Frontier - 19. FR Chapter 19

Once we had everything sorted, Simon, Jasper and I sat in the aft lounge, watching the sunrise over the mainland, in the distance. When we heard the guests coming up the stairs we all smiled, and waited for the responses from our friends.

“What the….. when did we get out here, and where is here?” Toby said, which made Jasper, Simon and I laugh.

“Welcome to Boulanger Island, just 1.2 kilometres from the mainland, and 4.2 kilometres south west of the marina,” Jasper replied.

“Wow! Cool! How long are we here for?” Mike asked.

“Till mid-morning. We thought you might like to go swimming and snorkelling for a while. The reefs out here are awesome,” I said to my friends.

Leon and Kirk arrived with breakfast for all of us. While we ate breakfast, the weather cleared and the sun came out for a while, making it a little more comfortable to go out swimming and snorkelling.

Jasper remained on the fly bridge keeping a watch on us, in case of any unwanted visitors, in the form of sharks. What we had instead was a number of seals, who decided to come and say hello to us, which was great. We also saw a number of turtles and plenty of reef fish. When we returned to the swimming platform of the yacht, Kirk and Leon had towels and hot drinks ready for us.

Once we had warmed up and dried off, we headed to our cabins to shower and change, and I asked Jasper to set sail back to the marina, as it was already well after 11.30am. We arrived at the marina shortly before noon, and already there was a small crowd gathered on the jetty, including the two teachers, who walked up the jetty as we were mooring the yacht.

I was at the helm on the fly bridge, as I watched the lads tying up the yacht to the jetty, and when done, I shut off the engine, glancing at my watch as I shut it down.

“Good morning. Sorry we are a little late. We went snorkelling out at Boulanger Island this morning,” I said loudly to the teachers below.

“This is a very impressive yacht you have here, Mr Hamilton,” Mr Langton said to me.

“Come aboard. I will be down in a moment,” I responded.

“Welcome aboard the Last Frontier. I am also first mate. Simon is also a crew member. He is our chief cook. We have a skipper and two other crew members that work on board,” I announced to the teachers, as I lead them up the stairs to the fly bridge, where Toby, Finn, Sam and Mike were enjoying the Jacuzzi.

“During today, here on the top level, known as the fly bridge, and the main deck, which you stepped onto, are open to you both and the students. Past the closed door at the front of the main deck is out of bounds, as is downstairs to the guest cabins.

“There is one bathroom in the back corner of the saloon lounge, and my crew will keep everyone well fed and watered. I am providing plenty of bottled water and soft drinks for everyone, plus tea and coffee for those who want it,” I announced, as I let the two staff members look around the fly bridge, before we headed back to the main deck, where all the crew were assembled, including Simon, all of them with uniforms on. I introduced them all.

Once I had done the introductions and shown the school staff around the main deck, we returned to the main aft deck.

“Come on board, Guys,” I announced to the assembled 17 team members, five of them from the Junior school. Kirk and Leon had trays of soft drinks to offer them, as they all came on board. “Ok, welcome onto my yacht. You will have access to the fly bridge upstairs, and this deck, and I think we may open up two cabins downstairs, to allow for the bathrooms to be used,” I said as I turned to Simon, who nodded his head, and headed downstairs.

“The closed door, that says CREW ONLY is out of bounds, as is stepping out onto the pontoons, as that is also crew area only. Relax and enjoy. Lunch will be served in about half an hour, and we will have a Leadership team meeting at 2pm,” I announced to everyone, and I headed to the main bridge and downstairs, to see how things were going in the galley. Jedd was sitting in the crew mess, chatting to Leon and Kirk, who were now finishing off preparing the many salads for lunch time, and Simon arrived to fire up the hot plate, to start cooking the meat.

When I returned to the main deck, I found some of the younger team members watching the big screen television in the formal lounge area, while others, including the four senior team members, were gathered in the saloon lounge just chatting. The rest were either in or lounging around the Jacuzzi.

Lunch was served in buffet style, allowing everyone to choose what they wanted with the five different salads as well as beef steak, hamburgers, sausages, fish and pork chops, most of which was gone once everyone had served themselves. What was left was soon polished off, with seconds for those who were still hungry. Luckily, Simon had put aside enough food for the crew, which they ate downstairs in the mess area or the office lounge. Kirk, Leon and Simon got to work to clear away the dining table, while Jasper and I started the washing up in the galley area. As the clock approached 2pm, Simon and I headed upstairs to get organised for the meeting, which we decided to have in the saloon area, using the dining chairs for extra seating for everyone.

