At Sea - 23. AS Chapter 23

Seven hours later, we arrived at the Montebello Islands, and we anchored in the centre between all the islands, which provide a safe and sheltered anchor. Jay and Jacq did all of the Bridge work, as I didn’t want to cause any issues with my uncle and aunt. Arriving just after 1300 hours, we had finished lunch an hour earlier, and I was preparing a dinghy to take Brodie and me to one of the nearby smaller Island, of which Brodie was getting a little uneasy about being so close to water in a small craft.

I had spoken to Brodie a number of times during the morning, giving him encouragement and trying to convince him to trust me, as I try and get him used to swimming again, and every time he brought up the matter of his useless legs, I dismissed his concerns and told him that even with his legs not working properly he could do anything that he put his mind to it.

Once I was set, having placed a backpack with towels and snorkelling gear, I carried Brodie on my back as we climbed onboard the dinghy, and we set off for one of the islands with a sandy beach. Once there I covered Brodies exposed limbs with sunscreen lotion, then carried him onto the island, placing him on the water’s edge, laying him on his stomach, and kneeling in front of him, I guided him into the water, holding onto his arms.

It took a while before Brodie started to relax and feel comfortable in the water, I was able to hold onto his stomach as he floated into waist deep water, and I encouraged him to use his arms to propel himself forward, and try to teach him to be able to float again. After about an hour, we dried off and headed back to the ship, where we showered and changed, before heading to the crew lounge, where we found Jay, Jacq and mum chatting.

“We were watching you, I think it is wonderful that you have been able to get Brodie into the water again, thank-you for doing this for our son” Jacq said to me, “That is ok, I am just trying to get my cousin here to realise that not having functional legs, doesn’t mean he is useless” I replied with a smile.

“Can we stay for a few more days please, the calm waters here I think will help me to get me more practice at swimming again, and I would feel a lot safer, knowing that I can keep myself afloat, in case I went overboard” Brodie added, “Sure son, I see no problem with that, and it gives the crew some time to relax as well, I have asked Amanda for an on-deck BBQ tonight” Jay replied with a smile.

“As much as I like our home state of Tasmania, there is some awesome places to explore here, and I was wondering if we can base ourselves on the West coast for a while” I said to Jay, “We have been discussing that same thing nephew, and we will be happy to hang around here for a while” Jacq replied, as Brodie and I smiled.

“Can we call into Kalbarri, on our way down the coast, I hear that the National Park there has some stunning views, and also the Pinnacles, near Cervantes, I’ve heard they are worth checking out too” Mum said to Jay and Jacq. “That sounds fine, anywhere else that you want to see?” Jay asked, “Yes I would like to check out the Abrolhos Islands again please” Brodie replied.

Later that evening the sat phone rang and Brodie being the closest went to answer it, “MV Trident 2, Brodie Henderson speaking” he said confidently, “Good evening Brodie, do you know who this is, without saying my name” came a reply, and his eyes suddenly went wide. “Yes, sir I do, did you have a safe journey home?” Brodie replied, “Yes we did thank-you, we arrived late last night our time, we just wanted to thank you for a wonderful holiday, and let you know that so you can release your media statement online now that we are safe” came the answer.

“Very well sir, thank you for that information, my regards to your family, bye for now sir” Brodie said, and he ended the call, and turned to face the rest of the family, “They are safely home, arriving late last night their time” Brodie said to us with a smile. “Now that wasn’t too bad, was it?” I said to my cousin with a big smile, “Bastard” Brodie said to me with a frown then smiled and I just laughed.

The next morning, I posted the photograph of Brodie and me with the princes, on the company website, with a short article attached to it. “The owners and crew of the MV Trident 2, had the pleasure of hosting European Royalty onboard their yacht over the past two weeks, travelling from the West coast of Tasmania, across the Australian Bight and up the west coast of Western Australia.

The princes enjoyed a day of exploring the southern mountains of the Porongurup’s and Stirling Ranges, near Albany and visiting a number of wineries in the region, before travelling around the South West capes, and up the coast to the Abrolhos Islands for a few days of snorkelling and scuba diving.

