Life on the Swan - 7. Swan Chapter 7

“Hmm, well I do really miss being on a yacht, so maybe I could purchase a little yacht to cruise around in from time to time” I suggested, and Wyatt laughed at this. “I think that you need to consult with your guardian regarding large spending sprees like that young man, so you will have to wait till Saturday for that, but maybe we could go on a short two-day charter to Rottnest” Wyatt said to me.

“Yes, I would love that please, can you arrange that for both of us, for today please” I said excitedly, and Wyatt chuckled as he headed to the study to make the arrangements.

What seemed like a very short time, Wyatt reappeared smiling, “I have made all the arrangements, I have found a local charter company that has a 115 Sunreef power yacht, that we can charter for three days, and it will collect us from the Claremont Jetty at 11am, which gives us just over two hours to get organised” Wyatt announced.

“Wow cool, I have seen one of them up close in Europe they look nice, a bit small but still nice” I replied, and Wyatt laughed. I thought it best to charter something a little smaller than you are used too, since it is just the two of us, well for the first half of it, as Mr Sebastian, Sir Lewis and Xavier will be joining us at Rottnest, tomorrow afternoon” Wyatt responded.

“Sounds good to me, what do you want me to do?” I replied, “Go and pack clothes for three days actually make it four days, just in case plans change, I will be in to assist if you have any troubles, but I am sure you are perfectly capable of packing your own suitcase” Wyatt said to me, as he began cleaning up the kitchen, pushing me out of the area in the process.

“Hmm, bossy house staff, I might have to work on that one” I complained as I headed to my suite, “Ha, good luck with that one, Master Xander, I am paid by your guardian, so you are stuck with me” Wyatt replied. Once I was packed and changed, ready to go, I sat in the lounge and watched a little television, while doing some web surfing on my I-pad.

“How are we going to get over to the jetty with all our luggage?” I called out, when I heard Wyatt approaching, “No need to shout Master Xander, I do have good hearing, and to answer your question, have you forgotten that you own the town house on Jetty road, so we can leave the car in the secure carpark right there” Wyatt replied.

“Oh yeah, I had forgotten that, lucky I have a smart and bossy butler eh!” I replied, “Careful now Master Xander, I can quite easily cancel this little excursion” Wyatt threatened. “Ok, I will be good, I want to go on this trip to Rottnest, so I can relax and forget about that damn school” I replied.

When Wyatt had parked the car in the undercover parking area, I helped to unload the luggage, and take it down to the jetty, where a 115-foot or 35-metre long yacht was just arriving at the end of the jetty, and it looked very sleek for a smaller yacht.

“Welcome aboard the MV Toodyay, Mr Devonport” the captain said as we approached the yacht, and I stopped and looked at Wyatt when the Captain said this, as we stepped onboard, and climbed the steps up to the main deck, where the captain and 5 other staff stood in a line to greet us.

“My name is Captain James Lennard, this is my 1^st Officer and Engineer Melinda, Chef Natalie, Chief Steward Brenda, Bosun Adam, and 2^nd Steward Mitch” the Captain said making the introductions, and we shook their hands, and the male steward took over handling our luggage.

“Allow me to show you around the yacht, while Adam takes your luggage to your assigned cabins. Let’s head up to the top and start at the sundeck first” Brenda said to us, and we followed her up the starboard stairs to the upper deck, and crossing over to the other side of the yacht, up another set of steps to the sundeck.

Right away I was very impressed with the yacht, seeing a jacuzzi, sunbeds, and outdoor lounge and a dining table, plus a bar, which Brenda pointed out to us, before suggesting we head down to the upper deck, where there a large outdoor terrace, with a bar and sun lounges.

Inside there are two guest cabins, of which I would have one of those, also a small lounge and table setting, and the main stairs heading down to the main deck, with the door at the end of the hall leading to the bridge.

On the main level, we were shown the cabin where Wyatt would be staying, and a quick look into the master cabin, where Lewis and Sebastian will be staying, plus the main saloon, which has very comfortable lounge area and a small gym.

Outside there is the outdoor dining table which we had passed earlier when arriving. We were informed that all doors marked ‘Crew Only’, are specifically for crew, and are no-go areas for guests, and I nodded my head in understanding, and I made a mental note to aske the Captain if the crew know that I was a part owner of the yacht. Lastly we had a quick look at the last guest cabin located on the port side, which Xavier’s cabin.

In the main saloon on the main deck, Wyatt and I sat down to relax, as we felt the yacht rock a little as it moved away from the jetty, and headed down river, with Adam arriving with some soft drinks for us both. “That is Freshwater Bay Yacht Club, where this yacht is based” Adam said to us as he pointed out the yacht club ahead of us and to the right.

“How long till we get to Rottnest Island, and where will be setting anchor?” Wyatt asked the crewman, “It will take us approximately 40 minutes to get to the harbour, and another 40 minutes to cross over to Rottnest, and I think we are anchoring just off Salmon Bay, on the island” Adam replied.

During the trip over to Rottnest Wyatt and I just relax and enjoyed the journey, with me enjoying the smell of sea air again, even after the recent trip in New Zealand. While alone, I asked Wyatt about the name of the yacht. “Yes, it is named after your father’s home town, and yes, it is owned by the family.

Mr Sebastian bought it a short time ago, and had it sent to Fremantle, where it has been moored at the Freshwater Bay Yacht Club nearby” Wyatt announced, when he saw the look on my face.

“You know, I haven’t got around to checking out this little town with a funny name yet, maybe you can arrange it some-time soon please” I responded to Wyatt, “Consider it arranged sir” Wyatt replied,

Before we arrived, Wyatt disappeared somewhere leaving me to soak up the sunshine, and some time later a door must have opened, as I suddenly heard Wyatt having a heated discussion with someone, so I went to investigate but I only got as far as the upper deck terrace, when Wyatt came up the stairs.

“What was all of that about?” I queried, “A bloody big mix up is what that is about” Wyatt snapped, then he sighed and apologised for being so rude. “Forget that, what is the problem, maybe two heads can come up with a solution” I replied, “I doubt it sir, it appears that some admin stuff up means we have lost our mooring at Salmon Bay, and there are no other moorings available for this weekend” Wyatt explained.

“Ok, lets go to the office of this place directly, and see if we can come up with an alternative plan” I suggested, and Wyatt nodded his head and walked over to an inhouse phone, and pressed a number. “Captain, this is Wyatt speaking, can you please take us into the small jetty closest to the ferry jetty, and we will go and have a little chat with the whoever is in charge” I heard Wyatt say, and a few moments late I heard him say – “Oh, ok, I was unaware of that, well we will go to the visitors centre, in that case and see what we can do from there,” Wyatt said before ending the call.

Fifteen minutes later we arrived at the island small jetty, and Wyatt and I walked down the 120-metre long jetty to the beach, and 80 metres down the road to the visitor centre, which was quite busy with tourists wanting information, so we patiently waited.

When we were about to step forward to make our enquiry, a man dressed in a work uniform with the RIA – Rottnest Island Authority logo on it entered. “Excuse me sir, is that your yacht parked on the small jetty, if so, you will have to move it” the man said to me, which had me and Wyatt both chuckling.

“Firstly sir, who ever you are, the yacht is not parked, it is moored, and secondly that is the very reason that we have been waiting here for twenty minutes to discuss” Wyatt said as he stepped up close to the man, with just a foot in distance between them. The man stepped back from Wyatt and looked at the lady behind the counter.

“We have been busy and they have been waiting a long time, I will handle it thanks George” the lady said, and he grumbled under his breath as he stormed out of the building.

“Good afternoon, now before I start my enquiry, I wish to lodge a complaint with that man on how he handled the situation, if you are trying to encourage people to visit your island, that is not the way to do it” I started, “Yes sir, I do apologise and I will have a word with him later in regards to that, now how may I help you?” the lady replied.

“We had secured a six-month mooring at Salmon Bay, and it appears that due to an administrative error, this is not possible now, so I would like to know how you are going to resolve this issue?” I stated. “I see, and is it for that yacht at the jetty, and what name is it under?” the lady asked.

“Yes, and the yacht – MV Toodyay is owned by Wagner International Corporation, my name is Alexander Devonport, a board member of the Corporation” I replied, as I retrieved a business card out of my wallet, and presented it to the lady, who checked it against the information she had on the computer in front of her.

“Yes Mr Devonport, I have the information here, it appears that what has happened, is that two applications for the same site were entered at the same time, with the other application being confirmed just minutes after yours, even thou yours is also stated as confirmed, and both have been given the license to be moored at that site.