During the meeting, we set out a plan of action, when dealing with incidences at school, and we pointed out that it is a team effort, and if not sure what to do, seek out another leadership team members. We mentioned that Ms Links was the staff liaison officer, who could be approached at any time to deal with any situation that the leadership team can’t handle. We had a session where everyone had a chance to say or ask anything, which resulted in a useful and educational discussion session.

I asked the leadership team to split into six groups of four, with a mixture of different years in each group, and they were asked to think of possible scenarios that may happen at school, and to debate possible solutions to bring out a positive result with each scenario. This was designed to help the younger members in particular, to use logic and to act responsibly, to any acts of discrimination or bullying.

When we came back into one large group again, the youngest member, with a senior team member assisting, would present what was discussed and debated in their group. The result was a lot better than I had hoped for, and I could see that this was going to virtually eradicate any discrimination or bullying in our school. As the time was approaching 3pm, I asked Ms Links and Mr Langton, if they had anything else to say.

“Yes, only to say that I am very impressed at what has been achieved here today. I am very proud of you all, for taking on this initiative, to reduce or quash discrimination and bullying from our school. Well done to you all, and a big thankyou to our host, for a wonderful BBQ meal,” Mr Langton said, and all of the students began to applaud.

“Thank you, Mr Langton. It has been a pleasure to host this event. I would like to extend an invitation for the School Leadership Team, to attend another BBQ lunch and leadership meeting, sometime early next term. Thank you for everyone attending, and we will see you all at school on Monday morning,” I announced.

I looked outside, and saw a number of parents had already arrived, and were standing in the carpark area of the marina.

“It appears some parents have arrived, so I will let you all head off home. Enjoy the rest of the weekend,” I said to everyone, and team members started to make their way off the yacht.

“It looks like one of the parents is one of my ex colleagues,” Jasper whispered to me, and I saw a lady dressed in her police uniform.

“Must be one of the junior team members?” I responded, as Jasper headed onto the Jetty to speak to the senior constable, who on seeing Jasper approaching smiled and walked closer towards the jetty, where they shook hands then hugged each other. Soon after one of the junior team members approached them and hugged the female officer. I smiled as I watched them from the fly bridge, and when the trio turned and started heading towards the yacht, I went downstairs to meet them.

“Anton, this is my good friend, Anita Cartwright. We were in the academy together. I didn’t realise it but Nathan here is my godson. I hadn’t seen him in so long, I didn’t recognise him during today’s event. Last time I saw him was when he was just starting kindergarten. Anita, this is my friend and boss, Anton Hamilton,” Jasper said with a smile.

“Hello Anita. It’s nice to meet you. Have you just moved to Jurien Bay?” I replied from the introductions.

“Yes, they needed another police officer here in a rush, when one of their present officers decided to resign from the service, while on holidays,” Anita replied, and I chucked at the comment, knowing she was talking about Jasper.

“Hey, I can’t help it if I get a better job, with a more relaxed atmosphere and less stressful work conditions,” Jasper said with a cheeky smile, and this time Anita chuckled at the light humour.

“Are you still at work, or have you finished for the day?” I asked Anita.

“Just finished actually. I need to get my place sorted. We are still living out of boxes and suitcases at the moment,” Anita responded.

“Well how about you come on board and have a relaxing afternoon tea with us,” I offered. Anita accepted the offer, and young Nathan was thrilled.

I turned to head downstairs to arrange afternoon tea, when Kirk and Leon appeared with a tray each, with afternoon tea and snacks, which they placed on the coffee table in the saloon lounge.

“Can you ask Jedd to come up please,” I asked the lads, who nodded and headed back the way they came. A few minutes later Jedd arrived, as we sat down in the lounge. “Jedd here is also a student at the school. He is my half-brother,” I announced to the guests, and Nathan stood up to say hello to Jedd.

“Jedd, how about you show Nathan around the other parts of the yacht, and, yes, you can show him the crew area,” I said to my brother, who grabbed Nathans arm, and lead him towards the main bridge.

Once the boys had disappeared, Anita explained that she and her husband had divorced when Nathan was 3 years old. Her ex had married an English lady, and moved to the UK, and that he had not been in contact with his son ever since.

Jasper mentioned that Anita was 5 years older than him, and that they became good friends during academy training, and had served together on a couple of occasions in the city. Jasper explained to Anita, that his cousin, Simon, is Anton’s best friend, and also a crew member on board this yacht, and when Anton was having some family issues, he took a few weeks off work, to skipper the catamaran yacht that is next door for him.

After we had completed afternoon tea, Jasper and I offered to come around and help Anita with her unpacking and settling into the assigned police house, and she happily accepted the offer. Once we had located the two boys, we climbed into the police vehicle, and set off into town. Over the next three hours, we worked to get Anita’s new home into order, and once we had completed this, Jasper and I walked back to the marina, just as the sun was setting.

