At Sea - 25. AS Chapter 25

“We will need to set up the navigation office as a temporary cabin to accommodate Sam, or he can have one of the twin cabins if he likes” I commented, “Why not just have him sleep upright in the pantry” Amanda added, which made everyone chuckle. “I heard that Amanda” came Sam’s voice from the distance, and I roared with laughter as Amanda blushed.

We finished our early lunch, just as the lead contractor arrived, and we headed over to the Trident 3, to await the arrival of the people from the elevator company, who were running a little late, and eventually arrived shortly before 1pm, and we took the two men to all three levels to show the planned location for the elevator.

Once it was determined that a 1.2 metre diameter area was all that was needed to install the hydraulic lift, the contractor said he would get to work first thing in the morning, to make the required deck cuts and I offered the two men from Perth onboard accommodation for the duration of the job, which they happily accepted, and I went to let Amanda know that there will be two more for dinner and breakfast.

The store rooms on the main deck on the port and starboard sides, are all 1.6 metres wide, so it was enough room for the elevator and access for the wheel chair, to get in and out of the elevator and out onto the main deck, with an airtight door installed, to ensure that water doesn’t get down to the lower deck in rough weather.

Over the next five days, activity on the boat was full on, with the installation of the elevator, Amanda had moved to share my cabin on the main deck, to allow the other cabins free for guests, and while work on the elevator was happening, I also had doors installed to the forward area of the work deck, to keep the area free of water, and artistically designed steel gates at the back, so the whole undercover work deck can be secured at night, and allows the open undercover space to be used as another living area.

I suggested to Amanda that we get some outdoor furniture, to fill up some of the empty space, and Amanda was pleased to be doing some more furniture shopping, which made me laugh. When the work was completed on the elevator, I was on the main deck, looking at the completed gates and doors, while Amanda was downstairs in the galley.

I opened the storeroom door, which has a small ramp up to clear the small lip of the doorway, and I stepped in and closed the door behind me, and I headed down. The contractors had built some storage units along one side of the elevator space, as a safety barrier, while the other side has a small door, that can be opened on both sides. I was all smiles when I walked out of the elevator.

“This is awesome, now my cousin can go anywhere when he likes to” I said to Amanda chuckling from the galley. “Right, we have some final shopping to do in the morning, then it is a 4-hour sail south to Port Denison” I announced as I sat down at the dining table, as Amanda put some snacks in front of us, then a cup of tea each.

The next day while we were shopping, Amanda suggested that we have a giant large screen television be installed in the multi-purpose lounge, and include, Wii, X Box and Nintendo, which also has Internet access for Skype teleconferencing, which I agreed to. I also bought a second-hand manual, Land Rover Defender 4x4, which we used to transport the new outdoor furniture back to the boat, as the outer aft deck is big enough to hold the vehicle.

I backed it onto the boat, and we unloaded the furniture and set it up in the undercover area, before I pulled out the chains, out of the stores, to secure the vehicle to the deck. A few days later Brodie was released from hospital, grumbling that Hospital food was terrible, and he was pleased that I sneaked in some takeaway food every two days when I visited him, not realising that Amanda was doing the same on the alternate days.

Once Brodie had tested out the elevator a number of times, we set off down the coast, for Port Dennison, and later in the day when we approached Port Denison, with Brodie beside me, I picked up the radio mic, “Trident 3 to Trident 2, do you copy us over” I said with a smile.

“Receiving you Trident 3, is that you approaching the harbour, over?” came the reply from Jacq. “That is affirmative aunty, we will see you shortly, over and out” I replied, and we slowed down as we approached the entry of the harbour, and I could now see the Trident 2, moored at one of the boat berths, and there was an empty berth next to it, but instead of entering it, I directed the boat to the large freight jetty, so we could unload the vehicle.

Once we were moored there and the ramp was lowered, Amanda drove the vehicle off the boat and parked it in the main carpark area, of the harbour, while I raised the ramp and relocated the boat to the bay next to the Trident 2. “Hello, and welcome to Port Denison” Jay said to me as I came back down to the main deck, with Brodie appearing from the elevator, and I wheeled him off the boat and onto the jetty. “I like the harbour, nice and big and well protected from rough seas” Brodie said in reply.

