Frontier - 30. FS Chapter 30

“Morning, Boss,” Kirk and Leon said at the same time, as they entered the office.

“Good morning, Guys. Can you see if Simon has a cup of tea available for me please?” I replied and they headed down the stairs to the crew area, both of them returning a few minutes later with a cup of tea and a plate of toast for me.

When I saw that a bite size of toast was missing from one piece, I looked at the lads, who chuckled.

“Wasn’t us. The cook was too lazy to make his own toast,” Kirk replied, as they disappeared outside, and I headed downstairs to speak to Simon.

“Sorry, too busy to make my own,” Simon said when he saw me arrive. He was dashing around the galley preparing breakfast for the guests.

“I think it might be a good idea if I invest in some walkie talkies. That way we can all keep in touch. I will see if I can get some while the guests are out exploring this morning,” I said to Simon, as I poured myself a second cup of tea.

I went up to the office to stay out of the way while Simon and the lads served breakfast for the guests. Once the guests had eaten, I made an appearance in the dining room.

“Good morning all. I hope you had a good night’s rest,” I said to the guests with a smile, and a received a chorus of “good morning’s” from the guests. “I believe Jasper has arranged for your all to go on a tour of the Kalbarri National Park. Simon will be here soon, to provide you with bottles of drinking water, and some snacks each. Just remember to have good walking shoes on, and to wear a hat, and put on some sun screen,” I announced to the guests.

“I’m not feeling very well, so I am going to give the tour a miss, if that is ok,” Mrs Chesterton said to me.

“That is fine, Ma’am. There will be at least two crew still on board during the morning in case you need anything. The rest will be on shore leave,” I responded with a smile. Forty minutes later the guests had disembarked and boarded a tour bus, and I asked Simon to remain on board until I returned from some quick shopping, which he said he was happy to do.

“Guys, report back on board by 12 noon please, at the latest,” I said to Kirk and Leon, who smiled and said they would be on time, and they set off on foot towards town.

After I had done a quick google search on my phone, I too set off, along with my two brothers, in search of the main communications store in town. We arrived just as they were opening up for the day. When I explained to the salesman what I wanted, he soon had six rechargeable - 5 watt, UHF walkie talkies, three - twin recharging bases and a UHF base radio, with antennae on the counter. He even offered to install the base radio at 11am. I was a very happy customer.

With my purchases in hand, we headed back to the marina, stopping at a café bakery on the way to buy some donuts and takeaway strawberry milkshakes for us and one for Simon. We had nearly finished drinking ours by the time we arrived back at the yacht. Going straight to the office, I set up the recharging bases, and placed the walkie talkies into them, so they could charge up, before taking the donuts and milkshake down to the galley, where I found Simon doing a stocktake of food supplies.

“Hey, do we need to get any food supplies while we are here?” I asked Simon, as I handed him the box of donuts and the milkshake.

“Yes, just a couple of things. Thought I would use my shore leave to do some food shopping. Are these all for me?” Simon replied, and I chuckled at his comment.

“No you better leave some for the other crew as well. Take a walkie talkie with you,” I said with a smile, and I headed back upstairs to the office, where the boys were settled in the lounge and were watching a movie.

For the next 3 ½ hours, it was uneventful on the yacht. Mrs Chesterton remained in the formal lounge reading a book, and I checked on her every hour, to see if she needed anything, including serving some morning tea for her. The electronics technician came over and in less than twenty minutes, he had the base radio installed in the main bridge. I gave him a sizeable tip for his prompt and fast work. It was nearly twelve noon and I was studying the charts to familiarize myself with the Abrolhos Islands and surrounds in preparation for the journey later, when the radio came to life.

“Mobile to base, do you copy, Boss? Over,” came a voice over the two-way radio. I picked up the receiver.

“Base to mobile two, receiving you loud and clear. Over,” I responded to Simon’s call.

“Just letting you know I am on my way back now. Be there shortly. Over and out,” Simon replied.

When Simon arrived, I helped him to get all the groceries down to the galley, and he started preparing lunch for the guests and crew, who arrived shortly afterwards. Simon was serving the crew’s lunch when the guests arrived back a little earlier than expected. With lunch abandoned, the crew got to work, setting the dining table. Shortly after they had served lunch for the guests they resumed their own lunch.

At 2pm I had the lads release the mooring ropes and we set off towards the Abrolhos Islands, with an expected arrival time of 7.30pm. While I was on the fly bridge the lads kept the guests entertained, while my brothers watched a movie with the Chesterton boys, and Simon finished cleaning up from lunch. He brought up a cup of tea for me, and we chatted for a while, as he placed a walkie talkie on the counter.

For the rest of the afternoon, I happily stood at the fly bridge as we headed towards the Abrolhos Islands. As the sun began to set, I called Simon on the walkie talkie, asking him to come up to the fly bridge. There was no reply on the radio, but shortly after I heard footsteps, with Simon appearing with a cup of tea in hand.