From there, the MV Trident continued north for a short stop at Monkey Mia to see the dolphins, and stopping at Coral Bay for a day of exploring, with the assistance of Southern Ningaloo Tours, visiting a nearby cattle station, and enjoying the hospitality for a meal, before ending the holiday in Exmouth.

Arriving back in Europe two days ago, four of the Princes, from separate European countries in the region, said they had thoroughly enjoyed their extended holiday in Australia. For the Danish Prince, younger brother to the crown Prince, this was his second visit to Australia, and second time onboard the MV Trident, on recommendation of his brother, who has been onboard a few times with his family”.

Over the next two days, I took Brodie out for swimming practice twice a day, in the morning and afternoon, and each time he was improving dramatically, which I was very pleased about, while the crew members went out either scuba diving or snorkelling around the reefs.

On our last night at the Montebello Islands, as the family and crew sat down for dinner, Jay stood to make an announcement, “Family and crew, it has been a very interesting few weeks, with royal guests and some relaxing time off here on these islands. The family has decided that we will stay in the Western Australia region, for a while, to see if we can pick up some charters here, and explore some of this wonderful state.

We have already had requests to stop at Kalbarri, the Abrolhos Islands and Cervantes, so that is our first few ports of call as we travel down the west coast, if we are lucky, with all the publicity we have gained from our online news release, and email requests for interviews, we may pick up some more charters as we go.

Julia, I believe you cooked dinner tonight, thank-you it was delicious, we will be heading south first thing tomorrow morning, so get a good night’s sleep, as we have a fair bit of travelling to do, in the next few days, that is all” Jay said and he sat down again.

The next morning at 0600, with me at the helm, we set off southwards, with Coral Bay as our first stop for food supplies and refuelling, with an expected ETA, of 1800 hours, and we will leave the next morning, once we are stocked up with supplies. When we arrived there, Brodie checked his emails, and found an email, notifying him of the sale of the business, and the price was way higher than he expected, which he was thrilled about.

The next stage of our journey south, was 18 hours to Kalbarri, so we delayed our departure till 1400 hours in the afternoon, so we arrive there at 0600 the next morning, when there is plenty of daylight, to manoeuvre through the narrow entrance of the Murchison River, into calmer waters. With the delay in departure, I spent the morning getting Brodie to do some more swimming practice in the reasonably calm ocean waters near the jetty, which he did very well.

Jacq, Jay and I took it in turns to be at the helm over the next 18 hours, with 6 hour shifts each, and Amanda and Julia kept us well stocked with food and drinks, and the trip was quite rough. I was at the helm as we entered the Murchison River, which was a lot narrower than I expected, and quite tricky, and I decided to moor at the town jetty, instead of at the sailing club upstream, where we knew the other vessel was.

Brodie had called the owners, to let them know that we would be arriving, and we arranged to meet at 1100 hours for an inspection of the vessel, and I was now getting nervous to see the old Trident again.

Once we had moored at the jetty, Jay announced that everyone could have the whole day off to explore the area, and Elizabeth asked Brodie and I if she could tag along with them for a while, and we smiled and said yes, knowing that she wanted to see if it is indeed the old Trident or not. After breakfast and cleaning up, Bodie, mum and I set off to explore the town at 0930, giving us time to have a little look around, before we head up the road to the sailing club, arriving with fifteen minutes to spare, and we found the owner already there.

The moment I stepped onboard, I knew straight away that it was the old Trident, I could feel it, and everything was exactly as I remember, with the exception of no central work bench down the middle of the covered area, plus the pot winch and tilt tray had been removed, making it a big open area. “Hello and welcome, is this what you were expecting now that you have seen it” the owner said as we looked around the aft main deck, and I looked at mum and smiled and nodded.

“Yes, I think it is perfect” I replied to the owner, “Will you take a little less than your advertised price, since it has had previous damage?” Brodie asked, once I had got him and his wheelchair onboard, and the owner looked a little shocked at his statement, and I chuckled, “Do you know what damage it has sustained?” the owner asked, “Why don’t you tell me” I replied.

“Well I am the second owner after the original owners, from Tasmania, so I only know a little bit about the story, apparently it was caught in a bad storm on the north coast of Tasmania, and hit some rocks and sunk, with three people onboard” the owner said to us. “That is right, a large tear in the starboard side hull, where the freezers are, the bridge and engine room also flooded, once it went down” I added.

