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An exciting few chapters. Starting with what we do know: as suspected Dirk and Jim are boyfriends. As spotted earlier in the plot, there's real irony in the fact that Trevor and his dad are both too scared to come out to eachother, and both fear the other will hate them for it. Its the first time I've witnessed that plot; it's original and clever. One thing that really annoys me is the way that Dirk and now Jim are so ignorant in the way they treat Trevor. You would think that Jim would have shown a friendly demeanour, having seen the awful consequences of Dirk's arrogant, ill-conceived handling of his son. But no, Jim continues the same arrogant approach as Dirk's 'I'm going nowhere and you're going to listen' approach. It takes a .357 Magnum to bring these assholes to their senses. That was such a sweet moment. Many of the lesser law suits are getting dropped which is going to help bridge the lines of communication between Lisa's dad, Dirk and Trevor. Jim's anonymous email is probably from someone that Detective Alfred said he would get to call in a favour. Bridget probably had a close friend around which is why she took so long answering the door for Lisa. Was it Detective Alfred making a hasty departure from Bridget's pier? The main issue is why can't Trevor search for the Ares before Christmas? Why would Trevor flip if he knew the secret that Dirk had been keeping from him and just what can that secret be? Is his mum alive and in Australia and was she on the run? Well now that Trevor is definitely going to complete his circumnavigation of the globe, Joel's priority must be to get Trevor a travelling companion. Bring it on! 😎

Its such a long shot for Jim to find Trevor, hoping that he will meet at some mainland Italian Port. I'm not sure it was worth the effort. Jim may get lucky and meet Trevor in Scilla. Failing that, he will have little chance to follow them onto the Greek islands, as there are way too many of those. I'm loving how incredibly inept Trevor is at being gay. Having a totally straight guy like Joel, whose entirely comfortable in his own heterosexuality, to place them both in gay situations, adds enormously to both the hilarity and the bond between these two guys. Friends for life, I would say. Great characters; great story.

I've a feeling that everything could get resolved quickly if only Jim can get five minutes with Trevor. The only thing that's preventing this is Dirk's stupidity in treating Trevor like a three year old at the outset. I've less of a clue now what Dirk's secret could have been. It can't be Trevor's mother being involved with the mafia otherwise Jim wouldn't be implicating himself any further as a self respecting attorney. Not sure why Bridget is so keen to have Dirk convicted. Maybe the way she lost her daughter, however that was, is motivating that. Intriguing story, part of me still wants Trevor to escape Jim's clutches as I'm not entirely sure whats going on. Now thats what i call a mystery.

Thank you Dugh you're clearly a very wise man.

Hi Gary, I came close to deleting this weeks response and starting again. It was naive and didn't reflect the turmoil that both Boone and Coy are going through. As part of my job you sometimes have to baldly over-summarise an issue and profer a solution and that's what I did at the end of a busy day. The reason i didn't rewrite it was because I believe that there were still important points made about Coy. What I should have said, is that I believe Coy is way beyond where Boone believes he is, in his thinking. Boone is not expecting Coy to change and won't budge from that position unless Coy makes it patently clear that he wants a life with Boone. However, I do believe Coy has already considered that as something he really wants and has moved on to questioning the issues that his decision will entail. So when Coy asks wouldn't it be better to live far away in the woods, he is trying to get help from Boone on this matter. There's no one else to ask. Coy can only ignore the noise in Boones response as he answers for himself. Coy gets that but is trying to make sense of whether he can accept that too. In the absence of Google, psychologists or a dear Abbey, it's the best he can do. Meanwhile Boone is answering truthfully, preoccupied with his own situation and is oblivious to the real motivation for Coy's questions. As I said, you can't blame Boone for that nor does it look like he will wise up soon. Coy may have to gain the wisdom he needs all by himself. Does that make Boone a Muppet? That's a question we have to answer for ourselves. 😉

Incredible story of corporate greed. Shocking.

Yes, I doubt Trevor will be able to resist too much more of Joel, if they have another drinks night. It would be a great time for Joel to step up Trevor's next lesson and get him to a gay bar with a few beers inside. So we're being kept in the dark about Dirk's secret. But we do know that even his attorney understands Dirk's actions, so it must be reasonable. Not quite sure, other than it smacks of Dirk's wife having to flee from the mafia. Would she have fabricated her own death and allowed her son to grow up thinking she was dead. Surely not. The Intrigue is growing by the chapter.

