Circumnavigation (99+24) Endgame

[C James]

Endgame is up.

 

BTW to anyone wondering about Lisa and Joel; we'll see them fairly soon. They just haven't been in any chapters lately due to not having a role in this part of the plot.

[Canuk]

i get the feeling we are close, very close..... but of course that mesns nothing to our intrepid author - :-)

 

while I am grateful for all your postings.... the lag between posts only adds to my stress!!!

 

thoroughly enjoyable - keep on keeping on!

[Daddydavek]

Too bad B'stoke made it back to the mainland alive....he is only good for fish food.

 

The b**ch Bridget is the devil's spawn and needs to burn. Slowly. Agonizingly slowly.

 

Sanchez has lost out on getting Trev's head again and that may be enough for him to act rashly and make a mistake.

[TalonRider]

Basingstoke, even tho he survived his swim in the ocean, is a dead man walking. If Bridgett uses the phone number she was given and talks to Mr. Gray, that will be the end of Mr. B.

[Benji]

................ I noticed that Trevor only gave one gun back to the Commander and kept one. I hope he finds a great hiding place for it. If Mr. B told Trevor everything, then they know that the boat is also a target. Trevor and Shane are going to do a search for a hidden compartment. I don't see anyway Bridget is going to be able to complete her mission unless she gets Billy to buy another 'toy' and launch it with the dynamite attached. Mr. Gray won't touch this with a ten foot pole and will be quite pissed at Mr. B for his indiscretion.

[Low Flyer]

................ I noticed that Trevor only gave one gun back to the Commander and kept one. I hope he finds a great hiding place for it. If Mr. B told Trevor everything, then they know that the boat is also a target. Trevor and Shane are going to do a search for a hidden compartment. I don't see anyway Bridget is going to be able to complete her mission unless she gets Billy to buy another 'toy' and launch it with the dynamite attached. Mr. Gray won't touch this with a ten foot pole and will be quite pissed at Mr. B for his indiscretion.

 

Yes, I noticed that he kept one of Basingstoke's guns too. But there's no direct reason why Trevor should decide to do the sort of search of Kookaburra that would be needed to find whatever may (or may not: this is the goat, after all) be hidden aboard. B'stoke told them he was after the boat, but he didn't know exactly why so he can't have told them that. Bridget didn't tell him that they'd be searching her thoroughly, only that they'd be sinking her in deep water.

 

In fact, I still don't think there's any reason obvious to Trevor for the continued contract on his life, far less his boat. The need to incriminate his father is now moot after all.

[sdaddy]

• Sorry it has been a while since I posted anything here. I loved last chapter. Its about time some good stuff happened for Trevor. I just wish he had taken out a little more frustration on Bassy. Love to see that guy writhing in pain. And I was glad for Trevors mom puttin the beat down on Bridgett. Wish it would have been worse.

Now as to the reasons for searching the boat, I bet he discovers what is hidden there when he goes to look for a place to stash that gun he "forgot" to hand over (and attaboy for that plot also). I still have a question about Joels family in all this. Fairly early in the tale, a small deal was made of Joels brother being homophobe. Does that ever play a part in this later? As for Sanchez, if all goes well in Austrailia, he may still have a chance since Trevor has to sail through his back yard to get home. I really hope that Trevor and Shane do make it all the way home and have a happy fulfilling life together.

[KevinD]

Seems like B'stoke and his delaying tactics are going a long way towards Bridget's escape. You would think he wouldn't want to go down alone...

 

Until next week, same goat time; same goat channel...

 

Thanks CJ & Team!

[Benji]

Yes, I noticed that he kept one of Basingstoke's guns too. But there's no direct reason why Trevor should decide to do the sort of search of Kookaburra that would be needed to find whatever may (or may not: this is the goat, after all) be hidden aboard. B'stoke told them he was after the boat, but he didn't know exactly why so he can't have told them that. Bridget didn't tell him that they'd be searching her thoroughly, only that they'd be sinking her in deep water.

 

In fact, I still don't think there's any reason obvious to Trevor for the continued contract on his life, far less his boat. The need to incriminate his father is now moot after all.

 

.................I disagree, why would someone want the boat? Unless there is something on board it besides Trevor that they want? At first it was a trap to indict Dirk, but that has passed on, so now the quandary is why they wanted the boat? Trevor has to figure this one out, there is something on the boat that the Egyptians, pirates and Mr.B where after, first it was his death and now his head is warranted, that should clue him into the fact that Bridget once owned these boats and something was possibly aboard it.

 

Trevor also knows now that the cartel is involved with Bridget, only conclusion he could come up with is that there is something on the boat that they want kept hidden, so logically it would seem he would do his own search and find the damming evidence that would do much damage to the cartel. I kind of seriously doubt that the remaining cartel have any qualms about Trevor anymore. But have many against Sanchez and Bridget.