“Ho… how on earth do you know all of that, hardly anyone knows about it” the owner said very shocked that I knew so much, “Because my dear sir, my uncle, aunt and I, were the three owners of this vessel, and onboard when it sank” I replied with a big smile.

“Holy cow, now that is one very big coincidence or what” the owner said to us, “Yes, that it is, thankfully my son here, and my brother in law and his wife were all unharmed by the incident and the 14 hours they spent stuck, underwater” mum said to the owner.

“Well then, I don’t need to go into the specifics in too much detail then, apart from that the hull was repaired and strengthened, the bridge was fully stripped and everything replace, plus extras were added, as you may have noticed with the Satellite navigation on the roof, she had two totally new engines installed, which have been regularly serviced, all cabins and living areas have been stripped and redone” the owner said.

“Have the internal hatches been kept as they were?” I asked, “Yes, they are still there for access to all areas in rough weather, you do indeed know this vessel well” the owner replied, “So, are we agreeable on say $5 thousand less for the damage, even though it is all fixed?” Brodie asked, and we could see the owner think about it carefully.

“Ok, I will agree to that amount, when do you want to take ownership of her?” the owner asked, “I can have a bank cheque to you later today, so tomorrow if that is agreeable to you?” Brodie replied, and he shook hands with the owner to settle the deal, and I patted the side of the vessel, “It is good to be back old girl” I said quietly, which Mum heard me say.

Over the next half an hour, while Brodie explored the main deck on his own, I went up to the bridge to look at all the new equipment, which looked great, and I tested everything to make sure it all worked, I even started up the engine, and let it idle for a while before turning it off again.

Then using the hidden hatches, I headed down to the main deck, and on down to the lower deck, where I checked all of the cabins, crew areas, then the generator and engine rooms, which were clean and oil free. When I came up the stairs back to the main deck, Brodie was sitting there looking out up the river, “It’s a nice river isn’t it” Brodie said to me, as I stood next to his chair, “that it is cousin, now up you get, so I can show you the rest of the vessel, so we can discuss ways of fixing access for you” I replied.

I picked him up and placing him over my shoulder, I carried him up the stairs to the Bridge deck, and mum folded up the chair and followed us up. Once in his chair again, Brodie frowned, “I hope you don’t intend to do that on a regular basis, that was so uncomfortable” he said to me, “No mate, I just did that so you can have a good look at your investment” I replied with a smile.

After a quick look around the bridge, I showed Brodie the small office, and then the door to the bathroom, “I don’t need to go at the moment thank-you” Brodie said to me when I opened the door, and Mum and I laughed, as I bent down and opened the floor hatch, and Brodie wheeled forward and peered over the edge.

“There is another hatch from the main deck down to the lower deck, I was thinking if we install an electric winch, with a chair of some kind, we could get you access, to all areas no problems, although the passageways may be a little narrow” I said to my cousin, “Take me down, and let’s check it out, a bit gentler this time please” Brodie replied.

“Giddy up” I said with a big smile, as I pulled Brodie up to his feet, “Hey that is my line not yours” Brodie complained and I just laughed, as I picked him up and took him down two levels of stairs. By the way, I was thinking of using the large office on the forward main deck as my bedroom, so I am close by if you need my help, with you taking the skippers cabin, which is big enough for your needs” I said as we arrived on the lower deck, and I lowered Brodie into his chair when Mum arrived.

The wheelchair could just get down the passageways, although he only needed to get to the dining mess and main lounge on the lower deck, so there was no real need for him to go down the passage. I saw that new railings had been installed along all passageways and stairs, and thankfully they were higher enough to not interfere with the wheelchair.

Back on the main deck, I wheeled Brodie forward, and showed him my idea for the large office, and he agreed with me that he would like me to be close by, he then asked me about the large work area at the front, and I suggested that we turn it into a cinema lounge, with comfy leather seats, and surround sound speakers, maybe a little bar in the back corner to serve popcorn and drinks, and Brodie loved the idea.

