Frontier - 10. FR Chapter 10

We could hear the kids laughing on the main deck, so we stood up and looked over to see them on the swim platform, with their nanny supervising, and we both smiled. Soon after George and Mimi appeared still in beach gear, and they climbed into the Jacuzzi. Leon appeared soon after with a tray with two glasses and a bottle of chilled white wine, which he placed near the Jacuzzi, before pouring out the wine.

“Can I get you both something?” Leon asked with a smile.

“Just another cup of tea each please,” I responded, and Leon nodded his head and went back downstairs.

I pulled out the binoculars again, and I did a scan of the island first, before doing a sweep of the ocean, happy that it was all clear. I placed the binoculars down on the helm counter. When the Sat phone rang, I quickly retrieved it and after hitting the on button, I began to walk downstairs for some privacy.

“Hello, Gramps. Do you have an update for me?” I asked when I recognised his voice, when he said hello.

“Yes, Grandson, we have tickets for your mum and half-brothers for Saturday’s flight to Christmas Island, via the Cocos Keeling Islands. There wasn’t enough room for me, so they will arrive at Christmas Island at 1205pm,” Gramps said to me.

“Ok. It’s a shame that you won’t he coming, but that’s fine because one of our current guests is a VIP, and they want to get away from the media as much as possible. We will be collecting Mum and my half-brothers, and taking them to a remote location. To get to the yacht, we will then be heading to 23°08'30.8"S 113°46'14.8"E, and we can meet you there,” I said to Gramps.

“Ok, that sounds good. I will see you at that location. I already know where that is, and I know that your guests will love it. Bye for now,” Gramps said and he ended the call, and I returned upstairs.

After returning the Sat phone to the drawer, I turned towards the guests.

“Jasper and I have had a good chat, and come up with a plan, because of the risk of being recognised. We would like to recommend that we remain here till early afternoon Saturday. We will use the dinghy to go and collect my family and bring them here, and we will then head off for Coral Bay,” I said to George and Mimi.

“Yes, I think that will be great. The kids had a wonderful time on the beach today, and I found it very relaxing,” Mimi said to me with a smile.

“Well, it is Thursday afternoon now, so if you are happy with this plan, we will stay for nearly two more days. I estimate that I will be back at 1400 hours on Saturday, and we will be able to go straight after we have arrived. Would you like a BBQ lunch on the beach again tomorrow?” I asked.

“Yes please, that would be good,” George said to me.

For the remainder of the day the guests relaxed, with the children also coming up to try out the Jacuzzi, and when they did, we retreated downstairs to give them some privacy. Simon and the lads provided a wonderful dinner for the guests, and we all ate later in the crew mess, once the dining table had been cleared. Kirk put on a DVD movie for the children in the formal lounge, to keep them entertained, while the parents went upstairs to the fly deck, and their staff sat in the informal lounge, to keep an eye on the children from a distance.

All of the following day, was similar to the previous day, with the guests spending a lot of the day on the beach. The crew did a wonderful job of keeping the guests entertained, fed and relaxed. At 6.30 the next morning, just after I had finished my watch shift, the sat phone rang, and I answered it.

“Hey Anton, I thought I had better warn you, that there are a few media people boarding the same flight. I suggested to your mum and half-brothers not to say a word about the yacht, while on the plane or when they arrive at Christmas Island,” Gramps said when I answered the phone.

“Ok, Gramps. Thanks for the warning. We will take extra precautions. See you in about a week at that destination I mentioned before. We are going to check out Montebello and Thevenard for a few days first,” I replied before Gramps said ok and ended the call.

I went up to the fly bridge, to let Jasper know of the news about the media. Jasper suggested that we not let the guests know about this, and I agreed with this.

I also let Jasper know about the idea of checking out some of the remote islands off the North-West Coast, namely the Montebello Islands just north of Dampier and Thevenard Island resort, just north of Onslow, before going to Coral Bay. Jasper said that considering the media was chasing after Mimi, he thought it was a great idea.

I had booked a taxi to pick me up at 11.45am from Ethel Beach boat ramp to take me to the airport and back to Ethel Beach, and just after 11am Simon and I headed off in the dinghy to Ethel beach. I was pleased to see the taxi waiting there for me. Just over fifteen minutes later, I arrived at the airport, just as the plane landed. I asked the taxi driver to wait for my return, and I handed him a $50 note, as I exited the vehicle.

When I arrived in the arrivals hall, some people had already started to walk through the doorways, and I looked carefully for any clue that would make me recognise my mother.

“Hello, Anton,” a woman’s voice said beside me. I turned to face the lady I had missed for so long, and overwhelmed with emotions I started to cry. My mum pulled me into tight hug.

“Oh, my dear son, I have missed you so much. I am so sorry that I had to leave you with that bastard of a man,” she said to me is a soft voice.

Once I had recovered enough, Mum introduced me to Neale and Jedd, who were 8 and 6 years old. They were a little shy, and I suggested that we grab their luggage, and get a move on. As we gathered the luggage, I could see 4 people who stood out as members of media, as they had cameras. We could hear them talking about Mimi Fenton, and quickly we gathered the luggage, and made our way to the waiting taxi.

Once in the taxi we set off. I noticed the media people appearing and not seeing a taxi in sight, which I was pleased about, I had arranged with the taxi service to delay the arrival of any additional taxi, by fifteen minutes after we had left the airport. By that time, we had turned off the main road, and we were heading towards the casino. There was no way of tracking us. Once we arrived at Ethel Beach, we unloaded the 6 large and two small suitcases, and paid the taxi driver. We asked him to not mention where he had dropped us off, and he drove back towards town.

Soon after the taxi had left, Simon appeared in the dinghy, and we loaded everything and everyone on board, and headed off. Twenty minutes later we rounded the point of the rocky cliffs, and another five minutes later we arrived at the yacht, just off the coast.

“Wow, is that really yours Anton?” Jedd asked me, and I smiled and nodded my head. I looked over to the beach and saw that the lads were packing up everything from another picnic BBQ that the Fenton Family had on the beach. They were wading in the water, as the crew did the packing up of supplies, and transported them back to the yacht.

“Kirk and Leon, this is my mother, Suzanne, and my brothers, Neale, aged 8, and Jedd, aged 6,” I said to the crew members, as they started to bring the gazebo, table and chairs on board. The lads smiled and nodded their heads, as they continued to work.

“Ok, let’s get you folk settled into your cabins. Boys do you want to share or have separate cabins?” I asked my brothers.

They looked at each other before saying, “We will share please,” at the same time.

I lead my family into the office bridge area, and down the stairs.

“This is the crew only area. The kitchen or galley as we call it is where all meals are prepared. This is Simon, my best friend, and he is the chief cook,” I said to my family as I led them further forward. I stopped at the first cabin on the left and opened it. “This is your cabin, Boys, there is a single cabin opposite, which can be used for storage, or for a play area.

“Your cabin is at the end here, Mum. Each cabin has its own bathroom, but just don’t have long showers, as the water supply is limited. I will get the lads to bring your luggage down shortly. We have guests at the moment, so don’t bother them. Be polite to them if they speak to you, and if you have any problems, find me or once of the crew members,” I said to the family, and I left them to get used to their new home.

I was on the bridge, taking to Jasper when Mum appeared from downstairs. “Son, where do you and the crew sleep?” Mum asked me confused, and I chuckled.

“Firstly, let me introduce you to Jasper Adamson. He is Simon’s cousin and he is our skipper. He recently left the WA police force, where he was a Senior Constable, so he is chief of security too,” I said to Mum, and my brothers who appeared behind her.

Turning to Jasper, I was about to ask him a question.

“Yes, it is sorted. I left them with my colleagues at Christmas Island,” Jasper said knowing what I was going to ask about his Police ID and service revolver. I smiled before turning back to my mum and brothers.

“Ok, let’s start with a full tour, and hopefully all the questions will be answered,” I said and we headed out of the bridge, through the saloon, and up the stairs to the fly bridge.

“Ok, this yacht has three decks, as you can see. This is called the fly bridge, which has the outdoor upper level bridge, which we use when mooring the yacht and leaving. You have already seen the indoor bridge, and the office is also located there. As you can see we have a Jacuzzi and sunning area, which you can use when the paying guests are not using it. If you look over to both sides, you see two long pontoons. Each pontoon has two crew cabins. Simon and I share one side, and the others share the other side.

Just some basic terms for the yacht. The front is the fore, the back is the aft, the left side when facing the front is port, the right side is the starboard, the back end is the stern, and the pointy end at the front is the bow. With that said, at the aft of the yacht, it has a swim platform that you stepped onto when we arrived. In front of that is a storage area for one of the dinghies. It closes up when we are at sea. Let’s head down to the main deck,” I said as I led the way downstairs.

“Ok, this is the aft deck outdoor lounge and bar, plus the casual dining room. Through these doors is the casual saloon lounge, and forward of that is the formal lounge and dining room, plus the office and bridge, which you have seen. Let’s head down these stairs, which is the guest’s accommodation area. This is out of bounds when we have guests on board, except for now while I am showing you,” I said to my family as we went down the stairs.

I knocked on the queen guest cabin door, and Mimi’s PA opened the door.

“Hello, I am just giving my family a tour. Can I quickly show them your cabin please,” I asked him.

“Yes, Sir. It’s your yacht, so that’s fine with me,” he replied with a smile. After a quick look, I thanked him and we headed back upstairs, and back down to the crew area.

“I have to get to work now. I will catch up with you all later. If you have any questions just ask one of the crew members,” I said to my family.

