quokka
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The short chapters where all part of the story, each one 1800 words, as was the assignment at the end of the story. Q
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After a pause, the caller continued, “As far as we are aware, that has no guests onboard. Would Mr Jordan Sanderson consider providing accommodation for two couples and three personal staff, a total of 7 people for a period of two nights, please,” came the request over the Sat phone. “One moment please and I will speak to my brother and the senior crew,” Tim said, and he pressed the mute button, before walking back to the table and sitting down. “Jordan, we have a special request from the o
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Not these ones…
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Leaving Lord Howe Island, we would head west to Port Macquarie, which was due west and would take us just over a day to get there, once there we could deal with all our customs and passport requirements, and allow our guests to have a good look around while we get supplies. From Port Macquarie, we decided to head south to our next destination of George Town, just north of Launceston, Tasmania. It would take us about two and a half days to reach, where we may take a few day’s rest, and allo
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“You can help with work on the deck, or help Beatrice with cooking and cleaning inside,” I said to Jordan’s sister. “I think I will stay indoors thanks, so where are we going to be living on this tub during this epic voyage?” Angela replied, “Well that is up to you. Do you want to live like a crew member in crew quarters, or like to live as a guest of the yacht owner, with a bit of style?” Jordan put to his siblings. “In style, I think little bro,” Tim replied smiling. “In that case, I wi
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Jordan was making up a soft drink punch for us when we arrived, and he had a selection of cheeses, cracker biscuits and dips laid out on the dining table. “Hello, can we come onboard?” we heard Mum call out, “Yes, Mrs and Mr Hynes, come on up,” Jordan called out from the door of the saloon, which he had left open. “Oh my, look how smart our two boys look,” Dad commented. “Thank you for the invitation, Jordan, this is a surprise,” Mum said to my good friend, “My pleasure, now let’s relax and
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We spent the next six hours sailing out around the islands, just out from the main entry into the Auckland Harbour, and it was an awesome experience, with Jordan and I spending most of the time sharing the workload at the helm, and Carter was always close by to give us some tips on how to improve the sailing, which was always welcomed, and Jackson instructed Alistair on how to be a crewman on a sailing yacht, which by the looks of it he was enjoying, and could see that Jordan was thrilled with h
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“That would be great, we can’t get very far without them released,” Carter replied smiling, and I just laughed as I headed down to the main deck. “Your brother is a comedian,” I said to Beatrice who was serving drinks to my parents and brother, “Yes, he can be a real smart one sometimes, would you like a drink?” Beatrice replied. “Yes please, just a fruit drink, I have to release these mooring ropes before I am forced to walk the plank,” I responded, and this time Beatrice groaned, “Not another
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The money for the yacht came from grandparents, not parents, as part of inheritance. money for up keep of station machinery is a completely different matter and comes out of the stations operational costs.
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A good spanking maybe, in leathers? 😜🤣
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After thanking the Ranger for his assistance today, we climbed into our vehicle and Dad began driving us towards Northampton, to find out what was going to happen to the culprits. While on the way there, I made the phone call to Jordan, to tell him the bad news of what happened to his yacht, and that it was now destroyed, with most pieces recovered with the assistance of three fishing boats. Jordan thanked us for what we had done to try and recover the yacht, and he ended the call soon afte
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“I will be leaving the constable here to watch over the yacht before I take over the watch, so I suggest you return to your accommodation until we have caught the person or persons responsible,” the Sergeant said to me, and reluctantly I agreed to go. Later that afternoon, Dad his colleagues and I headed to a nearby restaurant for an early dinner, enjoying a wonderful western sunset as we ate, with a great view of the mouth of the river and the Indian Ocean. “Look at that yacht sailing out,
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Drug and people smugglers are mostly in the north coastal areas of Australia, well away from the major cities, with all but two being below the Tropic of Capricorn line.
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Who the f…is Bubba?
