Beyond Frontier - 2. BF Chapter 2

“That may be true, but you have assaulted a staff member of the company that owns the yacht, and you have verbally abused the Executive Director of the same company that owns the yacht. Now I won’t make a decision about this matter. I will leave that to the skipper,” I announced with a smile as I observed Mathew climbing out of the water, and heading back in our direction. I turned to Jasper beside me.

“Sir, you have in my view received your verbal warning from my boss here, when you assaulted Mathew and broke the terms of charter and when you verbally abused my boss here, so I hear by confirm that this charter has been terminated, and you have forfeited the 40% deposit that you have made. Have a nice time in Fremantle. Mathew are you ok?” Jasper asked, as my boyfriend appeared. Toby arrived with a towel so Mathew could dry off.

“You can’t do this. That is our money, and we haven’t stepped onto the yacht yet,” the man demanded.

“Sir, my former rank was senior constable, in the Western Australian police, so I know for a fact that we can cancel the charter, and since I witnessed the event I could also have you charged with physical assault. Now do you want to accept the situation and walk away, or do I have to call my colleagues at Fremantle Police station?” Jasper said in a serious tone. We watched at the man and his wife and friends turned and walked back to the car park.

“So, what are we going to do with a yacht full of food and no guests,” Toby asked, once we had seen the guests looking for a taxi.

“Well, I suggest that you take a cruise up the coast. Somewhere near Jurien Bay would be a good place to visit,” I suggested with a big smile. Jasper laughed.

“As you ordered, Boss. Will you be joining us?” Jasper asked.

“No, you guys have a great few days off. Say hello to all the family and we will see you when you get back in time for the next charter,” I replied.

“Just as well I have some stuff on the Research vessel. I’m going to have a shower and change,” Mathew said to me, as he headed to the vessel.

“Before you go, I would like you to have a look at some of the uniform designs, that I checked out online,” I said to Jasper, and we headed to the Last Frontier.

By the time Jasper and I had finished deciding which was the best design of uniform, Mathew had arrived and had a cup of tea in hand. “Did you say or do anything to start all of that hoo-ha?” Jasper asked Mathew, as he sat down on the lounge next to me.

“I did stumble a bit as they approached. I tripped a little on a loose plank on the jetty, so that is why they may have thought that I was hogging the whole jetty,” Mathew stated.

“Still no excuse to shove you off the jetty and into the harbour,” I stated, and I saw Mathew nod his head in agreement.

“We will be back in four days, to prepare for the next charter, which is two European couples and two children, so that should be a good charter,” Jasper said to me. We chatted for a little while longer, before Toby appeared.

“All ready to go when you are, Skipper,” he announced. Mathew and I disembarked and stood on the jetty as we watched the yacht cruise out of the marina and head north.

A few minutes later on the Beyond Frontier, Mathew and I sat down in the dining mess area, “So do think we stay here tonight or go home to the apartment?” I asked my boyfriend.

“We might as well stay here, but what are we going to do till Simon and Finn get back?” Mathew replied.

“Well firstly, I want to organise the new uniforms, so let’s make a phone call, and see if they have the design that Jasper and I selected. If they do we can make a trip to that store, and organise embroidery of the new company logo on the uniforms,” I replied.

A few minutes later, with a phone call confirming that the uniform company had the required uniforms, we headed to the vehicle to drive to the uniform store. “I was thinking, Jasper will only be about 3 hours behind Simon. Do you think they will catch up to them?” Mathew asked me with a big grin on his face.

“I think the question should be, did Jasper call Anita to tell them that they are sailing north too,” I replied, and we both laughed. We arrived in the car park of the uniform store. In the store, I explained that I had two yachts and a research vessel, and that I wanted 4 sets of new uniforms for all the crew.

That totalled 14, plus I wanted some extras just in case. I added that I wanted blue waist coats and white ties for the 4 stewards, blue non-slip deck shoes for everyone, blue checked shirts for everyone, and white trousers, blue waist belts, also two sets of spray jackets for everyone and the company logo on all the shirts and waist coats. I placed a list of shoe, shirt and trouser sizes, plus the computer printout of the company logo on the counter.

“Well the embroidery will take about 4 days to complete,” the staff member said with a smile, after looking at the company logo.

“That will be perfect. If you can tally up what it will cost, and I will pay you half now and half when I collect it in six-days’ time,” I replied with a smile. Once we had the right items selected, I asked for a change room to try out the new uniform, and I was directed to a small room in the corner.

When I came out dressed in uniform, including the waist coat and tie, Mathew gave me a huge wolf whistle, and I couldn’t help blush a little, as I slowly turned around. “Let me take a photo, so we can send it to Jasper,” Mathew suggested and I smiled and nodded my head, and stood straight for the photo. I went to get changed back into my clothes while Mathew was busy sending the photo to Jasper. Just as I stepped back into the shop, Mathew’s phone chimed with a message. After reading it, he smiled and gave me the phone to read the message. “What a handsome young man. Shame he is already taken. And no I haven’t told Anita.” We both laughed at Jasper’s joke.

Once we had paid for the uniforms, we headed to a restaurant to have some lunch, and as soon as I saw the ejected yacht guests already seated, I grabbed Mathew’s arm and we walked straight out again, as I did not want to cause a scene in the restaurant.

Once we did finally get to eat, we returned to the research vessel, and once I had retrieved the lap top from the bridge, and returned to the dining mess, I began working out an idea for a research expedition to Exmouth for the UWA Oceans Institute, while Mathew read the daily newspaper that he had bought.

After about an hour, I had worked out a 4-day, 1418 km journey, with a short stop at Port Dennison, before heading to the Abrolhos Islands for an overnight stop, then on to Denham for another overnight stop, and refuel. Day two, we will be travelling to Coral Bay for another overnight stop, and the final day was travelling to Exmouth.

