Frontier - 41. FR Chapter 41

Once the dinghy was on the swim platform, and secured, we walked up the steps to the aft deck.

“Mr Hamilton… Anton, you have good reasons to be suspicious after last night’s attack. I think I have pieced together a pattern that may be the reason for this and a few other things that have happened this year,” the officer said as Simon approached and sat down next to me.

“This all started with the sudden death of your step father, Mr Wallis, who was killed in a trucking accident. I had a closer look into that, and there was evidence that the truck had been mechanically tampered with, and that was the cause for your step father crashing through a barrier into the deep ravine.

“You said to me the other day, that your mother and your half-brothers went over to Western Australia to live with you and your grandfather soon after the funeral, and that less than a month ago, your mother was killed and grandfather was seriously injured in a car crash. I made a call yesterday to the investigating officers of that crash, and they also found tampering with the vehicle. Along with the suspicious burning down of the Wallis home in Portobello, I think there is someone who is desperate to find something that is very important.

“I do not know what it is or what it contains, but I think there is a connection with the two vehicle accidents, the house fire and now the violent attack on your yacht last night. So far it is just me that knows all of this, plus the two officers that I contacted,” the officer said to me.

“We cleaned out a storage unit the other day. The boys kept some books, a few toys, and I kept some linen belonging to my late mother. Everything else in the boxes and the furniture, were donated to the local charity shop,” I said to the officer, purposely not mentioning the box marked Wallis transport, which I now had grave concerns about what was inside the box.

“So, there were no documents or business papers belonging to your step father in the storage unit?” the officer asked.

“No nothing at the storage unit. Mum brought over to Australia, her and the boys’ birth certificates and passports, when they first came over. That is it,” I replied honestly.

“Well, thank you for that information. I suggest that you get what repairs you need to be done and head home to Australia, as soon as you can,” the officer said to me and he stood up and shook my hand.

Returning to the swim platform, we put the dinghy back in the water, and I took the officer back to the jetty. What I hadn’t expected was to see Sara and Oscar standing on the jetty waiting for us.

“What are you two doing here?” I asked Sara.

“Well, I enjoyed the cruise so much yesterday, that I decided to take a break from work, and I wanted to ask if we can join you for a while,” Sara said with a smile, as she and Oscar climbed into the dinghy, with two brand new suitcases. Once they were on board, we headed back to the yacht, and I gave the officer a brief wave goodbye.

Once on the swim platform, an equally surprised Simon helped them on board, while I stowed away the dinghy and closed the swim platform.

“Let’s get on our way Simon. We can worry about our guests once we are at sea,” I said as I headed for the fly bridge, and Simon went to pull up the anchors.

Ten minutes later we were out of the Oamaru harbour, and heading due east into open waters. Moments later Sara arrived with a cup of tea for me.

“Thank-you. Now can you please explain to me why you made this sudden decision?” I asked Sara.

“Well, last night after checking into the hotel, I received a visit from our local senior constable, and he asked me a lot of questions about the Wallis family. It didn’t take much to know that someone is after something important, and that your family is connected. I have only been in Portobello since 4^th term last year, so I was renting a house, and we have just clothes and a few personal items, as the rest is stored away in Wellington.

“I am a widow, with a 6-year old son, who is my most precious belonging. I like you, Anton. You are a smart responsible young man, that has gone through a lot in your life. I like the life that you have, with this wonderful yacht, two loving brothers, grandfather, and possible boyfriend.

“I have no ties to any one place. I handed my resignation to Anne this morning, before Oscar and I did some very quick shopping, before coming down to the jetty. I would like to be part of this crew, to help educate your brothers and my son, and also get to explore wherever this yacht takes us,” Sara said to me.

I was a little surprised by all of this, and at first was not sure how to respond.

“Well, this is a little unexpected, and I must admit, you would be a welcome addition to the crew. You are right that there must be a connection with my step father, his accidental death and the house fire. The police officer thinks that the car accident that killed our mother and injured our grandfather, plus last night’s attack, are all connected. How, I am not sure yet.

“So, for now, welcome to the Last Frontier. You and Oscar can have the cabins that were assigned to you yesterday. Get settled in and just let Simon know that I have said its ok for you and Oscar to stay on board for a while. By the way, Simon and I are just best friends, as are his grandfather and my grandfather. We are only 17 years old, so we too haven’t finished our schooling,” I said with a smile.

Once we were 25 kilometres east of Oamaru, I changed course to 55 degrees, with my destination Lyttelton Harbour, located just south of Christchurch, where there was a secure yacht club, so I could get some repairs done.

With the time now being 1015 hours, I estimated that we would arrive at approximately 2345 hours that night. Soon after changing directions, Simon arrived on the fly bridge.

“I want to keep it between just you and me. We are heading to Christchurch, so we can get the repairs that we need. It will take about 11½ hours to get there, so we will do 4 hour shifts, if that is ok with you?” I said to Simon.