When we came back outside, we were surprised to see mum talking to Amanda, who immediately looked cross at us, or me in particular. “Ok Mr, what is going on here, and if I am not mistaken, this is the original Trident” Amanda said to me, “Yes, it is the old Trident, and Brodie and I have bought it back, as of noon tomorrow it is back in family ownership again” I replied.

Amanda’s frown disappeared and she smiled, “Wow really, that is wonderful” Amanda said as he came up to me and wrapped her arms around me and gave me a kiss, “My Mum and Dad don’t know about this yet, just the four of us know” Brodie added, and I would like you to join us as our only crew member” I said to Amanda, “I would be very angry with you, if you didn’t ask me to join you young man” Amanda said to me with a frown at first, then a smile appeared, and I chuckled.

“Brodie will have the skippers cabin, here on the main deck and I will turn the large office into my cabin, since I am his part time carer and slave, we were discussing turning the forward work room into a cinema lounge with drinks machines and popcorn makers, and we will install a winch system of some kind to give Brodie access to all levels.

You can have your old double cabin back on the lower deck, and the twin cabins we will keep for 8 guests, for our fishing and diving cruises” I announced. As we all left the boat, and started to walk back to the centre of town, everyone was silent, and it was me that broke the silence.

Once we have taken over ownership, I will have the old name removed, and I will contact the Department of Marine Transport to rename her, and I was thinking since she is reborn, how about we call her Trident 3” I suggested, “I like that” Mum said with a smile and everyone else agreed with the name.

“What are we going to do about telling my parents” Brodie asked, “I have been thinking about that, Mum, can you take them out for a day of sightseeing, and I will relocate Trident 2 to the sailing club, and get it moored next to our old Trident, and spring the surprise on them when you return in the afternoon” I suggested, and mum chuckled at this, as she agreed to the idea.

In town, we stopped at a café for some lunch, and had a bit more of a look around, stopping at the tourist bureau for some information, before returning to the ship, were we relaxed for the rest of the day. Jay and Jacq went into town soon after we arrived back, and seeing them holding hands as they walked away from the jetty was a great thing to see.

At dinner, my mum brought up the idea of a tour of the national park, to Jay and Jacq, who agreed to go with her on an organised tour, which would be leaving at 9am the next morning. At dinner, it appeared that everyone was back to their normal selves, with Jay and Jacq happily chatting to all of us.

The next morning before they left, I casually mentioned that I would move the yacht upstream to the sailing club, while they are on their tour, so as to top up the fuel, and get some supplies, and Jay saw no problem with that, which put our plan into motion for the big surprise.

Once mum, Jay and Jacq had left, I asked all the crew to gather in the formal lounge, so I could make an announcement to them. “Shortly we will be relocating to the sailing club upstream, as we have a little surprise for Jay and Jacq, when they return from their tour. My mum knows all about this, so we need to fill you in on what will be happening over the next couple of days.

Brodie and I have bought a fishing vessel that we will be turning into a fishing and scuba diving tour boat, and we will be mooring next to it shortly, as it is here in Kalbarri, Amanda will be joining Brodie and I on our new vessel, and Julia, you will be taking over as head cook here” I announced. “I was wondering why I had been spending so much time in the galley the past few weeks” Julia said with a big smile.

“That was because I wanted a backup cook in case anything happened to me, I have only known about these changes since yesterday” Amanda replied. “Ok, so let’s get going preparing for relocation” I announced, and I headed to the bridge. Twenty minutes later, we were moored at the jetty across from the old Trident, and after shutting off the engines, I headed downstairs, and I found the crew on the aft deck staring across the jetty, and Amanda was chuckling.

“Carlton, if I am not mistaken, this is the old Trident” Sam said looking stunned, “You are spot on there, my friend, it is indeed the old Trident, Brodie here found it for sale, and the first time he described it to me it didn’t click, until he described it to Mum, and he told me it’s new name of Denttri, shortly after that it hit me that with the last three letters of Denttri moved to the front, it spells…”, “Trident” Marcus said finishing the sentence, and I smiled and nodded yes.

“Wow, that is amazing” Peter said, “That it is, and I had no idea of any of this, until my cousin here and Aunty Elizabeth explained it to me” Brodie added, Ok, once the three of us are packed, can stewards please transfer our luggage over to the Old Trident after lunch please, that is all for now” I said, and I wheeled Brodie to his cabin, and helped him to pack up all of his belongings, of which a lot of it was already packed up, from when he moved out of his house in Coral Bay recently.

