Slave Of Destiny

by Derek Easterbrook

  The clouds dissipated around 9am, so Geoff raised the anchor and they left their island paradise. They had sunshine and good winds until around noon, but then the rain squalls started coming through. Tomorrow the weather was predicted to be sunny with winds SE at 25 knots with Gusts to 40 knots; not perfect, but they could sail with a double reefed main. Geoff decided to sail with just the Genoa if the wind became too strong, so one of them could furl it quickly if the yacht got into trouble.

  That night they anchored on the west coast of Flinders Island; not far from the mainland. The sailing was brisk and at first, the winds were the typical 20 to 30 knots from behind them, but as Taylor Maid neared Cape Melville they experienced stronger gusts to 40 knots, This island was dryer than the previous ones with eucalyptus trees, native grasses and mangrove lined beaches.

  “We’re going to have to sail only during the day, because I don’t know the area, the charts are probably not accurate and there are a lot of sand cays and exposed reefs around here” Geoff explained to Michael.

  “That’s only true from here to the tip of Australia, but after we clear Thursday Island we could probably sail non-stop to Darwin” Michael suggested.

  * * *

  The next day was cloudy with slight SE winds to 8 knots in the morning, but it picked up to 20-25 knots in the afternoon. Taylor Maid arrived at Morris Island after sailing 59 nautical miles and they stayed there that night. Taylor Maid continued on the next day under a sky filled with clouds, but the winds had eased to15-20 knots from the SSE. They arrived at Lloyd Bay near Lockhart River and they were stuck there for two days, because it was rainy, windy and miserable. Two days later Taylor Maid left Lloyd Bay in overcast conditions and sailed onto Margaret Bay. It was a beautiful little semi-circular bay with a white sand beach all around, but there must have been a whole fleet of fishing boats who anchored there during the day. Starting yesterday, the yacht was now traveling closer to due north so they were sailing between downwind and a broad reach. The wind was on the aft quarter and the seas sometimes hit them broadsided. The winds varied from 15 to 30 all day long, never staying at any one speed for very long, so it made for interesting sailing conditions. Most times they started with a double-reefed mainsail and a full Genoa, but generally they found they had out a little too much sail so they had to partly reef the Genoa. Taylor Maid continued onto the Escape River, before sailing onto Cape York. They had been sailing under a mix of sunshine and clouds with the winds varying between 20 and 35 knots.

  Taylor Maid began crossing the Gulf of Carpentaria from East to West. It was a beautiful day for the start of the three-day passage across the Gulf of Carpentaria to the outpost of Gove. The first six hours were spent making their way through the very shallow Endeavor Straits and the remainder of the three days would be spent traveling across a gulf whose depths remain shallow most of the way. Michael knew they had 161 nautical miles to go, but if the yacht continued sailing at the current speed of about 6.5 knots, they would reach Gove after dark tomorrow night, so Michael decided to motor sail for a while. It seems crazy to be running a motor when you have 25 knot winds, but motoring could keep them from spending another night out on the water as they sailed in shifts.

  Taylor Maid made it easily into Gove that afternoon. They had an unbelievably fast sail across the Gulf of Carpentaria and although they had a rough period during the first night and into yesterday, the rest of the ride was great. Taylor Maid moved faster than she has ever moved, an average of 6.6 knots per hour, and they arrived safely. Geoff and Michael stayed there for two days recuperating, but the days were beautiful and the winds light south-easterlies.

  * * *

  Taylor Maid left Gove Harbour for Wigram Island and their sail there was delightful. Taylor Maid was part of a convoy of about seven boats that left the harbour that morning heading west. The winds were light so most of the boats in front of them put up their spinnakers, so Geoff followed suit and they had a short but great spinnaker run. Then the winds came in strong and that’s when he had to take down the spinnaker and unfurl the headsail. They planned to start a 200 nautical mile overnight passage across the top end of the Northern Territory to a peninsula that was 200 miles from Darwin. Once they reached the Coburg Peninsula they will day-sail for a couple of days and then make the last 100 mile run into Darwin in an overnight passage. Michael was going to arrive in Darwin later than he had hoped, but still in plenty of time to get themselves ready for their sail to Indonesia.

