Frontier - 27. FS Chapter 27

“What sort of fruit trees did you get, Gramps?” I asked him.

“Well, I have got two varieties of apples, two of apricot, 1 of nectarine & plum trees, two Nashi Pears, plus two navel oranges, two grapefruit, two mandarins, and two lemons, and twelve red grape vines,” Mum announced to us.

“I have also bought some wooden fence posts, and wire, to make enough trellis for the grapes, and also enough PVC piping and fittings, to water not just the fruit trees, but all the eucalypts as well. If we have such a big property, we might as well as put it to some good use,” Gramps announced.

“I see, and where have you decided to place the orchard and vineyard?” I asked.

“We thought along the eastern fence line, inside the soon to be planted eucalypt trees,” Gramps replied with a smile.

“Ok, after lunch, let’s go out and have a look at the area,” I said to them.

Straight after lunch, we all headed out into the back of the paddock, to see where Gramps and Mum planned to put all of these trees and vines.

“We thought maybe put the citrus trees and pears closest to the eucalypts, about 8 metres apart, then the apples and stone fruit on the next row, say five metres apart from the first row, to allow tractor access, and the vineyard trellis last, with each plant being six metres apart,” mum said.

“Well it looks like you have everything planned out. Are we going to have a vegetable garden as well?” I stated.

“Yes, we thought of an outdoor hydroponic vegetable garden, on the east side of the shed, so it gets plenty of sunlight in winter, and also plenty of wind protection as well,” Gramps announced.

“That sounds fine by me. Just remember I won’t be around a lot for the next few years if I get accepted into university next year,” I said to Mum and Gramps, who smiled and nodded their heads in acceptance.

By the end of the day, we had three rows of trees planted along the eastern fence, plus we dug all the holes for the fruit trees and vines, and all the post holes for the grape vine trellis. We also dug holes and planted trees along both sides of the 200-metre long driveway, with the trees spaced eight metres apart.

When all was completed, I thanked everyone for all their hard work, and I suggested that we go into town for some fish and chips for dinner, which everyone agreed on. By the time, we arrived back home, my brothers were almost falling asleep, so Mum had them showered and tucked in bed, while I relaxed in the lounge room for a while, and watched the late news, before I retired to bed, since I had school in the morning.

For the last week of the school term, the boys and I went to school each morning, with Simon driving himself to school now; I didn’t need to go and pick him up at the marina. While at school, Mum, Kirk, Leon, Jasper, Gramps and Isaac dug a long trench, laid out and buried the poly piping that would supply the water to all the new plants, before they collected the ordered fruit trees and vines, and planted all of them, plus installed the trellis fence for the vines, with 4 rows of wire, for the vines to grow along.

Gramps also installed a low-pressure water pump beside the water tank, so as to pump all the water to the trees, using deep soaking sprayers for the fruit trees and vines, and small low sprinklers to water the trees. By the end of the week, the top north-east corner of the property had an orchard and vineyard, covering roughly the same area as the house, shed, tank and back parking area. All of the eucalypt trees were only 1.5 metres tall, while the fruit trees were all one metres tall, so they had a little bit of protection for the settling in period.

With another school term ended, Jasper, Simon, Toby and Finn were preparing for their trip to the Cocos Keeling Islands, and since I was going to be driving them down to Perth on Monday, I decided to spend a few days down there, before driving back to Jurien Bay on Thursday. I wanted to get some promotional work prepared to advertise the Charter business, to a more wider audience, instead of just local media and on internet web search engines, so I had arranged some appointments, for while I was in Perth.

On Saturday morning, after having a sleep in, I headed over to the marina, bringing Gramps with me, and we were both in our company uniform, when Jasper saw us approaching. I could see him using the PA system, to alert the crew, and he scooted down the stairs and inside. By the time, we had reached the yacht, Kirk, Leon, Simon and Jasper were all in uniform as they came out onto the deck.

“Glad to see everyone so alert and prompt. How about we go for a little sail out to Boulanger Island,” I said to the crew with a smile.

“As you wish, Boss,” Jasper said, and I observed the other vehicle approaching the marina, knowing that it was Isaac, along with Mum and my brothers, plus Finn and Toby. Once everyone was on board, Kirk and Leon released the mooring ropes, and Jasper motored the yacht out of the marina, from the fly bridge, where I soon joined him.

“Any reason for this unannounced sail, Boss?” Jasper asked me.

“Yes, there is actually. I want some more photos of the crew and family, so we can put them on the website, once we have the Last Frontier back in town. Also, I would like your ideas on renaming the trimaran, as I will be doing some promotional work for the charter company while I am in Perth, after dropping you guys off at the airport on Tuesday,” I replied.

“I guess Coral Coast Sail Charters is too much of a mouth full?” Jasper said to me.

“It is. I have also been working on a possible charter timetable, that will have you and the crew busy, while I am away at university,” I responded.

“Will Simon be going to university too?” Jasper said, just as I spotted Simon coming up the stairs.

“Yes I will be going to uni as well, but if all goes well with this sailing trip next week, you will have two new sail crew to fill in, when I am not available,” Simon responded as he referred to our friends Toby and Finn.

“I have been working on a round trip journey, that guests can take a choice of one or more of the three sections of the trip, the first being Fremantle to Exmouth - 7 days and 6 nights, with stops at Port Dennison, Kalbarri, South Abrolhos Islands, Denham, Carnarvon and Coral Bay, with a 1 day12-hour stop at Exmouth, before starting the next section of Exmouth to Christmas Island - 9 days and 8 nights, with stops at Port Sampson, Brome, Derby, Scott Reef and Ashmore Reef, with a 1-day and16 hour stop at Christmas Island.

“The final section is Christmas Island to Fremantle – 7 days and 6 nights, with stops at Carnarvon, the Abrolhos Islands, here at Jurien Bay and Rottnest Island, with 5 day’s 12-hours rest before starting all over again. In all the crew, will get 8 days in total of shore leave over a 4-week period, at Exmouth, Christmas Island and Fremantle, plus some hours off at most ports of call. I have also worked out a pricing for each cruise, depending on which cabin the guests have on the trimaran.

I have made it so that whether it be a 7-day cruise, 16-day cruise, or the whole 23-day cruise, the guests get the last day half price, plus those doing more than one cruise, get the days in port between each cruise for free. So, if they do the first and second cruise, they get the overnight in Exmouth for free, or the second and third, they get the two overnights at Christmas Island for free. Does that make sense?” I said to Jasper and Simon.

“Yes, it does. So who decides about time off at ports of call?” Simon asked me.

“That would be the skipper’s decision. When you see the timetable, you will see the times set out for each stop, so it helps with arrival times at the next ports of call, depending on sailing time,” I explained.

“That sounds pretty easy. Do you think we will get enough guests to make it all worth-while?” Jasper asked me.

“I hope so, as I will be doing some major advertising, which I will be arranging when I’m in Perth,” I responded.

When we arrived at Boulanger Island, I asked Jasper to anchor the catamaran about 10 metres from the east side of the island, and once the anchors were set, with Kirk and Leon instructing Toby and Finn on what to do, I asked everyone except Isaac to board the dinghy’s and head to the island. I asked Isaac to take a series of photos on both my camera, and my phone, from the deck of the catamaran.

Once I had everyone on the beach, I had Isaac take photos of the whole group, then of just Gramps, Mum, my brothers and I, and finally of just the crew, Jasper, Simon, myself, Kirk and Leon, plus Toby and Finn. When everyone was back on board, I asked Isaac to do the same series of photos from a dinghy, of the whole group, just the family, and just the crew, all standing on the aft deck. Once I was happy that we had all the photos that I required, we secured the dinghy’s and headed back to the marina. When we had finished mooring the yacht, I suggested that we all head over to the house for a BBQ lunch, which everyone was pleased about.

During our casual lunch gathering, I showed Simon and Jasper the information that I had put together for the planned cruises, which I had mentioned to them earlier. I had estimated the crew wages costs compared to the guest’s income for each cruise, and we needed to have at least 3 cabins occupied to get a decent profit, after costs. After the BBQ lunch was over, and the crew had returned to the marina, and Isaac had returned home to his small farm, the family and I, just relaxed for the remainder of the afternoon.

“You know, we could just about produce a good amount of the food for the charter cruises. Your younger brothers suggested that we get some chickens, so we can have plenty of eggs, and I have been looking into that. You might have to bring them back from Perth, when you come back home. I am sure your mother would be able to put together some delicious frozen meals, that would be ideal for crew meals, which will take some pressure off during charter cruises, and when our vineyard and orchard are established, we will have plenty of fruit as well,” Gramps said to me.

“You had this planned all along didn’t you Gramps” I said to my grandfather.

“Well, I have to keep busy somehow, so why not by producing a lot of food for the charters,” Gramps replied with a big smile, which made me chuckle.

When Monday eventually came around, Jasper, Simon, Toby and Finn loaded their luggage into the back of my ute, and climbed in, ready to make the two-hour journey south to the capital city. I informed my friends and crew, that we were all booked into a 4-star hotel for the night. I had also made reservations for a restaurant for 7pm for dinner.

I had actually booked 5 separate rooms, but Toby and Finn asked if they could share a twin room, which I was able to organise with the hotel reception. Once we were checked in and settled into our rooms, I asked everyone to join me in my room for a little meeting. I said to Jasper that there was no rush getting back, so if they wanted to spend a day or two at Christmas Island, that they could, and the same at the Abrolhos Islands. I handed them each their flight tickets from Perth to Christmas Island, leaving at 1pm the following day.