At 1130, Brodie and I went to the bank, and arranged a bank cheque for the full amount we will be paying for the Old Trident, and we arrived back shortly before noon, where the previous owner was waiting for us, and we signed the documents and handed over the bank cheque, to finalise the deal.

Once this was completed, I sent a text message to Mum, “Deal is completed, we have relocated to the sailing club, just upstream, see you when you get back, Carlton”, and Brodie and I headed back to the Trident 2, to have lunch with the rest of the crew, and everyone was surprisingly happy, even after the news that Brodie, Amanda and I would be leaving to start work on a new boat.

After lunch, Amanda and I had finished our packing, and we brought our bags and boxes down to the main deck, ready for the stewards to cart it over to our new boat, and I had asked the stewards to leave it all in the large office, on the main deck, and we would sort it out later.

Brodie suggested that we go for a walk around town, to try and relax before the return of Jay, Jacq and mum, which I was happy to do, as I we starting to get unsettled with the approaching surprise reveal. When we arrived back at the sailing club, we saw Mum, Jacq and Jay step off the tour vehicle, and I stopped and we waited as we watched them approach the jetty, and suddenly stopped, as they saw the second boat moored at the jetty.

As quiet as possible we followed them onto the jetty, stopping about 50 metres short, to wait and see what happens next, and close enough to hear them talking. “There is no name on the aft of this boat, but I could swear it looks so much like the old Trident” we heard Jay say, as they walked along the jetty to have a closer look at it.

“It has a lot more satellite technology on the roof, and it has a different colour upper decks, but apart from that, yes I agree, it does look like the old Trident, Jacq added, and I started to push Brodie closer, towards them, “Err that would be because it is the old Trident, and as of noon today, Brodie and I now own it” I said as we approached them, and I saw mum smiling, and my uncle and aunt looked shocked.

“We inspected it yesterday, and according to my cousin here, it is definitely the old Trident, and with the sale of the business in Coral Bay, we were able to afford buying it” Brodie said with a big smile, as I jumped onboard, and lowered the boarding ramp, so Brodie could wheel onboard, followed by my mum, and my uncle and aunt.

“Well I never expected to see the old girl again, it is amazing that she is still floating” Jay eventually said after a long silence. “We have a few changes planned so as to make it more accessible for Brodie, I will have the large office on this level as my cabin, and we are going to turn the large front work area into a cinema lounge, plus a winch system of some kind to give Brodie access to all three levels.

We will be calling into Geraldton to make those changes, and Amanda has agreed to join us, so as of today Julia has taken over as head cook on your ship” I said to my uncle and aunt. “It’s ok, I will stay with you to assist in any way” Mum said to Jay and Jacq. “Well I guess it has all been decided for us” Jacq said sounding a little disappointed.

“Mum, Dad and aunt Elizabeth, we just need to branch out on our own for a while, without having to rely on you both for work and accommodation, so when this opportunity to buy this fishing boat came up, when I was selling the Coral Bay business, I had no idea that it was the old fishing boat you had before it sank, until my cousin here made the connection” Brodie said.

“How about we go into the work area and sit down so we can chat about all of this” Mum suggested to all of us, and Brodie lead the way, running over my toes in the process, and I heard him chuckle, as he headed forward. Once everyone had gone in, I sat down on the ground and rubbed my sore toes, to try and relieve the pain, before joining them.

As I entered the room, I saw Brodie grinning broadly, and I growled at him, before sitting down, next to my mum, opposite Brodie, and we had a tense discussion of our new situation, and the two boats, and after a few minutes of general discussion, “I guess, I was feeling very insecure, now that Brodie is back in your lives, so when Brodie suggested this idea, I jumped at the opportunity.

I plan to teach Brodie to be my 1^st mate, and I will get him to qualify as quick as I can, so we can share helm duties, while Amanda will do galley and steward duties” I said, “Is that before or after you punish him for running over your toes” Amanda asked, which made Mum burst out laughing, indicating that she too had seen it happen, “Oh I am thinking of some kind of payback, but when he least expects it” I replied.