Beyond Frontier - 11. BF Chapter 11

“Ministers, one of my crew has a family emergency. His father has fallen ill in Perth, and I was wondering, if it was possible for him to travel down with you in the jet?” I asked.

“Yes, that will be fine. There is plenty of room on board, so one more won’t make a difference,” the state minister said with a smile.

“Thank you, sir. I will get him sorted, so he can travel with you as soon as we arrive in Exmouth, which will be 1400 hours,” I replied.

I waited till Mathew had slept for at least an hour, before I quietly entered the cabin. “I am awake,” Mathew said quietly as he sat up in bed. I closed the door and went to the cupboard to find Mathew’s suitcase.

“I have arranged transport for you on the jet with the ministers back to Perth. It will land at Perth Domestic Airport. I will arrange for an executive car to pick you up and take you where-ever you need to go. Just use this card to cover any food and accommodation expenses that you have while you are away,” I said to Mathew as I handed him my spare credit card, before I began packing his suitcase with plenty of clothes, shoes and toiletry bag. Once I had his suitcase packed, I placed it near the door, then sat on the bed next to Mathew.

“I’m not sure how I feel about all of this. Firstly, I was shocked, and now I have mixed emotions, about what is going to happen when I am face to face with my parents,” Mathew said to me quietly.

“Just take it one day at a time, my love, and be strong,” I replied, as I leaned over and hugged him. We stayed holding each other for some time, till there was a light knock on the door. “Come in,” I called out, and the door opened to reveal Finn holding two plates of lunch.

“I thought you guys might be hungry,” he said softly, and I motioned him to bring it in.

“Thanks, mate, that’s kind of you. I will bring the plates down when we have finished,” I responded, and Finn exited the cabin, closing the door behind him.

Once we had eaten, Mathew said he wanted to take a shower, so I left him to do that while I headed down to the galley with the empty meal plates. “Thanks for that, buddy. Very tasty indeed,” I said to Finn as I gave him the plates. I looked around and saw just Lisa and Rebecca finishing their meals. “Where are our guests?” I asked the ladies.

“In their cabins packing,” Lisa replied and I nodded my understanding, and headed back up to the bridge to see how Simon was doing.

“Did Finn bring up some lunch for you?” I asked Simon as I entered the bridge.

“Yes, very nice too. He gave me mine before you guys. How is Mathew coping?” Simon asked me.

“He is having a shower to tidy up a bit. I packed his suitcase, so he is ready to go. I just have to arrange transport for him,” I replied, as I retrieved the sat phone, and using a directory I had in the drawer, I dialled the required number.

Once I had organised Mathew’s transport, I headed downstairs to see Dr Carrington, whom I found in the lounge. “Hello, Sir. I was wondering what your instructions are once we are back in Exmouth?” I asked the director.

“Well, I would say take some time off. Head back home to your base in Jurien Bay. I will keep you informed on what is happening,” the director said to me. I sat down and we discussed a few matters, including packing up and storing away all of the Oceans Institute equipment, until it was needed again.

“I will be sending you a cheque for three weeks use of this vessel, including the fuel fee, and the accommodation costs, plus a small amount to cover damages caused by that student. The state environment minister informed me that this vessel is well worth every dollar for all that we have achieved in the past three weeks, so he had guaranteed finance for quarterly audits of three zones, Barrow Island, the Abrolhos Islands and Rottnest Island, so you are guaranteed work for the next eleven months at least.

Once I am back at my office, I will get to work with preparations for the trip to the Abrolhos Islands. I have never been there but I hear it is magnificent,” the director said to me.

“I have been there a lot in the past five and a half years. It is indeed a beautiful place to visit. How many staff and students are you wanting to do the next trip,” I replied.

“I was thinking a maximum of six students and two staff, if that is agreeable with you?” the director said to me. “It is, sir. That would be perfect for what I have in mind,” I replied.

“Oh, and what is that?” the director asked.

“Well, sir, since the Abrolhos has shallow reefs, the Beyond Frontier, is not really suitable, and I was thinking of using my trimaran yacht as an alternative. It does not have a separate research area, but I think the large dining table will do nicely, and there are more recreational facilities on board, plus a storage area, that can fit the mini-sub into it,” I replied with a smile, thinking what Jasper would say when I told him.

“That sounds fine. I have seen your trimaran yacht on your website. It looks very impressive. What is its speed in good winds?” the director asked.

“A good 16 knots, sir. Not as fast as this, but it’s quiet and stable, and much more enjoyable to sail with wind power than diesel power,” I replied.

“Well, that is settled then. We will use your trimaran for the Abrolhos and Rottnest Islands. Can I leave it up to you to get all of the institutes equipment transferred over safely?” the director stated.

“Yes, sir. I will supervise that myself,” I replied.

When we arrived at Exmouth, I said goodbye to Mathew in the privacy of our cabin, before heading downstairs to say farewell to our guests. I watched as they climbed into a min-bus taxi and drove off. “Right, Simon and Finn, with me to the bridge please,” I announced, as I turned and headed indoors. A few minutes later the three of us gathered in the bridge where we sat down in the chairs.

“Now, just to let you know what is happening, the director has ensured us that due to our outstanding work over the past three weeks, we have been guaranteed work for the remainder of the twelve months, with quarterly surveys of Barrow Island, the Abrolhos Islands, and Rottnest Island. I have convinced the director that we use the Last Frontier for the other two places, due to its low impact, and low clearance for reefs.