  The highlight of the day was a pod of dolphins that played in their bow wake for more than half an hour.

  They sailed via Raragala Island, then to Malay Bay on the western side of the Arafura Sea, before sailing onto Valencia Island. The winds had been comfortable for their overnight passage; being 15-20 knots from the south east. Taylor Maid then left Valencia Island and sailed onto Port Essington, before heading onto Alcaro Bay, Cape Don. Their next stop was going to be Fanning Bay at Darwin.

  Taylor Maid’s average speed for the last day of sailing was 6.8 knots, but unfortunately, in order to keep those speeds going they had to motor sail the whole way. Michael’s trusty Yanmar diesel engine rattled away all day and the yacht made the 100 mile trip from Cape Dom to Darwin in 14 hours. There are three main bays where yachts can anchor; Fannie Bay, Cullen Bay, and Francis Bay. Fannie Bay is further away from the main part of the city than they would have liked, but Geoff knew the yacht would be welcome there.

  The next morning the two of them spent their time shopping for Yanmar fan belts, a new water pump and light bulbs for the navigation lights, new sheets for the sails plus Michael’s Indonesian visas. They couldn’t find everything, so they decided to have an early lunch. In a nearby restaurant they both had the crab soup followed by a seafood basket of battered fish, calamari, fresh prawns, and chips. The two of them then spent the afternoon riding on buses to find the other supplies Michael needed. Some items were found out toward the airport, while they found the other supplies near the marina. All the items were taken back to the yacht, but the two of them returned to the Darwin Sailing Club for dinner.

  Taylor Maid had taken four weeks to sail to Darwin, but Geoff had decided not to continue on sailing with Michael. He helped him with the repairs , servicing the engine and the supplies before he left on the plane flight back to Townsville.

  Part 3

  Chapter 23

  Well, today's the day Michael found his future wife. He'd been coming to the Discovery Shopping Mall in Kuta for quite a while now and he almost had given up hope finding the girl of his dreams. Sure there were many beautiful Asian and Malay girls around him, but none had captured his heart. He had searched the night clubs, the bars and the shops, but he never found her. It all started about six months ago when he arrived in Bali on his yacht Taylor Maid. The solo sail to Bali had been scary, if not dangerous at times and Michael decided to sell his yacht and look here for his girl. He put the yacht up for sale and moved into a small unit. Taylor Maid sold two months later for twenty thousand dollars; lock stock and barrel.

  Michael happened to break the band on his expensive automatic Seiko diver’s watch, so he went in search for a jewelry store which carried out watch repairs. He made his way down to the hallway of the mall looking at the displays in the shop fronts and saw the most beautiful girl in the world. She was standing behind a display cabinet filled with rings, watches and other jewelry, so he went in.

  “Hello,” a young girl's voice sang out, “can I help you, please?”

  God, Michael felt like an idiot when he didn’t say anything and she looked at him questioningly. He supposed she was wondering if he could speak English because Michael continued to stare at her.

  “Can I help you, sir?” she asked again.

  “Yes” he mumbled when his brain finally started functioning again. “I need my watch repaired.”

  Michael thought she was in her early twenties, but he wasn’t positive about her age. She was definitely wasn’t Taiwanese or Indonesian. Her lo
ng lustrous black hair was full and hung down to her waist. She had those almond shaped black eyes and a sensual smile. She was fairly thin and had a medium bust.

  “When you need it back?” she asked in her broken English.

  “I guess in about a week” he replied.

  She nodded and pulled out a note pad. She scribbled on it and then she looked up and said, “It can be repaired on Wednesday. Come here after two o'clock, Mr…..?”

  “I’m Michael Hart” he mentioned.

  “Come back then Michael” she whispered as she scribbled his name.

