by DB Daglish
So much for being a leisurely cruise! All four yachts had all crew on deck, and as an air horn sounded, a mad scramble followed to weigh anchor and prepare sails. Indeed it was Fallon whose crew moved off in the light breeze first, pulling ahead as her mainsail filled with the southerly breeze bending its way around the straight to a westerly direction. It was high-tide around the time they woke that morning and the outgoing tide added to the speed of everyone until well out into the ocean and land disappeared - except for the Southern Alps in the distance to the south.
The Hope was now far behind. Rudder issues had created a problem until Donny jumped overboard to discover an old nylon fishing netting clump that had become caught up in the rudder. Freeing it in seconds, he was pulled aboard and his harness released. The yacht immediately found its pace, but some miles behind and they labored for two hours to build the speed they needed to catch the others. There was no GPS available and they could only gauge their progress by their speed being above average for a yacht the size of theirs. A Contessa 28 was capable of 8 knots. She knew the Oceanis 361 that Fallon skippered, was capable of 7.5 knots and only the Zingari was capable of a faster speed of 8.5 if sailed well. But Tia knew this yacht well. She had trained in it almost exclusively as she grew up, and it was her preference out of all the others, even if it was the oldest craft. Best of all, she didn’t ask for it, it was given to her crew and her crew made her the skipper because of what they knew of her abilities. Tia was far above her peers on the ocean in any craft in reality, but in this one…it was as if she was part of it. There was only one boat she would even let dare beat her – and that was the Zingari. Only a New Haven boat would enter Sydney harbor first, and if it was the Hope – then all the better!
By mid afternoon Tia was close enough to see the lead boat clearly. It seemed that Fallon was holding a tight course and checking the charts it looked they were on target for a direct line toward Canberra, which wasn’t even on the coast. So it now appeared that Fallon was favoring the southern Tasman for the winds. So far the sky seemed to suggest the weather would be ideal for sailing. The plan was to lay a drift anchor each night with one on deck on watch at all times to ensure they could all see each other. If a radio failed and any were separated, it would be difficult to find them. But as it was, the full moon illuminated the ocean as if it were a giant mirror.
“Everyone got their ears on? – over,” a call came from Harry.
“Taranaki here – over,”
“Hope listening.” Donny radioed confirmation.
“Yo!” Ryan confirmed from the Zingari, “What’s up Harry? – over.”
“We are soon approaching drift anchor time. Any thoughts Fallon?”
“I agree it is time, but it’s also quite bright tonight. Chris, what do you think? - over!”
“Ryan had just mentioned we can see for miles, pending any floating debris. What do you think Tia? - over!”
“Hi guys. We are all ok. I’d prefer to carry on - over!”
“I bet you do girl.” Harry cut in. “You have more time to pass us during the night because you are gaining little by little - over!”
“True that Harry, but the ocean is slight, the winds are good, we can see as if it were daytime. We think we…shit!...” and her transmission was cut suddenly.
“Hope. You there Hope? – over.”
There was no answer.
“Tia. Are you guys ok…?” he shouted into the radio.
“Oh. Heck,” her radio cut back in. “There was a huge thump like we hit something which forced us sideways but I don’t think it was anything hard, probably a whale. Hang on…” she said while they waited. For about a minute all attention focused on the radio. Those on deck had no idea of a potential crisis behind them but they waited rather than drop sail.
“Tia…?” Fallon finally called.
“Yes I’m back. Just talked to Dee on the wheel. The boat is handling normal now. It doesn’t feel like we broke anything. I have Dee checking the internal hull so please hold - over!”
There was another anxious wait until she came back.
“Hi guys. All good. No damage, no shuddering, no leaks! We’ve tacked a few times and everything feels normal. Must have been a whale like at Kaikoura in twenty two. No damage occurred then either. I felt like we hit something solid but softish and just slid off it just like back then – over!”
“Do you want to stop?” asked Harry.
“You forgot to say over - over!”
