Never walk alone- Walk on - 4. Chapter 4

Chapter 31
Having had a months holiday, it was straight back to work on the Wednesday, the day after they landed back home. Andrew and Ryan had meetings set up with Claude, Richard and Darren to discuss the various lodges and the charter operation, which although mainly problem free, were nevertheless long and tedious.

They took 'Belle Catherine' out on the Sunday for a company management day, taking the twins, Claude and François, Richard and his partner Eleanor, and Darren and Kerry on a day cruise to Grotto Bay in perfect Cape winter weather. A winter storm had passed through over the weekend before their return from abroad and there were none forecast until the Wednesday afternoon, so they took advantage of the lull in the winter weather to spend a bit of social time with their senior management team. It also gave them the opportunity to assess how she handled after her modifications.

They sailed out of the marina just as the sky was beginning to lighten and dropped anchor in Grotto Bay just before 09h30, having enjoyed breakfast along the way. It felt really good to be back on board the yacht with the feel of the ocean beneath them and the wind in their faces. They had both missed the feeling.

Then it was just sun and fun on the water after Ryan and Darren deployed the water toys and they weighed anchor at 16h00, docking in the marina in deep twilight. They were both extremely happy with the changes. Both Ryan and Darren felt that the additional length improved her seakeeping qualities dramatically, Andrew appreciated the additional space in the cockpit and the larger swim platform made it far easier to deploy the water toys and for the guests to get off and back onto the yacht when emerging from the water.

They were both in the office on Monday and Tuesday, catching up with paperwork but due to them both keep- ing an eye on their email accounts while they were away, the backlog was not too bad. Andrew had a fair amount on his plate however, as he was leaving on the Wednesday morning to visit the upcountry Devlin-Major Portfolio properties, which meant he would be away from home until lunchtime on the following Friday. He was not looking forward to the trip, as he felt he had had enough of travelling, but unfortunately duty called, and the trip had to be made.

He made sure to set aside some extra time for the twins on the Tuesday night, reading them their bedtime story and having a bit of a cuddle with them before tucking them into bed for the night. They were bothstill dead to the world when he slipped out of the house at 05h00 the next morning to drive to the airport for his 06h30 flight to Johannesburg.

The review visits were the same-old -same-old, and having done one in the morning and the other after lunch, he changed his flight to Durban and flew down on a late flight on Wednesday night, spending the night at the first of the coastal properties. The one drawback was that he had not been able to Skype with the twins as he had been en - route to Durban and the twins were already in bed by the time he arrived in his room.

Thursday followed a similar pattern to the previous day, apart from the two hour drive he had to make to get from the South Coast property to the one on the North Coast. Again, with no major issues to contend with, he was finished early and managed to get an earlier flight to Port Elizabeth to the final stop of his trip. After Skyping with his family, he and the owner had dinner where they got a head start on the review which was quickly com-pleted on the Friday morning, enabling him to catch the late morning flight back to Cape Town, arriving shortly before lunchtine.

He stopped off at the twins nursery school to pick them up and his spirits soared when they both came running round the corner into his arms. As much as he detested the trips, the welcomes he got from his two children when he arrived back made it all worthwhile. Their resilience never ceased to amaze him, as they seemed to have not been affected by jet lag at all, whereas he and Ryan had really felt wrung out for two days after arriving back home.
He got them into his SUV and drove to the office at The Cameron, where he checked in with Helen, who had nothing urgent for him to attend to, and advised that Ryan was on his way back from Blue Bay. So after dumping all his 'work stuff', as the twins called it, he took the children to the restaurant for some lunch, requesting Helen to tell Ryan where they were. Cameron and Elizabeth insisted on waiting for Ryan to arrive before ordering lunch, but compromised by having a soda while they waited for their other dad to arrive.

The staff at The Cameron adored the twins and whenever they were in or around the building, there would be a steady stream who would find some pretext to stop by and say hello to them and when Ryan walked into the restaurant, there were wide smiles from all the waiters and chefs as the twins leapt off their chairs to run and greet him, with absolutely no heed to Andrew's warning not to run in the restaurant. Both children were chattering exuberantly as he scooped them up in his arms and walked to the table with huge smile on his face. Andrew stood up and wrapped his arms around Ryan and the twins, giving Ryan a kiss that, although subdued, told him just how much Andrew had missed him. Their catch-up time would, however, have to be put off until later, as the two dads smiled indulgently while the twins chattered away incessantly. After Andrew told his family that he was taking them to their favourite steakhouse for dinner, they all ordered toasted panini's with potato wedges, ate quickly and headed home for some quality family time.