“That means, that we have to transfer all of the institute equipment over to the trimaran. What I am thinking is having a semi-permanent mooring here in Exmouth for this tub, so we don’t waste so much fuel going up and down the coast, and fly or ship all the equipment down to Jurien. Actually, we will have to do both, as we will need to get the mini-sub and its controls onto the trimaran as well. Simon, will you be able to handle the controls of the mini-sub while Mathew is away?” I asked.

“Yes, no problems, boss. Mathew showed me how it all operates and had me driving it on a number of occasions,” Simon replied.

“That is good that we have a backup remote pilot. Good, so now we need to pack up all of the equipment back into their transport cases. Finn, how much food do we have left in the galley?” I asked.

“Only enough fresh stuff for a few days. Plenty of dry and frozen,” Finn replied.

“We may need to get Jasper to sail up here to collect all of the equipment, the food and us. I will call him shortly to check on that,” I stated.

“No need. He called me just before we arrived in Exmouth. He is already on his way. They are on a one-way charter from Perth to Exmouth, and will get here the day after tomorrow,” Simon said with a big smile, and I gave a little laugh.

“Cheeky rascal,” I said to Simon, and we all laughed.

“So that means they have left Kalbarri today, with overnight stop at Denham. That is good. We can get sorted by the time they get here. Now for accommodation. That should not be a problem. I will take a single cabin, and I think, Jasper had made the study back into a double cabin, so that gives everyone else double crew cabins on the pontoons,” I said, thinking out loud, as I reached for the laptop, opened it and started it up.

Moments later I was on the company website. I looked at the availability calendar for charters, and saw that there are no charters booked for a while, so I selected the dates, from the time they arrived in Exmouth, till 8 days later, and I entered UWA Oceans Institute as the customers. In the notes, I typed ‘See Anton Hamilton for further details’ before I hit the ‘Confirm Booking’ button.

“That should get Jasper’s attention,” I said as I closed the computer, with a cheeky smile. “What did you do?” Simon asked me.

“I made a booking under the name of the institute, and added in the notes section to see me for more details,” I replied with a big grin, and both Simon and Finn laughed. “Right, let’s get to work.

We have a lot to do in just two days,” I announced as I stood up and we headed downstairs to start the packing process, with the help of the ladies, who had not seen much of the research work areas during the trip.

After four hours, we had completed packing all of the research equipment, and while everyone else rested, I pulled out my mobile and dialled a number that I had checked in the Exmouth directory earlier. Once I had confirmed the closing time for a shop and called a taxi, I found Simon and asked him to come with me to town to do some shopping. About ten minutes later we arrived at the furniture and goods store, and were impressed with the good selection of all products.

“How about we get one of the sofa beds. That way we can increase the amount of emergency accommodation, as well as have a comfortable lounge,” Simon suggested, and I agreed with his idea. Half an hour later we had selected two sofa beds, a huge 90-inch television, a large floor rug and a selection of DVD movies, all which would be delivered to the wharf before midday the next day.

We had a quick look around town, and I bought a local newspaper, called the Exmouth Expression, to check local news. We called into the harbour offices, to try and organise a semi-permanent mooring, and with just one very large alongside mooring available, I asked to book it right away.

Once I had completed all the paperwork, and paid the large mooring fees, of over $3000 for three months, we headed back to the vessel, and moved her over to the nearby new mooring bay. I suggested that we go over to the yacht club for dinner. Finn hadn’t started cooking yet, but complained that he had done all the prep work already. However, he decided that having a night off from the galley was a better option, so he stored away what he had prepared. We all showered and changed to go out. I also made a quick call to the yacht club to make a booking for a table of five, which they happily accepted.

Once we were ready, we walked the 1.4 kilometres along the marina to the yacht club. It was a pleasant walk in the cool late afternoon breeze. Once inside, we saw that there was a good crowd at the bar. I went there to announce our arrival for dinner, and a waitress directed us to our table. Over the next two hours we enjoyed a lovely meal, even if they did take a fair while to bring out the courses. Just before we left, after paying the bill, an older gentleman approached us.

“Welcome to Exmouth. I am glad you could visit us. Where are you from?” he asked us.

“Thank you, sir. We are based in Jurien Bay, but we have been up this way a number of times,” I replied with a smile.

“Oh really. What sort of yacht do you have?” the gentleman asked.

“Well, currently we are in the research vessel, which has been doing some government work over the past three weeks, but our other yacht will be here in two days’ time,” I responded.

“Oh, you are that Hamilton fellow who was chased by a drug gang, or something like that,” the man said to us.

“Yes, that is right, Anton Hamilton, owner and skipper of Hamilton Ocean Charters,” I said to him with a smile and I shook his hand. His smile grew larger.

“Well, it is an honour to have a famous young man like yourself here. I am the commodore of the yacht club. Bill Miller is the name,” he said to me as he continued to shake my hand. I tried to pull my hand away, which he finally released.

“I would ask, sir, that you keep my presence as low key as possible, as we have had problems with the media hounding us recently,” I said.

“Very well, Mr Hamilton. Please do call in again. Have a good evening,” the commodore said to me with a small wave as he headed back behind the bar.

“We better get out of here. He is bound to start gossiping about us any moment now,” I said to the crew. We quickly made our way out of the yacht club, and began walking back to the vessel. Once, we had returned, we did a search all around the outside, to make sure everything was still secure, before unlocking the aft door and heading inside, locking the door behind us.

Saying goodnight to the ladies, I headed upstairs to my cabin, while Simon and Finn stayed in the dining area for a cup of tea before bed. When I arrived in my cabin, I spotted my mobile on the desk, which I had forgotten to take with me. I saw that I had two missed calls from Mathew and four from Jasper. I decided to call Jasper first, as I felt that Mathew would want to talk for a while.