At Sea - 8. AS Chapter 8

Amanda faced me and she had tears in her eyes, “I absolutely love it, you guys are spoiling me, thankyou Nav” she said to me, wrapping her arms around my neck and kissing me on the cheek, which made me blush. Back in the dining room, with the three crew members gathered once more.

“Amanda and Sam know this information, but I need you Marcus to know that on this boat, Jay is the captain, he prefers to be known as skipper, or Jay, while his wife Jacqueline or Jacq for short, she is second in charge and is a qualified Coxswain, like myself, but I am to be called Nav or Carlton.

Amanda is Head chef on this boat, and she is also in charge of you guys, so if she gives you a duty to carry out, I expect you to do it” I said to Sam and Marcus, “Yes Nav” they said almost in unison, and I saw Amanda have a slight smile on her face.

We walked down the passageway and entered the lounge areas, one which had some very comfortable seating, a long coffee table and the front wall was all one large bookshelf, with novels, DVD’s and CD’s, on the other side there is the café servery at the front, and two rows of 4 twin reclinable chairs, facing towards the back, this is when I noticed that there was a retractable movie screen above the window on the back of the room. The second lounge was more of a formal lounge room, with the baby grand piano.

“The next level up is the bridge deck, and is restricted too authorised personal, meaning Jay, Jacq, Amanda and myself only, it has my cabin, Amanda’s cabin, the skipper’s cabin, the navigation room and the bridge itself, this is your one and only warning not to go up there” I said as I looked at Sam and Marcus seriously, and they nodded their head in understanding as we sat down in the main lounge area.

“So, what do you all think of our new catamaran?” Uncle Jay said to us as he entered, “much better than I had ever imagined” I said with a big smile. “It’s absolutely wonderful Skipper, much better than the old Trident, and I am guessing there are a lot more cabins for guests” Amanda said to Uncle Jay, “Yes that is right, we have 4 twin guest cabins, 8 single guest cabins and the six guest suites, all with separate bathrooms, we have decided to go into the business of chartering.

Whether it be for sport fishing or for science research, as Nav has shown you, there is two large work rooms with plenty of work bench space. We will eventually fit each of those two rooms and the office area next door with computers, for science research use, but for this weekend, we have decided to have a nice relaxing time” Uncle Jay said to all of us.

“Alright crew lets prepare for departure” I said taking the cue from uncle Jay who had nodded in my direction, and Aunty Jacq was already on her way up to the bridge. Fifteen minutes later we were leaving the protected waters and entering Bass Strait, turning in a westerly direction to follow the coastline.

While Amanda headed towards the galley, I had shown Sam and Marcus the procedure for casting off the mooring lines, and pushing away from the jetty, before coiling up the ropes, and storing them away. After that was completed, we went to check all the outer storage lockers, to check that all the equipment there was secured.

As well as the two-inflatable dinghies located at the back of the Bridge deck, there is two emergency life raft capsules located on the forward main deck. In the storage lockers there is 12 sets of scuba gear, including wet suits of various sizes, as well as snorkelling gear, an aluminium shark proof cage, plus some fun stuff, like beach volleyball, beach cricket, some frisbee’s, as well as a portable barbeque, a foldup gazebo, foldup table and chairs.

Back inside and on the upper deck, we sat down in the dining room, where Amanda served us cups of tea, “So, do you have any idea where we are heading this long weekend” Amanda said as she sat down next to me. “Well since we are heading west, I estimate that we will be spending the night at Stanley, there is a sheltered boat harbour there, we should get there just before sunset, and I am guessing, that we may be heading down the west coast of Tassie, to explore some of the wilderness” I said to Amanda and the lads.

“That is exactly what we have planned, a good guess there, nephew” Uncle Jay said behind me which made me jump a little as I had not heard him coming up behind me, and I heard Amanda chuckle a little.

“If you are all up for it, I thought we would climb “The Nut” first thing in the morning, before we set off to the north of Robbin Island and then down the coast, we can stop off at places as we go, as we are not in any hurry” Uncle Jay said with a smile as he stood up and went to the galley, returning shortly with a cup in his hand which he handed to me and nodded upwards.

Taking the cup, I headed up to the bridge to give Aunty Jacq her cuppa, and I chose to stay up there and get familiar with the layout of the bridge. A lot bigger and more sophisticated than the bridge on the fishing trawler, I studied them all very carefully, identifying what each piece is, and studying it carefully.

“I think, I am going to have to get you to show me some of this stuff, it’s a lot more advanced than I expected” I said to aunty Joy, who smiled to me, “I’m sure Uncle Jay will give you plenty of training on how to use it all” she said to me. I stayed standing next to Aunty Jacq for about half an hour, before going to the navigation desk, to study the navigation maps, taking note of any shallow areas that we may come across.

After a while I went into my cabin, which I hadn’t had time to check out yet, having just dumped my luggage just inside the door earlier in the afternoon, and now as I entered, I could see that it was quite large, with a double bed, a lounge suite, a desk and chair, a large book case, and an entertainment unit and large screen television on the wall. Inside the unit, I found a DVD player, a Sound system, and a games system.

In the book case, are all the books, DVD’s and CD’s that I had in my cabin on the last boat, and some extras that had been added to the collection, and in one corner there is a walk-in wardrobe, and the door to my own private bathroom.

I unpacked my luggage, and stored away my suitcase, and sat on the bed and looked around the cabin, it is quite luxurious and I felt a bit spoilt with everything in the cabin. After a while I headed back down stairs, and I helped Amanda with preparations for dinner, with me being allocated my least favourite jobs of peeling potatoes and cutting up onions.