They were relaxing at home on the Saturday afternoon, while the twins were upstairs in their rooms when the doorbell chimed. Before either of them could move, Cameron came bounding down the stairs to answer the door. He came back up about 30 seconds later with a strange expression on his face.

"Um, dad, there's a guy downstairs wanting to speak to you", he said, looking at Ryan.
Ryan sighed and started getting up, looking at his son and said,

"Who is it Cam? Did he give you his name?"
Cameron shrugged.

"No dad, but he's wearing one of those headdress thingies", he explained, drawing a ring around his head
.
Ryan gave Andrew a puzzled look and moved towards the stairs to go down to the door, with Andrew following, in both interest and concern.
When they saw the man, they both gasped and stared at him, before Andrew said between gritted teeth,

"How dare you come here. After what you did.. How are you out of prison?"

The man stepped back in surprise and held up his hands. On studing the man again, Andrew realised he had been mistaken. He was definitely Arabic and was the spitting image of one of the men who had assaulted Ryan all those years ago. Andrew held Ryan's arm, who was pale and supporting himself against the wall. Glancing back, Andrew realised that Cameron was standing on the staircase. The twins had been told that Ryan had been kidnapped and assaulted, but had not been told the full story as their dad's felt they were still too young to fully understand.

"Please, I am not who you think I am", the visitor said. "I am, however, related to him. I very much wish to speak with you, Mr Devlin-Major".

"Okay, so who are you and what do you want to speak to Ryan about?", Andrew demanded.

"Please, may I come in. I mean you no harm. Just the opposite", the visitor replied

Andrew reluctantly stood back and motioned the man up the stairs, following him and supporting Ryan. Cameron waited for them on the landing, looking concerned at his dads ashen complexion.

"Dad, are you okay?. What's happening?"

"Cam, get dad a glass of water with two teaspoons of sugar. He's had a bit of a shock. Go!", Andrew told
him.

Andrew helped Ryan to the couch and helped him to sit down, and turned to the man, his innate sense of
hospitality overcoming his animosity.

"Please take a seat. Can I offer you something to drink? A soda or fruit juice", his training once again kicking in and realising the man probably would not have anything alcoholic.

"Just some water please", he replied.

Andrew went to the bar fridge and returned with a bottle of mineral water. He handed it to the man, his anger and animosity very evident.
The man opened the bottle, drank deeply and put the bottle on the coffee table . He sat on the edge of the couch, his hands on his knees and looked at Andrew before turning to Ryan who took the glass of sugar water from Cameron and patted the seat beside him to sit down and picked up Rascal who was between them, cuddling the little dog in his arms. Elizabeth, having heard the voices had also come down and sat beside Andrew.

"I truly am sorry. I did not wish to cause you any distress. I was here ten days ago and was told by your n
eighbour that you were abroad.
My name is Abdul. Prince Abdul. I am a member of the royal family in the United Arab Emirates. I regret to say, my cousin was one of the men who attacked you, Mr Devlin-Major. We, my uncle, the Emir and I, just recently found out what truly occurred and why my cousin was deported from South Africa and why, for the sake of expediency and diplomacy, it was covered up by the authorities here and at home. When he found out, my uncle was furious and all the officials concerned, at home, have been dealt with. As was my cousin. While we may not agree with your life choices, the Emir, and I, are progressive enough to admit that people are permitted to make the own choices. My cousin was one of the old school and a fanatic. What he and his so called friends did to you is unforgivable. The Emir has sent me to personally offer his sincere apologies for what our family did to you and offer you a gift in compensation. He has told me, to tell you, that he is aware that nothing can fully compensate for the pain and humiliation you suffered at their hands and to assure you that the gift is not a bribe in any way or form, but his way of apologising. He had put a lot of thought into the gift, and after finding out as much as he can about you, on Google and social media, has, he believes come up with the perfect gift. And that is my mission today. To offer our sincere apologies and to bring you your gift in compensation"

Ryan stared at Prince Abdul for long moments before saying softly, "You look so much like him. When I saw you at the door, it all came back. I thought it was him"

"Once again, I apologise that it caused you distress".

Ryan continued.
"I had no idea he had been deported. When did that happen?"

"Almost four years ago. The Emir was furious and confined him to the palace, revoking all his travelling prive-leges".

"You said something about them being dealt with and what about his accomplices?