[WinStuart]

CJ: Thanks for getting us closer to the solution.

 

I am still amazed at the amount of research you've done for this story. I'm not current with maritime law and certainly not Australian maritime law. Well done.

 

Bridget may be a scumbag but she's keeping her wits under pressure. If she's not going to the rendezvous, where is she off to now and why?

 

Just looking forward to the next installment.

[MikeL]

Bridget may be a scumbag but she's keeping her wits under pressure. If she's not going to the rendezvous, where is she off to now and why?

 

And...will she personally make an attempt on Trevor's life?

[Benji]

And...will she personally make an attempt on Trevor's life?

 

..................Nope, Bridget has no desire to take Trevor's life unless it needs be. She is only seeking the contents of the boat, in which Trevor seems to stand in the way of.

[Winemaker]

Don't forget that the bows were removed from Aries (the boat that Trevor and Shane are on) and possibly fitted to Atlantis. (Greg and Ned? aboard) So the damning evidence if hidden in the bows will certainly not be on Kookaburra (AKA known as Aries) A search by Trevor would be in vain methinks. It is a good thing he kept the gun though... Something tells me that he will use it in the near future.... I think with his very serious underworld connections, that Mr B is headed for oblivion. Gray stikes me as a person who doesn't suffer fools gladly and once he gets word of Mr B's indiscretions, he'll put the contract out...

[Benji]

........ The Kookaburra (Aries) has never been searched, there was never a need before! Now that they know the kookaburra was also being sought Trevor will think why? I don't believe the bows are where Arnold hid the 'evidence', that was another misdirection by the goat, I wouldn't be surprised if when showing Shane where and how he built a hiding spot in the forward cabin the idea occurs to them to use the magnet everywhere.

[RickMD]

'Neither Gonzalez nor Frank Tittle had any idea who the anonymous tipster was who had led Gonzalez to Sharpton'...this from the honest narrator, humm, could Bridget be involved? Anything to tie up Sanchez for a while would seem to be in her favour...she is now heading towards Perth,,, and the Kookaburra....My oh my, how will it all end...

 

I share the above mentioned amazement with the foresight and planning CJ had to have to make this all come together, I mean the whole thing about how the Aries made it to Australia with the registration not being owned by Rachel, but kept with the charter company which Trevor owns, this was like 50 chapters and ten years ago. Now the significance of this is revealed by the witty maritime lawyer who used it to save our boys from further turmoil!! CJ you continue to keep us on the edge of our seats! The twists and turns make my brain discombobulated, overloaded and wanting more! Is there anyone else who prints these chapters and goes over them with a fine toothed comb, looking for hidden clues? I know, call out the white coats and get me committed, it's sooo much fun though!!

 

Thanks again for another great chapter. I'm dying to see what next Tuesday brings!!

[wildone]

Gray stikes me as a person who doesn't suffer fools gladly and once he gets word of Mr B's indiscretions, he'll put the contract out...

 

As someone who has had dealings with Gray or Graeme, you have described him exactly

 

 

'Neither Gonzalez nor Frank Tittle had any idea who the anonymous tipster was who had led Gonzalez to Sharpton'...this from the honest narrator, humm, could Bridget be involved? Anything to tie up Sanchez for a while would seem to be in her favour...she is now heading towards Perth,,, and the Kookaburra....My oh my, how will it all end...

 

 

This makes perfect sense!! To think that Bridget wouldn't be happy living the rest of her life as a nobody under the protection of the Cartel, seems illogical. More like her to figure a way to take out Mr. B and Sanchez and move herself into Sanchez's position. I'm sure she would have no problem killing a eager subordinate at a party like Sanchez has already done.

 

Now as far as where the hidden stash is on the Kookabura/Ares, I did something that CJ has given us the opportunity to do in every single chapter but if you are like me you have not looked at it since the opening chapter.

 

Take a look at the configuration of Ares and Atlantis here.

 

Now we know that Ned had to form new bows for Ares because the were crushed and he made moulds from a different version of a Lagoon (I believe he put 57's on a 55), Now look at what is in the port bow...the crew cabin. Since we know that Trevor had made a hiding place on the Atlantis for his gun, papers and money, who is to say that Arnold didn't put one in the Ares. Remember Trevor wasn't sailing when Rachael disappeared so we can assume that he did the modifications to Atlantis after Ares was missing. We don't know that Rachael used the crew quarters on Ares, or had any need to hide or store anything in it.

 

I don't think it is a long shot to say that the stash was hidden in the same place of the Ares as Trevor did hide things in Atlantis. Then if the bow is crushed, so is the crew cabin. When Ned began the refit, he would have cut of the bows and replaced them with his new constructed ones and build a new crew cabin in the new bow.