When we arrived back at the yacht, I collapsed on to a lounge seat in the saloon, where Gramps and Jedd were already sitting. Simon appeared soon after and sat down too.

“So how did it all go? Did you get everything done?” Simon asked me with a smile.

“Yes, we did, thank goodness. I don’t think I will volunteer for anything like that again. I am so exhausted,” I responded.

“We had a call back from the clients, who had booked a day charter for tomorrow, asking if it is possible to still have the day cruise, now that the weather conditions forecast for tomorrow have improved. I had a discussion with Jasper, and we looked at the BOM website, and agreed that the weather conditions had improved. So, we rang them back, and told them the charter could go ahead as originally planned,” Gramps said to me.

“I have already done a shopping trip in preparation for this charter, and the lads have been busy getting the yacht in order, so we are ready to go,” Simon added. “Well I guess we are going ahead with it then. I am going to have a shower before dinner,” I responded and I headed to my cabin.

When I returned, the dining table had been set, and Jasper and Gramps were in the saloon enjoying a pre-dinner drink, while Jedd was reading a book.

When Simon appeared from the galley, he announced that dinner was ready, and moments later the lads appeared with dinner plates in hand, and placed them on the table, and we all sat down to eat. After dinner, I had Jedd prepare for bed, followed by reading him a story, before he went to sleep. Once Jedd was sleeping, I went next door to my cabin, where I lay down to relax a little, but this was short lived, when my mobile rang.

“Hello, Son. How are you this evening?” Mum said when I answered the call.

“Hello, Mum. I am good thanks. Jedd has just fallen asleep. Sorry. How is Neale recovering from his surgery?” I responded.

“He is good. In fact, if all goes well, he will be released this coming Tuesday,” Mum replied.

“That is fantastic news, Mum. Do you want me to arrange transport back here for you?” I said happily.

“No, we will spend a few days in the city, before travelling, to allow Neale to get his strength improved,” Mum replied.

We chatted for a few more minutes before we ended the call, and I thought about the conversation for a while, before heading upstairs where I found Jasper and Simon chatting in the saloon, and I sat down with them.

“I’ve just had a chat with my mum. Neal will be out of hospital on Tuesday,” I said to them.

“That is very good news,” Jasper responded, and Simon nodded his head in agreement.

Everyone was up at 7am the next morning, as final preparations were made for the arrival of the guests, for the day long charter. Gramps decided he wanted to help out so I gave him a yacht uniform to wear, and I decided to have the double and twin cabins downstairs unlocked, to have additional toilets available for the guests. The crew made sure that their cabins were all locked up, and we were ready just moments before all of the guests arrived. The crew, who were in uniform, were lined up on the main deck to greet them.

Even Jedd had a uniform on, and along with the lads he had a tray with drinks for the guests as they arrived. I was so proud of him, as he had done such a great job with the guest arrival. When he returned to the galley area, I wrapped him in a hug, and told him how proud I was of him, for the great job he just did. Simon and the lads were present at this moment, and they gave Jedd a pat on the back and said “Well done” to him.

Jasper remained at the helm during the sailing parts of the charter, and I stayed on watch on the fly bridge, when the guests were in the water, with Jasper spending some of the time with me. The rest of the time he was in the office. When we finally arrived back at the marina, after a very long day, the crew were pleased that it was over, as having a large number of guests at one time kept every one busy for the whole day.

As the sun was setting, the lads tied the yacht to the moorings, and the guests disembarked. It was only then that Jasper and I walked up to the fly bridge and notice a new yacht in the marina, and what a huge sailing yacht it was.

“Wow, now that is very impressive,” I said as I retrieved the binoculars out of the drawer, to get a closer look.

“She looks to be about seventy metres long, and the flag is Cayman Islands. I count five decks, so probably five to seven guest cabins, and probably 12 or more crew,” Jasper added.

I heard someone coming up the stairs, and saw that it was Simon.

“Hey are you guys… never mind,” Simon said as he saw us looking at the motor yacht, and chuckled to himself a little. “Can I have a look through the binoculars please,” Simon added, and I handed them over to him, so he could get a closer look.

We chatted about it for a while, until the lack of sunlight ended the viewing of the super yacht, and I turned to Jasper and Simon.

“How about we go into town for dinner. My treat,” I announced, and Simon and Jasper both smiled and nodded.

I ordered two taxis to get all seven crew into town, and chose a restaurant instead of takeaway, and we went into the tavern for dinner. We were seated at a large table for all of us, and we soon selected what we wanted to eat. I wasn’t too surprised that Jedd selected pizza. I found that the whole crew were enjoying the relaxing social evening out, away from the yacht, but soon after we finished main course, I could see that Jedd was getting very sleepy.