Circumnavigation (99+54) Final Rendezvous

[C James]

• Posted 94 December 2012 - 09:47 PM

Final Rendezvous is up! (it might take a minute after this post to appear).

 

Happy December 94th, 2012!

 

 

Okay, we've got a chapter up.

 

I'm now positive; after this chapter, we have two more (and an epilogue) remaining. What's been happening is that as I've filled out the draft of the final chapters (I wrote the drafts of the final chapters before the story started posting) it's ended up being a lot more verbiage than I thought, so some chapters got split into two.  An example would be this one and the last one, which were drafted as one chapter. However, the next chapter to come (Called "Doomsday") cannot be split, so that won't be happening anymore. Doomsday is the next-to-last chapter.

 

              Posted 94th December 2012 - 09:47 PM

[JoeInMV]

Wow, it just keeps getting worse for our heroes. Lisa and Joel might be able to escape if they could find their way to the American Embassy, but I don't see a way out for Trevor and Shane.

[Gene63]

I don't see it happening, but I am still holding out hope for Shane and Trevor to make it out alive. I certainly don't want to see this end the way "TITANIC" did...with Trevor and Shane getting through every other thing and, then, dying at the end.

 

I think Dean is going to throw an unexpected wrench into everyone's plans, but we will have to wait and see!!!

[C James]

Wow, it just keeps getting worse for our heroes. Lisa and Joel might be able to escape if they could find their way to the American Embassy, but I don't see a way out for Trevor and Shane.

 

They say it's always darkest before the dawn.... but, it's nowhere near dawn yet.

 

I don't see it happening, but I am still holding out hope for Shane and Trevor to make it out alive. I certainly don't want to see this end the way "TITANIC" did...with Trevor and Shane getting through every other thing and, then, dying at the end.

 

I think Dean is going to throw an unexpected wrench into everyone's plans, but we will have to wait and see!!!

 

Dean was unexpected by both sides, so he's definitely throwing some monkey wrenches.

 

At least we're at a nice, calm, restful pausing point between chapters.

[bikerman]

 

At least we're at a nice, calm, restful pausing point between chapters.

I've just remembered why I keep promising myself only to read completed stories! Think that Trev and Shane will survive, but that Atlantis is not unsinkable. With gold a plenty, the lads can re - build her. And please, in on of your calm, restful moments, can Bridget have a slow agonising end.

[mickey1952]

I agree with bikerman. I used to read only completed stories, but sooner or later you deplete the store of stories that capture your interest. So now I'm left, more often than not, with current stories like Circumnavigation, or Learning Lessons, or Growing Josh, etc. All of them, and many more, all worthy of my time, but also leaving me at the mercy of the author's timetable. Curses, you evil goat, that you write such compelling fiction, that you torture myself and so many others with an increasingly difficult timeline in which to exist. Waiting for each new chapter reminds me of the old saying that straight men have had to contend with when it comes to the opposite sex. "Can't live with it; can't live without it." The only thing worse than waiting for each new chapter is the realization of not having one at all in a few, short weeks. Evil, pure evil!!

[beharristx]

This has been a fantastic story.  I really like the authentic sailing terminology and information!  The chapter was well written and very enjoyable.

When the story is finished I will really miss it.  Hopefully  you will publish this as a full novel for sale by a publisher or on Amazon.  I have paid for gay fiction from them that is nowhere near the quality of this story.

[Benji]

....... I also vote for Dean, what would Trevor do if he knew he was being chased by 8 gunboats? The natural thing of course, for Trevor would be to take Atlantis straight into Hurricane Dean. Let Bridget's guys follow that!!

[TalonRider]

He after all did survive, barely, the Roaring Forties. So whats a  cat 5 Hurricane?

[Benji]

...........The only thing I can't tell is if Trevor keeps his promise to Shane, time is not on his side. If those boats get to close he will cut and run leaving his freinds behind. Will Bridget be furious to know that Joel and Lisa escaped their capture? Will Xavier feel her wrath on that? After all she assembled this flotilla to show her power to the cartel, only to have it fail that all the intended victims escaped her grasp. If all 4 escape Bridget will be even more humiliated, if Trevor runs and tells his friends to seek shelter, she still loses.

