Frontier - 45. FR Chapter 45

Once we had said farewell to Sara and Oscar, Simon, Toby, Finn, my brothers and I sat down in the saloon. “So, what do we do now, Skipper?” Simon asked cheerfully.

“Well, firstly, I think we need to have some rest and recreation. I also want to do a few upgrades on the yacht by installing some solar panels on sections of the yacht, and have some panels as spares. I also want to upgrade the desalination water system, so we can produce more fresh water, and I want to install a small wind generator up on the main mast to generate and store more power. Plus, the sat phone is playing up a bit so I need to get it fixed,” I announced.

“I would like to try and grow some plants while we are in US territory - see how they do growing at sea - especially some herbs,” Simon announced.

We agreed to have our mobiles on at all times, and that we would return to the yacht by 1600 hours local time, and so Simon, Toby and Finn set off together, while my brothers and I set off to do some yacht shopping first. After a few enquiries, we found the nearest yacht supplies store, which was huge and had everything in it. Just over an hour later, the boys and I returned to the yacht, each of us loaded up with supplies, and more was to be delivered. I discovered that the fault in the sat phone was a faulty battery, so that was easily fixed, and I had organised for some trades to come the next day to install the wind turbine, the solar panels and to upgrade the desalination system.

We bought some more spares of rigging parts, plus a new sail as a spare, as the existing mainsail was looking a little tired. Once we had placed our purchases inside, we locked up and set off again, this time to find a restaurant to have some lunch. We found a beach shack restaurant not far away with a great view of a large lagoon. Once we had eaten, and with the assistance of google, we set off to a nearby shopping mall, which was absolutely huge. I told my brothers to stay close to me at all times.

Over the next two hours we bought some more clothes for all three of us, lots of movie DVD’s, music CD’s and video games for the boys, some books, board games and puzzles and some model plane construction kits. Once again, we set off back to the yacht, where the boys unwrapped all of their new purchases, and neatly stored them away in the crew lounge, while I sorted and washed all of the new clothes.

When the others returned, they looked very happy, and they returned with armfuls of purchases as well - clothes, books, and Simon had a hydroponic growing system, similar to the one back at home on the property. This reminded me that I needed to telephone Gramps to let him know where we were and that we were safe. Looking at my watch, I quickly worked out that it would be best to call then, as it was about 10am in Western Australia, while it was 4pm here, and so I grabbed my mobile and headed up to the fly bridge to chat to Gramps.

After a twenty-minute chat I returned downstairs happy to know that Gramps was doing well, and that he and Isaac spend every weekend down in Jurien Bay, checking on the house and property. He informed me that the fruit trees and vines were all doing very well. Gramps was pleased that we were all safe and well, and I let him know that we would call more regularly, especially during the 6½ journey from Hawaii to Vancouver. I let Gramps know that we would be spending a few days exploring the Hawaiian Islands before we left the area and headed north east to Canada.

Once we had chatted about our day’s adventures, we headed downstairs to jointly prepare some dinner, before taking it up to the outdoor aft dining table to eat, since it was such a nice evening. Once we had cleaned up, we sat down to watch one of the boy’s new movies. I was happy that we were able to sit down and enjoy each other’s company, which rarely happened when we had paying guests.

While my brothers and Toby and Finn watched another movie, Simon helped me to strip the beds and clean the cabin that Sara used, which didn’t take very long. Once this was done, I decided to retire for the night. So, I said goodnight to all the crew and headed over to my cabin.

At breakfast the next morning, Simon announced that he was going to have a bigger hydroponic herb and vegetable garden, and that he and the lads would be going back to the hydroponic store to buy some more supplies. My brothers were still asleep when they left, so I let them sleep more, while I went and did a clean-up in my cabin, and brought over some dirty laundry that needed doing. When the two lots of contractors arrived, I showed the one where I wanted the solar panels and wind turbine, and the other where the existing desal - desalination unit was so he could start on the upgrade.

The boys woke up with all the noise happening, and so I got to work to prepare some breakfast for them. I suggested that they continue with a couple hours of school work even though Sara wasn’t there to supervise them, as Sara had informed me that the boys had a whole list of school work that they could do over the next few weeks. When Simon and the lads arrived back, with a lot more equipment, plus lots of plant seedlings, I asked Simon where he planned to put the system. Simon just smiled and winked at first, and when he saw that I was serious about knowing where it was going, he informed me that he was putting a system in each storage room forward of the crew cabin on each pontoon, where there is a clear hatch in the roof.

Knowing that we didn’t use those areas very much, and that they were both empty, I agreed that he could go ahead and set it up in those two areas. Once the contractors had completed their work, and I had paid them and they left, we all sat down for some lunch in the crew mess.

“So, Guys, how many more days do you want to stay in Honolulu, as I was thinking we could spend a few days exploring the other islands as well?” I asked the crew.