Boone you Muppet. He's so frustrating insisting that he knows better than Coy about everything in life. He can't spot the numerous signals that Coy is naturally, if inadvertently sending, about his need to be around Boone. Quite simply, you can't get a stronger indication that Coy has thought long and thought hard about buying a place with Boone than this: “I suspect you give them money and they give you a paper if’n we… if’n you find a good piece of land.” Boone also denies Coy's desire to want to sleep together even on a warmer night. In fact, Boone is proving fairly inept at reading anything but bad-minded people. Everything is now being interpreted from a negative perspective. For instance, Coy's message about being safer out in the wilderness, was really Coy needing to feel safe with Boone, when he lives with him. They are all thoughts going through Coy's mind, right now and Boone is missing each and every one of them by being focused on himself and the difficulties he has endured most of his life. In fairness, you can't blame him. But he needs to realise that he's not some wise old Oracle but just a kid the same age as Coy, who he's patronising. How long will it be before they invent the gaydar? Thanks for winding me up Gary. It really is what you do best

Intriguing development with Jim and Dirk. I'm pleased that we are going to find out Dirk's secret this early in the story. I think it will show Dirk in a better light and not as a murderer. That means the story will be advancing much more beyond this, in the next hundred and thirty chapters. But why is Jim heading out to Naples on his own? He will always be chasing behind Trevor unless they stay in some port for an extended stay. Its a last ditch chance to save Dirk especially if he can reveal his secret to Trevor and get him to come home Glad to see Joel making some progress with getting Trevor to be comfortable with himself. That's what true friends do.

Ha, missed that line... Trevor gave Joel a slow, appraising glance, focusing on the snug-fitting sleeveless T-shirt he’d loaned him, which had ‘Stonewall’ printed on the front and back in a rainbow gothic font, framed by a triangle

I'm dying to know what's on that T shirt that indicates it's wearer is gay. Clearly Trevor knows and that is why he's never worn it. I imagine Trevor will let it slip when Joel is next on the phone to Lisa and the hilarity will ensue. Great pictures of Pompeii and Mt. Vesuvious. Bridget is certainly haughty and full of herself but I think she's good to have on Trevor's side. Definitely a match for that idiot Dirk.

Yes it's my first read though of circumnavigation though I suspect it won't be my last. I've sailed 50 footers before but never that size of Catamaran. I'm simply blown away by the level of detail about managing the boat plus the places that are visited. And that's before I even get to the awesome storyline, which has me hooked. Also, thanks for tips @pickuptoy I'll be sure to check out Mark Arbour's Bridgemont series in the near future.

Dirk is digging himself into a massive hole. One where the weight of circumstantial evidence is mounting against him. Add attempted murder of his son and stalking witnesses to his mounting list of potential crimes and Dirk may as well take his secrets to the grave, if he thinks they will exonerate him later. Trevor and Joel had a close call getting out of Naples but they need to be a lot more careful and tight lipped telling everyone where they are.

I'm pretty sure that Joel, apart from being a great friend, is wanting to return the great favour that Trevor did by setting him up with Lisa. He's realised that Trevor is way too shy to look or even get close to boys he's attracted to. So Joel is stripping down and rubbing up against Trevor at every opportunity, such as in the bilges and rubbing sun tan lotions on deck. If he can get Trevor past that barrier and comfortable in that role, then Trevor stands a far better chance of meeting and dating someone he's attracted to. I dare say that Joel would love to facilitate a situation whereby Trevor meets and gains a boyfriend during this trip. My only concern is that Trevor may misread Joel's signals and helplessly fall for Joel at some point. I continue to think that Dirk and Jim are an item and that Dirk was uncomfortable about Trevor bringing up the subject of homosexuality because he believed that Trevor was onto him and not the other way around. Time will tell. I also think that Dirk, while being an incredible ass for a father, is not a murderer but is holding a secret about his wife that he doesn't want Trevor to know. I'm speculating that she was making money from drugs that allowed her to buy a second catamaran and perhaps Dirk knew that she had death threats from a drug cartel but couldnt reveal it to anyone, without exposing his wife's criminal interest. Going forward, I'll avoid repeating my theory unless I have good reason to change it, at some point. PS The thought of any hotdog makes me want to vomit and canned ones, only fit for where Trevor had planned to insert them about Joel's body.