“That’s what we thought too, nephew” my mum said with a smile. “Right, do you lot what to see the land that we would like to buy to build some homes?” Jacq asked, and about ten minutes later, and 650 metres down the road we arrived at the corner of Point Leander Drive and Samuel Street, directly opposite the small jetty. “What is that big vacant block across the street for?” Brodie asked, “That is reserved for commercial space, so it is not available for residential homes, where this block here across the road is, and so is that block just behind the commercial block” Jay replied.

“Ok, so what are your thoughts on what to do with the land if we buy it?” I asked Jay, Jacq and Mum. “We thought that we would build a main house, and a small apartment on this front property, with Elizabeth sharing the house with me and Jacq, and the apartment will be designed to accommodate Brodies needs, which he can share with you Carlton, since you now appear to be his primary carer.

The other property diagonally across, we will have three 2-bedroom duplex’s, to accommodate the crew members, when they want time off the vessels” Jay replied. “I like the sound of that, do you have any designs prepared yet?” Brodie asked. “No, but we thought the apartment should be in the far back corner of the block, and the house at the front, with the driveway being along the left side, coming off Samuel Street” Jacq replied, as we walked down that street a little way to get an idea of what she meant. “Ok, I say go ahead with the purchase of both properties, I think it will be nice here” Brodie said and I nodded my head in agreement.

Jacq informed us, that there is a delay with the special charter, as there has been a change of events in Europe, which surprised me and Brodie, “Why what has happened” I asked in a concerned tone, “Nothing bad son, it is only that the queen has abdicated in favour of her eldest son, to become the next King of Denmark, so it is uncertain if they will be able to come at all” Mum replied.

“Oh, I see, yes that is a good reason for them not to come” I responded, a little shocked at the news, just as my mobile phone began to ring, and the screen said it was a blocked number. “Carlton Henderson speaking” I said unsure who the caller will be. “Hello Skipper, I hope you haven’t stopped preparing for us, we are still coming, just with two extra guards that’s all” the reply said.

“Hello sir, I was not expecting this call, I have only just been informed of the change of your situation, but we can be ready in a few hours when required” I replied, “Very good to hear, we have just arrived in Perth on a private jet, what are your location coordinates so we can get to you” the caller said. “Sir I will hand you over to Uncle Jay, as I have only just arrived in this town, I will see you soon, bye” I said with a smile as I handed my phone over to Jay.

“Why hello Sir, this is an unexpected surprise…” I heard Jay say, as I motioned mum and Jacq to follow me out of the room, and once outside I stopped and turned to face them. “I presume you know who that caller is, he has arrived in Perth in a private jet, and is asking for our location, to get here” I said to mum and Jacq, “Well that will be easy for them, as there is a sealed airport just out of town” Jacq replied.

“In that case we better get a move on, Mum, can you find Sam and tell him to quickly pack and get over to the Trident 3, meanwhile we need all hands from this ship to get the Trident 3 into order. Julia and Amanda need to go and do some food shopping, and the other stewards can help us, to get the all the cabins ready for your 2 VIP and 4 security guests, and the living areas all spotlessly clean” I announced, before dashing off, and heading over to my boat, with Brodie now following having been informed by his dad who the caller was.

“Brodie, can you call the harbour master, and arrange for our boat to be refuelled right away, as we will need to be fully fuelled, as I suspect we are going to spend some time at the Abrolhos Islands” I said to my cousin, when I saw him following me. “Ok, cousin I will get right on it, running you over will have to wait till another time” Brodie replied. “Brodie, you will not do anything at any time while our guests are onboard, do I make myself clear” I snapped at my cousin, when I stopped and looked at him.

“Cool it cousin, I was only kidding” Brodie replied, realising that he had gone a little over the top with his joke, and I took a deep breath to calm down, “I am sorry for snapping at you cousin, but these are very special VIP guests, they are very nice people, and more importantly, they are royalty.

Please remember, that Amanda and I, plus Sam have had experience accommodating them on previous charters, they expect the best VIP service, and we work hard to provide that for them, so no clowning around, if you are in the way with your wheelchair, stop and reverse till you can get out of their way, there is no arguments on this I am the skipper of this vessel so I am in charge, even if you are the majority owner, ok?” I said to my cousin.