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“No, but I think Tim may suspect it, but it doesn’t worry him in any way, as he still treats me like his little annoying brother,” Jordan replied. “Ok, well that is good, and no one in my family knows, well I hope they don’t. Oh, by the way, I may be out of contact for all of next week, as I am spending a few days with Dad up in Kalbarri, while he had a bit of work up that way,” I responded. “A mini holiday, before the main holidays? That sounds nice, and it is a great place to relax, I ha
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Thanks mate hope all is well in qld
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“Thanks, Dad, I am glad that we have an aircraft mechanic in the family to keep the bills down to a minimum,” Tim replied. “Brother Tim here is a Commercial Pilot, and does part-time work for a local charter company, to bring an extra income into the family, and Dad was a reservist aircraft mechanic in the Airforce when he was younger,” Jordan informed me, which answered the questions I was wondering about. “Dad, we need to replace this old girl, there is only a certain amount of patch-ups
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“Wow, a nice yacht,” is it your family’s yacht?” I commented, as I scanned the outside of the yacht, “Nope, it is mine, a gift from my grandparents, it was rundown as it had storm damage when it was over east, but I have slowly been restoring it over the past two years, and now she is almost ready to go,” Jordan replied happily, as we walked up to the very small jetty, that was no more than two metres wide, and about twenty metres long. “She is a beauty don’t you think? I named her Sheila,”
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“Zack, before you and Jordan take the trainees back to the mainland, can I please have a short chat with you please,” the skipper said to me, as the trainees were having their last meal onboard the ship. Five minutes later I left the chart room, with a request to remain on the ship for a second week of sailing on the ship, and although I was surprised, I didn’t hesitate to accept. I made a quick call to Dad to let him know that I have been asked to stay for a second week on the tall ship, a
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https://youtu.be/Tb5B2U5iG_I
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Just two days before the start of the third term spring holidays, I received an unexpected email from Jordan. “Hey ship mate, just wanted to know what your plans are for the first week of the Spring School holidays, as we are short-handed with volunteers for the coming voyage starting from Dampier in just three days. When the skipper asked me if I had anyone in mind from past voyages, who would be ideal to be a volunteer crew member, I thought of you, and the skipper remembers you from the
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“Sure, well, she is 55 metres long but on the main deck it is only 40 metres, she is 9 metres wide and has a total of sixteen sails, and she has a total of 5 permanent crew, 10 volunteer crew like myself, and we carry a total of 40 trainees,” the crew member said to me. “When do you sail out next?” I asked, “Tomorrow morning, for a seven-day sail with the youth programme,” the crew member said to me. “Ok, well I have a view of this marina from my resort room, so I will enjoy watching her sa
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I heard Mum inform him that I have remained locked up in my bedroom for most of the day each day, coming down downstairs only for meals, and leaving my room only to use the bathroom or shower each day. She also told Eric that I had handed back the Yacht Club Training voucher, to Mum the night before and told her that I was no longer interested in learning sailing. That night, during dinner, Dad informed me the deal for the sale of the Trimaran yacht between Eric, Mack and I had been cancell
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“What is the real value of this trimaran yacht that we are talking about Eric, because we haven’t even seen it yet?’ Dad asked his good friend. “Well let me say this, when she is ready to be sailed, I wouldn’t unsure her for anything less than $6,” Eric replied. “What? Did you just say $6,000? That is a heck of a lot of money, why is this Mack being so generous?” Mum asked, “No not $ 6k, I mean $600,000 because dear lady, he is an old man, who has sailed most of the seas and oceans of the w
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“What about you Zackary? Do you have any plans to keep you busy during the holidays?” Mum asked me. I so hated that name, but it is the name I was given at birth, and my middle name was just as bad, and I refused to use it, and regularly reminded my parents and brother to never speak that name. As I considered the question, I wondered if the casual summer job that I have for the past few years was still available, which I had really enjoyed, and began just two days after Boxing Day. “I don’t know, nothing until after Christmas, and after that I am hoping that I will have my usual old job,” I replied.