"Well yes. Some of the officials were dismissed, others were banished from court. As I said, my cousin was confined to his rooms in the palace, as soon as he returned home from South Africa, for bringing shame and humiliation to the country and the Royal family. There were only a handful of people permitted to see him, under pain of dire punishment. He attempted to escape his confinement two months ago, and fell to his death while trying to climb down three floors from his apartments, although he could also have just let go. He left the Emir a letter revealing the events that transpired all those years ago. The others are all still in prison here in South Africa".

Ryan stared at Abdul and nodded.

"I honestly cannot say I am saddened by his death. He and his gang of thugs kidnapped me, assaulted and tortured me, and when they were done, left me tied up and alone to die. If it hadn't been for Rascal here, I might not have been found until it was too late".

"And that is why the the Emir has dispatched me to come to see you".

"Please convey our thanks to the Emir. It seems my life was not the only one affected by what happened. I was very fortunate to have the love of my husband, family and friends to support me through it all. And I can honestly say that I very rarely think about now, except on the actual date each year. But I believe that with their love and support, I have worked through it and it has not had a profound affect on my life.
I see now, that it was not only my life that was impacted, but a number of others as well, even today. You speak of a gift.".

"Yes, as I said, the Emir found out as much as he could about you on line, and took note of your business and other interests and decided on what he thought was the perfect gift. If you would care to look out of the window you will see it."

Ryan and Andrew looked at one another, but did as he asked and went to the window. They looked at one another with puzzled expression. All they could see below was a large white Mercedes vehicle.

"Are you talking about the Mercedes. Is that not the vehicle you are in?.

"It is, yes. But look up. What do you see?".

They lifted their gaze and Cameron was the first to register the implications of what they were seeing.

"Wow dad, that's so cool!" as they stared in awe.
Andrew turned to Abdul.

"He's gifting Ryan a motor yacht?", he asked in amazement.
Abdul's white teeth gleamed as he grinned.

"Yes, he is. I must add that it is not new, but is in perfect condition, fully operational and fully crewed. A captain and four crew. All South African. It was one of the emirs many yachts, one that he is no longer using. But I can assure you, she is extremely comfortable. I was on board for the journey here from home.

It is a Sunseeker 116, built in the United Kingdom and is four years old. She has four guest cabins, a master suite, a captains cabin, and two crew cabins. She has a full complement of accessories and is capable of transocean voyages. Furthermore, a permanent berth has been acquired for her in the marina where your own yacht is berthed and ownership of both the berth and the yacht will be transferred to you. I also have a bank draft that will cover the crews salaries and projected maintenance and operational costs for a period of 5 years."

Andrew and Ryan gaped at him as if he had suddenly grown two heads and Ryan sat down with a thump, stunned by what he had just heard.

"Good grief", Andrew said, "By my estimates that equates to somewhere in the region of 100 million rand."
Abdul nodded.

"Actually, about 15million US dollars"

"That is, if you will pardon my language, one helluva lot of money for a gift", Ryan told him.

"It may be to you sir, but for the emir", Abdul shrugged, "It is a means of righting a wrong. So what do you say? Do you accept the gift?"
Ryan looked at Andrew questioningly who said,

"It's a gift to you my love. It is up you. I'll support any decision any you take".

Cameron jumped up. "Please keep it dad. It's so cool. My friends will be soooo jealous".

Ryan turned to look at the sleek white vessel floating out on the bay in front of the house. He studied it for a while and then turned turned back and nodded.

"Yes, I accept. With grateful thanks. With the proviso that should we not find it suitable, we will sell it"

Abdul smiled broadly, pulled an envelope out of his pocket and handed it to Ryan.

"Those are all the documents you require to register the vessel in your name, the deed for the berth and the bank draft", he said, thumbing the speed dial on his mobile.

"Good afternoon to you captain. This is Prince Abdul. You may continue and take her to her new berth. I will come aboard once you are berthed and collect my belongings. Thank you for a very pleasant voyage and for your service".

He looked at them and extended his hand.

"One last thing. The captain is aware of the arrangements we have made with you. The rest of the crew do not. It is up to you whether you wish to enlighten them or not. Now, my work here is done. It was a pleasure meeting you Mr Devlin-Major. You and your family. Once again, our sincere apologies for your terrible experience at the hands one of our family".