I had worked out that there would be four hours of daylight after arriving at the Abrolhos, four hours after arriving at Denham, and five hours at Coral Bay. This could of course be extended by a stay at some or each location where required. Once I had worked out the journey timetable, I added the costs of accommodation and the fuel levy, before sending it to the Director of the UWA Oceans Institute.

“Hey, Anton, there is an article in the paper here that might interest you,” Mathew said to me, when he saw that I had finished. “Read it out to me please,” I responded.

“Freight transport required from Fremantle to Geraldton, Carnarvon, Barrow Island and Port Hedland. Must be able to carry up to 150 tonnes of freight, and take no longer than 7 days from Fremantle to Port Hedland,” Mathew said as he read the article.

I smiled on hearing this, “We can do that in just over half that time - 4 days to Port Hedland, if we have overnight stops at the 3 ports in between, and with just one stop on the way back at Carnarvon, we can be back in two days with 15-hour days of sailing,” I replied as Mathew handed me the newspaper article, before I pulled out my phone and called the number on the article.

Ten minutes later the call ended with an appointment set for the following morning for the Logistics company to inspect the vessel. So, we relaxed for the remainder of the day, since we had nothing else to do.

“Simon and crew should be back here, tomorrow shouldn’t they?” Mathew asked me as we ate dinner that night.

“Yep, probably late tomorrow, is my guess. I wonder what Anita said when Jasper arrived in Jurien,” I said with a big grin, and Mathew and I chuckled about this.

“So, if we take on this coastal freight trip what are we going to do with the mini sub? Won’t it be in the way?” Mathew asked me.

“We better organise a storage shed for anything that we don’t use for the freight trips, or we could use the crane to lift the mini sub up to the Upper deck, and secure it to the very back of the upper deck, behind our cabins,” I suggested.

“I like that idea best, so we have it available if need be. Could we also advertise cabins available for the journey up the coast?” Mathew asked me.

“I knew you were my boyfriend for some good reason. Good thinking, Mathew. Now should we charge the same amount that I quoted to the Oceans Institute - $220 per cabin including food and soft drinks?” I asked Mathew.

“That is $110 per person, which I think is a fair amount, and will cover our costs, shouldn’t it?” Mathew stated, and I nodded my head in agreement.

The next morning after we had eaten breakfast we cleaned up the galley and mess, before we began to pack away all of the research equipment, which consisted of a dozen computers and other equipment in the two work rooms. We stored it all into the two small offices, along with all the chairs, and fold up tables.

This cleared the way for more storage space for any supplies that might be needed to be transported north. As we sat down to rest, we heard movement on the aft deck, so we headed outside, to see two men in suits, standing aft looking around.

“Good morning, gentlemen. My name is Anton Hamilton, owner and skipper of the Beyond Frontier. This is the ship’s medic, Mathew Banning. Welcome aboard,” I said to them as we approached. Over the next half hour, I gave them a detailed tour of the main deck.

I explained that the vessel was designed for research, but we had cleared the two main work rooms, to make space for extra freight. “What are on the decks above here?” the logistics manager asked me, as we sat down in the mess and Mathew handed us a cup of tea each.

“The upper deck is the bridge and senior crew cabins. We also have two crew cabins at each end of this area. The mid-deck above us, has the medical room, a multi-use room, plus ten twin-bunk cabins with their own bathrooms, for guests. We are a high-speed vessel, built just south of here at Henderson five years ago, cruising speed of 35 knots, with a maximum payload of 160 tonnes, but I prefer to sit on about 30 knots, so we don’t get bounced around too much.”

We can get to Port Headland in two full days with good weather, with overnight stops in Carnarvon, and short stops at Geraldton and Barrow Island for unloading of freight. From Port Hedland, it is a two-day journey back, with just one overnight stop of Carnarvon for fuel,” I replied.

“That is better than we expected. Where is the rest of your crew?” the logistics manager asked me. “They are returning from a charter to Jurien Bay, and they should arrive later today,” I responded.

“Very good. I will return later with the contract. We already have 100 tonnes of freight ready to go, so if you can get loaded later today from Berth 12 of the Inner Harbour and set off tomorrow that would be good,” the Logistics officer stated.

“That is fine. We will require a deposit before we embark. Usually it is 45%, but since we are starting in a new industry, we will accept 25% before we embark, to be deposited into the company account, which details I will give to you later today. The rest must be paid no later than 7 days after confirmation that all the deliveries have been made,” I stated.

“That sounds fair enough. You have a deal there. The trips will be approximately two to four weeks apart, depending on the demand for supplies in each area. We will see you later,” the logistics manager said as he shook my hand and they stepped off the vessel.

“Well, that is better than I hoped. Regular trips up to the northwest gives the vessel regular work, so it is not just sitting around unused,” I stated as we watched the two men leaving.

“Should we set up the research equipment in the research offices, so they are ready for use, just in case we have that research contract with the Oceans Institute?” Mathew asked me.

“That is good thinking. We could hear from them at any time. We can fit them in between the freight trips if we could have them fly up to Exmouth. That would give them the time to do their research as we slowly return to Fremantle,” I replied.

We were busy setting up the equipment when my phone rang. I smiled when I saw that it was Simon calling. “Hey, buddy! How are things on the catamaran?” I said to Simon.

“Hey, boss. We decided to leave the cat in Jurien bay, and we came down with Jasper and crew on the tri,” Simon replied.

“I see. Well, how far away are you from Fremantle?” I asked him. “About an hour, mate, according to the skipper,” Simon replied. “Very good, Si. We have some news for you guys when you get here. Bye for now,” I said and I ended the call. “You didn’t ask about their surprise arrival?” Mathew asked me.