Tall Ship Adventures - 15. TSA Chapter 15

“You can help with work on the deck, or help Beatrice with cooking and cleaning inside,” I said to Jordan’s sister. “I think I will stay indoors thanks, so where are we going to be living on this tub during this epic voyage?” Angela replied, “Well that is up to you. Do you want to live like a crew member in crew quarters, or like to live as a guest of the yacht owner, with a bit of style?” Jordan put to his siblings.

“In style, I think little bro,” Tim replied smiling. “In that case, I will get Beatrice to direct you to your luxury guest cabins. For you dear sister, starboard side, lower deck midships, and big bro, starboard side, lower deck forward,” Jordan announced to his siblings. “Starboard, that is on the right side when facing forward, correct?” Angela asked, “Yes that is correct, I answered. Before leaving, the Commodore pulled Jordan aside and I was close by, “Tomorrow night, come to the club for dinner, we will treat you and your crew to a farewell dinner,” he said to Jordan.

“That is very kind of you sir, how about we go half and half, that way I will feel a little more comfortable with the invitation,” Jordan responded, “Very well, let’s make it 7 pm, here at the yacht club for dinner,” the Commodore said, and they shook hands. Once back at the yacht, Beatrice showed them to their cabins, where Angela was stunned at how nice the cabin looked, and meanwhile Jordan and I were talking about the extra provisions that we may need with the extra crew onboard, and we left Tim and Angela to get settled in and explore the yacht.

“Where do you sleep Jordan?” Angela asked after exploring most of the yacht on her own, “I have the owner's cabin, starboard side main deck,” Jordan replied, “What about the crew?” Angela asked, “We have two officers' cabins on the port side lower deck for our skipper and senior steward, and my good friend has the double guest cabin behind yours, starboard lower deck aft, which has its separate entry,” Jordan replied, before going to the telephone on the wall and pressing a button.

“Attention all hands, meeting in the main saloon on the main deck in five minutes, that is all,” Jordan announced over the yacht’s PA system, once done, he headed downstairs and returned a short while later with a pad and paper, which he placed on the saloon table. Once everyone was seated, Jordan called the meeting to order, “Right, before we leave Auckland, we will need to do some extra shopping and to do that correctly I need everyone to write on the first page on the notepad, their name and any food and any other allergies that they may have.

On the second page, I want you to write down any foods or drinks that you do not like, so we can avoid any wastage, finally, if the weather is good, tomorrow night will be our last night in Auckland, with dinner at the Yacht Club on our final night. We will be setting off at first light the following morning, the skipper will take her out of Auckland for the morning shift, from 0500 to 1300, Zac will take the afternoon shift, from 1300 to 2100, and I will take the overnight shift at the helm. Do we have any questions?” Jordan announced.

“So, who exactly is in charge of this journey?” Angela asked, “Carter is in charge of everything to do with the daily operations of the yacht, while as the owner, I am in charge of anything else, and anything in between Carter and I will work it out between us, and when we leave Melbourne we will change shifts,” Jordan replied.

“Since Beatrice is Chief Steward, I am declaring myself as the head cook, so there will be no junk food, just good healthy meals and snacks,” Angela announced, we saw Carter open his mouth to say something, but when he saw Jordan shake his head no, he closed it again. With the lists now completed, Angela and Beatrice called a taxi and headed to the supermarket to do some shopping, and they returned a bit over two hours later in a minivan cab, with heaps of bags and boxes of groceries, which included a heap of non-alcoholic drinks, and everyone helped to get it all down to the yacht and stowed away ready for the voyage.

Angela with Beatrice assisting, provided us with wonderful meals as we waited for the rough weather to clear, and the dinner at the Yacht Club was delayed by one day, and we all dressed up that evening since it was to be our last night in New Zealand. “Good evening, I am Grace Kingsley, the better half of Commodore Aaron Kingsley,” a lady said to us as we entered the club that evening, “it is a pleasure to meet you, Ma’am,” Jordan responded, and he introduced his siblings, then me and the two crew members, who she already knew, as the Commodore and another couple a little younger than them approached.