They accompanied him downstairs, watched him get into the car and drive away, still somewhat shell-shocked by what had just transpired. They turned to return to the lounge when out in the bay, the yacht blew her horn and the flag on the mast was lowered and another raised in its place. They went back upstairs, Andrew fetched the binoculars and focused on the vessel as it started moving across the bay to the harbour mouth.

"Take a look" he said to Ryan, nudging him.
Ryan took the binoculars and lifted them to his eyes and smiled.

The yacht was flying the Devlin-Major Portfolio company flag.

"It seems the Emir has done his homework very thoroughly", Ryan said with a grin, some colour coming back into his complexion. "Come on kids, get you shoes on. We have a yacht to see".

It took almost an hour to get ready, lock up and leave the house, taking Rascal with them, with Andrew driving. As they drove towards the city they could see the yacht just entering the harbour and then turn to starboard and all but disappear behind the breakwater, her mast array just visible to mark her progress.

By the time they arrived at the marina, Ryan had opened the documents that he had been given, done a quick read through and discovered that the Emir had indeed been very thorough. The berth that had been purchased to accommodate the yacht was directly adjacent to the berth that 'Belle Catherine' currently occupied and, coin-cidentally, was the same berth that the catamaran on which the four men who had assaulted Ryan had been on was berthed on that awful night.

When they pulled up on the dock next to 'Belle Catherine', Darren and Kerry were in the aft cockpit watching the gleaming white motor yacht moored astern of them. They stepped off 'Belle Catherine' as the Devlin-Majors got out of the SUV.

"This is a surprise! We weren't expecting to see you guys today", Darren said .

"Hi Darren, hi Kerry", Ryan replied, "We weren't expecting to come down either, but something came up"

"I hope it isn't a problem, is it?, Kerry enquired with an anxious expression on her face.

"No, not at all", Andrew said, joining them. The twins had taken Rascal and wandered down the dock to look at the yacht, their dad's both keeping an eye on them. They all looked at the vessel now secure to the dock with the crew moving around on the main deck aft, tidying up the mooring stations.

"Very nice, isn't she?", Darren commented."I love the angular design of the windows in the super-structure and the smoked glass. Makes her look really sleek and modern. Not often we get something like her here in the marina. They normally dock at the Waterfront. I must admit, the crew are incredibly slick. They were tied up and all buttoned up very quickly. Wonder who her owner is?

Ryan grinned and flexed his eyebrows up and down a few of times. It took Darren a couple of seconds and then his eyes widened.

"Fuck me, it's yours!, he exclaimed, ducking as Andrew took a swipe at the back of his head.

"Language Darren, we have children present".

"Sorry Andrew! But what the hell? You got to be kidding me!"
Still grinning, Ryan said,

"Not kidding you. Ours as of today. Came as a bit of a surprise for us too. A gift from an Emir in the UAE to apologise for the assault on me. His brothers son was apparently the ringleader and he only recently was told the truth about what happened. His nephew, Prince Abdul, arrived at the house this afternoon, half scaring us to death because he looked so much like his cousin, and delivered the papers along with an official apology from the Emir".

Kerry was open mouthed by this time, scarcely believing what she was hearing.

"So he gave you this yacht to say sorry?", she questioned in awe.
Ryan nodded.

"Apparently yes. With a fully paid crew for five years and a berth in my name, also fully paid for".

"Wow, talk about payback! Good payback!, Darren added. "So when can we have a look at her?"

"Right now. We're about to introduce ourselves to the captain and crew", Ryan replied, turning to stroll towards the yacht, proudly displaying her name on her transom. 'Amira' - 'Princess', and her port of registry, Cape Town. He smiled when he saw that, concluding that the Emir was obviously a very confident man.

She was berthed with her port side against the dock, the pritind white hull protected by buffers hanging over the side.
A paserelle had been positioned onto the dockside from the swimming platform aft and a crewman who was adjusting the handrails of the paserelle glanced up as they approached.

"Good afternoon, may I help you", he enquired.

Ryan stopped and extended his hand in greeting, taking note that he looked smart in his black trousers, white shirt with 'Amira' embroidered in gold thread on the pocket and black deck shoes with white soles. His name badge identified him as Gary.

"Good afternoon Gary. My name is Ryan Devlin-Major and I believe I am the new owner of this beauty"
Gary's eyes widened in surprise.

"Oh, yes. Good afternoon Mr Devlin-Major. We were not expecting you so soon. One moment please.", he stammered, and spoke into the radio phone on his shoulder.

"Captain, it's Gary. I'm on the dock and have got Mr Devlin-Major with me".

