Oceanbank - 2. Chapter 2

I jumped out of my seat and dashed back towards where I had just moments earlier. I saw a distressed middle-aged woman in the last row of Business class seats, giving her husband soft shakes on his shoulder, and she was now crying, as a steward arrived. “Ma’am, my name is Cooper Hudson. I am a qualified paramedic. May I examine him, please?” I said to the lady, and she nodded her head. “Mr Hudson, what can I get for you?” the steward asked me, and as I looked up, I saw that he was checking me out, just as Banjo arrived.

“Hands off, Mr. He is mine,” I heard Banjo whisper to the Steward, who went beet red in the face, and I stifled a chuckle, “An emergency first aid kit if you have one, and you better let the Captain know that we have a Medical Emergency,” I responded, as I got to work, loosening the gentleman’s collar and checking his pulse, and as I stated his respiration and pulse, I saw Banjo jot down the information on a note pad. The steward reappeared, and he nervously glanced at Banjo before handing over a large bag to me, before stepping back to give me some room.

Inside the back, I found a well-kitted-out emergency bag that included a BP Cuff and a stethoscope, which is exactly what I needed. There was also a proper medical recording pad, which I handed over to Banjo, who glanced over to the window seat passenger. “I am in Seat 5F, would you mind relocating to my seat until this emergency is over or until we land?” I heard Banjo ask, as he glanced up at the Steward to check that it was ok, and received a nod of his head to agree.

Once Seat 7A was free, Banjo sat down and placed the emergency bag on his lap, facing it in my direction for easy access, as I continued to make my observations and pass the information on to Banjo. “Ma’am, it looks like your husband has suffered a stroke. He is ok for now, but we will need to get him to the hospital as soon as possible,” I said the the lady, and on hearing this, the steward dashed off forward to relay the information to the Captain, who appeared a few minutes later.

“Captain, I am Cooper Hudson, a qualified paramedic, and this is my partner in crime, Officer Andrew Patterson, of the WA Police, currently on our holiday. The gentleman has suffered a Stroke, and until we get him to the hospital, I am not sure how bad it is, but for now, he is in a stable condition. How far away are we from Sydney?” I stated when I saw the captain arrive.

“We are two-thirds of the way between Perth and Sydney, approximately West of Mildura, in Western Victoria,” the Captain responded, “Can we land there? Is there a suitable hospital there?” I asked, “I am not sure, but I would suggest a major hospital if it is serious,” the Captain replied. “Ok, we need some more information, and the best people for that are the RFDS,” I stated, “I will get on it right away. Although we are just under 1 ½ hours away from landing in Sydney,” the Captain answered, and I shook my head no, “Nearest suitable hospital please, Captain,” I stated, as I saw him nod his head and return to the cockpit.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, due to a medical emergency, we are diverting to the City of Mildura and will be landing in ten minutes. Please return to your seats and fasten your seatbelts. Stewards, please prepare for a landing,” we heard the Captain say over the PA a few moments later. “Here, you take this seat, I will return to the front,” Banjo said to me as he stood up and handed me the emergency kit. I sat down in the seat that Banjo had vacated and placed the emergency kit down on the floor at my feet, once I had placed everything back inside and closed it up.

As soon as we had landed, the Captain asked that all passengers remain seated, and once the patient had deboarded, we would be back in the air. I unbuckled my seat and checked on my patient, and jotted down some more notes on the pad, after checking his pulse, respiration and doing another BP reading, noticing the steward frowning at me for being out of my seat, as the plane taxied to the terminal, stopping just short of the main building, and when I looked out the window, I saw that we had parked right outside the RFDS Terminal.

When the door opened, three people entered, all dressed in RFDS uniforms, two were Flight Doctors and a Flight Nurse. “Hello, I am Carson Hudson, a Qualified Paramedic from Perth…” I started to say, as I began the handover procedures for the transfer of responsibility of the patient, as well as introducing the patient's wife. Two ambulance officers appeared carrying a stretcher, and we soon had the patient on it and strapped in, while the stewards assisted the lady with her onboard luggage.

Once the handover was completed, I handed back the emergency kit and returned to my assigned seat, while the other passenger returned to his seat. “Ladies and Gentlemen, we will be departing Mildura very shortly. Please remain in your seats as we prepare for take-off again.

