determined look in her eye–as if the world was out to get her, but she was going to get it first. She was the star of her own mystery film–a sexy, heartless secret agent always on a mission. Business was business. She would constantly stalk me from above the dodger as I came out of the cabin, pouncing viciously on my head or come flying at me from across the cabin out of nowhere as I walked through innocently. She’d stalk fish over the side and birds flying above. I built her a ‘tree’ from a yoga mat wrapped around the mast, tied strings everywhere, made her a fishing platform, and often brought home fresh palm fronds to whip around and let her chase. She did enjoy a bit of luxury in her down time, though, sprawling indulgently across her pillows. On visits to various fancy yachts–after a thorough search for anything to kill—she would always post herself assertively smack in the middle of the scene. For the most part, Amelia the Tropicat had a one-track mind–it was all about the ‘hunt’.
I knew she missed climbing trees and bounding through tall grasses, so I started bringing her ashore on beach walks and jungle hikes. I figured if she really disliked life afloat, she’d just run away, but by and by she followed. We found a flat, shady spot in the mountain on one of our explorations, and returned often in the late afternoons so she could play in the forest, while I practiced yoga. She started coming with me to parties, outdoor restaurants, and friends’ houses. She never much enjoyed the rides in the dinghy, canoe, car, and even a few times on a motor scooter, but she was happy to arrive and discover new turf. After a few months of these sorts of adventures, she seemed to understand the routine, and she’d climb in and out of the dinghy on her own.
I’m sure she had psychic powers, too. Nothing else could explain the way she knew exactly which drawer or locker I needed to open before I even got near it. She’d casually make her way there in time to plop herself boldly in front of the access just before I arrived, then stare off coolly, like she was busy daydreaming. I was constantly obligated to coax or nudge her begrudgingly out of the way.
She charmed most and ignored the others. Either she hated being coddled and kissed, or was too proud to show it. She’d let me snuggle her for a few fleeting moments, then I’d feel her body tense up and she’d become desperate for a way to escape. I understood…a warrior princess secret agent couldn’t be seen as weak or needy. Now and then she’d curl up on me as if she’d finally found a few moments between her unrelenting quests for a bit of affection, but it was always on her time. We understood each other. We both needed freedom and love, we both got seasick, and we both loved challenge and exploration.
She taught me how to wait patiently for something you want (to kill in her case), how to relax now and then, and the importance of carrying oneself as distinguished and unphased as a noble Lioness–no matter the conditions or company. She could be viscous. Dogs feared her. I didn’t trust her around babies. I was constantly marred with scratches and even got Cat Scratch Fever from her! Once she killed a seabird about her size while I was ashore. The poor unsuspecting fellow had landed aboard Swell for a brief rest, only to be stalked, hauled down into the cabin, and massacred. Sigh. In fact, I’m sure that if she were big enough, she would have killed me too. I know she loved me, and might have regretted it afterward, but her merciless nature was just too strong.
A few weeks ago, Tropicat and I got invited on a little surf excursion on the other side of the island. Due to a mix of unexpected follies, we found ourselves on the back of a kind stranger’s canoe, headed for an islet about 300 yards offshore. She slipped off the shiny angled canoe twice on the way. I quickly scooped her aboard both times, but I knew she was horrified. I don’t think it helped that I found it impossible not to giggle at her drenched, rat-like body. We safely reached the other side, where she followed me out a palm-lined trail to the surf spot. I dropped my bag and spread out my pareo so she’d have a notion of ‘home base’, then paddled out for a quick surf. When I came in Amelia was nowhere to be found. I didn’t want the others to wait around, so they headed home while I tromped around the 1/2 mile squared islet, calling her name and apologizing for laughing at her earlier. She never appeared.
That afternoon, a stiff west wind was mounting. I grew worried about Swell, as she was anchored in a fairly exposed bay. I knew there was a cute little bed & breakfast on the island, I figured she would be happy chasing rats and lizards for the night, and could go see the people there if she was lonely or hungry.
I went back the next day and numerous times since. I camped out multiple times where she was last seen, left my stinky clothes for her to smell, and piles of cat food and fish. I even called a pet psychic. She still has not surfaced. All I can figure is that she is either enjoying the endless game of chasing lizards, rats, and crabs, or she may have been picked up by another visitor? Her disappearance remains a mystery; maybe it was fated in the name? I can only hope she loves her newfound paradise, or chose her new home well. I haven’t been able to put away the reminders of her company; the litter box is empty and her toys lie still and lifeless scattered about. I miss her.