  Today was Friday, so he said “Ok I’ll come back then.”

  Michael turned around and walked out of the shop, but stopped and turned around again and walked back to the counter.

  “Wait” he whispered, “what's your name?”

  “Dilisay” she replied, looking shyly away. “Everyone calls me Sally.”

  “Sally would you like to go with me for a soft drink or a coffee after you finish work?” he asked hopefully.

  “I finish at 5pm” she replied.

  “Great, I’ll come back then” he said happily.

  Michael finally began to breathe as he walked away. He hadn't realized that he had been holding it. It dawned on him about an hour later, what a fool he'd been. She was the girl in his dreams.

  Sally smiled that brilliant white-toothed smile when Michael met her at 5pm and she stuck out her hand for him to hold. He took her soft left hand with his right and held it gently. He didn't want to let this one get away. She smiled and urged him gently to follow her to the door and out into the hallway. They walked down the stairs and out onto the side walk, before they crossed the road and into a café.

  The café was filled with people, but they were able to find an empty table in a corner. Sally asked Michael what he wanted so he asked for a coffee and then she ordered, but Michael insisted on paying for both of them. Michael leaned forwards and tried to make idle conversation over the din. She was from the Philippines. She was born and raised near Manila, but her family was still in her home town of Angeles City. She had won a scholarship with the Udayana University in Denpasar and she'd been here about a year. This was her sophomore year and she was nineteen. His heart seemed to skip a beat as she talked. She was living with a Filipino family in Sanur, her mother’s brother’s family, but she had her own room. She hesitated after explaining that to him and he could tell she wasn't happy there.

  “How are your studies going?” Michael asked as he gazed into her eyes.

  “It is fine” she replied shyly; briefly breaking eye contact.

  She hesitated again, before she continued her story. Her schoolwork was ok now, but it had been hard at first because her English hadn't been that good. Her small income allowed her to pay for the bus, board and lodging, while having enough left over to occasionally pay for a tutor.

  “Thank you for the drink, but I have to go” she announced suddenly.

  “When are your classes and what days do you go to work, because I want to see you again?” Michael pleaded.

  “I work Wednesday to Saturday, 9am to 5pm, and my classes, in Denpasar, are on Mondays and Tuesdays” she said slowly.

  “Great, I’ll pick you up at your house at 7:30pm on Saturday” he said.

  “No. I come to you. Please write me your address” she pleaded.

  Michael scribbled down his address on napkin and passed it and some cash to her and said, “This is for the taxi.”

  She readily accepted the money, because he could see that she was unsure how she was going to get there.

  The two of them stood up and walked out of the café. She gave him a quick peck on the cheek and rushed off. Michael watched as she walked down the sidewalk, before she turned and disappeared around the next street corner.

  * * *

  Saturday didn't come soon enough. She arrived at the door wearing a black clingy dress which hugged her curves. She wore more make-up than she did the other day, but Michael wasn't complaining because she looked so beautiful.

  “It’s nice to see you again, Sally” he said jovially. “Please come in.”

  “I don’t think I should, but we go out now” she whispered as took a step backwards.

  Michael realized she had some reservations about his real intentions, because he saw her look around and then breathed a sigh of relief as he collected his wallet, walked through the door and locked it behind him. He imagined she had pictured him dragging her into the apartment and raping her.

  “Hello, Sally,” Michael said with a lump in his throat, “how are you?”

  “I am good,” she answered with that quiet sensual voice.

  He held her hand and they walked together and went to a nice Chinese restaurant. Her dress plunged down the front, showing a little cleavage, and her black hair had been trimmed, because it cascaded over her shoulders and long tendrils were hanging loose on both sides of her face. She wore dark red lipstick that emphasized the lushness of her mouth and her eye makeup was flawless. Michael was so proud to be with her that evening.

  After dinner Michael took her home by taxi and was surprised when she melted into his arms in the back seat. He kissed her good night when they stopped outside her block of units in Sanur and she returned his kiss.