“Well, I will be busy with my garden for most of this afternoon, so how about at least one more day to have a good look around the area,” Simon suggested. Everyone was agreeable to this and so we would leave Honolulu the day after next.

After another day of sightseeing, everyone returned to the yacht in the late afternoon, happy with what they had seen. Simon had comeback with an electric Segway which was a bit of a surprise. Once it was stored away, as well as all of the extra seedlings, plus some small pots of fruit trees, we prepared for an early morning departure the next day. At dawn the next day, the lads and I were up and we left the Hawaii yacht club as the sun was clearing the horizon, and once we had rounded the bottom of the main island, we changed directions to explore the other Hawaiian Islands.

After just five hours out from Honolulu, the weather turned for the worse, and I asked all crew to stow away anything that could work loose, include all dining chairs and lounge cushions on all decks. I asked Simon to check the weather report, and once he had opened the page, he carried the laptop to the helm for me to see.

“I don’t like the looks of this - lightning in the area and we have a gale force storm approaching,” I said to Simon.

“So, what do you want me to do?” Simon asked.

“Well, I want to save as much equipment as possible if this lightning storm hits. So take the helm. I’m going to get Toby and Finn to help me,” I said as I headed downstairs. “Toby and Finn, topside right now,” I shouted. The lads dashed out of the crew lounge, and we headed upstairs.

Using the bosun’s chair, I was hoisted up the mast, and I dismantled the wind turbine and lowered it down to the deck. I was about to disconnect the satellite dome, when there was a flash of lightning nearby. I shouted to the lads to get me down fast. Once on the deck, I grabbed the turbine and carried it inside, and placed it in a storage locker.

“Ok, Lads, do a double check that everything is secure. I am going up to the fly deck to disconnect some of the electronics, to prevent them from being burnt out if the lightning strikes the mast,” I announced.

I headed upstairs, and opening the hatch, I was suddenly soaked with the heavy rain that had just started. As I disconnected the marine radio from the antennae located on the mast, there was another flash of lightning. I reached for the sat phone in the drawer, and as I grabbed it a loud crack of thunder and flash of lightning made me jump, and I dropped the sat phone which fell down onto the main deck below.

I went inside and secured the hatch door, before heading down to the main deck. Toby and Finn had finished securing everything. “Ok, go down and get the boys to disconnect everything from power. That means the games, television, sound system, lights, microwave and phone rechargers. Meanwhile you guys do the same in all the guest living areas and in the galley and crew mess. I am going over to the pontoons to do the same in the crew cabins before doing the same in the guest cabins,” I instructed.

As we were finishing doing this, I noticed that the waves had increased a lot just in the last few minutes. I struggled back to the main deck from the pontoons, which I had already closed. I did a quick search to see if I could find the dropped sat phone, but it was too risky to stay outside any longer. Once the saloon doors were closed and locked, I sat down for a few moments to catch my breath before heading down to the guest cabins. I left the wet jacket on the hard floor, which I would pick up a bit later.

When I returned to the saloon, I picked up my jacket and headed downstairs, to the crew mess, where I placed the jacket in the laundry. My brothers were sitting down playing cards. When Troy and Finn appeared, I looked at them.

“All done, Skipper. Nothing is connected to power points any more,” Finn announced.

“Ok, Guys, I want nobody to be outside. Simon and I will take the guest twin cabin till we are out of this storm. Stay out of the saloon area, just in case the windows and doors give way. We have enough living space in the guest formal area, and crew area to survive the storm. Remember no electrical devices, that includes in the galley,” I said to the lads and my brothers.

I headed upstairs to the bridge. Simon appeared to be doing well to cope with the rough weather. “Hi, I heard everything that you said to the rest of the crew. What are we going to do for clothes?” Simon said to me.

“Taken care of. I grabbed some clothes for both of us from our cabins before locking them up. I’ve left them in the two double guest cabins,” I replied with a smile, and Simon nodded his head.

“Any idea how long this storm will last?” he asked me.

“No mate. It could be a couple of hours or a couple of days,” I replied.

I stayed with Simon as we continued to battle the seas, while the storm increased in strength. I decided that we do six-hour shifts, so as to make it less stressful for both of us. When I took over at the helm I suggested to Simon that he have something to eat and try and get as much sleep as possible. As the lightning storm worsened, I turned the yacht into the wind, and with Toby coming with me, and Finn holding the yacht in position, we headed outside and dropped the sail and packed it away, before coming back inside drenched to the bone.

After quickly drying off, I took over at the helm again, and started up the engines, before trying to turn the yacht around so that the waves were coming from the aft of the yacht to reduce the risk of capsizing and any damage to the yachts port or starboard sides. I felt that the yacht was stronger in the aft against huge seas, and I was hoping that the newly installed triple glazing doors would be strong enough to handle the waves.