“Yes, I understand that, I guess I still have a bit of an attitude problem, thanks to my fake parents, I am trying hard cousin, really, I am” Brodie said to me with tears in his eyes, “I know you are mate, just keep trying and we will get through this” I said as I leaned forward and gave Brodie a hug, before turning and heading for the main deck forward area to check on the multi-purpose lounge, while Brodie headed up to the bridge.

As I exited the forward area, all 4 family members and five crew members from the other ship were running around at different parts of the boat, getting it into order for the guests, apart from Amanda and Julia who had raced off down to the nearby supermarket to get some food supplies, taking the vehicle so as to get the shopping back quickly.

Jay informed us that he had requested that the guests delay arriving at Dongara Airport, by two hours, and they would have lunch before leaving Perth, with it being just a 45-minute flight, that meant they would be delay for just over an hour. “Err, what are we going to do to get them to the boat? How far away is the airport from town?” I asked Jay when I suddenly remembered that we didn’t have any suitable transport for them.

“That is easy my dear nephew, the airport terminal is just 240 metres from the beach, 3 km’s south of town” Aunty Jacq replied with a big smile, “that may be fine, but there is no easy access onto the boat from water, unless we use the aft ramp, but it will still be a steep climb” I replied. “I think if you check the ramp carefully, you will see that it has a fold away section, that hardly gets used, so it is actually 5 metres long instead of 3 metres, once you take out the locking pins” Jay said to me, and I walked to the aft of the boat to have a look.

“Well I be damned, I had no idea” I said as spotted the small hidden panel near the back on the starboard side, to reveal hydraulic controls. I went and removed the unlocking pins, and returned to the control panel, and turned it on, before starting to open up the ramp to its full size, not only did it swing a lot further out, but it also dropped down by a 1 ½ metres, to provide closer access to the water.

I stepped down onto the ramp and jumped up and down on it a few times and it was very stable, and looking over the side it was just over ½ a metre above the water. “When you have quite finished playing around, how about helping us clean up” Brodie said to me from the aft deck, and I chucked at him. “Press the up button on the controls will you please” I said to Brodie, who did as I asked, and soon I was back on the aft deck, completing putting the ramp away.

In just over an hour, we had the boat shining clean, and ready for our guests, and Julia and Amanda were busy in the galley preparing dinner, plus some afternoon tea for our guests. The ladies had bought a number of native flower arrangements that were for sale in town, and they were placed in the guest cabin, main lounge and the multi-purpose lounge.

With there being just half an hour before the guest’s land at the airport, I went up to the bridge, where Brodie was sitting reading a book. I picked up the mike and turned the dial to onboard PA. “Attention, all Trident 2 Crew except Sam, please leave the Trident 3, all crew prepare for departure” I announced, and I started up the engines. Picking up the two-way radio mic, “Bridge to Sam, ready to cast off mooring ropes, did you grab a mattress and bedding from the other ship?” I said.

“Sam to skipper, yes boss, I have put them into your cabin, until we decide if I am sleeping in the pantry or not, over” Sam replied, and both Brodie and I burst out laughing, “Copy that, cast off” I replied, as I pressed the horn button to signal our departure, as I saw Mum, Jay and Jacq standing on the bridge deck of the Trident 2 waving to us. “Good luck boys, have fun” I heard Jay shout out to us, and I smiled and waved back.

About fifteen minutes later, we arrived at the beach opposite the small one level airport building, and I set the navigation to idle mode, so the boat will remain in position, once I had reversed it as close as I could to the beach without grounding it. “Can you stay on the bridge to monitor the bridge, while I go and help Sam with getting the ramp set up, and welcoming the guests” I asked Brodie, who looked shocked as I left the helm, with the boat still idling.

“It is ok, I have set the navigation, so it will stay in this position, no need to touch anything, just contact me on the two-way, if you feel that anything is happening” I said as I headed down the stairs and out onto the main deck, where Sam had secured the rear gates up against the wall. “That is some nice steel artwork on those gates, were they made in Geraldton?” Sam asked me.

“Yes mate, they are pretty impressive eh” I replied with a smile, as I headed to the control panel and opened it, “Pull out the two locking pins can you please” I asked Sam, who did as I requested, and I soon had the ramp being opened up, with Sam watching every move. “Glad you are taking notice, as you will have the controls when the guests arrive, just don’t touch the close ramp button, until everyone is off it, or the guests and I will be going for a swim” I said with a little smile.