“Mr Sanderson and party, welcome to your farewell dinner party, this way please,” the Commodore said as he led us into the restaurant, where a large sign at the door said – “Private Party Invited Guests Only.” There were about a dozen couples in the room as we entered, some of them we had met, and some of them we had not, as introductions were made before we took our seats at the tables.

We had a set menu with a choice of two options for each course, and it was a wonderful evening, far more than we deserved, as the dessert plates and cutlery were cleared away before tea and coffee were served, and the Commodore stood to make an announcement.

“It is a tradition at most yacht clubs around the world to wish ocean travellers, a safe passage and fair winds, and for this young crew, it is a little bit special, as two of our club sailing crew members are joining the crew of the magnificent catamaran Stingray, for the two-week long journey, across the Tasman Sea, along the Southern Ocean and into the Indian Ocean to the West coast of Australia.

To Carter and Beatrice Hart, we wish you and your fellow crew a safe journey, as you start a new life in Western Australia, and to the young owner of the catamaran Stingray, I wish you and your siblings, and crew a rewarding future with your new yacht.

Oh yes, there is one last thing, I would like to ask you, Jordan Sanderson, do you have room for two couples, as paying passengers? They are packed and ready to set sail with you tomorrow if that is agreeable with you,” the Commodore said before taking his seat.

We all looked over to Jordan for a response, who just sat there stunned, as were most of us crew members, as this was not what was planned, although it would help to cover costs for the voyage. “Err, well I will have to ask my senior crew regarding that, so allow me to consult them before the evening comes to a close, and I will let you know,” Jordan eventually said in response.

As conversations returned around the room, Jordan turned to me on his left, then looked at his brother across from him and his sister on his right, “So guys, what do you think, should we accept passengers, even though we are not yet an official charter company?” Jordan asked.

“Well, that is not quite true there bro, before we flew over here, Gramps had finalised setting up a new company,” Tim announced as he pulled out a document inside an envelope from his inside coat pocket and handed it over to his younger brother, and Jordan opened it up and smiled. “Sanderson Adventure Sailing. Wow, this is awesome, remind me to thank the family when we get home,” Jordan said happily.

“There is more bro,” Tim said to Jordan, who looked into the envelope and pulled out what looked like a credit card, “This is your start-up fund of $10,000, to help cover all your expenses for this trip, and also the account to deposit any income from paying passengers too,” Tim announced.

“May I suggest that we make a slight change of living arrangements. I will move into the guest twin cabin, and boss you can have my cabin, that way everyone should be nice and comfortable, with our guests located in the Owner and VIP cabins on the main deck,” I suggested.

“You might be right about that, but are you sure you want to be in that twin cabin?” Jordan asked me, “Sure, that is fine with me or I would not have suggested it, we can make the changes as soon as we get back to the Stingray,” I replied. “Very well, let's finish up here, say our goodnights and head back to the yacht, also ladies, we may need to call in for more supplies before leaving New Zealand if we are going to have four passengers,” Jordan announced.

“Who do you think it is that is coming with us?” Angela asked, “My guess is the Commodore and his wife, and the other couple that we met. I think their names were Nancy and David Jackson,” Tim replied. The following morning, after a short delay, as we waited for the arrival of the four passengers, we finally left Auckland just before 0630 hours, with a planned stop at Marsden Cove, which is six hours sail away, to do one final bit of supply shopping and finalising our departure from New Zealand.

While preparing for our departure, I was sitting with Jordan up on the Fly deck and I had a thought I wanted to put to my good friend. “Hey, since we have guests onboard, how about we do a little bit of scenic touring, and make a slight diversion to Lord Howe Island,” I suggested. “Ok. Let’s check the map and check the distance and travel time,” Jordan replied, and we headed down to the yacht office.

A few minutes later we learnt that it was about 890 nautical miles to the north-west and that it would take us just three days to get there, which was a lot better than the five days we would be doing if we went directly to Geelong, and we decided to have a look at other interesting places to go too, and after half an hour of searching the maps, we decided on two more destinations.