  “What are you doing tomorrow?” he asked.

  “I go to church in the morning” she replied.

  “Would you care to join me for lunch tomorrow?” Michael asked as he glanced at her bewildered face.

  Michael could tell she was taken aback by the offer. So much so that she couldn't find an answer. She smiled and agreed softly, but he felt it was only to be polite. She smiled her wonderful smile, gave him a quick kiss and hopped out of the taxi.

  “I’ll pick you up tomorrow at 12pm” he whispered.

  She turned around and Michael watched those hips sway as she walked away from him.

  * * *

  When Michael picked her up the next day she was wearing a pale blue blouse and long royal blue skirt. Her long hair was done up into a ponytail, which hung down her back. He opened the door for her and said “You’re beautiful, Sally.”

  “Thank you” she said shyly.

  She sat on the seat of the taxi and Michael hopped in through the door on the other side. He explained to the driver where he wanted to go, so he started the car and drove slowly away from the curb.

  “How do you get to work and the university?” he asked, because even though the nearest bus stop was close, she had a fair distance to travel to work in Kuta and her studies at the university in Denpasar from where she lived. “Do you ride the bus every time?”

  “Yes” she replied.

  They ate in an outdoor type restaurant on Kuta Beach where they ordered spring rolls as an appetizer followed by fried rice complemented with Asian vegetables dish. He offered her a glass of wine from the bottle he ordered and she smiled sheepishly as she accepted. Michael thought it may have been her first drink of alcohol. The two of them ate and chatted for more than an hour, before she admitted “I must go back and study. I have an exam tomorrow. Thank you for asking me out again.”

  “It’s my pleasure to be in the company of someone as beautiful as you” he whispered.

  She blushed innocently at his words, but they stood up and left the restaurant, before the taxi drove both of them to her home. They made arrangements to get together on Wednesday night for dinner and the movies. Michael watched as she practically skipped up the steps to the lobby door and then she turned and waved good-bye.

  Wednesday didn't come soon enough. Michael returned to the jewelry shop to pick up his watch, just before closing time. Sally was wearing the standard shop’s uniform of a white top and a burgundy-red skirt. She produced his repaired watch and he paid her for it, before she collected her bag in the back room and walked out the door with him. She was feeling a lot more comfortable around him because she suggested that she would shower and dress for dinner in his apartment.

 
; Michael offered her a drink when they arrived there and she accepted, so he went into the fridge and found and open bottle of Moscatto and brought out two glasses. This bottle of wine was one of the few remaining bottles he had brought from Australia in his yacht. She sipped it and her eyes sparkled at the taste. They talked some more about her aim in life and before the two of them knew it they'd been conversing and drinking wine for an hour.

  “I go have a shower now” she advised; giggling and slurring her words slightly from the wine.

  She went into the bathroom, so Michael turned on the cassette player and played a Paul McCartney tape, Band on the run.

  “Your turn” she said when she left the bathroom and came out to the lounge, giggling.

  Sally had a towel around her which just covered her bum and her breasts. Michael stood up quickly and found their lips were only a few inches apart and he was surprised when she leaned into him and gave him a deep kiss. Her full lips smashed against his and he felt the heat of her young body through the towel. They held the embrace for a long, long time, but the kiss went from passionate to sensual as her tongue pressed his when Michael parted his lips. She moaned loudly when his hands wandered up and down her back and cupped her rounded bum cheeks. The two of them finally broke apart, so he reached for her hand and encouraged her to head for the bedroom. She hesitated slightly as they reached the doorway, but then she boldly stepped into the room. She reached for the towel knotted in the middle near her breasts, but Michael stopped her. She frowned at him and then surrendered herself to another kiss. Michael pulled off his polo shirt and unbuttoned his pants. She watched him as he lowered his pants and under-pants to the floor and stepped out of them. She didn’t move as he released the knotted towel and dropped it to the floor. Michael kissed her more intently now as they fell on to the bed and cuddled each other. