By Elisa Black-Taylor

Picture: © PA Images. Note: this picture (cropped) is published on PoC in breach of copyright. I admit that. I will argue fair use if challenged and/or make a payment. Please contact me about this before complaining. Thank you.
This is an amazing story of cat survival, detailing an August 5 accident involving a couple who had restored an aft-house schooner and their two cats, who did a fine job proving that the domestic cat can swim very well in open sea well called upon to do so.
On August 5, Mark and Cynthia Schneider were out on their fishing vessel, which they dubbed the “Sea Princess.” It was the first real trip the couple had made since restoring the schooner. The family set anchor for some albacore fishing in the Pacific Ocean about 85 miles northwest of Coos Bay.
While out to sea, miles from land, something went very wrong with their engine, and there was an explosion. Mark determined later that a tiny hole in the diesel tank blew enough mist to cause a backfire, triggering an explosion.
Mark and Cynthia both have had extensive training on how to deal with emergencies. Not only had the couple taken U.S. Coast Guard training classes, they also practiced what they’d do in the event of a disaster at sea.
Although both suffered first degree burns to the face and hair, Cynthia remained calm enough to call the Coast Guard. Meanwhile Mark went below deck to check the damage. The fire suppression system on the boat had prevented the fire from spreading.
Cynthia put on her survival suit, then grabbed her purse, some jewelry and a camera and stuffed it all into a back pack. Mark came back on deck after checking the damage and announced they were sinking. Cynthia remembers Mark calling for their two cats, Jasper and Topaz. Both cats were shelter rescues who had acquired their sea legs while the boat was being restored in Winchester Bay. Jasper is a 1-year-old spotted tabby and Topaz a 4-year-old calico.
Time was running out, and the couple were unable to rescue Jasper and Topaz. Cynthia told her husband the their cat’s natural instinct would kick in when the time came.
Cynthia’s distress call was heard by Port of Bandon commissioner and fellow commercial fisherman Rick Goche, who was fishing at the time on the Peso II. The call came in at 5 p.m., and within minutes he and his brother Larry arrived and pulled the couple out of the water. Several other fishermen in the area who had seen the blast also showed up to help.
That’s when things got really interesting. Now it was time to rescue the cats. Actually, the cats kind of rescued themselves. As everyone watched the boat sink, they could see Topaz swimming towards them in the water. Jasper was still clinging to the bow of the now sinking Sea Princess.
Despite numerous attempts of Mark calling for Jasper to join them on the rescue boat, he hung on until the schooner capsized (see picture), then began swimming toward the family. Goche was able to rescue both of the cats.
Thousands of dollars of gear and about 40,000 pounds of albacore went down with the Sea Princess. Mark and Cynthia did have some insurance but not full coverage. A fund has been set up by the Newport Fishermen’s Wives to help the couple. Donations can be sent to: Newport Fishermen’s Wives, Inc., P.O. Box 971, Newport, OR 97365.
Isn’t this the most amazing cat story ever! It’s awesome how their survival instinct kicked in and saved their two little lives…
Elisa
Source: theworldlink.com/news/local/
Good point. I wonder if the experience made these cats fearful of water. I would doubt it. Water is too much part of a cat’s psyche.
The schooner is 88 feet and is a replica of freight schooners used in the 1800’s. Is 88 feet long enough to give a smooth ride? I hope so. They have a second replica in the museum and we toured that. It seemed small.
I see now that Michael was right– Lake Michigan is the biggest in one country. Lake Superior borders Canada.
I thought Lake Superior was the biggest. It is the coldest! Lake Michigan definitely moderates our climate. Like Lake Superior it can be very dangerous for ships, in some ways more challenging than the ocean. There is a song about the Wreck of the Edmond Fitzgerald on Lake Superior in the 1970’s. The Lady Elgin was another wreck, from the 1800’s or early 1900’s, that someone wrote a song about. The bottom of the Great Lakes are littered with wrecks of ships that went down. Lake Michigan is in truth an inland sea. Every summer swimmers drown when the big waves are rolling in. There are days it’s just too dangerous to be playing around in that lake. I see online all the time that they have issued small craft advisories due to waves or weather conditions.
I don’t get sea sick luckily. But, ironically, I do get car sick. Not long ago I sat in a car for a 3 hour drive with one stop off and before I could properly get out the car at the end of the journey I had to stick my head out the side and throw up. Yuck 🙁
Being up until now a city dweller I always rode bicycles and I even have an obseesion for old classic and antique bicycles and I never bothered to get a driving permit. Never liked cars. Ironically (alot of irony) I work helping to organise historic motor racing amongst other things. I don’t cars though I really dont. I might have to get a moped when I move out of town to get to work but I’ll probably never get a driving permit.
A big old Schooner is probably one of the most beautiful things you could go out on and I highly recomment it. If it is large you shouldn’t have trouble with sickness. Even when the water is turbulent on the great lakes the swell is minimal. That is to say the waves may be high but they are sharp and close together so a big boat won’t rock as such. At sea the waves gather over much longer distances and become like long hills making even a big boat rock or just climb and plunge – usually if the wind comes up you can have smaller waves which run over the swell, the long waves. Even in good weather there is a swell especially if a storm has happened far out at sea. No wind but waves like big hills. You don’t get that on the great lakes. I used to live on lake Ontario and went many time to lake Huron which is fairly huge and I know how bad the storms can be. The waves can be very high and extremely dangerous for a small boat because of there closeness and sharpness. They can flip a boat side on. Hopefull this big beautiful schooner will be big enough to make it all ok regardless! Sounds like fun to me – I would definitely go 🙂
I don’t imagine the cats will take up recreational swimming for fun any time soon, however.
Lake Michigan is “the largest lake entirely within one country by surface area” – 22,400 square miles.
Looking out over it, it must look like a sea. It must affect the climate of bordering cities etc.