Ocean Research - 13. IOR Chapter 13

“What the… is that a weather radar system, and what are the satellite dishes?” Nathan asked, “Yes weather radar, with a range of 30 kilometres, which can be used for tracking shipping as well, plus there is VHF and Marine radio, pay television and satellite broadband internet. It is all based in the services building, with the radar to be operational when the other barges arrive, but the internet, pay-tv, radios and mobile phone is operational now,” Joshua announced.

“At least we will have reliable mobile coverage now, as it can be very dicey when the weather is bad out here,” Nathan commented, better than relying on the radio’s all the time,” James added. That evening, we had a celebration dinner, to make the arrival of the research barges, which is the start of getting the fishing village re-established on the islands.

Early the next morning, I entered the main saloon of the Silver Cloud, to see Joshua talking on his mobile, so I sat down and waited for him to finish. “Yes, that sounds fine by me, although I am sure that Captain James will be a little disappointed… oh really that is interesting, I look forward to hearing some more, ok Grandfather, bye for now,” Joshua said before ending the call.

“So, what does Mr Lloyd have planned now, more changes to the barges before they arrive?” I asked, “No, nothing to do with here. With all the promotional marketing happening lately with the MV Researcher, he has received an offer for the ship and the planned cruises along the West Coast, and he says that it is a very good offer,” Joshua replied.

“So, are you going to sell it?” I asked sounding a little surprised. “Reluctantly I am, but he has suggested that I invest in a fast ferry, to transport people from the mainland to the islands. He informed me that Austal Shipping in Henderson has a 44-metre-high speed catamaran, that cruises at 30 knots, which can get from Geraldton to here in as little as 1 ½ hours,” Joshua announced.

“Wow, that is fast, even faster than the Aquaria. I guess that would be in calm seas or seas with a small swell only,” I replied, “Yes, you are right there, and I am not sure if it is worth doing that especially with all the money the family company is putting into extending and sealing two airfields here.

If I did get it, the catamaran would be better to use for cruising just around the islands. Grandfather has emailed me the link to have a look at the information and layout of the boat,” Joshua replied, and we headed back to the catamaran to check the email from my office. Less than five minutes later, Joshua and I were looking at the layout of the 44-metre catamaran, which can carry a total of 500 people, which is way too much for what we want.

Joshua went to the Austal website and we looked at other possibilities that would be more suited for the Abrolhos Islands, and when I saw Joshua smile broadly, I knew that he had found the one that he wanted. “Check this out, I think it would be ideal for the rangers use.

It is a tri-hull swath boat, 27.5 metres long, travels at 25 knots, has space for a crew of four plus twelve passengers, and can carry 4.5 tonnes of cargo, with a range of 350 nautical miles, which is Geraldton to here and back twice, so it would be an ideal runabout boat for the rangers and for us,” Joshua announced.

“Yeah, but I thought we were meant to be looking for one that can carry a good number of passengers for transporting around the islands?” I asked, “Yes, but since we won’t need crew accommodation, we can replace those two cabins with an additional 12 passenger seats,” Joshua replied.

“Yes, that would definitely work, print it out, and we will show it to Nathan and James to see what their thoughts are on the idea,” I suggested. A few minutes later, Joshua and I walked into the Fisheries office, where James was busy typing, I quickly ducked into the office next door to ask Nathan to join us.

“Gentlemen, this is your lucky day, due to my grandfather receiving a very good offer for the purchase of the MV Researcher, I have decided to invest in a runabout vessel for the executive, that is Kip and me and for you guys to use.

It is an Austal Tri-Hull Swath catamaran that is just over 27 metres long, can travel at 25 knots and after a few minor adjustments, it will be able to carry 24 passengers,” Joshua announced to the two men, and I place the printouts onto the table for them to look at the information and layout plans.

“Well, this will definitely become useful, especially with the 16.5 square kilometres that we have to monitor,” Nathan said, and James nodded his head in agreement. “Just one slight problem, I only have qualifications for skippering vessels 24 metres or smaller,” James stated.

“I have no qualifications for anything bigger than 6 metres,” Nathan said, “I am the same as James, I have a Masters ticket for vessels up to 24 metres, but I have been doing the next level up online, so I just need to complete two weeks of training and the exam, and I am qualified as a Near Coastal Master for vessels up to 35 metres, for 200 nautical miles,” I added.

“That is perfect, sounds like you are about to become our main skipper,” Nathan said smiling. “That is fine, as long as I am able to spend some time doing marine research while I am out on the water, I am happy to do that,” I replied. “Good that is settled, I will put in an order for a 27-metre swath catamaran with Austal, and I will make sure my friend here completes his training,” Joshua announced.

Four days later in the mid-afternoon, a large cargo barge arrived and moored at the main jetty on Rat Island, and less than half an hour later, Joshua received a call from his grandfather, to see if the barge had arrived safely.

He also let us know that there is a refrigerated unit on the barge, containing food and drinks to feed the new arrivals, which is a support team of 8 consisting of a chef, a cook, 4 kitchen hands and 2 cleaners, who would be arriving by aircraft at Rat Island at 5 pm tonight, while the building crew of 16 men and 8 women would be arriving by aircraft, at Rat Island, with three flights arriving at 10 am, 10.30 am and 12 noon.

There will be a total of 32 people that will be staying at the new barge accommodation, while the two-barge crew would stay on the catamaran, and looking at his watch he saw that the first plane would be arriving in less than two hours.

“This is when the Swath Catamaran would be handy, as we could do the distance in half the time,” Joshua commented before I headed over to let Nathan and James know that the Silver Cloud was heading to the Rat Island airfield, to collect some crew that are flying in.

Meanwhile Josh went to find the Captain, to let her know that we need to set off to the Airfield at Rat Island to collect two people from the barge and 8 from the airfield at 5 pm, which meant we had to leave no later than 4.30 pm from the Research Barges, giving us just over an hour, before we had to leave.

Although it is a short distance in a straight line, we would have to go around the reefs to get to the barge at the north end of the island then down the west side to the airfield. With a load of supplies that need to be transferred to the Research Barge, Amanda decided for us to leave at 4.15 pm, to allow time to collect all of the food and drink supplies.

Nathan and James elected to remain behind at the research barge as they had some work to do in their offices, when we set off on the Silver Cloud, for the short trip around Rat Island. Once all of the supplies had been loaded onboard and placed temporarily in the pantry and galley, and with the two barge crew members on board, we set off around the westerns side of the island to await the arrival of the plane.

Arriving a little early, I assisted with the unloading of the two dinghies, ready to go and collect the new arrivals, as the catamaran could only get as close as 120 metres from shore, due to the shallow reefs, and as soon as we saw the plane approaching, Olivia and I set off in the two dinghies for shore, with the end of the runway just forty metres from the rocky beach.

It took both of us two trips each to ferry the eight people and their luggage to the Silver Cloud, and by that time the plane was long gone, heading east back to Geraldton. When we finally had everyone on board and the dinghies secured, Amanda set off again back to the research barges, around on the other side of the island.

“What is our accommodation like during our stay?” one of the women asked me, as I sat down with them in the main saloon. “Well, it is fairly well set up for just temporary accommodation, when a more permanent set up is operational, the two barges will revert back to their original use of being a research station,” I replied.

“Did you say we are living on two barges?” one of the men asked me, “Yes, that is right, it has a total of 48 accommodation suites, with two rooms sharing a bathroom, it has an outdoor recreation space, a swimming pool, that is open to the sea, but has netting to keep sharks and large aquatic mammals and fish out, a dining room and kitchen.

One of the workrooms is being made available as a television lounge, with pay tv, and there are internet and mobile phone coverage here as well. There are other spaces on the barges, which are currently empty, and will be used for other purposes later in the year,” I explained.

“I guess it is better than nothing, especially with internet and mobile coverage,” another man grumbled, and I just ignored his attitude for now, as I stood up and headed upstairs to the sky lounge, where Joshua was relaxing. “I don’t know what it is, but I have this really funny feeling in my stomach, and the only time that I get it, is when Grandfather is about to announce something really big,” Joshua commented when I entered the lounge.

“Well, I guess we will just have to wait and see eh!” I responded as we felt the catamaran slow down, and we both stood up and headed downstairs. “If I can have your attention please, we will be arriving at your accommodation shortly, I wish to introduce you to Mr Joshua Alliston, he is the project director, for all of this work happening in the area, in consultation with the Departments of Fisheries and Parks & Wildlife.