Part of me is stunned by the loss I feel without my beloved little companion, but another part of me knows that, like me, she needs to feel free. I never owned her; we chose each other. I did my best to keep her happy during her spell afloat, but as the rainy season and my book project kept us more and more often aboard Swell over the last month or so, I would notice a far-off look of longing and boredom in her eyes. Maybe the string of calamities that happened at the motu that day was meant to be? As much as I badly want to see her again, there’s a part of me that thinks she’s likely happier in her new land life.
Her untamable spirit will always stay with me. But I believe that true love is wanting for the other, what she or he truly desires for her/himself. So be free, Amelia the Tropicat…I wish you endless new adventures, a full belly, loving new hands to caress you, and a life of the non-stop ever-thrilling ‘hunt’ that I know keeps the fire blazing in your feline goddess heart.
“Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea.” –Robert Heinlein
Tropicat was always the life of the party, even if she peed in the planter box… Photo by Lea Brassy during the epic Swell/Patagonia/Cabrihna Quest rendezvous in the outer islands.
Kitty on watch duty.
She would never admit it, but she loved the limelight.
She also enjoyed long walks on the beach…
And always managed to be right in my way…
Her job as navigator got a lot easier when I got our amazing new B&G chartplotter installed.
She taught me a lot about relaxing…
But she was always ready to seize the moment…heading ashore with my beloved fellow Patagonia Surf Ambassador, Lea Brassy, to stretch our sea legs.
We spent many afternoons in the mountain together for yoga and tree climbing…
Boat, car, dinghy, canoe, or motor scooter…there were no limits to adventure for Tropicat.
The only times she was desperate to cuddle were underway…kitty and captain taking a rest at sea.
She was endlessly curious…
But she quickly discovered that swimming was NOT her favorite activity.
Nor did she care much for my plant-based diet…
She made herself right at home aboard the yachts we visited, especially the splendid Josefina…
She adored climbing trees, but this particular one frustrated the hell out of her…
“Now who’s looking up…?”
Always right in the middle of things…
Damn birds…
Kitty mutiny? She really wished she could be in charge…
Kitty’s new paradise…
54 Comments
Tim
February 27, 2015We go through life learning from everything we experience, looks like Amelia did her part well.
Lucia
February 27, 2015Fuerza amiga!!!
Auntie
February 27, 2015Sending my best big hugs and kisses
Capt John
February 27, 2015It is always heartbreaking when two souls must part ways.
But I know the both of you are better for knowing each other. Godspeed Amelia.
Patti
February 27, 2015I’ve enjoyed keeping up with your adventures on instagram and was sorry when Amelia took off on the islet. Sometimes, those who wander off don’t want to be found, and you’ve honored that free spirit in her as you’ve honored your own. Makes me think of the quote, “not all those who wander are lost.” This blog was a great tribute. Really love the photos, even if I got a little teary-eyed. Peace to you, Liz!
Susan
February 27, 2015Great memories of Tropicat and love the photos.
Trish
February 28, 2015What a great story and love the photos!
Bill O'Halloran
February 28, 2015How bitter sweet to cherish the experience and not be gifted the ongoing reality. May your dreams be filled with sweet memories and your days with distracting beauty and adventure. Best, Bill
s/v YOLO
February 28, 2015I’ve been following your search for Amelia and I had no idea you named her after Amelia Earnhardt. Amelia was first cousins with my great gramma. She has always inspired me. I loved your post and agree, we have to remember these are wild animals entrusted to us for a short time. It’s not for us to decide the duration.
Courtney
S/V YOLO
Sharon Mahony
February 28, 2015Lovely story and photos! When I first moved aboard I took my Gatsby with me…but he was not cut out for the life and a friend of mine happily adopted him. He lived with them for over 10 years. A little foster kittie I rescued was a little better adapted to the sailing life, perhaps because Bailey was quite young when I adopted her. Now that I live ashore I have THREE cats, Lucrezia, Lennox and Lunabelle, plus an adorable rescue dog, Molly. Happy sailing to you, Liz.
Emily
February 28, 2015I’m really sorry to hear about your loss, Liz. :( But I bet Amelia is having lots of fun exploring her new kingdom. :) I love the way you commemorated your time together!
Johanne Guilbault
February 28, 2015Very inspiring!
Bon vent!