“Thanks, Mate. I could do with one of those, but can you take the helm while I go to the toilet, then I will take over again from the main helm downstairs,” I said to Simon, who smiled as he handed me the cup of tea before taking the helm, and I made my way downstairs. Leaving the cup on the deck, I went to my cabin briefly and returned to the main bridge, and called Simon to let him know that I was ready to take the helm.

Neale and Jedd had retreated back to the lounge on the bridge, and were playing monopoly, as we were sailing into the sunset. It was a little hard to see with all the glare of the sun, so I had to rely more on the radar and satellite navigation, till the sun passed over the horizon. Simon, Kirk and Leon were keeping busy with feeding the guests.

Neal and Jedd headed down to the crew mess, when dinner was ready for the crew, and Simon delivered my dinner to the bridge. At about 7.45 we arrived at East Wallabi Island. I could see the outline of the catamaran moored at the small jetty. We slowly approached the jetty, and soon the lads had secured the yacht to the jetty.

Once I had shut down the engines of the trimaran, and the yacht was secured, my brothers and I headed outside and stepped onto the jetty, where Jasper, Anita and Nathan were waiting for us. We wandered off onto the island, with the boys happily chatting away about the trip over from the mainland.

“So how was the trip for you three, on your yacht?” I asked Jasper, with a smile.

“Great actually. I’ve asked Anita to be my girlfriend,” Jasper said happily, and Anita chuckled.

“And I said maybe, before saying yes a few minutes later,” Anita added.

When we returned to the jetty, the adult guests were enjoying a stroll along the beach near the jetty, while the Chesterton boys were watching a movie in the formal lounge. We said goodnight to Anita, Jasper and Nathan, after they let me know they would be heading off at dawn, to go to Pelsaert Island, 76 kilometres to the south, in the southern group of Abrolhos Islands, which is a 3-hour journey.

We would be setting off sometime tomorrow, once the guests had explored East Wallabi Island, for the 445 kilometres, and 18-hour journey to Rottnest Island. Once I had organised my brothers to shower and go to bed, I changed and headed up to the fly bridge to relax in the Jacuzzi. Simon was already there, and I chuckled when I saw him.

After a good soaking in the Jacuzzi, I said goodnight to Simon, and headed to my cabin since I had a long day ahead of me at the helm the next day. I checked on Neale and Jedd first before having a shower and going to bed. I woke up sometime in the middle of the night, when I felt the trimaran rocking slightly from side to side, and I headed up to check on a weather report.

Seeing that the wind had picked up a lot, but there was no sign of storm at all, I returned to bed and fell asleep almost right away, waking up again just as dawn was appearing in the eastern sky. After a shower and changing into a fresh uniform, I found Simon already in the galley, starting to prepare breakfast.

“Good morning, Skipper. I will have a cuppa ready for you in a short while,” Simon said to me.

“I am a little surprised that you are up so early,” I replied with a smile.

“I wanted to have an early start, so I can spend a little time snorkelling, while the guests are exploring the island,” Simon said to me.

“That sounds like a great idea. Are you going to get the lads to join you?” I asked him.

“I was planning to when they get here,” Simon responded, and I headed up to the bridge to get another weather report.

“Good morning, Skipper,” Kirk and Leon chorused as they entered the bridge, and headed for the stairs to the crew mess. I followed them down to get some breakfast.

We happily chatted as we ate. Simon asked the lads if they wanted to join him for some snorkelling while the guests were exploring the island, which they said they would.

“Before you go, make sure the guests have water and hats before they go. We will possibly move to another island at lunch time, and leave the Abrolhos Islands at about 3pm, for the trip to Rottnest Island,” I announced to the crew.

With breakfast finished, Simon got to work to prepare breakfast for the guests, while Kirk and Leon went to set the dining table, and tidy up around the main deck. I went to wake up my brothers, as it was time for them to get up.

“Jasper said to give the horn a burst when approaching Pelsaert Island, and they will set sail to join us for 220 kilometres, before they turn to head to Jurien,” Kirk said to me as he arrived at the bottom of the stairs.

“Ok, thanks for that Kirk. Let me know when the guests are all seated for breakfast please,” I replied as I sat down in the crew mess, and Simon handed me a cup of tea, which I happily accepted.

“Are you ok, Skipper? You look a little… unsettled,” Simon said to me in a concerned tone. I thought about what he said for a few moments before answering.

“I guess I am a little tired. With all the responsibilities that I have had since all of this happened, I feel a little drained of energy,” I replied.

“How about we suggest to Jasper to change over at Jurien Bay, so you and the boys can go home to rest,” Simon suggested. After some thought on this idea, I let out a large sigh and slowly nodded my head in agreement. Simon headed upstairs, and I heard him talking on the phone, I presumed to Jasper. He returned to the crew mess a few minutes later.