We have a ranger from each of the departments based here, and they have offices established on the barges where you will be staying. For tonight, there is just the ten of you, but tomorrow morning, planes will start to arrive with the building crew of 24 people, who will be extending and sealing the airfield on Rat Island, for the next six weeks, which is the length of your work contract with us.

Before you start settling in, first all of the food and drink supplies that you see here and also some in the pantry and galley, will need to be moved over to the dining room and kitchen on the barge, then you are free to relax and get settled in, and I have a list here of your allocated rooms,” I announced, just as we pulled up alongside the barge, where Nathan and James were waiting for our return.

Pulling aside the two-barge crew, I quietly let them know that they would be staying on board the Silver Cloud during their stay, but they would have their meals and spare time on the barge with the other workers, and they nodded their heads in understanding.

Once all the supplies had been offloaded, and the 8 catering crew had headed off to settle in, I showed Dave and Patrick a twin cabin each, and informed them that they are not to go anywhere else on the catamaran, apart from the main saloon and their cabins, as it is off-limits to them.

Once they had placed their luggage in their cabins, they headed over to the barge to have a look around, while Nathan and James indicated to me that they wanted to chat about something, and with Joshua included, we headed upstairs to the Sky lounge. “Welcome to our little sanctuary gentlemen,” Joshua said as we stepped inside and sat down.

“We have been having some discussions, and we would like to relocate the barges to a better location, 180 metres due south of the main jetty on Rat Island, alongside the small jetty stumps, with the small barge facing towards the island. This would give us closer access to the island, with the stumps being 70 metres from shore.

We would like to recommend that this be a more permanent location for the two barges when they are no longer used for temporary accommodation, and being used as a research station,” Nathan said to us. The waters are deep enough for the Silver Cloud to come alongside the larger barge at any tide level, and with the other islands to the north-east and east of us, they will be protected by most rough weather,” James added.

Joshua looked at me, and I just nodded my head and smiled at him. “That is fine by us, when do you want to do the relocation?” Joshua replied, “How about first thing tomorrow morning, before the building crews arrive on the island,” Nathan suggested. “That is fine, I will let Captain Amanda know, so she and her crew are ready,” Joshua said.

The following morning, while the poles were being lifted, Captain Amanda was moving the Silver Cloud into position and having the heavy-duty tow lines secured, ready for the one-kilometre tow northwards to its new home, just south of the main jetty.

We would still need to get the crews from the island to the barge, but it would be a much shorter distance this time. By 9 am, an hour before the first plane arrives, the research barges had been successfully relocated and secured into its new position, with those onboard just sitting around watching it all happen.

With a 70-metre space between the island and the barge, we prepared the two dinghies to provide the ferry service for the new arrivals, who would have to hike 700 metres from the end of the airfield to the beach opposite the barges.

Once we had ferried the first of the new arrivals onto the barge, I called for their attention. “Good morning, and welcome to the marine research barge, which will be your home for the next six weeks. The dinghies that brought you on board, will be made available to you for transport to and from the Rat Island main jetty each day, which is a distance of just 180 metres each way, where the supply barge is located with all of your equipment and supplies.

My name is Kipling Ashburton, and this is Mr Joshua Alliston, who is the project director, responsible for the clean-up and upgrades that will be taking place on these islands, in consultation with the Departments of Fisheries and Parks and Wildlife, who have a ranger each that are now based here.

As you probably know, these islands were declared a National Park recently, and so you must follow all instructions given by these two rangers at all times. We have a catering team who arrived yesterday that will be feeding you and keeping the place clean, but you are responsible for keeping your allocated cabins clean.

Two cabins share a bathroom, and I have a list here of your allocated rooms. There is mobile phone coverage and internet available here, as well as paid tv in the television lounge. You also have a swimming pool available for use, and this open recreation space. I will let you settle in now, and good luck with your work over the next six weeks,” I announced.

By the time I had repeated the same announcement three times, I was quite tired, and after a quick lunch on the catamaran, I headed to my cabin for a short rest, which only lasted for an hour.