When the other applicant notified us that they would be taking up the site this weekend, that is when we saw the double booking, and made a note on it, to let you know when you contacted us, as the only contact number we have is for regional WA, and the calls have gone unanswered” the lady explained.

“I see, so let me ask you this, who has the legal right to the license now that this issue has come to light?” I asked, “Well sir, the computer states that your application was processed a few minutes before the other, so I would say that you are, but I am not sure what we can do about it, when the other applicant is already on site” the lady said to me.

I sighed loudly in frustration of not getting anywhere with this. “Well let me suggest this, while you are sorting out this mess, you give us permission to moor our yacht either at this jetty or another one for the period of three days, and I will await a decision of how to fix this problem” I stated.

“Geordie Bay Jetty would be acceptable, or… there is the residence” Wyatt added from over my shoulder. “Residence?” I asked in confusion, and then it hit me, as I remembered about the Vice Regal residence on the island, and I smiled broadly at realising this.

“Young lady, do you by any chance now anything about the Vice Regal residence on the island?” I asked, and I saw the lady look in shock at my question, “Yes that’s right, the one at Little Salmon Bay… as you see from my business card, the Chairman and CEO of the Corporation is Sebastian Wagner, who is my first cousin, and do you know who his husband is by any chance?” I asked the lady, who was now looking very nervous, as she picked up the phone and dialled a number.

“Karen, this is Amanda at the Visitor Centre on the island, I need to speak to Mr Harris very urgently” the lady said when the call was answered, and I heard her foot tapping on the floor nervously as she waited to be transferred.

“Sir, you know that issue that was picked up on the computer, about the mooring double booking at Salmon Bay? Well it appears that the first applicant is Wagner International Corporation, and the Chairman of that Corporation is the husband of Sir Lewis Shaw, Baron of Rottnest” we heard the lady say on the phone.

Both Wyatt and I were still smiling as we listened in to one end of the conversation. “Mr Devonport, is a first cousin to Mr Wagner, and a director of the Corporation, and he is here now… yes, he arrived onboard their yacht, the MV Toodyay about thirty minutes ago, which is the registered vessel for the mooring application, it is a 150-foot motor yacht sir” the lady said.

“Ok, thankyou sir, I will do that, thank you, goodbye” the lady said and ended the call, before smiling at us. “That was the Rottnest Island Authority Chairman I was just speaking to. On behalf of the RIA, he apologises for the inconvenience, and has said that you are welcome to be moored at any of the smaller jetties, or any small unrestricted beach on the island for the period of your stay” the lady said to us.

“Thankyou for your attention at resolving this and we will accept your kind offer, and we would like to anchor at the Little Salmon Bay Beach please” Wyatt said as he stepped up to the counter from behind me. “Very well, I will inform the Island Rangers that this has been authorised, I hope you enjoy your stay” the lady said, and we exited the building.

Back on board the yacht, I headed to the bridge to inform the captain of the discussions, and the outcome, and we were soon setting off out of Thompson Bay, past Porpoise Bay and into Little Salmon Bay, which has a lot of shallow rocks, but the Captain was able to manoeuvre around them to get into the bay and set the anchors just 15 metres off the beach, where the yacht is just sitting above the sandy bottom.

The Vice Regal residence was barely visible from where the yacht is anchored, as it is set in a small valley with low hills behind it, so it is out of site from the rest of the island, and can only be seen from certain points close to the beach.

Sebastian had told me all about the Vice Regal residence that he had arranged to be built on the island, after Lewis had received his Life Peerage, and that it had be built to disturb as little of the environment as possible.

Seb had also organised for the whole of the area that is within the Vice Regal grounds, which is fenced off and consists of an area of 52 acres, for the planting of the now healthy plantation of Rottnest Island Pine Trees, Rottnest Island Tea Trees.

This has created a thick and healthy woodland, with the assistance of an automated watering system, consisting of a small desalination plant, and a number of underground water storage tanks, plus two solar powered water pumps, to supply water from the tanks to the woodland, by a sprinkler system, with the solar panels located on the roof of the residence.

Following the idea of Sebastian’s other small parts of the island have similar areas of plantations, but they are not fenced off, so are prone to damage by the island visitors.

The first area was at Narrow neck, an 800-metre long section of the island that is the narrowest, being just 120 metres wide, and it is doing very well, as is the other area around the west, south and north sides of Serpentine Lake, just north-west of the airport.