Beyond Frontier - 22. BF Chapter 22

When I stated that I wanted to build a business base on the property, which is six times the size of a standard house block, I was given an estimated cost of the land. I didn’t hesitate when told the price, and asked for the paperwork to be drawn up so I could make the purchase. At 4150 metres squared, or just over an acre, 84 metres long and 49 metres deep, it had plenty of room to have a main office for the business, and a new home, and I started to think of a design for the two buildings.

Once again, we settled into our rooms. I took care of feeding the animals and re-dressing Emma’s wound. She would automatically roll onto her back when she knew it was time to have it checked, which amused me. Then I joined the others at the restaurant for dinner, after which we returned to our rooms to retire for the night. Using my phone, I did a bit of online research into different designs of buildings, thinking of what I needed for my head office, and what I needed for accommodating me and my brothers.

The next morning, we set off again at 8am, with an estimated time of arrival in Jurien Bay at 3pm. We stopped off at Geraldton for lunch, and while there, we called into the offices of an architect unannounced. I was able to convince the architect to allow me half an hour of his time, and in that time, I arranged for him to design two buildings of simular design and layout, with unusual shapes, and wide verandas on both upper levels.

I handed him a bank cheque as a deposit, and left him my contact details in Jurien Bay, before returning to the vehicle, and continuing our journey. We arrived on the outskirts of town just as it ticked over 3.30pm. Going directly to the marina, we stopped at the carpark nearest the jetty where I have berths for all three vessels, and saw the catamaran sitting in its berth on its own.

I helped Sarah and Oscar to carry their luggage, and once on board I unlocked the main doors, and disarmed the alarm, as we stepped in. “Sarah, you can have the master crew cabin, which is a double bed, and Oscar, you can have the twin crew cabin next door. Both have their own bathrooms,” I announced to them, and I lead the way, through the formal living areas, past the study and down the stairs to the crew area.

I explained that all of this side of the yacht on this level was crew area, so they were free to use all of this space. After dropping off their luggage, I showed them where everything was, with the galley, which I was surprised was stocked up with fresh food, the laundry, crew dining area and store rooms, plus the second stairs that go directly to the crew servery and bar area. I said they could use the main deck lounge areas and study, as long as they were kept tidy in case of a sudden charter.

I let them know to call me at any time with any questions, and that I would be available most times, as I was not planning to go anywhere soon. Now with just the two animals, I set off to my house, which was now Jasper and Anita’s home, and seeing that it was almost 4pm I knew that the boys would be home from school.

When only Anita walked out of the house carrying young Micha, I was a little surprised that no one else had appeared by the time I had climbed out of the vehicle. “Hello Anita. Where is the rest of the gang?” I said in greeting.

“Marcus and Isaac have them for a few hours, so I can catch up on house work and stuff,” Anita replied as she gave me a hug.

“That is good to know. Let me introduce you to my two pets that I collected on my journey. Firstly, this is Roey or Roebuck for her full name. I found her abandoned at Roebuck Plains Roadhouse. And this little one is Emma, who Roey discovered one day when on a toilet run to the bushes. She has a stomach injury that I am treating, after seeing a vet up north,” I explained to Anita who clutched onto Roey right away, seeing how cute she is.

“You can keep that one away from me. I have had run-ins with those before,” Anita said pointing at the cage, and I chuckled.

“That is fine. I am needing to change her dressing twice a day anyway,” I replied, as we walked over to the cottage.

With two bedrooms and a small veranda at the front it was all I needed for now. I placed the cage on the floor and opened the door, and Emma waddled out and began to explore the inside. I just smiled. “She loves exploring new places, and she and Roey have come to a truce finally,” I said to Anita, as she placed Roey on the ground, and she too began to explore, with the occasional yap coming from one of the rooms.

“This is perfect. Thanks for this. By the way, all the boundary trees have grown a lot, providing a great screening all the way around now, and the orchards and vineyard are looking good too,” I commented.

“Thanks. We do our best to keep it looking good, and we get a good amount of our food from the orchard and the vegetable garden out back as well,” Anita said to me.