Good to see Lisa and Joel's parents come to a sensible understanding of what Trevor is facing with Dirk. The major concern is what Jim has planned, in order to locate Trevor, that will not require Lisa's dad's co-operation. Jim is helping Dirk entrap his son with no real idea why Dirk is so desperate to do so. Is that the action of a mere friend or someone who is keen that they meet the following night for whatever that may entail? It appears that we have both a murder mystery and an action thriller, on our hands. I'd like to add romance to that too but Trevor is such a long, long way away. In fact, Joel really has his work cut out teaching his friend how to be gay. Perhaps the getting physical part, is the major barrier, irrespective of sexual preference and that's where Joel's experience is most useful. Are we really going to need another hundred or more chapters to sort Trevor out? I sure hope not. 😉

Well Joel and Trevor are really making the most of their first day together in Europe. The Tunnels added a fascinating spin as as did the downhill skateboards. Where did all these bolshy fathers come from? If these are the norm then I'm glad that I'm way more relaxed than that. Mind you I have lads only. If I had a daughter I reckon that might change things 😉

Phenomenal details on the circumnavigation and certain places visited, including pictures. Makes for a compelling story. Dirk is covering for something really big that he knows. There is now a strong implication that he was involved in his wife's death and his son is risking life and limb as a runaway and yet he refuses to reveal what he knows. The simple response would be to claim he was a murderer. I'm now thinking something else. He may be trying to protect his wife's image. Maybe Dirk knew that she was involved in smuggling drugs and that's why he really wanted a divorce. And secretly, Dirk knows that this will be proven if anyone finds her boat, with drugs on board. A boat that was probably sunk by a disenchanted drug cartel. Its a long shot, I know but that's my current thinking, on that side of the story. Fun times for Joel and Trevor but Trevor can't help but be attracted to Joel and I think Joel is enjoying being an attraction, at least, in part.

Sailing the Med at the beginning of summer, is the perfect place to be. All those Spanish, Italian and Greek coastal towns geared up for young party-goers. Trevor and Joel will have a blast. And it's the ideal opportunity for Trevor to maybe pick up a young hiker whose also on a year-out. Fascinating story. Don't know why I didn't start it sooner.

I'm glad the three of them got to spend a great day together. So sad that it had an air of finality about it. And just like that, Trevor gets inspired to circumnavigate the globe. That's about the level of planning I'm used to. Love it. What adventures await. Exciting times ahead.

There's nothing like a gross sense of injustice, to incense and impassion a reader's interest in a story and that's certainly true, in this case. I had thought that Trevor's behaviour was a little extreme, when he considered that his father had somehow contrived and contributed to his estranged wife's demise. Now I'm not so sure. As a father, you would always put your child's safety first. But Dirk is determined to win his battles, over and above Trevor's welfare. So Dirk claiming that he is acting out of his sons safety, is an absolute falsehood; one that begs the question why? Like others have said there is also the question of why Dirk was separating. Were his business trips something more? And was his liaison with a female or not. Jim was certainly the first person Dirk called to in a time of crisis, and one that knows him better than he knows himself.

Awesome chapter. Wasn't expecting that. A sedate storyline goes from zero to one-hundred in seconds. Dirk was a real ass, handling his son like that. It needed a level head and Dirk's punitive and authoritarian manner was anything but mature. This is a difficult time for his son and Dirk needed to be understanding of that and helping Trevor cope with the loss of his mom. Not reading him the riot act and stealing away his dreams. Dirk deserves what's coming next if Trevor does head off.

Diving alone, was such a very risky undertaking, that Dirk would be alarmed and angry with Trevor's lack of care for his own safety. Any concerned parent would be bedside themself. It's understandable that Dirk wouldn't wasn't to discuss the divorce after Trevor's mother died. And no time since would have ever seemed appropriate. But what more is Dirk hiding. Maybe he was having an affair and has been ever since, during each of his business trips. It may be that Dirk was about to announce the relationship too.

I remember our instructor saying a captain never LEFT RED PORT. That's an image that's hard to forget 😉

There's a wonderful dynamic between these three friends. Hearing that Lisa actually voiced her love for Trevor during a heavy sex session with Joel, would have been enough to break apart many male friendships. Clearly, Joel's long standing friendship with Trevor and obvious appreciation for Trevor having brought both Joel and Lisa together shows a rare trust and sincerity among these three great friends. Seeing young love blossoming between Lisa and Joel will no doubt spur Trev into action, looking for a boyfriend of his own. Anything is better than having a friend bombard you with their choice of candidates. Like countless others before me, i'm nor only captivated by the storyline but also enjoying the wealth of experience that has gone into detailing everything nautical. For those who have a bucket list dream of circumnavigating, or just sailing, this is a must read. 😎