“Yes, that is fine with me. Sara has offered to help with cooking, so that takes a lot of the pressure off me now, so I can concentrate on being at the helm. The three boys are in the crew lounge watching a movie, so they are happy little munchkins,” Simon replied with a smile.

“Can you get a current weather report for me please, to see if we have any rough seas? If it is going to affect our open saloon area, maybe you can try and come up with an idea to try and cover it up please?” I asked.

“Sure, Boss. I will get right on it,” Simon said and he headed back downstairs.

About twenty minutes later Simon returned, announcing that he had used the two portable picnic tables as a weather barrier, with the assistance of some lounge chairs propped against them, so it would keep most of the weather out. He handed me the weather report, and I scanned it quickly, and handed it back to him.

“Let the crew know we will be in for a rough night after dinner, as I will be closing the pontoons again,” I announced to Simon who nodded his head in understanding and went downstairs.

At about 1230 hours, Sara arrived with a plate of food, and a fresh cup of tea.

“Thanks, Sara. This looks delicious,” I said as I took a mouthful, and I was right.

“How are you and Oscar coping with the trip so far” I asked Sara who was scanning the instruments in front of us.

“I’m going great, but Oscar is feeling a little queasy. Are we heading for Christchurch?” Sara replied.

“Yes, we need a secure location, so we can get the repairs that I need done, before we can go out in real open waters. We will be out of contact with the mainland for most of the day, and should be arriving in Christchurch just before midnight,” I said to Sara with a smile. She stayed on the fly bridge with me, and chatted for nearly an hour before heading downstairs with the empty dishes.

At 1400 hours, Simon arrived to take over at the helm, and I stayed to chat for a while.

“So, Boss, what are your thoughts about what to do once we have made the repairs?” Simon asked me after a few moments of silence.

“I think we need to get as far away as possible, and I have one place in mind, but it will be tough going,” I replied with a big grin. When Simon saw this, he gave a small laugh.

“Ok, so its Vancouver, Canada, then,” Simon said, and I laughed.

“You know me too well, Buddy. That is exactly what I was thinking, but let’s just keep it between us for now,” I responded, and a little while later I headed downstairs, to see how everyone else was going. When I arrived in the galley, Sara was just pulling out a tray of biscuits from the oven, and she smiled, and handed me biscuit for me to taste.

“You know, I could get used to this nice food,” I said to Sara.

Neale, Jedd and Oscar came out of the crew lounge, and headed straight for the biscuits.

“Only one each, Boys, or you will not eat your dinner,” Sara said, and the boys took one each and headed upstairs.

“I’ve been meaning to ask you, do you and Oscar have current passports?” I asked Sara as I helped myself to another biscuit.

“Last one for you too, Mr, even if you are the boss, and yes we have passports, and by luck, we have them with us,” Sara replied.

“Ok good, as we will be leaving New Zealand as soon as the repairs to the yacht have been completed. Where to, I’m not sure yet. We just need to get away from whoever is trying to find something,” I replied.

“Ok, that is fine. Can you and your brothers get all your dirty laundry, and I will do some laundry washing?” Sara said to me.

“Thanks for the offer, but I did a load the other day, so we are fine for now,” I responded.

I headed up to the bridge, to get a weather report, and to look at weather forecasts for the central Pacific Ocean for the next seven days. Then looking at the charts, I started to plan the trip northwards from Christchurch.

I estimated that it would take us 4¾ days to travel the 3000 km’s to Suva - Fiji, and a further 5¼ days to travel 3,400 kms to Kiribati. 2150 kilometres to Honolulu, Hawaii, would take 3¾ days to get there. With two weeks of travelling, ahead of us, I wanted to make sure that the yacht was in good order for the crossing of the Pacific Ocean, especially when the last part of the journey would be 4500 kilometres long, from Hawaii to Vancouver, Canada, with no islands for the whole last part of the 7½ day journey.

Once I had written down the sail plan, I headed upstairs to show Simon what I had worked out, and I took over the helm, to allow him the time to assess what I had written.

“Three weeks, eh. That is going to be quite a challenge. We will have to go back to 12-hour helm shifts. I’m glad we have Sara with us, as she will help with meals and keeping an eye on the boys,” Simon said to me eventually.

“Once we have left New Zealand, I think we can spend a few days at each port to relax, and have a look around. That should reduce the stress on you and me,” I said to Simon, who agreed with my idea.

“Ok, so Christchurch for repairs, then off to open ocean after that. Sounds like a challenge,” Simon said.

“That it will definitely be, Mate,” I replied. I stayed and chatted with Simon for the remainder of his shift, and took over at the helm at 1800 hours, for the last shift before we arrived at Christchurch.

Simon went downstairs to relax for a while, and about an hour later, Sara arrived with dinner for me. I encouraged her to take the helm, showing her the compass, and told her to keep an eye on the compass and the mainsail, before I sat down to eat my dinner.