“Over,” he confirmed.
“Ha. Baited! No, it’s not over and we are coming for you all, see you behind us by dawn. Over and out!” and she placed the hand piece in its clip and rallied the crew.
“Alright dudes. Let’s tweak some more speed out of her. The Southern Spirit is within reach in an hour and if I’m right, they will have slowed a little, feeling concerned for us. Tough! I don’t care how we win, as long as we win!” and she took the wheel from Dee and asked her to prepare something warm for them all. She now set her eye on the yacht ahead, then the sky, and finally the wind vane at the masthead.
“Right. Let’s do this!”
She remained silent for over an hour as everyone sat on deck once the food was prepared. Wrapped up warm, they watched as Tia skillfully brought the Hope near the stern of the one in front where she could now see Harry looking over his shoulder. As they drew alongside, only some thirty feet apart, Harry raised his hands in defeat and briefly applauded her efforts. As Tia shot a glance, she saw him move down below as Josh now took the helm. She listened as the radio came to life and she smiled. He advised the others a speed freak was on her way and they had better not feel sorry for her like he had and pick up some speed just like he would now do.
Tia turned to Donny.
“Hey. Get on the radio to Harry will you. Tell him unless we are actually damaged, if he gives us slack, we’ll leave him in our wake. Tell him…tell him lesson number one!” and she smiled at her own joke.
But in fact Harry was extremely concerned. If the keel had cracked and no vibration could be felt but it suddenly sheared, or impacted something else, the yacht could founder in seconds. They all needed to take care of each other out here. But he was suitably impressed with her fearless attitude and faith in her craft. He now went wide to starboard, trying to make up some lost distance - with a longed for wind shift.
Instantaneously Fin called to Tia and she watched the move and then checked the sky and the vane once more.
“Keep an eye Fin. If it swings let me know,” but she held her course, concentrating on the Zingari, still ahead by some two miles. Just ahead of them the Taranaki swung to port, and with her being the lead boat, Tia immediately followed suit.
This change of course left Harry out wide, and she could see him falling behind as a slight change in direction touched her face. Looking up the vane moved slightly and ahead the Zingari also rolled to port.
“We are on the right tack!” she hooted and her voice carried back to where Harry, upon hearing the hoot, followed suit. But it was too late. There was no way he could catch this young sailor now and her mind was firmly fixed on those ahead.
Ho was the one aboard with the least experience, but he knew good sailing when he saw it. He looked at Donny and winked, knowing it wasn’t so much her sailing that impressed him, but her being attractive and skilled at the same time. He pointed to Tia and made some obvious motions about Ho liking her to which he blushed. Fin and Dee laughed as they watched the exchange.
“What’s funny guys?” asked Tia as she looked behind her to where they all sat.
“We are just impressed with your sailing,” Donny stated.
“And one with a bit more than that,” Dee added, to which she received a thump from Ho.
Tia heard the blow land and Dee’s exclamation and she smiled. She knew - she had for a while. But right now, all that mattered, was what was in front. She’d deal with Ho when they reached land.
Morning revealed a brief golden glo
w as the skies began to change to the south. By now everyone was tired, some having had no sleep for nearly twenty four hours.
The Hope had passed Fallon’s boat which had fallen behind the Zingari overnight. Chris could see Tia coming and could do little to stop her progress as hour by hour she drew closer, until at midday they were side by side.
To the south, dark clouds began to form. A brief radio exchange debated whether they should sail into what was coming or away from it. Fallon favored a more northerly direction now, due to the storms seemingly slow movement and its possible drift westward. As the southern winds increased they took the northerly direction and rode out the edge of the storm. Three days passed and Hope was now the lead yacht but she had slowed and all were content to stay behind and take things a little easier in the rising swells. This part of the ocean could have fifteen foot waves appear in the blink of an eye. They all knew they were fortunate in having nothing bigger than six feet and as the fourth day dawned the weather began to settle, the wind dropping to no more than twelve knots.
