Critters
This past winter in the Bahamas, a cruiser put out a call for help on the morning cruiser net. It seems that a large black and gold snake had come aboard during the night and found it's way onto a shelf in his V-berth not but a few inches from where he was sleeping.
There was an open port next to the shelf and the snake just crawled in. He got all kinds of suggestions for dealing with it. He couldn't identify the snake and so didn't know if it was poisionous or not.
One fellow offered the loan of a 12 gauge. Declined that one. Another suggested a bottle of rum. Drink the rum and use the empty bottle to club it to death. Sounds like video camera material, that one.
He finally settled on rigging a noose using fishing line at the end of a fishing rod. That worked ok except they tried to fish it through the open port. They snagged the serpent alright but then when they extracted it, the critter wrapped itself on a shroud and refused to let go.
It was subsequently identified as a Bahamian Boa, a rather docile and harmless variety.
This incident prompted other cruisers to tell their snake stories. Apparently the buggers can climb boarding ladders anchor rodes and dinghy painters.
Yikes.:eek:
