This Woman And Her Cat Live In A Boat And Sail Around The World

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Liz Clark is traveling around the world on a sailboat along with her feline first mate.



Clark and Amelia the Tropicat live on a boat named Swell, which is 11 feet wide and 40 feet long.



Clark told that she found Amelia when she was only 6 months old and adopted her.



“She has adapted to living surrounded by water,” Clark said of her cat companion. “She’s learned to trust that she will be safe with me.”



Clark, who is originally from San Diego, said she “had dreamed of sailing around the world since I was a kid.”



Clark worked on Swell for two years before it was seaworthy, and she finally set sail in 2005 from California.
She has now traveled along the western coast of Mexico and Central America, as well as to the South Pacific.



She has so far logged more than 18,000 nautical miles.

“I sleep on a pool mat under the stars,” Clark said of life aboard Swell. “But I feel rich when I look up at that night sky and breath the fresh ocean air and leap into the sea each morning.”



Along for the long ocean journeys, Amelia especially enjoys fishing from the boat, Clark said.



“On calm nights, she fishes off of a soft top surfboard attached to the side of Swell with a small light that attracts fish,” Clark said.



As well as being an excellent fisher, Amelia enjoys going for walks on the beach and hikes in the mountains.



Amelia also enjoys other forms of transportation, such as cars, motorbikes, and canoes.



“She has to go out of a cat comfort zone often,” Clark said of Amelia. “But I think she now understands that I will keep her safe and she will have a lot of fun in the end. She makes Swell feel much more like a home.”

By Michelle Broder Van Dyke

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