Frontier - 33. FR Chapter 33

When I arrived at Fremantle, I found a long-term parking garage, where I left my vehicle, and I caught a taxi back to the harbour, arriving to find the yacht was not where it had been moored. I was wondering what could have happened, when my phone rang.

“Hello, Jasper. Where the hell are you?” I said as I answered the phone.

“Sorry, Boss, we had a media emergency with the Fenton family. Can you catch a taxi to Rockingham, and we will meet you at the beach at Cape Peron. Just text us when you have arrived there. Bye,” Jasper said and he ended the call.

I went to the nearby taxi rank and handing over $50, to the driver. I asked to be taken to Cape Peron, Rockingham, and 45 minutes later we arrived at my requested location, which cost less than I had given the driver, but I told him to keep the change. Once the taxi had gone, I waited ten minutes, before calling Jasper.

“We see you there. We will be there shortly,” Simon said as he answered the satellite phone. I chuckled as the phone call ended, and I looked up to see the trimaran approaching, so I walked onto the beach, and waited.

When I saw the mainsail drop, I heard the sound of a motor, and soon saw a dinghy heading my way, with Simon steering. He came towards the beach at near full speed, and cutting the revs just before reaching the beach, he jumped out. With me helping, we had the dinghy turned around and pushed back out into the water. We were immediately speeding towards the yacht which now had its sails back up and was starting to pick up speed as we approached. Simon threw the stern rope, which Kirk caught, and he pulled us up to the swimming platform, where we quickly climbed out. Once the dinghy was stowed away, and the swimming platform was raised, we were heading out to open waters.

“That was an excellent display of retrieving and landing. Are you sure your crew are not in the Royal Special Forces,” Mr Fenton said with a smile from the sun lounge on the main aft deck. I looked up to see our guests holding cocktail glasses and smiling, and all I could do was laugh.

“We are fully stocked for an extended charter, and the Fenton’s have suggested that we travel around the south of Australia, for a few weeks,” Simon said to me. I was shocked at this news, but glad in a way that we could get away from everything, and still have an income, so I didn’t protest.

“Where is our first stop then, Mr Fenton,” I asked as I turned to our guests.

“I thought maybe a stop to see the Great Southern region. I have heard of a place call The Giant Tree Top Walk,” Mr Fenton replied, and I smiled.

“That is near the town of Walpole. It is supposed to be a beautiful place,” I replied, before excusing myself, to go and find Jasper.

“Hey, Boss. How is your Grandfather going?” Jasper asked as soon as he saw me arrive on the fly bridge.

“Good thanks, Skipper. So, how long to get to Walpole?” I asked Jasper.

“It will be 19 hours of continuous sailing, if we have good winds. Don’t forget we have Vic and Rita with us too, so we can share the workload a lot more. Rita and Simon will do 8 hour shifts each in the galley, Kirk and Leon will take care of deck duties and housekeeping, and Vic, you and I can do 8 hour shifts each, at the helm,” Jasper said cheerfully.

“Oh yeah, I had forgotten about Vic and Rita,” I said, and Jasper smiled.

“Not to worry. They are here to have a working holiday, so I have given them work to do. Simon is doing breakfast to lunch, 0500 to 1300 hours, and Rita is doing afternoon and night, 1400 to 2200 hours. At the helm, I am doing 1200 to 2000 hours, Vic who is sleeping at the moment is doing 2000 to 0400, and you are doing 0400 to 1200 hours, so you will need to take a nap after lunch time, so you are fresh for your shift,” Jasper said to me.

“Will do, Skipper,” I said with a smile, and I headed downstairs to find my brothers, who were in the formal lounge watching a movie with the Fenton children. I gave them a smile and a wave as I passed by them and headed into the office, where I picked up the two-way mic. “Boss to Skipper. You on channel?” I said in the mic.

“Receiving you, Boss,” Jasper replied.

“Have you done the required changes to the website?” I asked Jasper.

“Yes, Boss. Did that while waiting to collect you this morning. I have just put in there ‘On Charter for 3 weeks’,” Jasper replied to me.

“Ok, that’s good. Thanks for doing that. Over and out,” I replied and I headed down stairs, to the crew galley, where Simon was finishing preparing lunch for everyone.