 

As for the old bow, it is possible Ned saved them but for what reason I cannot think. I would hazard to guess that they were shipped off as scrap or thrown out as I believe they would be fiberglass. The other possibility is that upon the bows getting destroyed at sea, the papers are on the bottom of the ocean along with the old ladies' ring from Titanic

 

 

Thanks for the chapter CJ. At first glance it looks like you didn't give us much, but on a second look there is tons of material for our theories

 

** Goes off singing the Celion Dion hit

 

 

 

Edited May 30, 2012 by wildone

[Low Flyer]

.................I disagree, why would someone want the boat? Unless there is something on board it besides Trevor that they want? At first it was a trap to indict Dirk, but that has passed on, so now the quandary is why they wanted the boat? Trevor has to figure this one out, there is something on the boat that the Egyptians, pirates and Mr.B where after, first it was his death and now his head is warranted, that should clue him into the fact that Bridget once owned these boats and something was possibly aboard it.

 

Trevor also knows now that the cartel is involved with Bridget, only conclusion he could come up with is that there is something on the boat that they want kept hidden, so logically it would seem he would do his own search and find the damming evidence that would do much damage to the cartel. I kind of seriously doubt that the remaining cartel have any qualms about Trevor anymore. But have many against Sanchez and Bridget.

 

But why would he believe that Basingstoke only wanted the boat? Surely it's far more likely that he'd discount that as the same sort of bluff that Basingstoke was using when he said he'd be able to pick up Shane in the Zodiac?

 

Yes, Basingstoke wanted the boat - but just to make good his escape and to help get Bridget and Billy out of the country without attracting the attention of officials.

 

I just don't see that, with just what Trevor knows, the jump to searching Kookabura/Ares is all that obvious.

 

Now as far as where the hidden stash is on the Kookabura/Ares, I did something that CJ has given us the opportunity to do in every single chapter but if you are like me you have not looked at it since the opening chapter.

 

Take a look at the configuration of Ares and Atlantis here.

 

Now we know that Ned had to form new bows for Ares because the were crushed and he made moulds from a different version of a Lagoon (I believe he put 57's on a 55), Now look at what is in the port bow...the crew cabin. Since we know that Trevor had made a hiding place on the Atlantis for his gun, papers and money, who is to say that Arnold didn't put one in the Ares. Remember Trevor wasn't sailing when Rachael disappeared so we can assume that he did the modifications to Atlantis after Ares was missing. We don't know that Rachael used the crew quarters on Ares, or had any need to hide or store anything in it.

 

I don't think it is a long shot to say that the stash was hidden in the same place of the Ares as Trevor did hide things in Atlantis. Then if the bow is crushed, so is the crew cabin. When Ned began the refit, he would have cut of the bows and replaced them with his new constructed ones and build a new crew cabin in the new bow.

 

As for the old bow, it is possible Ned saved them but for what reason I cannot think. I would hazard to guess that they were shipped off as scrap or thrown out as I believe they would be fiberglass. The other possibility is that upon the bows getting destroyed at sea, the papers are on the bottom of the ocean along with the old ladies' ring from Titanic

 

 

Thanks for the chapter CJ. At first glance it looks like you didn't give us much, but on a second look there is tons of material for our theories

 

I, too, think it's unlikely that Ned would have kept the old bows from Kookaburra - once fibreglass has been fractured like that, I doubt it's all that easy to remould it to the desired shape. Even Ned's not that cheap - whatever his shortcomings, it does seem as if he takes a justifiable pride in his work.

 

I've looked (again) at the pictures of Atlantis and I don't see that the crushed bows would necessarily entail a new crew cabin. If the damage had gone that far back, I think Ares would probably never have made it to Australia. We already know there's a watertight bulkhead between the bow section and the rest of the hull (I'm sure it's mentioned somewhere in connection with the Indian Ocean tsunami debris) - this makes it unlikely, surely, that that was where Arnold hid whatever it is. I reckon that Ned only replaced the very front section which probably doesn't contain much in the way of hiding space that wouldn't be quite obvious once the bow was removed.

 

Even if Ned did build a new crew cabin - he'd surely notice if a tape, or book, or whatever it is fell out of an unlikely place, if only to be able to give it back to Rachel whose property he'd assume it was.

 

Now as to the reasons for searching the boat, I bet he discovers what is hidden there when he goes to look for a place to stash that gun he "forgot" to hand over (and attaboy for that plot also).