"Well, don't keep the man waiting. Bring him on board. I will be right down", came the prompt reply.

"My apologies Mr Devlin-Major for keeping you waiting. This way please. I hope you weren't expecting to see Prince Abdul. He has just left for the airport to fly back home", he said, leading them onto the swimming platform just as, judging by the four gold stripes on his epaulette, the captain arrived at the top of the steps to the main deck with the remainder of the crew. He saluted, then extended his hand as Ryan stepped onto the main deck.

"Good afternoon Mr Devlin-Major. Welcome aboard 'Amira'. Michael Bester, your captain. Allow me to introduce the crew. You've already met Gary Upton. He's a deckhand and the tender pilot. On my right in order is Brian Shaw, our Chief Engineer, Ray Carleson, the chef and our two stewards Christine Turner and Ashleigh Goodman"

"Good afternoon Michael. Firstly, please call me Ryan. Devlin-Major is a bit of a mouthful all the time. Thank you for the welcome", drawing Andrew and the twins closer. "This is Andrew, my husband and business partner, our twins, Cameron and Elizabeth, and our catamaran captain and hostess, Darren and Kerry, and last, but not least, our other baby Rascal" as everyone shook hands all round.

"Welcome aboard, all of you. Do you want me to show you around while Chris and Ash rustle up some refresh-ments., or do you want to wander around yourselves? Ray, can you open the transom door in the interim"

"I think we'd like to have a look around ourselves. I would just like either you or Ray to be available when go through the engineering spaces. What are her specs?

"No problem at all. Just find me in the pilot house when you want to go down.
She's a Sunseeker 116, sleeping 10 guests and 5 crew. Almost 116 feet or just over 32 metres long, 24 foot beam or 7.3 metres and a draft of 8 feet or just over 2.44 metres.She has twin 2640-hp MTU 12V 2000 M96L engines giving her a top speed of 26 knots or just over 48km/h and cruises comfortably at 12knots or 22km/h, giving her a range of 2315km.

"Thank you. Let's have a look around shall we".

The aft deck that they were on stretched the full beam of the boat with teak flooring and an overhead roof that stretched to the very rear of the deck. A curved seating area with a large teak table took up the rear
of the deck. There were four matching teak framed tub style chairs upholstered in grey, white and blue
stripes round the inner edge of the table. On the starboard side, a set of stairs, also clad in teak, accessed the upper deck from the aft deck, wide side decks led to the bow, also in teak. Two balconies, one on either side of the deck dropped down to provide extra deck space.

Turning towards the interior, a smoked glass sliding door slid silently open when they approched it, allowing entry into the salon, which came as a pleasant surprise. Andrew had been expecting decor that was far more ostentatious, having something similar to Emirates Airlines first class and business class cabins in mind. Lots of faux wood and gilt trimmings.

Instead, the salon was very comfortable and superbly decorated. Large full length windows on both port
and starboard sides allowed in huge amounts of natural light and could be opened to allow fresh air to flow through the room. Electrically operated drop down blinds provided privacy when required, while white drapes with a grey filigree pattern were tied back on either side of the sliding door to the aft deck. The floor was clad in dark wenge wood with a high gloss finish as were columns between the windows and on the ceiling trim which had concealed lighting and LCD down lights. Wenge was the timber of choice throughout the yacht, the dark, glossy wood offset by lighter soft furnishings.

Directly through the doors was a contempory cabinet, also in wenge that housed the large TV. Behind the cabinet, in a rectangular arrangement were two, three seater couches and four tub shaped arm chairs on an off white carpet around a matching ottoman cum coffee table. The couches was covered in very pale grey leather with scatter cushions in white, grey and three shades of blue. The two armchairs to port were covered in blue on white Paisley fabric each with a red scatter cushion. The armchairs on the starboard were covered in matching blue velvet, also with red cushions. Four lamps stood at the corners of the seating arrangement.

Forward of the lounge area was a solid wenge dining table , also on an off white carpet with fourteen matching chairs upholstered in the same grey fabric as the couches . The forward bulkhead was also clad in squares of wenge, but carved in various patterns to make an impressive backdrop with a long mirror on either side, behind which was storage for the table linen. Over the table, concealed lighting provided diffused illumination. To port and starboard, similar dressers to the one in the lounge, but with black veined, white marble tops, housed Royal Dalton crockery, Dartington crystal glassware and heavy silver Christoffle cutlery. They were positioned in front of large windows that also dropped down to allow for fresh sea breezes to flow through the room. A matching lamp stood on each of the dressers. Andrew loved the calm sereneness of the room.