The thrill of the chase now waned; although the lead did change several times as others took short attempts to test themselves in the lighter winds. At once stage they were all fairly close together and at the end of that day, they dropped sail and drifted, taking the opportunity to fish and have a change of diet. With dinghy’s, they could swap people and food from craft to craft, though carefully, as there was still a decent swell.
A pod of Orca arrived and swam between the boats and before dark a very large whale appeared close to the Southern Spirit as Ricki was on deck, the large creature seemed to slow and eyeball him.
“Hey, a sperm whale,” Josh called out.
“Karen, look!” Angel pointed as the whale seemed to slow as it passed. Ricki stood to his feet and did not appear happy. Everyone seemed excited but although he admired the beast, he went below, Karen did not follow - she would talk to him later. Meanwhile most were excited to see an animal so large trying to interact with them. It is likely this creature had wondered why it had seen no humans for an extremely long time.
As darkness fell and after supper was finished, Karen drew Ricki aside.
“Are you alright?”
“Oh. It was strange having it eyeball me like that. I’ve read Moby Dick. One of the few books I’ve ever read. The white whale eyeballed that Captain…forgot his name…”
“Potomac! His name was Joseph Potomac,” said Josh. “He was the first Native American Indian captain of a whaling ship. That part is true, but the white whale…”
“Hey. Who is telling the story?” asked Ricki.
“Sorry!”
Ricki continued. “Well, this whale was hunted and captured but before that it used to float almost motionless and eyeball the whalers. I thought it an odd story and this thing does the same to me. I was just a little freaked out, that was all!”
“Some sort of omen? After all - you do sense stuff,” Harry asked.
“Nah. Not like that. It was just weird being eyeballed by something so huge. It made me feel small.”
At that moment they could hear the whale blow nearby and the sound was loud and clear in the night air.
“See what I mean. It’s hanging around and we have no idea what it’s doing or thinking?” Ricki said.
“You have a stalker mate!” Harry joked.
“Stalker? Heck, I haven’t heard that word in over twenty five years. Funny how our language has changed aye!” he said.
“Maybe not aye?” Harry said using the Maori slang.
“Ha ha,” Ricki laughed. “Maybe not?”
Suddenly the radio came alive.
“Everyone hear that?” a call came from what sounded like Ryan?
Rita took the call. “That you Ryan? – over!”
“Yeah. The whale. Did everyone hear it? It sounded like it was just outside our hull. It was deafening in here - over.”
“Yes we did - over.”
“Ha ha, freaked me out. Well goodnight everyone, don’t let the sharks bite - over!”
Another day of sailing had come and gone before they saw their first sign of being close to land. Seabirds sporadically appeared and gannets swooped from the sky into schools of fish below. The sea temporarily boiled with activity. Within an hour it was all over except a few gulls that stayed with the yachts. It was not until the next morning that land was sighted, but to starboard. This was the wrong side for land to appear and a slight panic swept the fleet. They grouped together for a radio discussion. The radios were a godsend on this expedition, and being solar powered made it even better as they were almost always charged to half.
“Are we lost Fallon? – over,” asked Tia.
“I don’t know what has happened. The only land to our starboard would be Lord Howe Island but that should be still one hundred and fifty nautical miles away…”
“Well, it is Lord Howe Island! – over,” cut in Ryan.
“How do you know that?” Tia asked. “Over.”
“Look to the south of the island - back behind us. See that tall rock sticking up out of the ocean? That is something called Balls Pyramid. I’ve seen it in pictures. We are about the right distance north but too far east, Fallon.” Ryan concluded.
“Bit of an error then. I must have miscalculated something. Thank God we weren’t too close at night,” she said.
“So plot a new course and let’s go,” called Harry. “No good focusing on the past – over!”
At that moment Chris came over the radio. “Well guys, I heard the broadcast on deck. I’m the only one who has ever been there, back when I was married to Janet. We had our honeymoon there. It’s an awesome place – over!”