“Can you call your brothers and crew to lunch please?” Simon asked me as soon as he saw me arrive. I turned around and headed back upstairs, returning shortly after with my brothers, Kirk and Leon following. We found five plates already placed on the crew mess table.

After we had eaten, Simon gave me a plate to take up to Jasper, and asked me to let Rita know that lunch was ready. He told me that Vic had already eaten. Once Kirk and Leon had eaten, they sprang into action to get the dining table set for the Fenton family, who had come this time without their two staff, so only 3 of the guest cabins were in use. I kept my brothers entertained in the crew mess area, while the guests were having lunch, and once Kirk and Leon had brought down the last of the dishes, I let the boys return to the formal lounge, while I went to have a short sleep, before my shift began at 0400 the following morning.

When my alarm woke me at 1800 hours, I showered and changed into a fresh uniform, and headed to the galley, where Rita was finishing preparations for dinner service. Most of the crew were currently eating. Rita asked me to deliver dinner to the skipper, as she handed me a plate and cutlery, and I found Jasper at the main bridge helm.

“Good evening, Boss. We are halfway between Cape Naturaliste and Cape Leeuwin at the moment. Our estimated time of arrival at Peaceful Bay is 0600 hours tomorrow,” Jasper said to me, as I handed him his dinner. I took over the helm, so he could eat.

“How are the guests getting to The Treetop Walk?” I asked Jasper.

“The local caravan park is providing a mini bus to transport them to The Treetop Walk and back. I have arranged a sizable fee to cover their expenses. I estimate they will be away for four hours,” Jasper replied with a smile. “So, we should be setting off again at 1200 hours, and continuing east, we will pass West Cape Howe National Park at about 1430 hours, and arrive at Frenchman Bay in Albany at about 1600 hours,” Jasper informed me.

“So, are we staying overnight in Albany?” I asked the skipper.

“Yes, that is the plan, to allow the Fenton family to explore a little. We will set sail at sunset 24 hours after arriving, around 1700 hours, with our next stop being Esperance, which is a 16-hour sail. The next morning, we may be lucky to see some migrating whales. You will have to watch out we don’t run into any overnight,” Jasper said to me seriously.

“I think maybe we should stop overnight some place, so we don’t run into them,” I suggested, which made Jasper laugh.

I stayed on the bridge chatting with Jasper for an hour before taking his empty plate down to the galley, where Vic was seated in the crew mess, playing monopoly with my brothers, and Rita was busy cleaning up after dinner. There was no sign of Simon, so I presumed that he was in his cabin resting. When the boys had finished their monopoly game, they said goodnight to everyone, and headed to their cabin. I went and read them a story once they had showered and prepared for bedtime.

By the time I returned to the crew mess, Vic was on helm duties and Rita was finishing baking some cookies and slices, so I headed up to the bridge, where I checked on the BOM weather site, to see how the weather was looking for the rest of the night. Already there was a large swell that was making the yacht pitch up and down a fair bit. Once I had done that, I headed over to the Pontoon to speak to Simon, but he wasn’t in his cabin. Suddenly, I had this terrible feeling that something horrible had gone wrong.

Quickly I dashed over to Jasper’s cabin and banged on his hatch. He appeared looking like he had just come out of the shower and saw the look on my face.

“What is it, Boss?” he asked me.

“When did you last see Simon?” I asked him.

“About 1730 hours. He was heading over to his cabin, and we had just passed close to Cape Naturaliste. Oh, I hope he didn’t go overboard when I changed directions,” Jasper said. I dashed back over to the main deck and into the bridge.

“Go about please, Vic. Man overboard,” I said to him urgently, and Vic reacted immediately to turn around.

Jasper appeared a few moments later dressed in a fresh uniform, and grabbing the night binoculars, he headed outside and up to the fly bridge, while I grabbed the marine radio mic.

“Mayday, mayday! Calling Marine Rescue at Cape Naturaliste. Over”, I said clearly. There was no answer so I called again. This time I had a reply.

“VMR 631, calling the mayday caller. Over.” I breathed a sigh of relief.

“This is the luxury sailing yacht - Last Frontier. We believe that one of our crew has gone overboard at approximately 1730 hours today, somewhere near Cape Naturaliste. Over”.

“VMR 631 to Last Frontier ,that is a roger on that. Mr Simon Adamson is alive and well. He staggered into Injidup Beach, 20 kilometres south of the cape about an hour ago, and he was taken to Busselton Hospital, by a local beach fisherman, suffering from hypothermia. Over,” came the response.

“Thank you, VMR 631. Over and out,” I replied. I breathed a sigh of relief. By this time I noticed Rita, Kirk and Leon had gathered in the bridge, wondering why the yacht changed course so suddenly. Having heard the radio conversation, they now knew what had happened.

“Skipper, what is our current position,” I asked Vic, as I looked at my watch, which read 1952 hours.

“We are just a few kilometres north of Cape Leeuwin,” Vic replied.

“Ok, return to the original course for Peaceful Bay, please,” I said and I picked up the Satellite phone and headed outside, where Mr and Mrs Fenton had gathered looking worried. “Hello. We had a little emergency, but all is ok. Simon went overboard a couple hours ago, and I just discovered him missing moments ago, but we have learnt that he made it to shore, and is currently recovering in hospital,” I explained to the Fenton’s.

“That is very good to hear,” George replied.

Upstairs on the fly bridge, I sat next to Jasper. “So you heard the radio call?” I asked Jasper, and he nodded his head, as I began to dial the number for the local hospital. “Yes, hello. I am enquiring about Simon Adamson… no, he is one of my crew members. I am his boss,” I said to the hospital nurse.

“He suffered some hypothermia, and we are keeping him in for observation overnight, so we will discharge him in the morning, once the doctor has checked on him,” the nurse informed me.

“Am I able to speak to him please?” I asked.

“He is asleep now. Best to call in the morning. Goodnight,” the nurse replied before ending the call.

Heading into the main bridge, I went to the computer and checked on road coach travel from Bunbury to Albany, and found that there was one tomorrow, leaving at 12 noon from Bunbury, and getting to Albany at 7.50pm. So, I booked and paid for a ticket for Simon, and thinking that he may not have any money, I sent a postal cheque to the Busselton Post Office, under Simon’s name. Then realising he would have no ID with him, I went to Simon’s cabin and finding his wallet missing, I thought that maybe he may have it with him.

When Jasper came downstairs he said goodnight before heading over to his cabin, and once he was safely inside, I headed downstairs to read a book for a while, till it was time for me to start my shift at the helm at 0400 hours. We arrived at peaceful bay, just before dawn, and I waited till there was enough daylight, before heading into the bay, which had numerous rocky islands around it. Kirk had delivered me a cup of tea at 0530, and he stayed with me for a while, before heading down to start to prepare breakfast, while Simon was away.

When I called out to him over an hour later, he came up and went outside to pull down the mainsail and set the anchors in the bay, before returning to the galley. Shortly he returned to the bridge to deliver me another cup and some toast, with my favourite spread on it. Once I had eaten, I retrieved the Satellite phone and called the hospital, and asked to speak to Simon, even though it was still quite early. The nurse said she would check to see if he was awake, and on her return, she said, “One moment please.” A minute later I heard Simon’s voice.

“Is that you, Boss?” Simon said to me.

“Of course it is. I am terribly sorry it took so long to find you missing, Si. I will make sure more regular checks are done for all crew in the future,” I said as I choked back some tears.

“No need to get upset, Boss. I am fine. I just got caught by a sudden wind gust, and over I went. Luckily I was only about 300 metres from shore. A beach fisherman was a little surprised to see me stagger onto the beach,” Simon explained to me.

“Si, do you have your wallet with you?” I asked him.

“Yes I do. It’s a little soggy, but everything is still in there, including about $75 in notes,” Simon said.

“You are booked on the Trans WA Road Coach from Bunbury to Albany, leaving at 12 noon from Bunbury, but before you leave Busselton, there is a Postal cheque waiting for you at the post office. You just need to show some ID. I will pick you up at the visitor centre in Albany at 7.55pm tonight. Have a safe trip,” I said to Simon, who thanked me and said goodbye.

Glad that I had finally been able to speak to Simon, I went down to the galley, where my brothers were chatting to Kirk while they ate breakfast.

“I have spoken to Simon and he is ok. We will see him tonight,” I announced.

“Where did Simon go, Anton?” Jedd asked me, as I sat down next to him.

“He accidently fell overboard late yesterday, and then spent the night in hospital in Busselton. He will catch a bus to Albany today where we will go an pick him up,” I explained to my brothers.

“That is good news to hear” Jasper said from behind me, as he came down the stairs, and I smiled to him.

“Yes, it is great news, although I am still a little shocked that it happened,” I replied. Within ten minutes all the crew had gathered in the crew mess and galley area for breakfast. “From now on, when we are sailing, all crew must use safety lines, when crossing over to the pontoons, and regular checks will be made, to make sure, that everyone is on board.

“All skippers will make a check on crew and guests at the end of their shifts, except Vic, as 4am is a little early to disturb everyone. Ok let’s all eat, and get our guests to shore, so they can go on their excursion,” I announced to everyone.

Leon and Rita headed upstairs to set the table for breakfast for the guests, while Kirk served the crew their breakfast, and prepared breakfast for the guests. By 8am we had the guests loaded into the mini-van at the caravan park, and Jasper returned with the dinghy. He had a big smile on his face.

“Ok, Mr. What have you done?” I asked him suspiciously.

“Nothing, just a slight change of plans, that’s all. We are going to give our guests a bit of an adventure on their return, but we need to relocate the yacht 3 ½ kilometres north east of here at the mouth of the Irwin Inlet,” Jasper announced.

We went indoors to the office to look at the charts, to see what he was talking about.

“Once we are there, we will take two dinghies up the mouth of the inlet, and 2 kilometres across to the mouth of the Bow River, then 2 kilometres up the river to a picnic ground, where we will meet them, and take them back down the way we came,” Jasper said to me. I smiled agreeing that it was a good plan.

Before we set off, I needed to make a quick phone call, so I retrieved the sat phone from the office drawer, and headed up to the fly bridge, and dialled the number. A few minutes later, my call was transferred and answered.

“Hello, Gramps. How are you feeling?” I asked when Gramps answered the call.

“Hello, Anton. I am getting better I think. The doctors say I will need to go into the rehab hospital soon, and that I will probably be there for a few weeks,” Gramps answered.

“That is good to hear. We have George and Mimi Fenton and children with us again, so we are on a charter. We are in Walpole at the moment, as the guests are exploring The Treetop Walk. We will be arriving in Albany late tomorrow, and then onto Esperance,” I said to Gramps.

“That is good. Have a wonderful time. I need to rest now, so I will speak to you again soon. Bye for now,” Gramps said as he ended the phone call.

Once the anchors were up, we sailed towards the mouth of Irwin Inlet, and we reset the anchors just a little to the left of the inlet.

“You know we could give them a riverside BBQ lunch or a picnic lunch, before we head back down to the yacht,” I suggested.

“We will get right onto it,” Kirk and Leon chorused from downstairs, and I couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Ok, while the lads are organising the picnic lunch, how about we organise loading the gazebo, chairs and tables into one of the dinghies, so we are ready to go, once the food is ready,” Jasper suggested.

At 11am both dinghies were ready to go. Vic and Kirk were in one dinghy along with the two picnic baskets of food and drinks, and Leon and Rita were in the other dinghy with all the tables, chairs and gazebo, leaving Jasper and I to remain behind to tidy up the yacht, and to mind Neale and Jedd. Rita had prepared some lunch for us and left it in the fridge, and once we had finished cleaning up the galley, we sat down for some lunch, and relaxed. When the two dinghies were on their way back, with Kirk sending a text message to let us know, Jasper and I prepared for their return, while the boys headed down to the crew mess to play some board games.

Once all the guests and crew were on board, and the two dinghies were secured, we set off from Peaceful Bay, with our next destination being Frenchman Bay in Albany, with an amended time of arrival of 1700 hours. The wind picked up soon after we had left Peaceful Bay, and it looked like we would be arriving ahead of time, which I was pleased about.