A door on the port side gave entry to the well equipped pantry area with two beverage coolers, and spacious galley which had a door onto the side deck for the crew to move around without going through the guest areas. The galley was equipped with Miele appliances, huge double door brushed stainless steel fridge freezers, black granite counter tops and masses of storage in pale grey fronted cupboards. A large window provided sunlight and views.
A small hallway with storage cupboards and a flight of stairs down to the lower deck crew accommodation had a door at the end which opened into the starboard companion way leading forward from the salon. They passed a staircase going to the upper deck and lower deck guest cabins on the port side of the companion way with another side access door to the starboard sidedeck, and beyond that, a day head on the starboard side, and opened the door to the master cabin, which was simply palatial.

The entrance to the cabin was a small office area with a desk on the starboard wall below a window. On the inner wall were shelves and a door to a walk in wardrobe. Once again, all the woodwork was wenge.
Decorated in cream and shades of brown and blue, the bedroom was full beam with a king size bed positioned on the centreline on a plush cream carpet. The walls and ceiling were off white with wenge trim and diffused, concealed lighting. Two massive full length windows on both sides, once again, provided natural light and great views of the water.
A small seating area was placed in front to the starboard window, the two chairs upholstered in taupe, untreated leather on either side of a small, height adjustable coffee table. A dressing table with a similarly upholstered chair stood in front of the port window,
The bed had a built-in wenge base with storage lockers and a buttoned cream leather headboard in a wenge frame, matching bedside tables with lamps, with the controls for the lights and air conditioning, and was covered with a luxurious comforter with a gold, slightly raised chain link type pattern on a darker background that draped onto the carpet. Opposite the bed on the forward bulkhead was a large fitted TV along with additional touch pads for the lights, air conditioning and the AV system.

A door on either side of the forward bulkhead accessed the white marble, glass and wenge trim en-suite bath-room down three marble clad steps. The port entrance to the bathroom had a second walk-in wardrobe.

Equipped with a full bath, separate frameless glass shower and double basins with modern fittings, the room was stunning. A door on the starboard side concealed the WC with a window providing a view of the water.

Ryan turned to Andrew who had been very quiet. He had heard several gasps and comments from the twins and Darren and Kerry, but Andrew had not reacted at all.

"Well, my love, what do you think?", Ryan asked.

"It's not what I had been expecting. I was envisioning gold plate everywhere and the only gold we've seen was on the comforter. Quite honestly, it's amazing. Very thoughtfully and tastefully done. In fact, it's beautiful. Very different from 'Belle Catherine', with the dark wood. But the creams and complimentary colours lighten it up a lot. And of course the natural light and the actual lighting itself. It feels like a gentleman's club"

"I think she's stunning, Ryan", Kerry added. "Everything has been so beautufully done".

"Well, we still got more to see, so let's go", Ryan said and headed for the door.

Back in the companionway, they took the staircase down into the lower deck, which ended in a marble floored lobby area with mirrors and a storage cupboard for linen, towels and guest amenities. Forward were two twin bedded guest cabins with tracks on the carpets so that the outboard bed could be moved and the bed converted to a double. Aft were two dedicated queen bedded cabins. All the cabins were en-suite, and as in the rest of the boat, had large windows for sunlight and views. They were all equipped with TV and air conditioning and were all decorated in a similar colour palette to the master cabin, just having a different pattern on the comforter and accent colour.

Returning to the main deck, Andrew opened the door to the galley and then took the stairs down to the crew cabins which consisted of a single, double bed cabin - the captains cabin, and two twin bunked cabins, all en-suite, and a spacious crew mess area with a TV, microwave, stove and refrigerator. The area also had air conditioning. Back up the stairs into the main companion way, they climbed the stairs up into the wheelhouse which, as expected, was impressive.

Two helm seats, upholstered in black leather, were centrally positioned in front of all the controls and screens, with a superb view over the bow. Behind the helm chairs, on the port side was a L-shaped, grey upholstered, slightly raised seating area with a triangular table. Between the seating and some storage on the starboard side was a short flight of teak-planked steps leading to the upper deck and on the port side, ahead of the seating was a gull-wing door onto the side deck providing access to a very comfortable foredeck with a large seating area and table, fitted sun beds and a tub style splash pool. The seating area was ideal for when the yacht was berthed stern to, as it provided excellent privacy for the passengers.
Forward of the pool, down three steps was another cushioned bench, and forward of that, the twin anchors with their associated equipment and a bell in the point on the bow.

