At Sea - 22. AS Chapter 22

“We sat at a table not that far away to watch, and it was good to see our son interacting with his Aunty” Jay said, and Jacq nodded her head in agreement. “We heard Elizabeth asked him if he is Mr Henderson the tours organiser, and she introduced herself using her maiden name, and explained that she had made a booking for a bike tour and station lunch for tomorrow” Mum explained.

“Brodie informed Elizabeth that he would be personally leading the tour, with another staff member assisting, and said that she and her 10 friends would enjoy the 4-hour long tour and lunch at a neighbouring cattle station” Jacq said to me.

“That is when I invited Brodie to come and sit with my brother in-law and his wife, and when he turned his wheelchair and saw us seated nearby, he burst out crying” Mum announced to me, “and Elizabeth wheeled him over to us” Jay added.

“I introduced myself as his aunty Elizabeth, as we approached the table, and once he stopped crying and gave us all a long hug, Jay here explained to Brodie, that the ten friends coming on the tour tomorrow are guests onboard the yacht, which is moored at the town jetty, just south of town” Mum said.

“So, what about his attitude regarding me?” I asked, “Why don’t to ask him yourself” Jay said with a big smile as he turned towards the door, where I saw my cousin in his wheelchair, and nervously I stepped towards him. “Hello cousin” I said, unsure what to expect, “Hey Carlton, I am really sorry on how I behaved last time I was onboard here.

I was being really stupid, and believed that what I was taught by my fake parents, was true. It took a few work colleagues to snap me into reality, and get me to truly understand that I was brainwashed by them” Brodie explained to me. “Well I am glad that you have changed, but remember what you said to me hurt, and it is going to take time for me to get over it” I replied.

“I understand that cousin, I just hope you can forgive me, and that we can be good friends again, like we were when we first met” Brodie said to me, “We will see, for now I accept your apology, and let’s take it one step at a time” I replied. “Well that I all I ask for” Brodie said, as I looked over to mum, Jay and Jacq, who were all smiling.

“Right let’s go up to the officer’s lounge, and spend some family time together” Jay suggested, “I have watch duty, so I will catch up later” I said, and I headed out to the main deck to check that everything is ok there, before heading up to the next deck, to do some checks, then heading up to the Bridge deck, where I found the family on the bridge.

“So, are you going to tell me who your guests are?” Brodie asked his parents, and Jay turned to face me, “You better ask your cousin, he is the one who had the most contact with them, and I smiled. “Come with me cousin, and I will introduce you to them” I said with a smile as we went to the elevator and headed down one deck, then went to near the back to the guest formal lounge area.

“Excuse me for the interruptions Sir’s, I have the gentleman who will be taking you on the tour tomorrow, who happens to be my first cousin, and he is Jay and Jacq’s only son” I said as I approached the guests, and Prince Joachim stood up and faced us. “That is fine Carlton, we were about to retire for the night” the Prince replied. “Sir may I introduce Mr Brodie Henderson” I said making the first introduction, as the other guests stood up.

Brodie looked at me, as he shook the Princes hand, then the hands of the other 4 guests, “Brodie, this is His Royal Highness Prince Joachim of Denmark, HRH the Prince of Sweden, HRH the Prince of Norway, His Serene Highness the Prince of Liechtenstein, and HRH the Duke of Luxembourg” I said to my cousin, who went visibly pale as he shook their hands, which made me chuckle.

“I am sorry sir’s, I didn’t tell my cousin who our guests are, until just now, so his reaction is a little bit expected” I said with a big smile and the guests gave a small smile, “You are a cruel man Carlton” the duke said to me, “That I am sir” I replied with a wicked smile, as I turned and wheeled a still shocked Brodie out of the formal lounge.

“You bastard, you could have warned me” Brodie said to me, after we were far enough away, and I chuckled at my cousin’s comment, “I am sorry cousin, do you forgive me?” I replied with a big smile, and this time Brodie laughed, as we made our way back up to the bridge. “How did it go?” my mum asked when we arrived, “your son is a sneaky bastard, aunt Elizabeth” Brodie replied, and we all laughed at his response, “Ok, so what happens now?” I asked.

