Southern Vectis and the midnight prowler.

        It was our first night at the dock at Hope Town Harbour Marina.  We had falled asleep to the gentle lapping of waves against the hull, and the rustlings of night creatures....and fellow boaters.  At midnight we suddenly awoke. There was a very different sound - the pattering of small feet running across our decks!  We lay there, half asleep. Could it be a large rat, or even a fast-moving iguana! The moonlight streaming through the hatch was suddenly blotted out by a moving shadow. It was time for action!
     We crept out of bed, peered around into the cabin, and came face to face with.....a small, black and white cat climbing down the companionway steps into the cabin. The cat was happy to see us! She enjoyed ten minutes of stroking and tummy tickling, and seemed set to stay the night. But we needed our beauty sleep, and the cat (we have since found out her name is Chloe) had to go ashore. She would need help to do this, as the tide was low, and the boat was floating at least a metre below the dock level.  Chloe did not want to leave! We soon found that holding a wriggling, complaining ball of fur, armed with very sharp claws, is no easy task. She let out ear-piercing yowls which must have woken up the whole marina. Eventually, when we had managed to lift her and deposit her on dry land,  she sauntered away without a backward glance.  We collapsed back into bed to a night filled with dreams of big game hunting. The game had black and white stripes and very large claws, and a roar which could waken the dead, or sleepy sailors trying for a good night's rest!