From the aft deck, we watched as a jet aircraft circled the airport, then landed softly on the tarmac, and taxied to the small building, I had Sam lower the ramp down, and I walked the two metres of shallow water, to reach the beach, and I walked on the sandy track to the building, where I saw two security guards step out and look around, and I waved to them, and they waved back as I approached.

“Hello Carlton, you are looking well, your guests are just inside waiting for your arrival” the senior guard said to me, “G’day, and welcome back to Australia, we don’t have any suitable transport into town, so we decided to bring the boat to you, it is on the beach over there” I said pointing to the boat in the distance, before following the guards into the building, where a small crowd of locals had gathered to see the unexpected arrivals, with two guards trying to keep them away.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, I suggest that you back away and go about your own business, before I set these armed men after you, they have sharp teeth and they bite” I said politely to the small crowd, who immediately backed away, and I heard the Prince and Princess laughing softly, as I approached them.

“Carlton, it is always a pleasure to have you as our hosts” the Prince said to me as I shook his hand and I bowed my head. Your Majesty, I mean Highness, it is good to see you both again” I responded, which made the prince laugh even louder. “I am not king just yet, which reminds me, your Uncle Jayden, Aunty Jacquelin, your cousin – Brodie, plus your mother Elizabeth and you are all invited to attend the coronation ceremony in a few weeks’ time. It is about time that we return the hospitality, we will arrange accommodation for you near the palace, my parents are also keen to meet you” the prince said to me, which was a bit of a shock.

“Sir, we don’t have any transport to get you into town, so we brought the boat to you, just over 240 metres away by foot, on the beach, with a two metre stretch of getting wet feet, only ankle deep” I informed the Prince and Princess, “that is fine Carlton, it’s a great way to start our nice short holiday” the Princess replied with a smile, as I saw the four guards each carrying a large suitcase and a small suitcase each.

I lead the guests down to the beach, and onto the ramp, once the guests had removed their shoes and socks, and soaked their feet in the cool water for a few moments, with smiles on their faces, which made me chuckle, “Ok Sam, bring us all up please” I said loud enough for him to hear me, and a few minutes later we stepped onto the aft deck.

“Your highnesses, welcome onboard the Trident 3” Sam said to the VIP guests, “Thankyou Sam, a bit of change of environment for you I see” the Prince replied, “Yes sir, temporarily reassigned, with the chef threatening to accommodate me upright in the pantry sir” Sam replied with a frown, which made the Prince and Princess laugh. “I am sure that will not happen your highness” I added, as I frowned at Sam.

“Ok, lead the way” the Prince said to me, and we stepped into the undercover area, “Well this is a nice surprise, and I love the artwork steel gates, very impressive Carlton” the Prince added as he stopped to look, “As you are aware, Brodie is confined to a wheelchair, we have had a small elevator installed which on this deck is inside this storage locker, you are welcome to use it” I said pointing out the door.

Sam opened the door to the main stairs down, and I lead the way to the lower level, were Amanda was waiting in the main lounge, with a smile and holding a tray of glasses with Australian wine and apple cider. “Welcome back to Australia, your highnesses” Amanda said in greeting, “thankyou Amanda” the Princess replied, as she took a glass of cider.

“Sir, Ma’am, on this deck we have the main lounge we are in now, there is also a recreation lounge, study library and two Master and four Single guest cabins, behind the door at the end of the hall is the generator and engine rooms, Store rooms and fuel tanks, while forward of this room is the main dining room, galley and Sam’s cabin, I mean pantry.

On the main deck, apart from the outdoor living area and the aft deck that you have seen, there is a forward multi-purpose lounge, you are welcome to use, plus there is the crew cabins. On the bridge deck there is just the bridge, navigation office and bathroom, it is small and compact, but we made some recent changes so as to provide more space for guests, and we hope it is not too small for you” I explained.

“I am sure that it will be fine thankyou Carlton” the Prince replied, Sir, I am presuming that you would like to go back to the Abrolhos Islands for your short holiday?” I asked, “Yes please Carlton, I think it will be a perfect place to relax” the Prince replied. I bowed my head and headed back up to the main deck, “The ramp is secured skipper, and I am sorry about making that comment, it won’t happen again” Sam said to me when I appeared.