“The last VIP suite is ready for Brodie to use for the night, he brought an overnight bag with him, so can you get him settled for the night please Carlton” Jacq said to me, “Yes I can do that” I replied, “Giddy up” Brodie said, “Watch it cousin, you are still on probation with me” I snapped, “Sorry Carlton” Brodie replied apologetically, as we headed for the elevator once again.

Half an hour later, Brodie was showered and in bed, and I headed to the bridge to continue watch duty, till 2am, when Jacq would take over. When I woke up at 6am, I had a shower and dressed in a fresh uniform, before heading down to the galley, where Amanda was busy with preparing breakfast. “Good morning, I didn’t hear you come to bed last night” Amanda said to me.

“You are a heavy sleeper, and I made sure that I didn’t wake you” I replied with a smile, as Amanda handed me a cup of tea. “I better go and get my cousin out of bed, so he can get ready for the tour” I commented as I took another sip of tea. “Actually, he left about fifteen minutes before you arrived, I gave him some breakfast half an hour ago” Amanda informed me.

Once the guests had eaten breakfast, they left the yacht and a small bus waiting for them, took them into town to go on the tour. Once the guests had left, I instructed all stewards to begin servicing all guest cabins, including Brodie’s, then clean all guest living areas, and access areas, so it is spotlessly clean by the time the guests return at 3pm.

On their return, the guests were relaxing on the outside upper deck, Sam and I brought some drinks for them, “Ah Carlton, your cousin did a wonderful job today, it was good to see a working cattle station, and I am sure the owners and staff had no idea who we were, but they suspected something was going on with us” the Duke said to me.

“That is good to hear sir, I am sure Brodie will be happy to hear the good review” I replied as I handed out the drinks, when we returned to the galley, I was surprised to see Brodie there talking to Amanda, “Hey cousin, I have just received a large compliment from our guests, regarding your good work today, they were very impressed with your tour today” I said to Brodie.

“Wow that is good to hear, shame I won’t be able to make use of it. I had a chat to mum and dad this morning, and with your approval, I would like to return to the yacht permanently, and I will put the business here, up for sale” Brodie said to me. “Yes, you have my approval to move back, but you are still on probation in regards to me” I replied, “I understand, and thanks cousin” Brodie replied.

“Right let’s get moving so we don’t get noticed by the locals” Jay suggested, as he entered the galley area, “Ok, all hands prepare for departure” I added, as Jay and I headed up to the bridge. It will be a ten-hour journey to Exmouth, and we estimated that we would arrive at about 0200 hours.

The journey up the coast and around the North-West Cape was uneventful, and with good seas, we arrived about twenty minutes ahead of schedule, and I decided to anchored in the Exmouth Gulf, about 10 km’s south east of Exmouth, so we are just out of sight of town. When Jacq took over for watch duties shortly after I had set the anchors, I headed to bed to get some sleep, setting my alarm for 0700 so as to be up to see the guests before they leave.

They next morning, after a shower and changing into a fresh uniform, I headed to the upper deck, to see the guests. “Good morning Sirs, I hope you enjoyed your trip so far” I said as I entered the formal dining room, “Yes, Carlton, it has been a lot better than we expected, and it is a shame that it has come to the end” the Duke replied, “It has been an honour to have you with us sirs, I believe, Jay has allowed you to call your people to organise transport?” I replied.

“The honour is all ours, now how about you take a photo so you can use it for promotions, once we are on our way back to Europe in a couple days’ time” Prince Joachim said, “That would be very good if you don’t mind” I answered, and I retrieved my mobile from my pocket, just as Jay entered, and he took the phone off me and motioned me to join the guests, who all stood up and stood against the wall, where I joined them, just as Brodie wheeled in, “Come on Brodie, you can join us” I said, and he reluctantly joined us.

After the photos were taken, Brodie and I said farewell to the guests, and we headed upstairs, to leave the stewards to finish up duties with the guests, and we relaxed with Mum, Jacq and Jay in the officer’s lounge on the bridge deck. When the internal phone buzzed, I stood up to answer it. “Bridge, Carlton speaking” I said, “Nav, Amanda here, the guests have left, what would you like to do now?” Amanda said to me, “We are about to discuss that, we will let you know soon, bridge out” I replied, and hung up the phone.

