Tall Ship Adventures - 7. TSA Chapter 7

“Wow, a nice yacht,” is it your family’s yacht?” I commented, as I scanned the outside of the yacht, “Nope, it is mine, a gift from my grandparents, it was rundown as it had storm damage when it was over east, but I have slowly been restoring it over the past two years, and now she is almost ready to go,” Jordan replied happily, as we walked up to the very small jetty, that was no more than two metres wide, and about twenty metres long.

“She is a beauty don’t you think? I named her Sheila,” Jordan commented, as I watched him walk down the jetty and jump onboard. “Yeah, she sure is, so you said that she is almost ready to go, what needs to be done before she is completed?” I asked, “I was waiting to find a suitable crew member to help me crew it now and then, and I think I have found the perfect person,” Jordan said cryptically, and it took me a few moments to realise who he meant.

“Me? You want me to be your crew member on your yacht?” I asked surprised by his suggestion, “Yep, that is what I am asking you, if you would be my crewman during the dry season, which as you know is fast coming to a close. So, I will be putting her into storage until after the cyclone season is over, for safe keeping from the weather, until April next year, just in time for the first term holidays,” Jordan replied.

“Wow… I don’t know what to say… I need to think about it a bit, and ask my folks about it too,” I eventually said to Jordan, “Not a problem, I am happy to wait, but… in the meantime, how about you climb onboard and we go for a short cruise,”’ Jordan suggested.

For the next fifteen minutes, Jordan ran through all the important information about the Sunreef 100 Catamaran, which has three decks, on the lower deck, there are three double guest cabins on the port side, and a master guest cabin, portside forward, a double and a twin crew cabins portside midships, and the crew mess and main galley portside aft.

Jordan explained that the original layout used to include a forward starboard crew cabin, with outside access, and also a laundry room, both of which have been altered so that space is now additional storage space. The bathroom in the master cabin is now where the walk-in wardrobe was, and where the bathroom was, is now the laundry. “Where do you plan to store your yacht during the west season?” I asked with interest.

“Point Sampson near Cossack has a small boat harbour, and it is only 20 nautical miles to the west of here, so it will take approximately three hours to make the trip if the winds are favourable, but if they are not and we need to zig-zag, it could take us up to five hours. I was thinking that maybe we could do that tomorrow,” Jordan replied.

We spent twenty minutes motoring down the river, towards the ocean, and once out in the open, we raised the main sail and headed out to sea. After about half an hour of enjoyable sailing, which I found challenging but rewarding too, we arrived back at the river mouth, and pulling down the sails, we cruised down the river, back to the small jetty where the vehicle it.

Once we had secured the yacht to the jetty and locked up, we jumped into the vehicle and headed back to the homestead, where the sun was starting to set as we arrived back. I spent a wonderful evening with Jordan’s family, with his older brother more interested in spending most of his time, speaking to his father about station business as we ate dinner and relaxed in the main lounge afterwards.

The following morning, I woke up to find the cottage very quiet and empty, so after a quick wash, I dressed and headed over to the main homestead. “Good Morning Mrs Sanderson,” I said cheerfully as I entered the main kitchen from the side door.

“Good morning young Zac, did you sleep ok?” Mrs Sanderson asked me, and indicated for me to sit, before pulling out a plate of cooked breakfast from the oven. “Wow, that is a big breakfast,” I commented, and Mrs Sanderson smiled. “We all eat well here to keep up the energy for all the hard work we do. The older two boys are doing a water run and will be back in about an hour,” Mrs Sanderson responded.

“What time did they leave?” I asked as I glanced at the kitchen clock on the wall which read 7.45 am. “Oh, they are always up very early, 5.30 am breakfast and off on the water run by 6 am,” Mrs Sanderson replied, “Wow, that is early, I thought Jordan and I were heading out on the yacht this morning?” I commented.

“The Weather Report this morning stated that it will be rough for the next few days, so Jordie has put off the plans to move the Cat for another time when the weather is a little better, The kids started school of the air fifteen minutes ago, how about you go and keep an eye in them while I go and do a load of laundry washing?” Mrs Sanderson suggested. “Yes, certainly, I would be happy to do that,” I replied, as I continued to eat.

“OK students, let’s have a bit of a news session, and let’s start with Ricky and Scott…” I heard the teacher say over the video conference, which allows the teachers to see all of the students, but each student only gets to see their teacher and not the other students, but they can hear them on audio.

“Well, as you all know, our second oldest brother volunteers on the tall ship now and then, and he had just come home for a brief break before the next voyage, and this time he brought home a fellow crew mate, and his name is Zac,” Ricky announced which caught me totally by surprise.

“That is nice, what is your brother and this Zac doing now?” the teacher responded, “Well, our two oldest brothers are out doing a water run, and for the past hour and a half, Zac has been watching us doing our school work,” Scott replied. “Step into the picture if you please, Zac, so I can see you and the other students can hear you,” the teacher asked me, which I reluctantly did.

“Hello, my name is Zachary Hynes, I am 16 years old, in Year 11 at a private school in Geraldton, and… hang on, if I am on school holidays, how come you are all at school?” I said changing the subject when I realised this, and I saw the teacher smile.

“Our school timetable is slightly different than standard school hours, as a lot of my students spend the afternoons helping around their homes or out in the paddocks. Now back to you Zac, what do you like doing in your spare time?” the teacher replied.

“Well, I work part-time with two jobs, one in a fish processing plant sorting the different types of fish, and the other in a small supermarket, restocking shelves. I do several sports during and after school, and I am a part-time boarder at my school, as I spend three nights at home, which is 65 km south of Geraldton.

My father works in Geraldton, so he brings me home on Friday afternoons and takes me back to Geraldton early on Monday mornings. I learnt to sail when I was 12 years old, and earlier this year I was a trainee participant onboard the STS Leeuwin.

Over a week ago I was asked by Ricky’s and Scott’s brother – Jordan, if I was interested in becoming a volunteer crew member, which I have enjoyed doing over the past week. Jordan and I will be doing one more week of sailing onboard the STS Leeuwin, before I have to head back south to start a new school term at Geraldton Grammar,” I answered.

“Thank you, Zac. That was very interesting, now onto the new student…” I stepped away from the front of the screen and camera and quietly stepped out of the station classroom, where I nearly ran straight into Mrs Sanderson. “Oops, sorry,” I said as I quickly avoided a collision.

“That was very nice of you to talk to the class about your life, the kids should have asked you for permission before springing that on you, I will be having a little chat with them later about that,” Mrs Sanderson said to me, “No, it is fine, I was surprised a little, but I didn’t mind at all,” I replied.

“Tim and Jordie are over at the shed if you want to go and be with them for a while,” Mrs Sanderson suggested, and I nodded my head and began walking over to the main shed, where I heard some swearing and banging going on. “This is one job that I bloody well hate doing, is fixing these damn broken down old pieces of junk,” I heard one voice say.

“I agree with you bro, we need to try and convince Dad and Pops to invest in some more modern vehicles,” I heard Jordan reply. “Whose that at the front of the shed?” Tim asked, and moments later Jordan appeared from under the truck. “Oh, hey Zac, how are you this morning?” Jordan asked me.

“I’m good thanks Jordan. Good morning, Tim. Having a few mechanical problems, are you? I’m afraid I know absolutely nothing about mechanics,” I replied, “Shame, we could do with a good mechanic right about now,” Tim said as he slid out from under the truck, and smiled at me.

The weather is going to be pretty crappy for the next few days, so I have decided to put off sailing for the time being, and just concentrate on work at the station,” Jordan announced to me, “Yes, your Mum told me that, during my late breakfast. So, what are your plans now Jordan?” I asked.

“After lunch, I am going into Karratha, so I can drop you lads off there, to save you the rough road trip back down,” Tim replied, I was about to ask how he was going to take us down there when Mr Sanderson entered the shed area. “Morning Zac. Boys, I have just done the weekly service on the plane, it is all ready for you to take down to town after lunch,” he said.