 

The window of opportunity for Trevor is small, as all of the other boats are coming in at him, he has no choice but other then run straight into the a cat 5 storm. But not to worry he is piloting a cat! LOL, indeed what could go wrong, he survived the roaring 40's, so a simple hurricane should not be a problem for him. But his pursuers are not as skilled as he is in this event, should be an interesting scene of 8 gunboats following into a cat 5 storm chasing Trevor. The door is shut alright but for whom?

[KevinD]

I am reminded of the Spanish Armada sailing to invade England… That's the way I felt before our boys set out on their unfortunately timed plan. Perhaps though the winds of Dean will yet confound Bridget's henchmen causing them to fail, snatching defeat from the jaws of victory! Where that would leave Joel & Lisa though, I am not certain.

 

I am reminded of another story with a nearly hopeless plotline as well that had the heroes of that story at a significant disadvantage; facing a mad man with nuclear warheads and a raging volcano…they survived - So there is hope for the important foursome of this story…

[glimsong]

Sorry to say I'd have decked Trevor and tied him up as soon as he came up with that plan for his own good.  Sigh...If I were to ask him a question it would simply be "What is wrong with you?"

[C James]

I've just remembered why I keep promising myself only to read completed stories! Think that Trev and Shane will survive, but that Atlantis is not unsinkable. With gold a plenty, the lads can re - build her. And please, in on of your calm, restful moments, can Bridget have a slow agonising end.

 

This one will be completed very soon. The next chapter is the next to last. However, I do know what it's like to have to wait for chapters, and that's part of why I am so forthright and fastidious in my utter opposition to anything even close to a cliffhanger.

 

I agree with bikerman. I used to read only completed stories, but sooner or later you deplete the store of stories that capture your interest. So now I'm left, more often than not, with current stories like Circumnavigation, or Learning Lessons, or Growing Josh, etc. All of them, and many more, all worthy of my time, but also leaving me at the mercy of the author's timetable. Curses, you evil goat, that you write such compelling fiction, that you torture myself and so many others with an increasingly difficult timeline in which to exist. Waiting for each new chapter reminds me of the old saying that straight men have had to contend with when it comes to the opposite sex. "Can't live with it; can't live without it." The only thing worse than waiting for each new chapter is the realization of not having one at all in a few, short weeks. Evil, pure evil!!

 

I do seriously apologize for the delays. I hope to get the next chapter into beta in the next 24 hours, but it's already too late to post Tuesday. I'm taking extra time on it to make sure I get it right. It's the next to last chapter of a project that's taken almost three years (wow... I still can't believe it's been that long!). However, instead of waiting for a week from Tuesday, it could be posted when done. I'm not sure yet. I'm doing all I can (I worked for eight hours on it yesterday alone, and close to 40 hours in the last week.). 

 

Two things I can say for sure; the next chapter is called "Doomsday" (I hope that doesn't seem ominous), it is the next to last chapter, and it is longer than normal. More like two chapters. However, it cannot be split, so it will post as one.  

 

And what? Sweet, innocent me evil?    

 

 

This has been a fantastic story.  I really like the authentic sailing terminology and information!  The chapter was well written and very enjoyable.

When the story is finished I will really miss it.  Hopefully  you will publish this as a full novel for sale by a publisher or on Amazon.  I have paid for gay fiction from them that is nowhere near the quality of this story.

 

Thanks!!!!

 

I'll miss this story tool it's been a huge part of my life for a long time.

....... I also vote for Dean, what would Trevor do if he knew he was being chased by 8 gunboats? The natural thing of course, for Trevor would be to take Atlantis straight into Hurricane Dean. Let Bridget's guys follow that!!

 

 

He after all did survive, barely, the Roaring Forties. So whats a  cat 5 Hurricane?

