Bailey Boat Cat

by admin · November 6, 2014

by Robert Hudson

Bailey is a gorgeous blue eyed Siamese cat that lives on a boat sailing around the Mediterranean. He has his own web site, Facebook page, and a book!

Q: When and how did you and Bailey Boat Cat first meet?

I first saw a photo of Bailey online whilst I was searching for a pet companion. He was 10 months old and the man who owned him couldn’t keep him. His beautiful blue eyes had me hooked the moment I laid eyes on him. The next day I drove for an hour up into the mountains to collect him and he came home with me to my flat in Nice, France.

Q: Have you always had pets?

I grew up in a house full of pets. My family have always had dogs and cats with several rabbits and guinea pigs over the years as well. I’d always had pets until moving to Paris for work. I was unable to have a pet where I lived so two years later when I moved to Nice I made it a priority to search for somewhere suitable for myself and a furry companion.

Q: You currently live on a boat with Bailey Boat Cat sailing around the Mediterranean which sounds like a wonderful life, how did that come about?

I met my partner James in 2011, he already lived on our boat Nocturne with a dream of sailing off to distant shores. He’s based in Rome for work and so I commuted from France to be with him on my days off. Bailey and I did lots of road trips between Nice and Rome (a journey of about 8 hours in the car) before finally moving aboard full time in April of this year.

Q: Do you live on the boat 12 months a year?

Yes! We all love life afloat and living aboard. Nocturne is our home and where we choose and want to be. Bailey loves the boat and has great fun jumping, climbing and hiding is various cubby holes!

Q: How long did it take Bailey to adjust to this rather unusual lifestyle?

He was introduced to the boat when he was 10 months old. We took it slowly to begin with allowing him to adjust to the boat itself. We ran the engine while still in the marina so he got used to the sound of the engine before finally going on a short day sail. He took to it immediately and has never been afraid.

Q. Has Bailey ever fallen overboard?

Luckily never while we’ve been out at sea! He has, however, fallen in whilst in the marina. We think he fell asleep and slipped off the stern! He’s never allowed outside unless supervised in the marina. We heard the splash and scooped him out again in the big net we keep handy on the deck. Bailey also jumped overboard whilst we were on anchor once! He’s an excellent swimmer and managed two laps of the boat before James and I could catch him. We also have a rope ladder ready for him to climb up if he falls overboard while we’re on anchor!

Q: How did the idea for this book come about?

A senior editor at Bloomsbury actually contacted me after seeing the blog (www.baileyboatcat.com) and loving it. She asked me if I’d be interested in writing a book in the same style. I was really excited to have been presented with such an awesome opportunity. The book still had to be pitched officially to the whole team, but was quickly approved. Within a few weeks I had started on the manuscript.

Q: As a writer, what are your plans for the future?

I’m currently writing a young adult novel about an underwater world in which Bailey also features. There are so many amazing creatures living in our oceans. I’m really inspired by these characters and the plot which follows their plight to clean up the plastic in the ocean. I’m around half way through my manuscript at the moment and look forward to finishing and polishing it in the next couple of months. The Bailey Boat Cat blog will continue and chronicle our adventures as we hope to sail around the world. I would also love to write articles about our adventures sailing and traveling in Europe.