 

This seems to me the most likely scenario. Creating the original hiding place on Atlantis took a while and some tools (and Greg knows where it is, now) so I think it more reasonable that Trevor and Shane will find a whole new hiding place and make an interesting discovery in the process. Unfortunately, it's a near certainty that, once they've read/viewed the evidence they find, they'll be right back at the top of the cartel's most wanted list.

 

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go and proof-read the next chapter. I may be some time ...

[Winemaker]

The story says that the bows on Ares weren't crushed but that the port bow was damaged... quote: "Indian Ocean crossing resulted in bow damage, though unlike you, mine was due to a drunken tourist in a powerboat in the harbor on Rodrigues Island, not a collision in the Southern Ocean,” Rachel said, and Trevor took his mother’s hand again, feeling her shudder. “The port bow was damaged, so I had it temporarily patched up and set sail, staying further north to keep in better weather." Then further along in the story:... Her best friend from school is married to Ned Kelly, and he came up with the plan for disguising Ares as a 57 by making bows for a 57 and building them in. It was Ned who said that the bows were crushed... quote: " “What about using the old bows from Kookaburra?” Trevor asked.“Not possible, mate; I crushed those and got rid of them right after the conversion; they weren’t something I wanted around the yard, due to the questions they could raise, plus the unlikelihood I’d find use for ‘em. One was damaged anyway; you’d be better with new ones. One other thing for you to consider; it’d cost less to go with the 57 bows, and I’ll credit the difference to the deductible, around a thousand dollars.” But Neds reaction was strange when Trevor questioned him on the hulls being finished so soon... Ned is a sneaky person and his word can't be trusted. I still think that this is not a red herring and Atlantis will play a pivotal role in the wind up of this story

[RickMD]

So, a few thoughts, did anyone else think it odd that Bridget wasn't overly surprised when a supposedly 'dead' Rachel struck her with her cane? I mean that's one badass ghost! 'Bridget realized that her attacker was Rachel' in the Wheels within Wheels chapter... I don't know but our group feels the relationship between these two may be more involved than expected, Bridget has yet to comment on this despite two additional chapters...Regarding the 'missing' grail; she does mention the need to acquire other tools to complete her search of the catamaran, but doesn't let on to Billy what they are looking for...hummm...I wonder if this will also be in our future, it looks to me like the Epilogue could be the longest chapter yet!!

 

Bravo to CJ while we, his underlings, try to dissect the workings of a great author...

[Benji]

So, a few thoughts, did anyone else think it odd that Bridget wasn't overly surprised when a supposedly 'dead' Rachel struck her with her cane? I mean that's one badass ghost! 'Bridget realized that her attacker was Rachel' in the Wheels within Wheels chapter... I don't know but our group feels the relationship between these two may be more involved than expected, Bridget has yet to comment on this despite two additional chapters...Regarding the 'missing' grail; she does mention the need to acquire other tools to complete her search of the catamaran, but doesn't let on to Billy what they are looking for...hummm...I wonder if this will also be in our future, it looks to me like the Epilogue could be the longest chapter yet!!

 

Bravo to CJ while we, his underlings, try to dissect the workings of a great author...

 

.............That is where the 'mole' comes into play, somebody has been feeding info to the cartel about the fact that Trevor's mom was still alive and that the Kookaburra was actually the Ares. Notice that the supposed trap set up by Fowler and Ned of the Atlantis was never a target? Bridget knew the boys were on the Kookaburra, and there above ocean flight proved what she was looking for, after all they had the transmitter still working on the Atlantis.

[C James]

I can't say much at this point without giving spoilers, but I can mention that Bridget knew Rachel was alive; Bridget had been told this, before leaving Florida, by her mole there; the assistant state attorney (the one Gonzalez took down). So, Rachel being alive was no surprise. Rachel being in Gelaldton and whacking her with a cane, though, was a big surprise.

 

The bows... It would be the forward few feet that were replaced; less than eight feet. The crew cabin's forward wall is the bulkhead referred to, so the crew cabin would not have been replaced on either boat.

 

BTW, the coming chapter is called "King Hunt" and it's a big one; it's almost two normal chapters in size.

 

CJ

[wildone]

BTW, the coming chapter is called "King Hunt" and it's a big one; it's almost two normal chapters in size.

 

CJ

 

Is it Tuesday yet?

[Guest Spittune]

Hi all, I am back from the chemo everything seems ok, blood work is climbing.

I was glad to read about Trevor and Shane surviving yet another three chapters. Yeah!!!!

Keep up the good writing CJ.

[Low Flyer]

Hi all, I am back from the chemo everything seems ok, blood work is climbing.

I was glad to read about Trevor and Shane surviving yet another three chapters. Yeah!!!!

Keep up the good writing CJ.

 

Glad to hear the news - hope the improvement continues.

[TalonRider]

Is it Tuesday yet?

 

One more day to wait.