 

In the roaring 40's, he was facing gales and rough seas (except for that rogue wave). A strong gale is around a 50mph wind, with seas in the 20 to 30 foot range. That can give a boat a heck of a pounding, and that's a 9 on the Beaufort scale. A hurricane is a 12, which is is high as the Beaufort Scale goes. That's a 75 MPH wind, with seas getting to 40 to 50 feet. And that's for a category one hurricane (the lowest on the Safir-Simpson scale). A cat 4 or 5 (The Saffir Simpson scale ends at 5) is an utterly different beast. Minimum windspeed (sustained, not gusting) for a Cat 5 is 156 MPH. Seas? Massive, but also even more powerful than their height (up to 100 feet) would indicate. It would reduce Atlantis to kindling. What's it like at sea in the full fury of a Cat 5? No one knows, because no one has ever survived it. One of the best accounts we have of being at sea in a hurricane (though called a typhoon, due to being in the western Pacific) was 5th fleet's encounter in 1944. Due to an erroneous weather report, they sailed right into the heart of it, and tool losses commensurate with a major battle. Several destroyers were lost, and I'll link a pic of what it did to an aircraft carrier. And that was with 100mph winds, a category 2 on the Saffir Simpson scale.

 

The clipper Fantome, which was mentioned in the story a couple of times, was caught by a Cat 5, though was probably torn apart well before reaching the inner core (the best guess is she came apart when in the outer core, which had high Cat3 strength.) The only trace ever found of her and her crew were some lifejackets, and even those had been torn apart.  

 

However, I'm sure that Dean is nothing to worry about (And just to be clear, Dean was very real, as are the weather bulletins seen in the chapter.)  Just think of Dean as a new character, one who doesn't say much. 

As the old saying goes, into every life, a little rain must fall... (and a cat 5 does have rain... ).

 

 

 

And that carrier was lucky.

 

 

...........The only thing I can't tell is if Trevor keeps his promise to Shane, time is not on his side. If those boats get to close he will cut and run leaving his freinds behind. Will Bridget be furious to know that Joel and Lisa escaped their capture? Will Xavier feel her wrath on that? After all she assembled this flotilla to show her power to the cartel, only to have it fail that all the intended victims escaped her grasp. If all 4 escape Bridget will be even more humiliated, if Trevor runs and tells his friends to seek shelter, she still loses.

 

The window of opportunity for Trevor is small, as all of the other boats are coming in at him, he has no choice but other then run straight into the a cat 5 storm. But not to worry he is piloting a cat! LOL, indeed what could go wrong, he survived the roaring 40's, so a simple hurricane should not be a problem for him. But his pursuers are not as skilled as he is in this event, should be an interesting scene of 8 gunboats following into a cat 5 storm chasing Trevor. The door is shut alright but for whom?

 

Trevor may have no choice but to do this Shane's way. Shane is refusing to go, so unless he changes his mind, that means Trevor gets to make the pickup.

 

BTW, I was tempted to call the chapter "Mutiny on the Atlantis". Plus, Shane has often called Trevor "Captain Bligh".

 

And as an aside, catamarans have many good points, but storms are not amongst them. So far, they have done well... but as we've seen a few times, that pounding on the wing (the structure that connects the two hulls) is one of the problems. Pound on something too much, and it breaks. 

 

 

I am reminded of the Spanish Armada sailing to invade England… That's the way I felt before our boys set out on their unfortunately timed plan. Perhaps though the winds of Dean will yet confound Bridget's henchmen causing them to fail, snatching defeat from the jaws of victory! Where that would leave Joel & Lisa though, I am not certain.

 

I am reminded of another story with a nearly hopeless plotline as well that had the heroes of that story at a significant disadvantage; facing a mad man with nuclear warheads and a raging volcano…they survived - So there is hope for the important foursome of this story…

 

I seem to recall that story.

 

The good news is that Trevor is a highly skilled sailor, wise in the ways of the sea.

 

The bad news is that Bridget Bellevue is is well, as we saw in her escape from Florida.

 

Both of them can read weather reports, and understand what Dean is, and what Dean can do. And Atlantis is trapped between most of Bridget's force and Dean, with Dean coming their way.

 

One way or the other, this is the final encounter.

 

Okay, I'm off to work on "Doomsday".

CJ  

[C James]

Sorry to say I'd have decked Trevor and tied him up as soon as he came up with that plan for his own good.  Sigh...If I were to ask him a question it would simply be "What is wrong with you?"

 

You haven't even heard the worst part of Trevor's plan. 

 

It is a very good thing indeed that Trevor has never claimed to be sane.

 

You're right; Shane's alternative, trying to make the pickup and all of them escaping on Atlantis, was the saner choice by far.

