Tall Ship Journey - 4. TSJ Chapter 4

“The coordinates are; 28 degrees, 45 minutes, and 7 seconds south, 113 degrees 48 minutes and 20 seconds east, if you are quick, he will not be harmed or in danger. Goodbye,” the hijacker said before the phone went dead. As Dad listened to the recording, I did a quick search of the coordinates. “Holy cow, they have dumped Jordan on a small island on the Abrolhos Islands,” I said in shock.

“The recording confirms it, I can hear seagulls and waves in the background, which island is it? I am going to send this information to the Sea Rescue Team at Geraldton, and hopefully, they can go and rescue him,” Dad announced to us. “It is Wooded Island, in the Easter Group, Dad,” I answered. “While he is doing that, I will send a message to the two schools, to let them know that you both will not be attending school for a full week. Turn off your phones and put your I-pads on flight mode, so we cannot be tracked,” Mum said to us.

The following morning, after an early breakfast at the local café, we packed up and continued our journey, where too? I was not entirely sure, but we would be continuing to head north, and less than an hour later we arrived in the town of Kalbarri. “I have a friend who owns a holiday home here, so we will be staying here for a week,” Dad announced to all of the family.

As we came into Kalbarri, along the coastal road, we could see Chinaman’s Beach and the entrance to the Murchison River ahead of us, but Dad slowed down and turned right a block before Grey Street, which runs along the south banks of the river. Moments after we turned onto the street, Dad turned left into the driveway of the first house immediately after a nature strip.

“Wow, are we staying here?” Alistair asked excitedly. “Yes, we are, and it has a swimming pool too, so you can have plenty of time swimming if you like,” Mum replied smiling. “How big is this place?” I asked. “Well, the house has five bedrooms, three bathrooms, a study, an entertainment room, and a craft room, with your boy’s rooms downstairs, and the master is upstairs, Beatrice, you will be upstairs too, along with the main living areas,” Dad answered.

Once we had settled into our holiday home, Alistair and I changed into our boardies and headed for the pool, where he swam and played for a good hour, before Mum called us inside for some lunch. As we made our way upstairs, Dad was in the lounge watching the news on television.

“…we interrupt this programme with a news headline. An anonymous tip from the public has led the police to fly with the RFDS to the Abrolhos Islands, where a man in his early twenties was dropped off at White Island by his kidnappers, before continuing sailing in a North West direction away from Australia. It is believed that on receiving the tip, the Geraldton Sea Rescue Team contacted one of the few Cray Fishermen who live on the islands full time, who took his fishing boat from his base on Bushby Island, to travel the 3.5 kilometres south to Wooded Island, where this man is stranded,” the news reporter announced.

“That is very good news, they are on their way to rescue Jordon,” Mum said upon hearing this news, as we all sat down for lunch. Going to the landline portable handheld, Dad brought it over to the table and handed it to me. “Maybe a good time to call Jordan’s folks up on the station,” Dad said to me, as I smiled and nodded my head while accepting the phone.

“Hello, Mr Sanderson, this is Zac Hynes speaking, have you heard the news?” I said when the call connected. “Hey Zac, this is Tim. My folks are on their way into town as we speak. How are you going? Are you ok?” the familiar voice of Jordan’s brother replied. “Hey bud, I am doing ok, just shocked at what is happening, especially now that the police want to question us about not reporting the hijacking to them. That is why we are well away from home and in a kind of hiding from them,” I replied, and Tim chuckled at this news.

“We appreciate what you and your Dad have done to try and get Jordan, the yacht and the crew back safely,” Tim said to me, “Um it is only Jordan and the Skipper, the other two are here with us. They were off the yacht looking around town when the yacht was hijacked,” I said to Tim. “Oh ok, so is Jordan still on the yacht? What has happened to him?” Tim asked, “We are not entirely sure at this moment, we will have to wait and see what Jordan has to say,” I replied.