“When the crew get back tomorrow night, I need to have a full crew meeting. So, can you put on a BBQ dinner for us all, plus two extras. Where are Simon, Finn and the ladies?” I asked.

“Yes, that is fine. I work 6am to 3pm four days a week, so as to spend time with Micah and Nathan, plus with Jasper when he is not on a charter. The other crew are on their way back from Exmouth. They are bringing the Beyond Frontier back to Jurien Bay, as Jasper’s request. They should be back before dark tonight,” Anita replied, as we walked back to my vehicle. I thanked Anita for everything and she headed back into the house, while I drove my vehicle to the front of the cabin, so I could unload my luggage and swag.

I found my laptop computer sitting at the dining room table, so I opened it up and found an email waiting for me from the architect. “Mr Hamilton, thank-you for calling in to see us earlier today. I have a pre-drawn design that I think may be suited to you with some slight modifications to fit your needs. I have attached them to this email. Please let me know if they are suitable.”

When I opened the attachments, I liked what I saw: two hexagon shaped buildings, each one 16 metres in diameter. One building on the ground floor had a long hexagon room at the back end that was marked as a main store room or multi-use room, with three small hexagons in the centre in a row, one on each side wall. One was a laundry, the other a bathroom and the third in the middle had a spiral staircase. In addition there were two larger hexagon rooms at the front wall in each corner which were two bedrooms.

Upstairs, there was the entry via the central spiral staircase, a wide veranda all the way around, plus two more bedrooms in the front and back corner, diagonally opposite each other. The other two smaller rooms on either side of the staircase were a kitchen and a bathroom, with the remaining open space for lounge and dining room. Meanwhile the second building was slightly different, as it consisted of six hexagon shaped support pillars, on each corner, and a central hexagon staircase.

The upper level was identical to the upper level of the house, except the bedrooms would be offices, the kitchen and bathroom would be the same, while the two open areas would be a meeting room and a large work area. I clicked on reply and began to type. “Thanks for the plans for the hexagon shaped house and office, which are perfect. The only change I would require, it that the support pillars for the office be two metres higher, so I can have unrestricted views of the harbour.” I clicked send.

Just before sunset I left the Emma in the cottage and taking Roey with me, I headed for the Marina. Just as I arrived I saw the Research vessel entering the marina. So, parking my vehicle and carrying Roey, I headed down the jetty to where the vessel would be mooring next to the catamaran. On hearing the approaching vessel, Sarah and Oscar appeared on the aft deck dripping wet.

I guessed they were enjoying the Jacuzzi. They watched as the research vessel approached. “Is that yours too, Anton?” Sarah asked over the noise of the engines.

“Yes, it is. This is my research vessel, able to carry 14 crew and 20 guests. It includes some research equipment and a remote controlled mini sub,” I explained.

At that point the ladies jumped onto the jetty to secure the mooring ropes, and Simon switched off the engines. He appeared on the deck a few minutes later with Finn at his side. “Hey, boss. Welcome home,” they both chorused.

“Si, do you remember Sarah and her son Oscar?” I asked as I indicated to the fly bridge of the catamaran.

“Yes. Hello again. Jasper mentioned to me that you had bumped into them on a station up north,” Simon replied as he waved to them, and I turned towards the catamaran.

“Sarah can you come down. I need to speak with you and the crew that has just returned,” I said loudly so Sarah could near me, and she said yes. She soon came down the stairs with a towel wrapped around her.

“Let me shower and change. I won’t be long,” she said as he dashed to her cabin, and Oscar also headed downstairs. On hearing my request to Sarah, Simon had rounded up all of his crew.

“Where do you want the meeting, boss?” he asked me. Looking around for a moment I decided on the catamaran.

“Main dining room on the cat I think,” I replied as I stepped on board, and placed Roey on the ground. She immediately began to explore, which made me chuckle. I was pleased when I saw that she made no effort to go down any of the stairs, and once the exploring of the main deck was completed, she lay on the rug and went to sleep, as everyone arrived and went to sit around the dining table.

“Right. I thought I will let you know now instead of tomorrow when the rest of the crews are back. I have some ideas for changes. Firstly, how was the trip down Simon?” I said to start the meeting.

“It was great and uneventful, boss,” Simon replied happily.

“Ok, since my left arm is out of action for a while, I won’t be doing any skippering for a while, and I plan to take on more of a managerial position from now on. I am in the process of buying another block of land here in Jurien Bay, at 42 Oceanic Way. It’s at the end of the street, on the opposite side of the harbour. It will contain two buildings, a new home for me and my brothers, and my new administration headquarters, which will have an unrestricted view of the harbour and out to the coast. Simon, I would like you to become the permanent skipper of the research vessel, with Finn of course being the chef, and with Lisa and Rebecca being your two deckhands and stewards. We will have to find an engineer/first mate for you. Are you ok with this?” I announced.

“Yes, boss,” the four crew members chorused.

“Good. Now I am going to encourage Leon and Kirk to go for their skippers and first mates tickets, so they can take command of this girl, as I am sure that with summer approaching we are going to be busy with both yachts,” I announced.

“I would like to apply for one of the deck and steward positions on the Frontier please, Anton,” Sarah said to me. I looked at her carefully and smiled.

“You have got the job,” I replied, which surprised everyone, and I just laughed.

“Don’t forget, Si, she has the experience when she was sailing with us in the Pacific,” I added, and Simon smiled and nodded his head.

“Right. Now all I need is one more deckhand/steward for this girl, and two stewards and deckhands for the trimaran, and the engineer for this tub,” I announced. I saw the frown on Simon’s face and I just smiled. After some general discussion, I called an end to the meeting, and after collecting Roey, I said goodnight to everyone and headed for my vehicle and the short drive to my cabin, where my brothers welcomed me home with a big hug from both of them. We chatted on the veranda for some time. I explained why I had to go away for a short while, and the boys were fascinated by my pet echidna.

When the boys were called for dinner, Anita said that included me, so I followed them up to the house. Gramps and Isaac were there too, so it was great to see them again, and chat to them about my planned changes that I had announced to some of my staff. The rest would know at the BBQ the following day.

The next morning, I went to the local shire council building and made the applications to build on the property that I was about to purchase. I included the printouts of the plans sent to me by the architects. Next, I went to the real estate agents to sign all the paperwork for the land purchase, which would take two weeks till settlement. Once that was done, I drove to the block of land which already had a sign on it “Under Offer”, which I hoped was my offer to purchase. A quick phone call confirmed this.

Back at my little cabin, while Emma and Roey were fighting out a territory war, I opened my laptop computer and found an email waiting for me. “Mr Hamilton, we have been able to arrange for the steel fabricators there in Jurien Bay to take the contract to build the steel framing for your two buildings, once the land settlement is completed. I have also appointed a building company to manage the building sight for you, and they will meet with you on site tomorrow at 10am.” I was pleased with this news, as it meant that I would have a new home and administration fairly quickly.

That evening when I had all of my staff gathered at the house for the BBQ, I informed the whole staff of all the planned changes. Some of them were quite surprised by what I was suggesting, and Jasper grumbled that he would have to train two new crew members, since he would soon be losing his two deckhands once they had completed their training and examinations.

After an enjoyable evening the crew departed their separate ways and I spent an extra hour with Jasper and Anita to chat a bit more. I suggested that when I moved into my new place that we ask my Gramps to move into the cottage, so he can be a lot closer to us grandkids. Both Jasper and Anita were fine with that. The following morning I made my way to the property site where I met with the building company. I indicated to them that the business building had to be closer to the harbour while the home would be 40 metres away at the other end of the property, with a walkway on the upper levels, and raised walkway on the ground level to connect the two buildings,

I also asked for sixteen covered parking bays to be built in front between the two buildings, to accommodate all the crew’s vehicles, and a parking bay under the administration building for my current vehicle. My first vehicle which was still housed in the shed behind the main house was being used by Jasper when travelling with his family as Anita used their smaller vehicle to get to and from work.