As predicted, we arrived at Stanley, shortly before sunset, and once moored at the marina, we went for a walk around town, and enjoyed watching the sunset from the beach. As we sat down for dinner, Uncle Jay cleared his throat, and we all looked up.

“After we have eaten, I would like Sam and Marcus to do scullery duties, that is washing the dishes and pots and pans, as I need to discuss some things with Amanda and Carlton” he said and both Amanda and I were caught by surprise by the last bit of his announcement, as he smiled to his wife before continuing to eat his dinner.

A short time later, Amanda and I were on the bridge along with Uncle Jay and Aunty Jacq, “ok now that we have the permanent crew together, lets discuss our plans for the weekend” Uncle Jay said to us, as we all leaned over the navigation maps table.

“It will be a distance of 60 kilometres, and take us about 3 hours to reach and sail through the small islands just south of Hunter Island, and we start heading southwards down the west coast. It will take us about 2 hours to get down to West Point, and another 1½ hours to get to Arthur River, a tiny town with a population of just over one hundred and twenty. I think this would be a great place to visit, as the river itself goes through some beautiful and rugged forest, and about 18 kilometres upstream is the junction of the Arthur and Frankland Rivers.

We will be able to sail as far north as the junction of the two rivers, and I thought this would be a great place to explore, as a possible destination for charters” Uncle Jay said. “I like your plan Skipper, are we planning to go further south, or just stay in that area?” Amanda asked, “Well, Jay and I have been talking a lot about the future since the sinking incident, and we have decided to relocate to the area.

We have already looked at a few houses that are for sale, and there is a good-sized jetty on the edge of town, plus a good highway that allows only an hour travel from Launceston” Aunty Jacq said with a smile.

“Yes, we have decided to sell the house at St Helens and move to Arthur River, it will be an ideal location to be based for tours up the river and out to sea. We will be also renting an apartment in Launceston to allow for you both to live more independently while you complete your studies at university” Uncle Jay said, “That is very generous of you sir, are you really sure about this” Amanda said surprised.

“I agree with Amanda, are you sure about this” I added as I too was surprised by this news. “Yes, it has been decided, we put the house at St Helens on the market four days ago, we have found a suitable furnished two-bedroom apartment close to the university for you both, and we thought with the launch of the new boat and the long weekend, it would be an ideal time to check out the surroundings of Arthur River” Uncle Jay said to us.

Amanda and I were left alone to study the navigation map of the area that we would be visiting, and we talked about the generous offer of accommodation, and we returned to the upper deck to find it empty, and looking out the back windows, we saw Aunty Jacq and Uncle Jay standing at the very back, holding hands and talking.

“I hope you find someone very special for you sometime soon” Amanda said to me casually and almost in a whisper, “Well I do have this totally awesome best friend, who is special” I replied which made Amanda chuckle, “No I mean a boyfriend, someone like Jacob maybe” Amanda said, I glanced over to her a bit shocked but also not too surprised.

“So, you worked it out eh” I said to her trying to keep a calm voice, “Mate I have known since the first day I met you, but that’s because I have had a few gay friends before, not because it shows in the way your talk or act, I think the rest of our class mates, including Sam and Marcus have no clue, but I also suspect Marcus is Gay or Bi” Amanda said to me.

Presuming that the two boys were in their cabin, we headed back up to the Bridge deck, and I showed Amanda my cabin, which she commented was a lot more comfortable that hers or the boys, and we sat on the lounge and played some games for an hour before Amanda kissed me on the cheek and said goodnight, as she headed to her cabin.

The next morning, I was awake early, and after a shower and getting dressed, I headed down to the galley, and started to prepare breakfast, I made scrambled eggs with bacon, corn and fresh parsley, which I then placed on buttered bread, and placed in the jaffle maker to toast.

I had completed 6 jaffles by the time Amanda appeared, and she smiled as she poured herself and me a cup of tea, before laying the table and pouring fruit juice into a jug, which was placed on the table. Meanwhile I had started making some poached eggs, and frying some tomatoes, and when done I made them into jaffles also.

Amanda went and banged on the boy’s cabin door to make sure they were awake, and to let them know breakfast is ready, and the skipper and Aunty Jacq appeared soon after, sitting down at the table with two plates of Jaffles in front of them.

After breakfast was complete, I took Marcus and Sam down to the main deck to prepare to set off, while the skipper and Aunty Jacq headed to the bridge. When we were away, I returned to the galley, to help with cleaning up the dishes from breakfast, and Amanda was looking at the cook books to decide what to have for lunch, and she prepared a marinade before placing 6 large steaks’ in the marinade, covering them, and placing them in the fridge.

When the galley was in order again, Amanda and I headed up to the bridge deck, and Uncle Jay asked me to take over, when he saw me arrive, and he went to the office, to make a few phone calls.

As I passed the office area on the way to the front of the bridge, I saw that Aunty Jacq was busy on the computer, what looked like building a website. Amanda sat with me to keep me company, and we just chatted about what we might see and do when we get to Arthur River.

Having cleared the small islands just south of Hunter Island, I changed direction to a south - south west position, and the seas were getting a little choppier, so I sat back in the chair, so I was more secure, as the boat started to rock a little, I looked at the weather radar to see how it looked ahead of us, and I could see that we will be heading into heavier weather, so I grabbed the intercom microphone, “All hands, batten down for rough weather”.