[glimsong]

Though I do remember one old saying that may play a part here.  'Fortune favors the foolish.'  Let us just hope it holds true.

[Low Flyer]

I'm with glimsong. Given that Trevor knew that Joel and Lisa were out of the resort, I think he's crazy to try to sail in and get them. Of course, he doesn't know about the plan to take the resort or that he's been spotted, or that there are dozens of fast boats full of armed men in the vicinity. He does know that there are at least some armed men, of course. I hope Shane doesn't live to regret not decking Trevor.

 

If he'd done as Gonzales suggested, Bridget would have sacked the resort only to find that her primary target had slipped away again! What would that do to her credibility in the cartel?

 

Lisa and Joel would have been stuck on the island with an approaching Cat 5 hurricane and, no, I don't suppose I can really understand what that might be like. I've seen photographs of places hit by severe hurricanes and it's not pretty but some structures generally survive. Are there no caves in Jamaica? The hurricane's 24 hours away - plenty of time to get to Kingston, surely.

 

I suspect that a good part of Trev's motivation is in his statement to Shane that it has to end somewhere or they'll spend the rest of their lives running away. He may well be right, but I've grown fond of him and Shane and I'd rather see them living out their lives in the Falklands or the Australian outback or wherever than mown down by Bridget's henchmen.

 

I'm pinning all my hopes on the Goat's ability to pull a rabbit out of the hat and, somehow, get all 4 of them out of Jamaica and to safety. On the one hand, I can't believe he'd kill off any of Lisa, Joel, Trev or Shane but, on the other, he's got form in this area. And if the story required it, I think he'd do it rather than compromise the tale.

[Winemaker]

I'm sort of wondering if the prologue to the story contains clues to the end of the story...

It has a vessel named Atlantis arcing out into the sky on twin columns or fire on a day with Thunder, escaping.... the earth.

It also contains the supposed death of a major character and her subsequent funeral, all faked of course.

All very sad and believable...

Wouldn't Trevor and Shane be released from the death sentence if they were already dead?

Hurricane Dean could provide just the circumstances for all four protagonists to "die"

I believe that even with Bridgets death (and let's hope it's a gruesome one) that the contract would remain on Trevor and Shanes life.

Just a thought...

[TalonRider]

For a couple of weeks now, I've had this thought running thru my mind about a what it. What if this whole story is nothing but a dream? What if Trev is lying in a hospital bed from an accident of some type and is dreaming this whole thing?

[MikeL]

For a couple of weeks now, I've had this thought running thru my mind about a what it. What if this whole story is nothing but a dream? What if Trev is lying in a hospital bed from an accident of some type and is dreaming this whole thing?

 

Wouldn't it really depend on who is bedside when he awakes?  I mean, that would make or break the whole story.

[Red_A]

For a couple of weeks now, I've had this thought running thru my mind about a what it. What if this whole story is nothing but a dream? What if Trev is lying in a hospital bed from an accident of some type and is dreaming this whole thing?

Have you read the epilogue?

[Low Flyer]

I'm sort of wondering if the prologue to the story contains clues to the end of the story...

It has a vessel named Atlantis arcing out into the sky on twin columns or fire on a day with Thunder, escaping.... the earth.

It also contains the supposed death of a major character and her subsequent funeral, all faked of course.

All very sad and believable...

Wouldn't Trevor and Shane be released from the death sentence if they were already dead?

Hurricane Dean could provide just the circumstances for all four protagonists to "die"

I believe that even with Bridgets death (and let's hope it's a gruesome one) that the contract would remain on Trevor and Shanes life.

Just a thought...

 

That just might be a way out. The only problem I see is if the boys still wanted to set themselves up in chartering. It would be hard to do that, and advertise their services without Bridget finding out about it. Of course, being alive and doing something else would be better than being dead...

 

 

For a couple of weeks now, I've had this thought running thru my mind about a what it. What if this whole story is nothing but a dream? What if Trev is lying in a hospital bed from an accident of some type and is dreaming this whole thing?

 

No offence, but I hope that's not it. It would be very hard to write it without it being an incredible cop-out.

[MikeL]

No offence, but I hope that's not it. It would be very hard to write it without it being an incredible cop-out.