Michael McNaughton
February 28, 2015I have loved your blogs about your adventures with tropicat and have been moved to write a reply to you. I so feel your loss but can also feel your strength in letting go.You cannot delete the memories you both have of each other nor the effects both obvious and not yet apparent that your friendship will have.
Your life aboard swell is inspiring myself and partner to follow your lead and live a better, simpler life upon the waves.
Here is to yours and tropicats continuing adventures in life
Mike
Walter Kevitz
February 28, 2015Thanks for relating your wonderful experience with Amelia. Cats are very independent. They love when they want and they leave when they want to make new memories.
Darrell
March 3, 2015:( :(
Angela
March 3, 2015Thank you so much for sharing the story of Amelia and you. It is a very touching tribute.
Sofia
March 4, 2015I am so happy to have come across your blog. You are truly an inspiration! Sending thoughts your way about Amelia. Fair winds and following seas….cheers
Laurie
March 10, 2015Just seen your Instagram. So happy she has returned to you!
Brandy
March 11, 2015I loved this post. My cat Tiny Paws of Fury got out once for 3 weeks before returning with a battle scar on her cheek and a loss of about 10 lbs of kitty fat…it’s certainly not easy and my husband thought I had a mental breakdown when I’d sit outside and call her name. Best wishes to Amelia, I hope she’s having a sweet island life!
Barbara
March 13, 2015So glad you and Amelia are reunited!! Hurray! love those calico/torties ~ they’re such talkers and Amelia’s chirp is the sweetest homecoming sound ever (I imagine). Bless
Jeska
March 18, 2015Thanks so much for sharing this little story of love and independent collaboration, cats cross our paths always for with meaning though they’d never like us to know it. All the best!
Gimme Shelter
April 1, 2015Awww, this got me all choked up.
Anne
April 7, 2015So sad that you couldn’t find her but you gave her the adventure of a lifetime. Those pictures are precious and she’ll live forever in your heart. I hope you find another friend along the way.
Tanya
April 7, 2015As someone who enjoys sailing and who also is involved in animal rescue I would suggest obtaining a live trap to attempt to catch her. This story is so sad, I know she misses you. We deal with abandoned cats as often as abandoned dogs because people think cats are self-survivalists, independent, and aloof. Not true. Cats are just as bonded to people as dogs, sometimes more. I feel for your loss. It’s clear you care deeply for her.
Jun
April 14, 2015I love your story sooooo much. There’s just too much truth and wisdom in each article and it gives me goosebumps to learn that someone is able to understand life this precisely.
Gunnyhighway
April 15, 2015I got emotional reading your story as I could relate. Tears started to roll down my cheeks.
Great emotional experience. Great read!
Catalinakel
April 19, 2015What a beautiful, insightful, sweet tribute to Amelia. And I don’t even like cats. You are blessed, my friend. Thanks for taking the time to share it all with us.
Diana Allen
April 20, 2015Oh, my ~ What a beautiful tribute to a very cool cat. Sounds like Amelia was your friend and your familiar, a feline soul sister of sorts. It’s very hard to lose someone like that. I’m sure she learned a lot from you, too…
David
April 20, 2015Thanks for this great blog post and photos; brings lots of reflections on the tension between wildness and domesticity in my (very domesticated) indoor cats; and my own experience when I left too many doors open at once and one of mine walked out.
Laila
April 21, 2015Your stories of life with Tropicat are so hilarious and moving. Love the photos, too. I feel for your deep loss, and admire the way you are holding this experience. I know you and Tropicat will forever be in eachother’s hearts.
Captain Liz
April 22, 2015Xoxoxo
Jordan
May 4, 2015Hi, Liz. I read the news of you in China today. What you have done is so coooooool! I love sailing and have learned some navigational skills and sailing in small sailing boats. I want to know more new friends who love navigation. The news said you are looking for a companion, and I hope that I can know you as a fiend and sailing together maybe.
Cats on Boats: Liz Clark’s Amelia
April 21, 2015[…] she knew at the empty mountain mansion where we met,” Liz explains in her blog post about losing Amelia. Over the previous several months Amelia had settled in well, chasing birds, helping to navigate, […]
Sean Tiffin
April 30, 2015Beautifully written and so sad, yet amazing at the same time.
tomocius
April 30, 2015You are living the dream. I just said to my colleague … “In my next life I want to be Liz Clark, in this life I want to be with her.”