“So, what do you think everyone, what do we do next?” Jay asked as I sat down again, “I think we need a bigger yacht, so we can provide better facilities, as this is just a little too small” Jacq replied, “With this charter, we should be able to easily afford it too” I added.

“That was our thinking too Nephew, and for the past few days, your aunt and I have been looking at a layout plan of a ship that we think will be suitable, so now we are putting the idea to the whole family since we are all together again” Jay announced, and he reached down and grabbed something from under his feet, and rolled it out onto the large coffee table.

“Holy sh… shingles. I can’t steer that monstrosity” I said when I saw the profile picture of the ship, “I am sure with a little bit of practice, you will get used to it, just think of it as a bigger fishing boat” Jacq said to me, and I smiled. “Ok, that is a good way of looking at it” I replied.

“This ship was built only two years ago, but the company went bust, so it is for sale at a cheaper rate, it has a total of six decks, is 18 metres wide, and has a draft of 5 metres, with 12 Queen suites, and two Master suites split over two levels, all located on the lower and main decks. For the guests, there is a cinema, a library lounge, study lounge, a gymnasium, bar lounge and outdoor deck on the main deck, plus a dining room and a banquet dining room, and two lounge areas, the pool and two Jacuzzi’s and pool bar on the upper deck, and an observation lounge on the top deck.

The tank deck, crew areas on the lower, main, upper and top decks plus the fly deck are off limits to guests, with 7 senior crew accommodation cabins located on the forward, top deck, and 8 junior crew and 1 senior crew accommodation cabins on the forward upper deck. Crew living areas are located on the forward main and lower decks” Jay explained to us.

“Dad, is there wheelchair access for me?” Brodie asked in a concerned manner, “Yes, son there is wheel chair access, but not to all areas, the top two decks are not accessible, as the only lift, the guest lift, is located at the back half of the ship, below the helipad. We were thinking of giving you’re the senior crew cabin on the upper deck, which you can access via the pool deck, that is the closest you can get to the top, and the crew lounge areas are on the decks below, but we will have to make the bathroom bigger for you” Jay replied.

“Well it sounds like that you guys have already made up your minds to go ahead and buy it” I said, “We have, but we wanted everyone to be in agreement with us, before we went ahead with it” Jacq replied, “Well you have got my vote, where is it at the moment by the way?” I said with a smile, “In the UK, so I was thinking we might drop in and visit our royal friends while we are there” Jay replied with a big grin.

I laughed at Jay’s comment, “I bet they will be quite impressed with it, maybe we can give them a free promotional two-night cruise, to spread the word about” I suggested, “That is a brilliant idea Carlton” Jay replied. “So, by the look of its size, this is going to cost a lot of money to buy, do we have enough funds to buy it?” my mum – Elizabeth asked, “well that is the other thing we need to discuss before a final decision is made. We will need to borrow some money once we sell this ship, to cover the difference in prices” Jay said to us.

“How much exactly is that amount uncle?” I asked with a frown, wondering if it was going to put us in big debt. “Only $12 million Australian” Jacq said to us, and I coughed and choked a little, when I heard the amount. “You got to be kidding me, we can’t pay that much back, not even in my life time, and the interest alone on that amount will be huge” I said still in shock, “I have to agree with my son, that is way too much money Jayden” my mum added, speaking directly to uncle Jay.

Brodie sat in his chair remaining silent as he usually does when we are talking business, but I saw that he was paying attention to everything that was being discussed, and I looked over to him, to see if he had any views on the matter, “Sorry Mum and Dad, but I agree with Carlton and Aunt Elizabeth on this matter” Brodie eventually announced.

Both Jay and Jacq looked defeated and both stood up and headed to their cabin to be alone for a while, and I took Brodie downstairs to the formal lounge area, where Amanda and the crew were busy cleaning. “Can you leave us alone for a moment please” I said to the crew, and they all quickly left the area, including Amanda, who gave me a frown of concern before she left.

“So, what are we going to do about this Brodie, I am not sure if you are aware, but all of this was part of my inheritance, and since we lost the original Trident, your parents have been pushing to increase their property portfolios, for their retirement and for me, but now that you are back, it has all changed. I don’t know what to do” I said to my cousin.

“No matter what happens cousin, I will never forget the kindness you gave me when we first met, and the time leading up to me leaving the hospital. No matter what I have done since, you have always showed kindness and dedication, to make sure that all my needs are met, and I love you for that, even if you are gay or bi, that doesn’t worry me anymore” Brodie said to me.

“Well that is good of you to say that cousin, and goes a long way getting my confidence back with you, now back to my original question, what are we going to do?” I replied. “Have you been to University?” Brodie asked me, “Yes, I have a degree is Marine Science, and an Advanced Diploma in Applied Science, which includes Skipper’s ticket” I replied.

“Well I have an idea, how about with the money that I get for the sale of the business in Coral Bay, that we buy a fishing boat, and together we do fishing and diving charters” Brodie said to me, “I don’t know what to say, except that would be awesome, but what about your access problems, boats are not exactly wheelchair friendly” I said, “Well I have a little surprise there, I have been doing fairly well with my Physio Therapy, so I can get about with the assistance of a walking frame, which I have been keeping hidden” Brodie said to me, which made me chuckle.

“Do you have any vessel in particular that might be suitable?” I asked, “I do actually, at 24 metres long vessel, it has a large rear deck work space, there are two diesel engines and a generator, all accessible from the main rear deck, and below as well.

On the main deck mid-ship there is two store rooms, a bathroom on the portside and three store rooms and third smaller storeroom on the starboard side, with a 3-metre wide passageway through the centre, to the mid-ship open work space, that provides access between both sides of the ship, plus hatches to the two below deck freezer compartments.

On the portside there are stairs up to the main bridge, which has a large navigation desk and a small bathroom, and on the starboard side there is a steel door and stairs to the lower deck.

Below the bridge, on the forward main deck, there is a door in the centre, with a short passageway, halfway along to the left, a door leads to a large office, while the door to the right leads to the skipper’s double cabin and bathroom, and the door straight ahead leads into a large open room, with work benches on most walls, and a central table fixed to the floor.

Below deck to the front there is a door to a full boat width lounge area, beyond that is a dining mess, the galley, scullery & pantry. Mid deck, there are 1 double cabin with private bathroom and 2 twin cabins, with a shared bathroom, located on each side of the central freezer compartments, and a small crew lounge at the end of the passageway that separates the freezers from the cabins.

The two 20,000 litre fuel tanks, are located just forward of the generator room, with two store rooms separating it from the crew lounge” Brodie said to me. “Well it sounds perfect, where is this vessel now?” I asked. “That’s the best part of it, if we head back down the west coast, we can check it out at Kalbarri, where it is moored, which is about a 24 hours cruise away” Brodie replied.

I chuckled at this as he smiled broadly to me, “Ok, so do we tell our parents and my Mum about this, or do we wait and see how the inspection goes?” I asked, “Well I was thinking, that we say nothing, and try and delay our departure for a little while, till we release that photo of us two with the Prince’s, so it can boost the price of the Tour Booking Agency up a little, so we don’t have to borrow any money” Brodie said to me.

“I agree with you on that, so let’s take you to explore a bit of this town” I said to my cousin, “Sounds good to me Carlton” Brodie said as he turned his chair around and nearly ran me over with the wheel, as he headed to the door. “Cheeky reckless bastard, where did you get your wheelchair license from, a Weet-Bix packet or something” I said as I followed my cousin who was laughing.

“Aunt Elizabeth, Carlton is taking me out for a tour around Exmouth” Brodie announced to my mum as we approached her, “Very well dear, I will let Jay and Jacq know, any idea when you will be back?” my mum replied.

“This afternoon sometime, I would like to spend a couple days exploring the area, unless mum and dad have any other plans” Brodie replied, “Not that I am aware of dear, have fun on shore leave” my mum said with a smile, and I followed Brodie off the ship, so he wouldn’t run me over.

For the rest of the day, Brodie and I explored a lot of the area, checking out a lot of great tourist sites, travelled along some walk trails, and visited the Vlamingh Lighthouse, we had lunch at a nice café in the centre of town, and we returned to the ship about an hour before dark.

“Hey guys, did you have a good day out” Amanda said as we entered the indoor area of the ship, “Yes it was awesome thanks, although my tour guide is only average, I think he needs some more practice and training” Brodie replied, which resulted in him getting a slap on the back of his head from me, which made Amanda laugh. “Dinner will be ready in an hour, go and shower and change and relax” Amanda said to us.