“It’s all set. You and Jasper will swap over at Pelsaert Island, along with Anita, Nathan and your brothers,” Simon said to me, and I nodded my head in understanding.

About twenty minutes later, Kirk appeared and let me know that the guests were all having breakfast now, so I set off upstairs, to talk to them.

“Good morning, Folks. I just need to let you know a few things before you set off to explore East Wallabi Island. Make sure you are back by twelve noon, and while you are having lunch we will sail 36 kilometres south to Morley Island, which is about 1 hour and twenty minutes away. There you can do some more exploring and snorkelling if you wish.

“At 2pm we will set off south to neighbouring Pelsaert Island, where we will meet up with the catamaran, and swap over skippers, as I need to return to Jurien Bay. Jasper and crew will take you on to Rottnest Island and Fremantle. Any questions?” I said to the guests, and with no one speaking up I smiled and headed back to the bridge and down to the crew mess, where my brothers had finished their breakfast.

“Neale and Jedd, pack your bags and get ready to change yachts, as we will be heading home on the catamaran at about 2pm this afternoon, so we need to be ready to go when we meet up with the catamaran later,” I said to my brothers, and they went to their cabin to get packed, and I did the same in my cabin. By the time we had done this, the guests were on the island exploring, and Simon and the lads had gone off to do some snorkelling.

With a virtually empty yacht, the boys asked if they could go into the Jacuzzi, which I thought was a great idea. So, the boys quickly changed, while I grabbed a book to read, and we headed upstairs. When the guests returned, the boys went downstairs to shower and change, and while Simon and the lads were serving lunch to the guests, we set off further south to Morley Island, and set anchor there.

While the guests were exploring the island, I took the boys for a walk on the island as well, but in a separate direction to the guests. Simon remained on the yacht to keep watch, while the lads did some cleaning up around the living areas. After we had set off again, it was twenty minutes later as we rounded the bottom end of Pelsaert Island, where the catamaran was anchored. I gave the horn a short blast, while the lads lowered the main sail, and I started up the engine.

In just ten short minutes, we had changed skippers, and Neale and Jedd had moved over to the catamaran with me. We set off in a south easterly direction towards Jurien Bay, while Jasper continued south towards Rottnest Island. When we arrived in Jurien Bay shortly before sunset, Toby and Finn secured the catamaran to the jetty, and Anita thanked us for a wonderful time, as they headed to their car. The rest of us piled into my car to drive my friends to their homes, before picking up some takeaway for dinner and heading home.

Once the boys had eaten, I asked them to shower and get ready for bed, as they like me, had the first day of term three at school in the morning. I received a call from Jasper that they were on schedule to arrive at Rottnest Island by 8am the next day. Once I had my brothers in bed and asleep, I was also in bed and about to fall asleep, when my mobile began to ring. The caller ID said it was Mum calling.

“Hi Mum. How is Gramps going?” I said on answering the call.

“He is good thanks, Son. We will be moving to the apartment on Wednesday, once I have organised some furniture and houseware. How are you and my boys?” Mum replied.

“They are good. We went sailing to the Abrolhos Islands and back, so they are in bed and asleep,” I replied.

“Well, that would explain why your phone was out of range for so long. I have been trying to call you most of the day. I will give you a call tomorrow after school. Give my love to the boys. Bye for now,” Mum said and she ended the call.

The next morning I drove the boys to school, and then headed over to the senior admin school to explain that Simon would be absent for a couple of days, as he was away on sea duties. Then I headed to my locker, to get my books for the first two classes. Toby and Finn were there waiting for me, and greeted me cheerfully, as did the rest of the senior team. They asked where Simon was.

Finn and Toby chuckled, before Finn spoke up. “He is the lucky one. He is finishing a charter on the trimaran. They arrive at Rottnest this morning, and Fremantle this evening, so he will be back in Jurien sometime tomorrow,” Finn announced.

“So how did you like your first job on a charter” Jack asked Finn and Toby, who both smiled broadly.

“It was awesome, but also hard work,” Toby replied, and Finn nodded his head in agreement.

When we arrived at the marina after school the next day, to check on the catamaran, we were pleasantly surprised to see the trimaran had returned. We went on board to see the crew, but it was very quiet. Checking the saloon door, I found it to be locked. I was about to go up to the fly bridge, when there was a shout from behind me.

“Oi! What are you doing on that yacht?” I realised that it was Jasper’s voice, and turning, I saw him standing on the fly bridge of the catamaran, with a big smile on his face.

“Thanks for the mini heart attack, Mate,” I said to him as I slowed my heart beat from the scare. I saw Simon and the lads appear from inside the catamaran, and they too smiled, as we made our way over to the catamaran, where we all sat down in the saloon.

“How did the last stage of the charter go to Rottnest and Fremantle?” I asked Jasper.

“Yes, it all went very well. Our guests were very happy with the cruise, and they said they would be recommending our cruises to family and friends back home,” Jasper replied.