Greg
May 2, 2015Hey Liz,
Your lifestyle is awesome. I’m so jealous. I’ve grew up in the suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio and now live in downtown Cleveland. All I’ve ever wanted to do is to live in a warmer, natural environment where I’m able to eat natural, organic foods, and live an active lifestyle. This summer I plan on getting out of the dusty city and travel the country and be adventurous and spontaneous, which is pretty much the exact opposite of how I’ve lived up until this point.
I wish you the best throughout your travels and if you ever wanted an amigo to join you I’d be down!
All the best,
Greg
Alvie
May 3, 2015My favorite blog of yours. Cool. I got to being curious after reading through your
blog a bit – – – – you are a vegan, am I right? How has this been working out for you,
and how often do you eat some of the fish from the sea, shellfish, that sort of stuff?
I’d love to know if you’ve been able to maintain your physical strength for surfing
while on a vegan diet, and strength for sailing as well. Bye for now, and look forward
to hearing back from you.
Captain Liz
May 15, 2015Hi Alvie! thanks for your note. yes, i am still eating a plant-based diet and loving it. I get sick less often, have more energy, and my skin looks healthier. I don’t notice a difference in my strength for surfing or sailing. At the moment i am eating fish or other seafood very rarely, but sometimes in social situations or in places where fish stocks seem abundant, i eat some. My body seems to love this diet, and i have a few other surfer friends that eat vegan and have only experienced positive benefits from it!! all the best! Liz
Alvie
May 15, 2015Captain, thanks so much. How about eggs? Yeah, some plant-based eaters dabble with
the eggs a bit here and there for protein. Wondering for you about the eggs, as plant-based really seems
to have worked for you. I seem to need a little fish, but do a bit better with egg yolks. Thanks for anymore
info. on your plant-based food lists.
tomislav pavleka
May 3, 2015You are amazing person !
Thanks for all what you doing …
Sarah
May 18, 2015Hope all is well with Amelia. This post makes me really sad…
Jasmin
May 21, 2015This is sooo cool and reminds me of Life of Pi :D except Amelia isn’t a tiger like Richard Parker ;) but that’s really a cool and cute story and I wish you and Amelia the best <3
P.S. I found your blog via a german lifestyle magazine and really like your lifestyle! you are very inspiring!
Greetings from Germany xo
Jasmin from http://www.nimsajx.blogspot.de
Torie
June 23, 2015beautiful story. My husband and I are living aboard in St. Pete Florida. I would like a pet aboard but am uncertain I am up to the responsibility. Tropicat was so sweet. I hope she is happy. I hope u are too!
Tom Lynch
June 27, 2015Lihzz- Tropicat is cool… Glad she came back!
Anne
August 13, 2015Hi Liz, I came across your blog today. Lovely story … lovely photos…. touched my heart.
Nathalie
February 12, 2016Hello,
Have you found Tropicat today? Have you heard from it? I wish it be…
Best regards,
Nathalie
A One-Eyed Surfing Cat and Five More Videos Featuring Adventurous Pets – Beyond the Edge
February 24, 2016[…] Liz Clark’s feline first mate, Amelia the Tropicat, tells the story of her life aboard Liz’s boat, Swell. Captain Liz Clark, who was one of our […]
How to Let Go – Done Dreaming
March 8, 2016[…] I found a story about an amazing young woman who is sailing the oceans and her adventure with a cat who hopped onboard for part of the journey. […]
Cats ahoy! Kitten sails around the world having the time of her life – Today.com | Information
April 26, 2016[…] star of her own mystery film — a sexy, heartless secret agent always on a mission,” Clark wrote on her blog in […]
Cats ahoy! Kitten sails around the world having the time of her life – Today.com | Your Lucky News Update
April 26, 2016[…] star of her own mystery film — a sexy, heartless secret agent always on a mission,” Clark wrote on her blog in […]
Cat Rescued From Abandoned House Is Now Sailing Around The World With Her New Human
April 27, 2016[…] star of her own mystery film — a sexy, heartless secret agent always on a mission,” Clark wrote on her blog in February. “I knew there was a cute little bed & breakfast on the island, I figured […]
Ruth
April 29, 2016Hey Liz, is tropicat desexed ? If not, maybe that is why she wandered off ?
Just concerned in case she does it again and the ending is not so happy xo
Luana
April 30, 2016I cried while reading.
Dermott Hayes
May 2, 2016Someone reblogged your blog, or, a story about you and your cat, on another blog, and fascinated by the story, I set off on my own cyber voyage to find the lady and the cat, at sea. Permission to come aboard? Arthritis has me landlocked but I’ll travel, vicariously, with you and Amelia. I can smell the sea, already