We estimate that we will be in Sydney about forty minutes behind our scheduled arrival time, and we apologise for the inconvenience of the delay,” the Captain announced over the PA, and it wasn’t long before we were in the air once more. We managed to arrive in Sydney just twenty minutes behind the Captain’s estimated arrival time, and we were the first to leave the aircraft, because of what we had done during the medical emergency, as we headed straight towards our next flight, which would be leaving in just over 1 ½ hours.

Because we were carrying small carry-on bags and a backpack each, we didn’t need to go to baggage claim, as we had everything with us, and we headed to the Business Lounge to relax before our second flight. When we finally arrived at Norfolk Island, with no dramas on this flight, it was quite warm, as we stepped onto the tarmac and headed to the terminal, where a woman stood holding a sign – Mr Carson & Mr Andrew Hudson, and I chuckled at seeing this, as I indicated to the woman that it was us that she was looking for.

We were directed to the Car Rental Counter, where I filled in the paperwork and showed my WA Driver's licence, before we were shown to our rental car, a Holden Trax, which I had driven before, so I was happy with the selection we were given. As we drove out of the airport car park, Banjo pointed to the store almost across the road, so we pulled into the car park and spent the next twenty minutes purchasing a range of grocery supplies for the start of our stay. Using GPS, we soon located our accommodation, and we were met there by our hosts, who opened up the cabin, and gave us a quick tour, and a folder with our set itinerary that I had organised.

By the time we had unpacked and settled in, it was late afternoon already, as we grabbed a bottle of water each and sat down on the balcony overlooking the bay. “This is stunning. Thank you for choosing this place,” Banjo said to me, smiling, and I could see that he was now relaxed and enjoying the start of our holiday, until his mobile phone rang, and he glanced at the caller ID and frowned. “They know I am on holiday, why the hell are they calling me,” Banjo said as he picked it up and pressed accept and placed it on the loudspeaker.

“Andrew Patterson speaking,” he said to the caller, “Officer Patterson, this is Superintendent Jefferson from headquarters, it has come to our attention that you are spending your holidays over in the Eastern States and not in Western Australia,” the caller said, as Banjo tensed up on hearing the senior officer's name, “Yes sir, that is correct, I am travelling with an good friend and former high school classmate of mine, and he made all the arrangements, I had no idea where we were going until we arrived at the airport last night,” Banjo replied.

“I see, well, usually we are to be informed if you are travelling to another state. When is your return date?” the Superintendent asked, and Banjo turned to me, and I whispered 18 days to him, and Banjo nodded his head, before relaying that information to his superior. “Well, that is not good enough, what if we need you back in Toodyay before then?” the Superintendent responded.

“I am sorry, sir, but I had no say on where we were heading, and the flights are set and paid for,” Banjo replied. “We will be having a serious talk once you are back in Perth,” the Superintendent responded before he ended the call without another word. “He didn’t sound too happy about you so far away,” I commented, “Well, stuff him, I am on holiday, the first decent one in over three years. I am glad that you chose here, as it makes it more difficult for him to force me back to work at short notice,” Banjo answered.

We enjoyed a BBQ dinner on the balcony as we watched the sun setting to the west, and while I was cleaning up, Banjo went to have a shower, and this is when my mobile rang, and I stepped out onto the balcony to take the call. “Mr Hudson, I believe you were enquiring about possible cruises in and around the Norfolk and Lord Howell region,” the caller asked me. “Yes, that is correct. Do you have something available?” I responded.

“My Name is Amanda, I am the booking agent for the F5, a 60 ft Foiling Catamaran, that was supposed to do a charter at New Caledonia, but the charter guests have tested positive for Covid, and will not be able to travel in five days, so we would like to offer you to charter us at a slightly less rate,” the lady on the phone said to me, as I quickly retrieved my laptop from the kitchen table and started it up. “What other information can you give me on the vessel, while I look it up online?” I asked, and I was told that they have a crew of four and can travel at 40 knots in good conditions in open seas.

They would be able to take me either to New Caledonia or back to Auckland, with the charter starting at the time of pickup, so the cost of getting to Norfolk would be on the yacht owners, with Norfolk well within our travelling range, which is 2,900 nautical miles. We just ask for a preference sheet on food likes and dislikes a few days before we set off to collect you,” Amanda informed me.