Going back into the helm area and up the rear steps, they entered the upper deck, or fly bridge to find Chris and Ashleigh waiting with cream scones, cocktail sandwiches, tea, coffee and a selection of cold sodas, which they tucked into.

The fly bridge, unusually, could be fully enclosed with electrically powered windows, to form a sky lounge with a large seating area to port and an extendable teak table, a bar area with four bar chairs, containing storage , a sink, refrigerator, ice maker and BBQ grill to starboard. The entire area was covered by a hardtop with a central retractable skylight and had diffused lighting around the edges. It was a lot more informal then the rest of the vessel, but very comfortable and well appointed, nevertheless.

On the port side facing forward was yet another upholstered bench and beside that across the entry from
the wheelhouse was a second two seat helm station. All the windows in the sky lounge and the rear sliding door, could be opened to the breeze. The deck aft of the door was home to a hot tub, sunbeds and sun loungers and the flight of stairs down to the main deck aft where they found Michael and Brian chatting.

"Ah, there you are gentlemen", Michael greeted. "What are your impressions?"

"Hi Michael", Ryan replied. "I think we're all in agreement that she's magnificent. Well thought out, well decorated and well looked after. Could we have a look at the engine room?"

"Yes sure. Chief, will you do the honours. You're better qualified to answer any questions than I am".

"No problem. This way please. Just be careful, the stairs are quite steep", Brian said, walking to a door in the superstructure at the side of the aft deck.
Kerry elected not to go into the engine room, preferring to wander the decks again. There were vehement protestations from Cameron and Elizabeth when Andrew suggested the remain as well. They wanted to see the heart of the boat.

They carefully descended into the hull again, amazed at how quiet it was, into a vestibule with storage and shelves. That all changed when Brian undogged the watertight door and opened it. The hum of big machines washed over them.

Even though the engines had just recently been turned off, the space was surprisingly cool, being fully air conditioned as well, but with what they discovered was a separate system to that in the rest of the yacht. That, Brian explained, was because should there be an event in the engineering space, any fumes or smoke would not penetrate into the guest areas. It was not a standard feature, but one specifically requested by the Emir when the boat was built.
The engine room was just as immaculate as the rest of the yacht. The two engines situated centrally with
a walkway between them, and the two generators outboard of them. Also on view was all the other systems like water heating, water makers and fire fighting.The guest air conditioning was in a separate area toward the rear of the room.
The final area they had to look at was the garage where Brian took them to next. Returning to the main deck they took the stairs down to the swim platform and the open stern door, which housed a large twin engined tender, two brightly coloured two man Seadoos, all on cradles and a small crane, all on a teak deck. The tender cradle was on rails that extended onto the swim platform and once on the platform, it was hydraulically lowered onto the water and the tender floated off its cradle. The Seadoos were launched by lifting the cradles up with the crane, positioning them on the rails, then sliding them out and launching them in the same manner as the tender.

"We also have an inflatable water slide that attaches to the Sky Lounge deck, scuba tanks and equipment as well as compressors, snorkels, skis and paddle boards.", Brian added. "Also, once the tender and PWC's (Personal water craft) have been launched, this area becomes a beach club, with tables, chairs and sun loungers."

They stepped back out onto the swim platform where Michael waited for them. The sun had just set and the yacht was lit up beautifully. Tiny pale blue lights winked between the teak planks of the swim platform and around the edges, and underwater lights illuminated the water around the yacht.
Ryan approached him and extended his hand.

"Thank you Michael. You and the crew", Ryan said. "We have a lot to think about. How are you set up for fuel and supplies? Could you take us out tomorrow morning for a short cruise".

"We're good to go Mr Devlin-Major, ..... sorry, Ryan. How many guests can we expect?

"All of us here now, plus two more. I would think a breakfast, light lunch and maybe something for afternoon tea. Could we take her past Robben Island, out to sea, then back to Clifton Beach? We can anchor there for lunch and the afternoon and come back after tea. Would that be okay with you?"

"No problem at all. What time can we expect you to come aboard?"
Ryan glanced at Andrew who replied,

"I guess sometime between 08h00 and 08h30".

"Great. I'll get her organised"

"And then take it easy for the rest of the week. Give the crew some shore leave and take a break yourself. We might be around every now and then, but we won't take her out".