“I hope not, you will be fined for that transgression, expect $1 to be taken off your next pay, right, lets’ get on way to the Abrolhos Islands” I replied as I headed for the stairs to the bridge, leaving Sam standing there with a small smile on his face. When I arrived back on the bridge, Brodie was where I left him, in his chair staring at the helm controls, I unlocked his wheels, and pushed him closer to the helm, and relocked his wheels.

“Right, we are definitely going to the Abrolhos Islands, so I want you to push that double lever forward just a tiny bit, then press that button that is lit up orange, that is marked Idol Control” I instructed Brodie, who turned to look at me in a confused manner. “Well if you are going to learn to be my first mate, you need to start learning to take the helm, so lets’ get started” is said to my still shocked cousin, who did as I asked, and we were soon moving forward slowly.

“Ok, now see that dial in front of you that has Knots written on it, that is your speedo, grab the helm wheel, and slowly push forward the engine controls, until it reads, 6 knots” I said to Brodie, who could barely see over the top of the helm in his chair, so I unbuckled his belt, and lifted him into the helm chair, so he could see properly.

“We will need to get a seatbelt fitted for you, so you don’t fall off” I commented, “I think I will be fine thanks Carlton” Brodie replied, as we felt the seas start to make us bounce up and down a little, “We are only going half cruising speed because of the seas, as it may get a little rougher, when the winds pick up and the further out we go” I said to my cousin.

“How far is it to get there, and how long?” Brodie asked me, about 100 km’s north west, and it will be nearly six hours at this speed, but I am tempted to make an overnight stop just north of the Greenough River mouth, so we are not approaching the islands at night” I replied. “That sounds like a better option, we don’t want to tempt fate a second time with this boat” Brodie replied, “Very true, in that case that is what we will do, so we will get to the river at 1800 hours, just before dark” I replied as I picked up the two-way.

“Bridge to Galley, over” I called, “Yes skipper” Sam replied, “can you inform the guests that we will be doing an overnight stop near the mouth of the Greenough River, just south of Geraldton, arriving at about 6pm, and we will leave early for the remaining two-hour journey to the islands” I stated, “Very good skipper, Galley out” Sam answered.

“I am wondering if this is a big mistake letting the guests travel in this boat, it is small and a lot more unstable than the Trident 2, I am going to give your dad a call” I said to Brodie, as I pulled out the satellite phone from the drawer, and dialled the number to Jay’s mobile. “Hello, we just saw you passing town, is there a problem?” Jay said as he answered the call.

“Not really uncle, I have decided to stop just north of the Greenough River mouth for overnight, as it is fairly rough seas at the moment, and we are only going at half cruising speed, with your son at the helm” I replied, “Woohoo, well done son” Jay shouted, and I put the phone closer to Brodie so he could hear his dad, “He is doing well, I will have him trained in no time.

Anyway, the reason I am calling is that because of the rough seas and with this boat being a lot less stable, I would be happier, if you came up tomorrow as a support vessel, or take over hosting the guests, while we use this for day activities” I said to my uncle. “That is very good thinking, and I bet Sam will be happy to get back to his usual cabin on the Trident 2” Jay replied, which made me chuckle.

“So, you will do it, you will come up tomorrow?” I asked, “Yes nephew, we will see you before dark tomorrow at the Pelsaert Group of Islands, see you then, bye” Jay said before ending the call, “ok, lets change course to due North, for our overnight stop” I said to Brodie, as I put the phone away. Sam arrived with two cups of tea for us and he looked shocked to see Brodie at the helm, which made me chuckle, “relax Sam, he is doing a good job at the helm” I said to reassure him. “Oh, ok” Sam said still not sure about it.

“I will be at the helm tomorrow when we head to the islands, now while you are here, when the guests are out of sight, move your sleeping gear up to the navigation office, you can bunk down there for tonight, the Trident 2 will be meeting us there at the reef tomorrow, so you can go back to sleeping in your usual cabin tomorrow” I said to Sam. This news made Sam a lot happier, and once Sam had brought up his single mattress and bedding, he returned to the lower deck to assist Amanda in the galley, and with serving drinks and snacks to the guests.

Staying close to shore, but far enough from any reefs, we travelled up the coast in calmer waters, and we arrived at our overnight stop, just as the sun was setting, as we set the anchors close to the beach, with the bow facing the ocean. Once I was happy with our anchorage, Brodie and I headed downstairs, to see the Amanda, in the galley.

“Hi how are things going?” I asked, as I saw her and Sam busy preparing dinner, “Everything is fine, and better now that we are not bouncing around everywhere” Amanda replied,

“Yes, sorry about that, the seas have picked up a bit, reminds me of home in Tasmania a bit, anyway we are close to shore and facing outwards, so we won’t be rocking at all, and as you have heard, the other Trident will meet us out there in the afternoon” I replied.

“Stay put, I will give you and Sam your dinners in a few minutes, before we do dinner service for the guests” Amanda said to me, “What about the security team?” Sam asked, I have set up a fold up table on the undercover deck for them to eat” Amanda replied.

Once dinner was over, I helped Amanda with cleaning up, while Sam kept busy with the needs of our two VIP guests, and once I was done in the galley, I went looking for Sam, and found him exiting the Multi-purpose lounge. “Are the guests in there?” I asked him with a smile, “Yes skipper, I just served them some drinks, they are wondering what time we will be getting to the islands” Sam replied.

I smiled and headed towards the door, to speak to the guests, “Sir, Ma’am, I believe you were asking about our arrival time tomorrow” I said as I entered the lounge, “Yes Carlton, I understand that there was a lot of rough weather this afternoon, and that is why you chose to do an overnight stop here” the Prince replied.

“That is correct sir, I decided this for your safety and comfort. We have calmer seas forecasted for in the morning, so we will leave at 6am, and arrive at about 8.15am, also at no extra expense to you, with consultation with my Aunt and Uncle, they will be arriving tomorrow afternoon, were you can enjoy for comfort, and we will use this boat for getting around the islands, so you can explore” I relied.

“I see, well you didn’t need to do that, we are happy with things here at the moment” the Princess replied, “You may think differently once we have travelled over to the islands, if the winds pick up” I replied with a smile, and I left them to relax. Once I had checked that everything was secured, and double checked the anchors, I headed to my cabin, to get an early night’s sleep, since I would be up fairly early.

As predicted, it was a little choppy travelling over to the islands, and Sam had indicated that the Princess had not coped as well as she had hoped, but once we were with the reefs of the islands, the seas calmed down a lot, but we still had a strong breeze blowing. Our guest accepted the offer to change over to the Trident 2, and they stayed with us for a period of six days, with absolutely no interruptions from other vessels in the area, which the guests were pleased about.

The senior guard made all the arrangements for their departure, with a limo picking them up from the harbour at Geraldton, and taking them directly to the airport, where their private jet would be waiting for them. Back in Port Dennison, a day later, we cleaned up and prepared for when our next charter arrives, which we hoped would not be too long, and just over a week after the Royal guests had left, we received a registered letter from Europe.

“His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince and His wife, invite Mr and Mrs Jayden Henderson, their son Mr Brodie Henderson, plus Mrs Elizabeth Henderson and her son Mr Carlton Henderson, to attend their Coronation Ceremony in Denmark, by order of Her Majesty, the Queen of Denmark”.

The event was set for just over six weeks’ time, so the family sat down to start get organised for travelling to Europe for this big event, and a number of emails were sent back and forwards to Denmark, to assist with the planning of the trip.

When we arrived in Copenhagen, after a 4-hour stopover in Singapore, and a two-day stopover in London, we were met by drivers who had name cards with our names on them, and we were directed to two limousines, and we were driven from the airport to the central Copenhagen, and we were all a little shocked, when we drove through the gates of the Palace, and Henrik and Mary were standing at the front, waiting for our arrival.

“Hello my Aussie friends, welcome to Copenhagen, we wanted you to call in before you settle into your accommodation nearby” Frederik said to us as he shook our hands, and we bowed. “It was nice of you to invite us for this amazing experience, your highness” I responded with a smile. “Her Majesty and her husband, His Royal Highness, are looking forward to meeting you all, they have heard all about our adventures with your company” the Princess said to us.

I think most of us must have been looking shocked as the Prince chuckled, “Just be like you are when we are on your vessel and you will be fine” the Prince said to us, as he led the way into the palace. Just over five minutes later, we walked into a very large room, where the Queen and Prince Henrik were waiting for us, and they stood as we arrived.

“Your Majesty and Prince Henrik, may I introduce our Australian friends, the Henderson Family, Mr Jayden and Mr Jacqueline Henderson, Jayden’s son – Brodie, Jayden’s Sister in Law – Elizabeth, and her son – Carlton” the Princess announced, and we all stepped forward a little and bowed, before being invited to take a seat, and Brodie wheeled his chair to next to me.

Over the next twenty minutes we had an interesting conversation with the Queen and Prince, with the Crown Prince and Princess joining in on occasions. “Your Majesty, on behalf the family, I wish to thankyou for the invitation to attend this coronation ceremony in two days’ time, and the opportunity to meet you and his Highness today” I said after I stood up.

“Thankyou, Carlton, I hope you enjoy your stay here in Denmark” the Queen responded as she stood up, which was an indication that the meeting was over, and a Frederik and Mary led us back to the front door, where the two cars were waiting for us.

“We will allow you to spend the rest of today and tomorrow to look around, we will send over someone to help guide you around the city, and she will organise your transport to the Cathedral for the Coronation, just be ready an hour before the event.

Also, you will be brought back here afterwards for a small celebration, and we have organised some tours for you to go on a few days afterwards” Frederik announced to us, “Thankyou sir, you have been very welcoming” I responded with a smile, and less than five minutes later, we arrived at a holiday apartment building, and we were directed up to the second floor, via the elevator, where we had three apartments made available for us.

Attending the coronation ceremony, with us being about halfway down the cathedral on far right, so there was room for Brodie’s wheelchair, was an amazing experience, and the small celebration afterwards was really a formal sit-down meal, which was attended by a large number of European Royalty and dignitaries from all over the world, with a few familiar faces amongst them.

“Carlton, this is a surprise to see you here today, I spotted you in the cathedral earlier” the Duke of Luxembourg said to me, as he approached, me, “Hello Sir, its good to see you again” I replied with a smile, as I stood up and shook his hand. “I see you brought the family with you, I hope you all enjoy your time in Europe” the duke said to me, before returning to his seat.

We spent a wonderful week in Denmark, and it seemed a little sad, when we had to fly back home, to Australia, but in a way, it was great to be back home again. One of the first things that Jay did, when we arrived back at Port Dennison, was to post the photograph taken at the palace of the family with the newly crown King and Queen and Denmark.

After a few days of recovering from the international travel, Jay and Jacq called a family meeting, and we gathered in the formal dining room, while the rest of the crew were on shore leave. “Right, I have called this meeting to make an announcement” Jay said to start the meeting, before continuing, “Over the past week, we have received numerous enquiries for charters here on the West Coast of Australian, and the majority of them have been high profile celebrities and dignitary VIP’s.

At the moment we have accepted five charters, each of them except the first one, are 6 days long, so we will be very busy for a while, but that’s not all, Jacq and I have decided to Semi retire, and as such, as of now Carlton you are the Skipper of the Trident 2, and when trained up and qualified, Brodie you will be 1^st Mate” Jay said, and he turned to his wife, to allow her to continue.

“Because we are Semi retired, we have adjusted our shares of ownership of the Trident 2, as of today, Jacq and I have 34% shares each, and will remain the major shareholders, Elizabeth, you have a 16% share, Brodie and Carlton, you all have 8% shares each. If either Jacq or I pass away, those shares go to the surviving senior shareholder” Jacq explained.

“When both of us have gone, the 68% shares will be divided in a way that, my share goes to Elizabeth, and Jacq’s share to be divided between the two of you boys, then when she has gone, the shares will be evenly divided between you two boys, so you have 50% shares each. No shares are to be sold to anyone outside of this family, and if you wish to sell your shares, each family member has first options” Jay announced.

“Because you two will be flat out onboard this vessel, we are happy to assist with overflow charters on the Trident 3, to keep ourselves active, we will leave it up to Elizabeth to decided which vessel she wants to work and live on, and between you two boys, you can choose which crew you want, we just ask for at least one crew member to assist when we have charters” Jacq said to us.

“Well that is quite a surprise, and I will remain with you on the Trident 3, so I stay away from Royalty” Mum announced, which made us all laugh, knowing her phobia of being around Royalty, even when she had no choice in the matter when we were in Denmark, which she coped with surprisingly well.