 

 

I agree.  C J would not do that to us.  The end will be dramatic, realistic, and satisfactory.

[Benji]

I agree.  C J would not do that to us.  The end will be dramatic, realistic, and satisfactory.

 

.............A dream sequence would totally ruin the story!

[C James]

I'm with glimsong. Given that Trevor knew that Joel and Lisa were out of the resort, I think he's crazy to try to sail in and get them. Of course, he doesn't know about the plan to take the resort or that he's been spotted, or that there are dozens of fast boats full of armed men in the vicinity. He does know that there are at least some armed men, of course. I hope Shane doesn't live to regret not decking Trevor.

 

If he'd done as Gonzales suggested, Bridget would have sacked the resort only to find that her primary target had slipped away again! What would that do to her credibility in the cartel?

 

Lisa and Joel would have been stuck on the island with an approaching Cat 5 hurricane and, no, I don't suppose I can really understand what that might be like. I've seen photographs of places hit by severe hurricanes and it's not pretty but some structures generally survive. Are there no caves in Jamaica? The hurricane's 24 hours away - plenty of time to get to Kingston, surely.

 

I suspect that a good part of Trev's motivation is in his statement to Shane that it has to end somewhere or they'll spend the rest of their lives running away. He may well be right, but I've grown fond of him and Shane and I'd rather see them living out their lives in the Falklands or the Australian outback or wherever than mown down by Bridget's henchmen.

 

I'm pinning all my hopes on the Goat's ability to pull a rabbit out of the hat and, somehow, get all 4 of them out of Jamaica and to safety. On the one hand, I can't believe he'd kill off any of Lisa, Joel, Trev or Shane but, on the other, he's got form in this area. And if the story required it, I think he'd do it rather than compromise the tale.

 

Me? But... It's Bridget who is causing the problems, not me! As for getting them out of Jamaica safely, that's a worth goal, ad I'm sure it's foremost on their minds. But, wouldn't that be an escape?

The final line of the posted chapter says, "This time, there would be no escape". That's narration, not a character's opinion, so it has to be true.

 

I'm sure it's nothing to worry about though.

 

I'm sort of wondering if the prologue to the story contains clues to the end of the story...

It has a vessel named Atlantis arcing out into the sky on twin columns or fire on a day with Thunder, escaping.... the earth.

It also contains the supposed death of a major character and her subsequent funeral, all faked of course.

All very sad and believable...

Wouldn't Trevor and Shane be released from the death sentence if they were already dead?

Hurricane Dean could provide just the circumstances for all four protagonists to "die"

I believe that even with Bridgets death (and let's hope it's a gruesome one) that the contract would remain on Trevor and Shanes life.

Just a thought...

 

Very good points! Yep, the prologue has been a key to many things. Are there clues in it to the ending? Yep.

 

One small problem with faking their deaths though; it's the same as why they can't make use of the witness protection program. Trevor and Shane, especially Trevor, are famous. They'd be recognized. But, it could work, though only if they were willing to live in total isolation for many years. A self-imposed prison, really. But it's possible... except for the last line of the chapter, because that would be a form of escape.

 

For a couple of weeks now, I've had this thought running thru my mind about a what it. What if this whole story is nothing but a dream? What if Trev is lying in a hospital bed from an accident of some type and is dreaming this whole thing?

 

I don't think it's possible. For one thing, we'd have a dream within a dream; that dream sequence where Trevor (while still trying to get to Australia) dreamed he was arriving, and walked up onto the beach to be serenaded by the singing kangaroos. (they were singing Waltzing Matilda). Also, it's written in the third person, and many times the narrator knows things (such as about Bridget) that Trevor does not. 

 

Have you read the epilogue?

 

Only one person has... and that's me.

 

I agree.  C J would not do that to us.  The end will be dramatic, realistic, and satisfactory.

 

My goals for this entire story are to make it dramatic and realistic. And, of course, cliffhanger-free.

 

.............A dream sequence would totally ruin the story!

 

Well, it does have one (and only one). The singing kangaroos.

[MikeL]

 

I'm sure it's nothing to worry about though.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

My goals for this entire story are to make it dramatic and realistic. And, of course, cliffhanger-free.

 

Of course, that's not to say he won't toy with us along the way.