I suggested to Jasper to contact the federal police on the island, to let them know of their pending arrival, and I gave everyone $250 spending money for the journey, plus an envelope to Jasper, which contained the Court document, saying that the trimaran yacht was now back in ownership with the Hamilton family, plus the charter company credit card, to be used for emergencies.

After an enjoyable dinner, we all returned to the hotel, and retired for the night, agreeing to meet at the hotel restaurant at 8am for breakfast. I spent a couple of hours doing some research, looking at different ways of promoting sail charters, before I went to bed. The next morning, after we had all eaten, we went for a drive up to Kings Park, which is located on Mount Eliza, on the west side of the city, with wonderful views of the Swan River, the city and the south and eastern inner suburbs.

With an area of 990 acres, it has a mixture of botanical gardens and natural bushland, with a giant children’s playground, located in the middle. It is a wonderful place to visit and reflect, as it is also the location of the state’s main war memorial. After nearly two hours there, we returned to the hotel, where everyone’s luggage was stored in my room, as they had checked out straight after breakfast, and piling into my vehicle, we headed to the airport, so the guys could catch their flight to the Cocos Keeling Islands.

Once I had seen the guys off at the airport, I returned to the hotel, where I just relaxed for an hour, before heading to my first of many appointments that I had arranged over the next three days. When I arrived home, late morning on Friday, I was exhausted from all of the meetings. Getting used to driving in the city was a nightmare. The boys wrapped me in a tight hug, when I walked in the door, pleased to see me again, and I returned the hugs.

“Where are Mum and Gramps?” I asked my brothers.

“Out in the orchard,” they said together, and we all headed out the back door to go and find them.

I found them by the shed, where I saw that a shaded lean-too had been built on the east side, with shaded side and end walls.

“Hi, Mum and Gramps. Wow, I see you have been very busy,” I said to them, as I looked at the two single and one double row of bench space.

“Did you get everything that I ordered,” Gramps asked me, referring to the hydroponic equipment that was still on the back of my ute, since loaded on there, that morning.

“Yes, one water storage tank, one small pump, lots of poly pipe, poly fittings, and 2 dozen large hydroponic planting trays, chemicals and hydroponic plant mix,” I responded.

We went to unload everything, for now storing it all in the shed, till they were ready to put it all together.

“By the way, I received a call from Jasper yesterday morning. They are being delayed leaving Cocos Keeling Islands, as they had to remove all of Mr Kingsley’s personal belongings, which are now in the hands of the police.

“They are also giving the yacht a thorough clean, and restocking it with supplies, and they have managed to get a charter for the return journey, I have told Jasper to just use the credit card to cover everything. Apparently, Finn and Toby are having a wow of a time, as it’s the first time they have been off the mainland,” Gramps announced to me.

“That is awesome to get the charter. Do you know any more details?” I asked Gramps.

“Only that the guests are from Europe, and that all five guest cabins are in use. They are going to Christmas Island, Exmouth, Coral Bay, Kalbarri, Abrolhos Islands and Rottnest Island. I am arranging to send Kirk and Leon to join them, to help cope with the work load,” he replied to me. I was pleased to hear this , as it meant that it would be at least a ten-day charter.

“If they delay departure of Christmas island till tomorrow, we could get the lads to them there. It would mean another drive to the city,” I replied.

“Ok you go and call Jasper. I will call the lads, who are on the catamaran,” Gramps said to me.

“Jasper, hi it’s me. I have just got home, and I’ve been told about the charter. Have you left the Cocos Islands yet?” I asked, as soon as he answered the Sat phone.

“Hey, Boss. No, we were planning on leaving tomorrow morning, so if you can get the lads to Christmas Island by then, that would be handy,” Jasper replied.

“I will get right on it now. Have fun. See you when you get back. Oh, and have you told the boys they are getting paid for the charter?” I responded, and I heard Jasper chuckle.

“Yes, and you should have seen the shocked look on their faces. They are very happy to be paid for this trip. We did a day cruise for the pending guests yesterday, which helped the boys get used to sailing. Simon has just settled into his usual routine. I think he is thrilled to be back on board the trimaran,” Jasper replied.

“Ok, Mate, see you when you get back. Bye for now,” I said and I ended the call, before calling the airlines to see if there were seats available to Christmas Island for the next morning’s flight, and by luck there were.

“I will take them to Perth. You look too beat to do another trip so soon,” Gramps said as he entered the house, as I had just finished booking and paying for the tickets, and arranging hotel accommodation in the city.

“All set, for tomorrow’s flight leaving 8am. Thanks for doing the trip, Gramps. You are right. I am worn out. I need to go and take a nap later. Did you get the lads organised?” I responded.

“Yes, I am collecting them in an hour, and heading straight for Perth from there,” Gramps replied, as he headed to his room, no doubt to get an overnight bag prepared.

When Gramps had left to take the lads to Perth, I headed to my room for a short nap.