“Wow, this is quite exhilarating,” Sara said to me with a huge grin.

“Yes, it can be when we have great weather like now, but it’s a different story when we get into rough weather.

“To protect the whole yacht the pontoons can be closed, so they are up against the yacht hull. It makes it a little rougher, but we still have a lot of stability. We went through a gale force storm between Tasmania and Invercargill, and we came out with no damage, but we had to pull down the mainsail and travel by engine, so we wouldn’t lose the mainsail or the mast,” I explained to Sara.

Once I had finished my dinner, I thanked Sara for a delicious meal, and asked her to tell my brothers to have a shower and get ready for bed. About 1½ hours later, Simon arrived with a cup of tea for me.

“The boys are in bed and asleep, Sara has retired for the night, and I’m going to be around till we get to our destination. Just call me when it’s time to moor the yacht,” Simon said to me.

“Ok, Buddy, thanks for that. Can you go to the main bridge and switch over the controls? It’s getting a little too cold out here,” I replied with a smile.

Simon headed down to the main bridge, and as soon as I saw the indicator which let me know that the changeover had happened, I moved downstairs.

“Thanks, Mate. I will be fine for now. I will see you in a couple of hours, when we arrive in the harbour at Christchurch,” I said to Simon and he headed down to his temporary cabin to rest.

The wind picked up a bit over the next few hours, and shortly after 2300 hours, Simon reappeared from downstairs, with a cup of tea for me.

“I need a bathroom break, if you can take the helm please?” I said to Simon, who nodded and took over for me. When I had come back, I went to the laptop, to see what the weather was going to be like for the next few days, and the laptop pinged to say I had email.

I smiled when I saw who it was from. “We have an email from George and Mimi. I wonder what they have to say?” I said to Simon, before I opened up the email, and I read it out loud.

“Dear Anton, Simon and boys,

Once again, we wish to thank you for an awesome cruise from Fremantle to Hobart. The children can’t stop talking about it. We have friends who are currently on holidays in Australia, and they have stated that they would like to experience a cruise with you.

When we checked the website, we were surprised to see that you have a note saying that the yacht is not available for charter till further notice. Our friends have asked us to contact you, to see if you can make an exception in this case. We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Regards,

George, Mimi and children.”

“I wonder if they would like a charter from Christchurch to Hawaii?” Simon asked me. I looked at my watch and quickly worked out the time in the UK.

“It’s lunch time over there at the moment. Why not we give them a call, and see what we can do?” I replied, as I retrieved the sat phone from the drawer, and checked the email for a phone number, which I dialled.

“George Fenton, how can I help you,” came a familiar voice.

“Hey, George, how are you and the family?” I said cheerfully.

“Anton, it’s wonderful to hear from you. I presume that you received our email then,” George replied happily.

‘Yes, George, I have just read it. We will be arriving in Christchurch in less than an hour. We have been in New Zealand for just under a week,” I replied to George.

“Ok, so are you able to fit in a charter for our friends - three couples, same age group as us, and they would like to try at least a week cruising with you?” George said to me.

“If they are happy to fit in with our plans, I don’t see a problem. We will be in Christchurch for about 4 or 5 days for some minor repairs, then we were planning to sail to Fiji, Kiribati and end at Hawaii, which is a total of 14 days sailing,” I replied to George.

“Well, I will let our friends know. They are in Sydney at the moment, having spent a week in Western Australia. They have spent a week in Tasmania and Victoria, so if they cut their Australian holiday short, they could get to Christchurch in time for your departure,” George said to me.

“Well I will leave it up to you. We will be in Christchurch for a minimum of four days, so you can contact me on my mobile number,” I replied.

After the call had ended, I took over at the helm as we were entering the harbour, and Simon went downstairs to pull down the sail, so we could change over to engine power for the last 15 kms to the yacht club. When we had finally secured the yacht, I did a quick check of the fly bridge, before we retired for the night.

I woke up to the sound of the boys laughing in the crew mess area. Once I had showered and dressed, I joined the rest of the crew in the mess.

“Good morning, Skipper,” Sara said to me.

“Good morning, Anton”, all three boys chorused, and Simon just smiled.

“Morning, All. When we have had breakfast, I was wondering if Sara and Simon can take the boys to do some sightseeing for most of the day, while I get things organised for the repairs,” I announced to everyone.

Within an hour, the crew had left to look around the city, and I was already on the phone trying to organise tradespeople to do the repairs that we needed. I was pleased when I managed to get triple glazing doors for the saloon, which included a smoky tint to provide some privacy when we are at yacht clubs. It would be installed the following day. I decided to have the outdoor dining chairs all replaced, with new chairs, and after lunch the first of the trades arrived, to repair the damage to the fly bridge instrument panel. They also installed a replacement big screen television in the formal lounge room.