When we arrived in the dining room for dinner, with the rest of the crew, now that the guests had left, I was a little surprised that there was no sign of Jay and Jacq, and I looked over to my mum, “They are having dinner upstairs, they just want some time to themselves to process everything that was discussed this morning” Mum said to me.

“Can Brodie and I talk to you straight after dinner please mum” I said when we were half way through dinner, which made Amanda and the 4 crew members looking at me and Brodie, with confused expressions, which Mum also noticed, “Yes, certainly son, that will be fine” mum replied to me, as we continued to eat our dinner.

While Amanda and the crew were cleaning up, and Mum, Brodie and I went to the formal lounge, “Before we tell you what we have been discussing today, we want to know what Jay and Jacq’s thoughts are on what they had proposed to us, and our responses” I asked my mum.

“Well they are really devastated actually, and a little angry that all three of us have gone against them, I have tried to talk to them to try and explain my thoughts on the matter, but they won’t accept it” Mum replied.

“Aunt Elizabeth, Carlton and I have been discussing our futures and we have come up with an option that will benefit both of us, hopefully with Amanda assisting. It will put Mum and Dad’s plans for a new ship, to a complete halt, but I am sure they can stay happy with this ship, with you and the rest of the crew keeping the show running” Brodie said to my mum. “Well that is going to be a big shock for them both, and I can see them not reacting very well, when you tell them” Mum said to us.

“Mum, with the small amount that I have saved, and the money that Brodie will get from the sale of his business, we will be able to set up a business that will keep us independent” I said, “What exactly do you two have planned?” mum asked us, “There is a 24-metre long vessel that is for sale, located in Kalbarri, which we though would be ideal, which is call “Denttri”, we want to stop by and check it out on our way back down the coast” Brodie replied.

“Holy shit, oops sorry mum, but I have just realised something, Brodie can you describe this vessel to mum please” I said out loudly, and Brodie described the vessel exactly as he did to me earlier, “Carlton, what Brodie described, sounds just like the original Trident” my mum said to me, “Yes, that is what I just realised just now, after he described it to me this morning.

What my cousin here didn’t do this morning was tell me the name of the vessel, which I presume has two “T’s” in the name, and if you take the last three letters of Denttri, and move them to the front, what does it spell?” I replied, and Brodie frowned, not sure what I was trying to explain here, then mum got it and smiled, “My god, don’t tell me it is true, could it really be the old vessel - Trident, that we last so long ago” mum said in shock.

“There is only one way we can find out, and that is to see if it has the access hatches for all three decks” I replied, “Wow, that is one big piece of news, are you going to tell Jay and Jacq?” Mum said, and I gave her a big smile, “I think we will say absolutely nothing to them, till we get there, except make and excuse to stop at Kalbarri for an overnight stop” I replied.

“Brodie dear, before your mum and dad had this ship, they owned three cray fishing boats, based in the north-east of Tasmania, the main fishing boat, which was 3 metres longer that the others, at just under 24 metres long, was called the Trident, of which this is its replacement, after it sank off the north coast of Tasmania during a wild storm, with your parents and your cousin here stuck inside.

It scared the hell out of me, when I heard about it on the news, but thankfully the fishing boat was strong, and sunk in shallow waters, and they were rescued after 14 hours underwater, wet but unharmed. Jay organised for it to be salvaged, so it wouldn’t be a shipping hazard, and sold it, we had no idea what happened to it after that” Mum explained to my cousin.

“Oh, I see, well wouldn’t it be nice to get the old Trident back?” Brodie said, “I don’t know about Jay and Jacq, but yes I would love to be on board her again, I spent my first five years of my working career on board her, it was my second home” I replied with a big smile.

“Ok, I will agree to keeping quiet about this till we arrive at Kalbarri, then once you have inspected the Denttri, and if it is the old Trident, then we will see what Jay and Jacq have to say about it” my mum said to us, which made Brodie and me happy.

At dinner time, that evening, Jay and Jacq joined us, and Brodie asked his parents if we could sail north east to check out the Montebello Islands, and they agreed that this would be a nice distraction from the past two days events, and early the next morning we left just after dawn and headed for the Montebello Islands.