“Yes, five days would suit us well, there is just me and my partner Andrew thou, so I am guessing that will make it fairly expensive for us?” I responded, “$12,900 per day plus advance provisions, for a three-day sail. It will take us just twelve hours from Auckland to Norfolk Island, which is where I presume you currently are, and we can cruise back to Auckland via the Bay of Isles, where there is plenty to see and do on the way,” Amanda responded. “That is a reasonable rate, and I am happy to pay that, so let’s book that in for say six days from now, and I like your suggested itinerary for the Bay of Isles. Send me all the details, and I will send you a 50% deposit,” I responded, as I gave her my email address.

At the end of the call, I visited the website of the charter company in Auckland and read all the details about the yacht. When the laptop notified me of a new email, I opened it up. I carefully read all the terms and conditions, and filled in Andrew's and my information before sending it, then sent the money to the nominated account to confirm the booking. I was smiling broadly when Banjo appeared clean and dressed in board shorts and a T-shirt. “Ok, what is that big grin about?” Banjo asked me.

It appears that what I had been looking into as the bonus trip had come through after all… oh… I just remembered about your boss's phone call. He won't be happy if he finds out that we are going to Auckland, New Zealand, in six days,” I responded. “Stuff him, this is my holiday… wait, did you just say New Zealand?” Banjo asked, and I nodded my head yes. “Woohoo, we are going to New Zealand,” Banjo said excitedly. “How are we getting there? Do we have to fly back to the mainland, and then over to New Zealand?” Banjo asked me.

“Nope, that is the best part of this surprise, we are taking a cruise… they had a cancellation at New Caledonia, and since we are half that distance, they are happy to come and collect us and take us to New Zealand, via the Bay of Isles and the East coast of the North Island,” I replied. “On a yacht? That would be too expensive,” Banjo said to me. “Yes, a yacht, a 60-foot power catamaran to be exact, just us and a crew of four for a total of three full days, with the first six hours being on open seas, then we will be following the east coast of the North Island,” I replied.

“Are you really sure about this, about the coast of it all?” Banjo asked me, “Too late for that. I have already sent the 50% deposit to them; all I have to do is adjust our flights, cancel the return flight from Norfolk and add a flight home from Auckland,” I added. “Wow, this is super awesome, so when we get to Auckland, what do we do next?” Banjo asked me. “That is what we have to sit down and decide,” I replied.

We decided to wait until the morning to start looking into what to do in New Zealand, so I had my shower, and we headed to bed, sharing a queen-size bed for the first time, and we were both fast asleep. The next morning, I could hear noises in the kitchen, and after a quick bathroom stop, I entered the main living area, where Banjo was finishing putting together a huge breakfast of fresh fruit, toast, a freshly made pot of tea and fruit juice. “Good morning, handsome. Did you sleep well?” Banjo said to me on my arrival, and I smiled as I approached him, and he leaned towards me and planted a kiss on my cheek.

“I did, thanks, Andrew. What about yourself?” I responded, “I did too, all that travelling across the country and over the ocean yesterday, totally wore me out.” Banjo replied, giving me a broad smile for calling him by his real first name instead of his nickname. We mostly ate our breakfast quietly and enjoyed the sounds of the ocean and the wildlife that surrounds us. “What is on the agenda for today?” Andrew asked me.

I have nothing set for our first day, to allow us to recover from the travelling. Maybe we can go for a bit of a drive to look around, and maybe check out some shops,” I suggested. “Sounds perfect,” Andrew replied, smiling. After breakfast and cleaning up the kitchen, we changed and decided to go for a walk down to the beach first. After a leisurely walk down to the beach near the Cascade Wharf, we returned to our accommodation and packed a backpack of supplies, namely sunscreen, bottled water, a towel and a change of clothes each.

With Andrew driving, we jumped into our hire car and set off to explore this wonderful South Pacific Island, and we were stunned at so much history in all of the old buildings. We had lunch at a café in the village of Burnt Pine, followed by a visit to the local Brewery, where we tasted some of their beers, ales, and ciders, which were superb. We returned to our accommodation, where we rested for a few hours after a busy day of exploring, before we showered and dressed to go to the local top-rate restaurant for some fine dining.

After a very restful night’s sleep, we were both up early on our second day, and we set off for a morning walk down to the beach, before having a shower and breakfast, before we were collected for our first tour during our stay, which was a tour of the former home of the famous Australian author Colleen McCullough.