“Am I right in saying that Kirk and Leon are partners?” Mum asked me cautiously, and I smiled.

“Yes, they are. Is that ok with you?” I asked my mum.

“It is definitely fine with me,” Mum replied and I chuckled as I left.

As I arrived on the bridge, I walked up to the helm and stood next to Jasper.

“Ready when you are, Skipper,” I said to him with a smile.

“Attention, all hands. Prepare to depart,” Jasper announced over the PA system, and I saw Leon step onto the stern to pull up the bow anchor.

I headed out of the bridge. The guests were all in the formal lounge, enjoying a family game of Monopoly.

“Good afternoon to all. As you heard we setting off. I just wanted to let you know that there was media on the flight to Cocos and Christmas Islands, but we did some sneaky things to stop them from knowing that you are on the yacht. Our next destination is a group of islands, known as the Montebello Islands, located about 20 kilometres north of Dampier. The journey will take three days, and we will arrive just before sunset on Tuesday.

“At noon on Wednesday, we will leave there and make our way south-west to a resort on Thevenard Island. I have taken the liberty to book you in there for three nights, at no extra cost to you. On Saturday morning, we set sail again at 0900 hours, for an 8-hour journey to Coral Bay, where we can review your plans from there,” I said to George and Mimi Fenton.

“Anton, you have been a real lifesaver, providing a perfect escape from the media, and then going beyond that to provide an interesting itinerary. Thank you,” Mimi said to me. I smiled as I nodded my head and left. I headed up to the fly bridge, where I took over the helm from Jasper, and he headed to his cabin for a rest. Simon came up with a cup of tea and some cake for me about an hour later.

“You know, you are going to get me fat, if you keep up all this good cooking,” I said to him as I accepted the food.

“Not me. Your mum whipped this up. I think your mum wants to take over the galley,” Simon said to me, with a frown, and I chuckled.

“How about you suggest to her that she takes care of the deserts and snacks for all the guests and crew, and you do the rest,” I said to my good friend with a smile.

As Simon and I chatted, George and Mimi arrived, and came up to us.

“Just letting you know that when your brothers came upstairs, we invited them to spend time with my children. They were a bit hesitant, but I let them know I would talk to you about it,” Mimi said to me.

“As long as they are not in your way, and not causing any problems I will allow it, but any sign of trouble, and I will banish them back down to the crew area,” I said to Mimi.

“Very well, you are the owner, so I will go by your wishes,” George said and they walked to the lounge area and sat down.

Simon went to ask them for any drink orders, and Mimi smiled. “Some of that nice-looking cake, that your boss has, would be great,” she said and Simon headed downstairs to the galley, returning with a large tray containing afternoon tea for George and Mimi, which he placed down on the table for them.

As the sun began to set, the guests headed downstairs, and a bit after 1800 hours Simon appeared with my dinner. He headed back to the galley, to finish dinner preparations for the guests. Just before 1900 hours, Jasper arrived to take over at the helm.

“By the way, our guests have given me $13,600 cash and a bank cheque for $20,000 - the full amount for 7 days,” Jasper said to me.

My mouth dropped in amazement, stunned that we had so much money.

“I hope you have it all locked away,” I said to Jasper eventually, and Jasper smiled and nodded his head.

“We will need that cash to pay for the three nights that I have our guests booked in at the island resort,” I said to Jasper.

“Yes, I figured that. We still have some of the cash from the previous charter as well,” Jasper announced.

“How much?” I asked.

“Around half, just under $6000. Oh and your mum has settled in well. She has rearranged the whole galley and the stores, and poor Simon has no idea what is going on,” Jasper said, and we both laughed out loud.

“I had better head down there and try and work out a peace treaty,” I said, as I said goodnight and headed down stairs.

I found my brothers seated in the crew mess, where they were playing cards. Mum and Simon were in a heated discussion in the galley area, while Simon was finishing washing up the last of the cooking gear.

“When you two have quite finished,” I said interrupting them. They stopped and stared at me. “I love you both. We cannot have this friction in the limited space that we have, so this is what I am going to insist.

“From now on, Mum, you will be in-charge of preparing breakfast, lunch, plus the dinner deserts and day time snacks for all on board. Once lunch service has begun, which will be no later than 1300 hours, the galley is all Simon’s. He is also in charge of ordering, delivery and storage of all hospitality supplies on board this yacht. Are you both agreeable to this?” I said to both of them. I saw Simon smile and nod his head yes, while Mum opened her mouth to say something, but snapped it shut, before she went to her cabin.

“Well, that went well. Thank you for coming up with a plan for both of us. This afternoon has been a bit stressful since their arrival,” Simon said and he completed his cleaning up before heading upstairs.

I made myself a cup of tea and sat down next to my brothers.

“So, Guys, what are you playing?” I asked them.

“Canasta, and Jedd is winning,” Neale said to me with a frown.