"Thank you, that would be great. One thing I just thought of. We don't have a very big selection of alcohol on board. Being based in Dubai meant it was not permitted".

Andrew handed Michael a business card, adding,

"Ry and my email addresses and our mobile numbers are on the card. Send me an email with a list of what you need and I will make up an order to have delivered by our suppliers. That should maybe include the catering as well. Then I can add what I think we would need. If Ray could give me some suggestions as well, it would be appreciated. I'll give you and Ray a full list of all our suppliers and what we get from them for 'Belle Catherine'."

"That would be a great help. Thank you"
Ryan looked around.

"Right family, let's go home. Darren, you and Kerry will be joining us tomorrow as well, I hope".

"Thanks Ryan. Yes most definitely. Wouldn't miss it for anything".

With that, they thanked Michael and the crew and stepped off 'Amira' onto the dock. Darren and Kerry returned to 'Belle Catherine' to secure her for the night and the Devlin-Majors left for home.

On the way home, Cameron and Elizabeth complained that they were hungry, and as it was too late to start preparing anything, Andrew stopped and bought some southern fried chicken, fries and salad for dinner. Ryan called his parents on the car phone.

"Hi mom, have you got anything planned for tomorrow?"

"Hello my boy. No, not really. We were going to go to church in the morning. But we can always go to the evening service as well. Why, what do you have in mind?"

"Well, we received a bit of a surprise this afternoon. And we want to show it to you. But we need to leave between 8 and 8.30 tomorrow morning".

"No, that's not a problem. What was the surprise?"

"Oh no, you'll find out tomorrow morning. Can you meet us at 'Belle Catherine' between 8 and 8.30".

"Okay, keep your mother in suspense! We'll see you in the morning".

"Thanks mom. Loves and to dad as well".

When they arrived home, Ryan fed Rascal and then they sat down and had dinner as well, although Rascal got his share of the chicken too, from both Ryan, Cameron & Elizabeth. The little puppy well knew how to work the crowd.

They watched a movie on TV and once the twins were in bed, Andrew and Ryan sat close together on the couch with Rascal on Ryan's lap. The TV was still on, now showing highlights of the days English Premier League matches that day, but the volume was turned down.

"You've been very quiet since our visitor this afternoon, my love. Tell me what you are thinking?", Ryan said, threading his fingers through Andrew's.
Andrew sighed deeply.

"To be honest, I'm still a bit shellshocked. In the blink of an eye, you became the owner of a superyacht. I'm still trying to wrap my head around that. I remember when we found out that The Cameron property was ours after losing the auction, Paul said he was convinced some higher power was watching over me because of my parents death, and how everything just seemed to fall into place after that. I'm beginning to think he may be right."

"Okay, I get that. I feel the same. But one thing I do know. 'Amira' is not mine, she is ours. She might be registered in my name, but I intend to remedy that as soon as possible. The other thing is, what are we going to do with her? Do we keep her and if so, what are we going to do with her? That's what I meant when I told Michael we had decisions to make".

"I have been thinking about that. For the next five years, it is going to cost us practically nothing to operate her. It's all paid for! So we have a bit of time on our hands to make an informed decision. But, I think, like 'Belle', 'Amira' will have to pay her way, which means chartering her. The problem is, where do we put her out for charter? Do we base her here, either Cape Town or Durban, or do we send her abroad? The Med or Caribbean? Or maybe, just had the thought, the Indian Ocean islands? Base her in say, Mauritius, then offer cruises around Mauritius, Reunion, Rodrigues, maybe even the Seychelles and Madagascar. I don't know the distances involved, we'd have look at a charts of the region to determine that and see whether it's even possible", Andrew suggested. "You are the resident maritime expert, so you know more than I do"

"Well, to be honest, the Indian Ocean is not exactly in my wheelhouse. Looks like I've got some research to do. The other possibility is keeping her in the islands for our summer and sending her to the Med for the Northern summer. That way we get the most out of her. But I like the idea of the Indian Ocean islands. It's not a market that is well served I would think. So it's a great alternative and something different as well. Let's have a chat with Michael tomorrow. Right now, I'm ready for bed", Ryan said, standing up and holding out his hand to pull Andrew up. They turned off the lights, fetched Rascal's water from the kitchen and went upstairs.

Some pictures of the Sunseeker116 to add some context.

https://www.dropbox.com/sc/jc0xek9jg12y51l/AABrfNqUldCY-1x3wv8525gEa