“Well, my folks have chartered a plane to Geraldton, so hopefully we will soon find out. Stay safe you lot, and keep in touch, bye for now,” Tim said before ending the call. The family just relaxed for the rest of the afternoon, and Jackson and Beatrice had finally settled enough to join my brother and me in the pool, where we played Marco Polo, the swimming pool version of Hide and Seek.

“I guess you won't be doing your class presentation on the beach next week?” Mum said to me as we sat down for dinner that evening. “Oh Crap, yeah, I had forgotten all about that,” I replied, sounding disappointed that I wasn’t going to get to show off Jordan’s fancy catamaran yacht.

“When I rang the school, to let them know that you would be absent, I also mentioned to them that the class presentation set for Monday afternoon, would not be going ahead, due to the yacht on the news being the one that was meant to be part of the presentation,” Mum said to me.

“Ok, thanks for that Mum,” I replied, as I realised now that I was probably going to get a bad grade for missing class and not doing the presentation. Quite unexpectedly the house phone rang, just as I was finishing drying and putting away the dishes, and I jumped in fright a little, before taking a few steps to answer the call.

“Hello?” I said cautiously, and there was a chuckle on the other end. “Hey buddy, it is me, how are you doing?” the familiar voice replied and it took me a few moments to realise who it was. “Jordan, are you ok? Did they hurt you, where are you? And where is the skipper?” I said quickly and happily when I realised who it was, and Jordan laughed at this.

“I am ok thanks, just a little sunburnt from being out in the open for about six hours, and no they didn’t hurt me at all, they just locked us in the skipper’s cabin for most of the journey till we reached the Abrolhos Islands, and last time I saw him, Carter was doing fine, and he even managed to give me a hat and a backpack of fresh water, before I was forced onto the island and they left,” Jordan said to me, as the family and crew gathered around to hear more of what is happening.

“Was it the same three people who hijacked and wrecked your first yacht?” I asked, “Yes, it was those same three, and last time I saw them, the yacht and Carter, they were heading north,” Jordan replied. “How did you get this number?” I asked when I realised that he had called me, and Jordan laughed. “You called my home on your landline, and we have a thing called Caller ID on the station phone, and Tim passed it onto me,” Jordan replied,

“Oh yeah, silly me eh!” I answered. “So how is Kalbarri at this time of the year?” Jordan asked me, “Hot and dry, as you expect in this region in the summer. When are you going back to the station? What is going to happen when the yacht is found?” I asked my good friend. “I have had some discussions with my folks, and we have decided to sell the yacht once it is found and if it is in a reasonable condition to be sold, and I will be heading home with my folks in the morning,” Jordan responded.

“What will you do with all the money when you sell the yacht?” I asked, and I heard Jordan chuckle, “I already have big plans for that money my friend, just wait and see,” he replied. After a further ten minutes of chatting, the call ended, and I was now a much happier man. Especially when Jordan informed us that with his father’s insistence, the Police had dropped any plans to question and charge me and Dad for not reporting the matter to the police.

This meant that we could now head back home, but without Beatrice and Jackson, who would be heading up to the Sanderson family cattle station, where they would remain until they were reunited with their brother, before travelling back home to New Zealand, which was a little sad. The following day, as we were packing up, ready to head back down the highway to Dongara, “They have landed here to collect us,” Beatrice announced to us, “Ok, let them know we will be at the airfield in ten minutes,” Dad called back.

“Right, everyone, are we ready to go?” Mum asked us all. “Some holiday this turned out to be?” Alistair grumbled, and I just chuckled at this. “Well, Bro. You got to spend one night here and enjoy the swimming pool and comfortable house, that was one good thing about this short trip,” I commented to my little brother, as we headed for the door. A short time later, we arrived at the Kalbarri Airfield, where a charter plane was waiting for us to get here, I jumped out of the vehicle when I saw Jordan, and I wrapped him in a tight hug. “Hey Bud, did you miss me,” Jordan said to me cheerfully.