“Well I think we will cope without Julia and Peter, when you need them or full time, which ever is fine with me, that way you have a cook and a deck hand, as well as the three of you” I announced, “Yes, we expected that you would say that” Jacq said with a smile. “Well let’s make tomorrow morning the change over of crew, and that way you boys can start getting organised for your next charter in three days’ time” Jay suggested, and I nodded my head in agreement.

I was about to ask for some more information about the charter, when Jacq beat me to it. “Your first charter is the Duke of Luxembourg, he had such a great time last time, that he has asked for a charter for himself, his girlfriend, five friends and their girlfriends, and 6 security staff, so that will be the 6 suites and 6 single guest cabins.

They have requested that they start their charter from Denham in Shark Bay, with stops at Monkey Mia, Coral Bay, Exmouth, Thevenard Island. We have already worked out that it is 1520 kilometres in distance, and they have the charter for twelve days, so there is plenty of time to cruise up the coast, but you will only have 3 days to get back to Exmouth for the next charter”, Jay informed us.

They will travel to Shark Bay Airport in a private jet, from Perth, and we have already organised transport to collect them and bring them to you at the Denham Town Jetty just after dark” Jacq added.

Later that day, Brodie and I announced to the crew the change of situation, and that as of tomorrow, Amanda, Sam and Marcus are permanent crew, along with Brodie, and myself, and that Peter and Julia, would live onboard the Trident 2 when it is not on charter, and on Trident 3 when crew are required for charters on that vessel. We informed the crew that crew changes would take place first thing after breakfast tomorrow, as the Trident needs to prepare for and depart for a 12-day charter in one days’ time.

The following day, we all got busy changing over, and it felt a little strange that I was now full-time skipper of the Trident 2. Because the skipper’s cabin was bigger, I allocated that cabin to Brodie, and I had my old cabin next door to his, while Amanda would have the third cabin on that deck. Sam and Marcus settled into their usual single cabins on the next deck down.

Once the moving was completed, we elected to leave right away, and so we said goodbye to Jay, Jacq, mum and their two crew members, and we set off for Geraldton, to do some shopping, including getting some more Kayaks, for the guests to use. We arrived in Geraldton, an hour after dark, so we moored for the night, and planned to spend most of the day shopping, before we set off again, so we all went to bed early soon after dinner was completed.

Because I was the only qualified skipper on this charter, I decided to rest as much as possible, as I would be having some very long days, and surprisingly Brodie agreed with this, and he chose to go with Amanda to help her with the shopping, along with Sam, while Marcus remained on board on watch duty. I also called in a marine mechanic, to give the vessel a quick service, to ensure that everything was in order, so there would be no breakdowns.

With a second night in Geraldton, we set off at dawn the following morning, for the 7 - hour journey to Kalbarri, were we would be stopping overnight, before making the 11- hour journey to Denham the next day, arriving a good four hours or more before the guest’s plan lands.

We arrived at Kalbarri just after noon, which I was pleased about, as it gave me the whole afternoon and night to relax, and the crew were given shore leave for the afternoon, where they had fun testing out the new kayaks on the river, and Amanda did some more food shopping to stock up the supplies that we had used in the last few days.

At five am the next morning, we set off once again, heading north for Shark Bay and the small town of Denham. During the day, as I had for the past few days, I had been instructing Brodie on the finer points of skippering a vessel like this, and he happily soaked in all of the information that I gave him.

When not at the helm, I had him start to learn about navigating, and learning to read marine navigation charts, and some times he would grumble about having to do homework, which made me laugh. Just after 1500 hours we arrived at the Denham town jetty, and moored there.

We had just over three hours to spare, before the plane arrives, so we locked up and went for a walk around town, exploring every street, and stopping at the beach to watch the sun set to the west which was spectacular. Once back on the Trident, we all showered and changed into fresh uniforms, to await the arrival of our guests.

For twelve weeks straight we had charters, and even the Trident had three charters in that time also, so everyone was kept busy, and more enquiries were still coming in for charters, which looked like it would keep us very busy for some time, which I and the rest of the family was happy with, and our future looked like it was going to continue to prosperous, thanks to our European Royal friends, who continued to recommend our charter company for a relaxing holiday with a difference.

The End