As the storm continued hour after hour, Simon arrived to take over at the helm, with a cup of tea and a sandwich in hand. I headed downstairs to get some food and a drink.

“Hey, Skipper, any idea how long this is going to last?” Toby asked me.

“No sorry, Guys. We have damage to the mast and satellite. I think we must have been hit by lightning, so until the seas calm down I can’t do any repairs, so we are in the dark. I’ve lost the sat phone overboard too, so we have no communications either,” I replied as I was handed a plate of sandwiches and a hot cup of tea, and sat down next to Finn.

“The boys are in their cabin. I checked on them a short while ago. They are fairly scared, and I tried to encouraged them to try and get some sleep,” Finn informed me.

For nearly three days we battled the storm, and I had no idea where we were. I was at the helm in the early hours, when quite suddenly I heard some loud screeching noises, and I knew what that meant.

“We have hit some rocks or a reef,” I announced to myself, just as there was a loud bang and we came to a sudden stop. I shut off the engines, as the rain and wind continued shaking the yacht badly. I was not sure how to take this sudden turn of events. What I was guessing is that we were sitting on a reef somewhere, but the location was a big mystery to me.

“What was that noise? Did we hit rocks or something, and how come we are not moving?” Simon asked as he walked into the bridge.

“Your guess is as good as mine mate. For a guess, I would say we have beached on a reef, and if it is high tide, we may be stuck well and good, which could be a good thing,” I replied, as I looked at the clock, which read 0410 hours, Hawaiian time.

We listened to the sounds of the rain and wind outside, and I knew there was not much we could do till daylight. “Can you go forward downstairs and check to see if there is any hull damage? I will do the same in the guest accommodation area,” I said to Simon and we went in opposite directions to check for damage.

“Nothing in the crew area, Skipper, but when I listen against the front wall of the crew lounge to the bosun’s locker, I can hear water, so I am guessing that we may have a hull breach in the forward bulkhead,” Simon informed me.

“Ok, we will wait till daylight, then we will see what predicament we are in,” I responded, and since we were not moving Simon and I headed downstairs to the galley to get something to eat and drink. I sat down. I started to think about our situation.

“Simon, how much fresh and perishable food do we have on board?” I asked.

“We have some refrigerated ham, tomatoes, cheese, butter, lettuce, cucumbers, plus capsicums, corn on cob, carrots, celery, apples, mangoes, oranges, mandarins, bananas and red onions. In dry storage, we have a 5-kilo bag of potato’s, same with onions, 1 kg of garlic, herbs and spices, tined tomatoes, corn, beetroot & soups, plus sugar, flour, rice, breakfast cereals and UHT milk. Frozen we have plenty of meat, including ham, ice-cream, frozen mixed vegetables, bread, more UHT milk, and some frozen left-over meals. Oh, and we also have the small fruit trees that I bought in Honolulu,” Simon informed me.

“Ok, I think it would be a good idea if we start to ration all our food, starting with using perishable foods first, except for the corn cobs. Keep the tops of the carrots and ends of the celery, as well as apple and orange seeds, so we can try and grow these in your hydroponic vegetable garden. You will need to start planning meals to adapt to this rationing. So, can I leave you to do that? Oh, by the way, do you have all the ingredients to make your own bread?” I asked, and Simon smiled and nodded his head.

I decided against having something to eat, and I quickly checked on my brothers, who were fast asleep, before I headed upstairs to check on the fly deck, grabbing my wet gear as I went. I unlocked the hatch door, and opened the door, getting wet very quickly.

Once I had shut the door again, I switched on the lights and looked around the fly deck. The instrument panel was still closed, and everything seemed to be ok, till I looked up the mast and groaned, as I saw some blackening part of the way up, knowing that the mast had definitely been hit with lightning, and that meant that all communications and satellite navigation was out of action. I switched off the lights and went back indoors, locking the hatch door behind me. I took my wet gear back to the laundry to allow it to drip dry.

Simon was sitting at the crew mess and he had a note pad in front of him. He was looking at the list he had drawn up, and he looked up as I entered the crew area. “I have gone through everything we have, and I estimate that we have enough food for nearly two months, and if we get the hydroponic vegies going, we could live indefinitely, if we have fresh water and sunlight,” Simon said to me.

“Well if we are in fact stranded, I will need you to get started on your hydroponics. Hopefully the desal unit is still operational, and we also will need the solar panels and the wind turbine to keep the power supplies going. I will check as soon as it is daylight,” I added.

Over the next two hours we just sat and chatted, as we listened to the sounds of the storm outside. When I noticed that the wind and rain was calming down a lot, I headed upstairs and saw daylight coming through the bridge windows.

“Simon, it’s daylight. Let’s get to work doing a full survey of damage,” I said loudly down the stairs.