In a short time Fallon had the sails hoisted, and everyone followed her until the call came for a race to the coast. However, within seven hours they came across another vessel, drifting in the open ocean. It was an old style ketch with a broken mast, in very poor condition. A very faint name could still be read on the transom.
“My God, it’s the Nina,” exclaimed Don.
“What the Nina?” asked Samantha.
“You weren’t even born then. Before the event, this yacht went missing with all on board. That means it’s been drifting for…nearly forty-six years. Good God, that’s amazing!” Don explained.
Quickly he radioed Harry and Chris. Many of their boats would know the story and once done he came alongside and while all held the guardrails he clambered aboard with Mik following. As Mik wandered the deck Don went into the cabin but came out grim faced.
“Let’s go,” he said and was helped back to the Taranaki. As they pushed away Fallon asked if he saw anything on board.
“Five skeletons, one rifle on the cabin floor,” was all he would reveal.
“But there were seven of them weren’t there?” she asked. But Don would say no more about it to anyone.
Two more full days of sailing occurred and they veered southwest before they saw more seabirds. On the ninth day strong winds picked up, and they were battered about like corks. The sails were dropped once they were sufficiently clear of each other, and they bobbed about in the large swell, many throwing up in the process; the Taranaki lost its dingy at some point during the day. A radio call went out, but no one could see it anywhere.
As night fell the winds subsided. Fallon checked the charts and estimated they were close to the Newcastle area north of Sydney. Once a few minor repairs were made to two of the vessels, they turned directly west, and aimed for the coast. This was definitely a sprint and once again the Hope came out on top but only by a boat length before the call went up. For Geo had finally seen some distant hills around late afternoon as he was up the mast.
They kept sailing on until just before dark. Now they could clearly see the whole coastline and a long beach to the right of a city. Rather than get too close, drop anchor and get caught in a storm they stayed out at sea that night but at first light, everyone was back on the deck. Slowly they entered the harbor, for luck wa
s on their side with an incoming tide. All four vessels now tied up at a four small berthing areas opposite a park. This was indeed Newcastle as Fallon had calculated, as far inside the harbor entrance, old signs revealed the town’s name. They walked through the overgrown streets a short distance from the beach front and up the hill at a park area overlooking the sea. Climbing up to the obelisk on the hill behind, they sat to discuss their next move.
Water they could find. There was already plenty of food on the boats, but if they could find old dried food packets, (if the rats hadn’t eaten them all), and maybe an old gas barbeque that worked, they could save their own stores. So each crew were allocated a task and split up to see what they could find. By midday most were gathered back at the waterfront. Two gas barbeques were already set up in the portico of the old customs building. Bottled water and enough usable dried food were stacked alongside. When Chris and his crew arrived with fresh wild vegetables and some fruit, the pots were already boiling, and assorted soups and noodle meals were all mixed together and waiting for them.
“You know what seems strange?” said Ben. “Nothing has been touched anywhere,” he said not waiting for a reply.
“Yeah, we notice that too,” said Don. “No shops were raided like you would expect if survivors had been here.”
“Exactly. So that would mean there was no one alive, even close, except Sydney, so road blockages may have isolated the area. After all, there are heaps of places in Sydney that meant they would never have needed to venture out of it. We are probably the first humans here since the deaths.”
Everyone now stopped chattering and listened. Indeed there was nothing to hear except birds. ‘Not even a dog’ thought Don.
“Anyone seen a dog today, or a cat?” he asked.
Everyone shook their heads. Indeed that did seem strange, especially the cats. After all, there were certainly enough rats around. Everywhere else back home had cats. They had eleven themselves back at New Haven. The rest were regarded as pests and most were shot if they ventured close. But they still existed everywhere else and in the hills. They ate their meal with very little conversation. The lack of animals seemed to get into their psyche. With almost no suggestion; they wandered one by one or in groups, to the boats and proceeded to set sail. For what had seemed a pleasant little place, had now become foreboding, dark and almost spooky.
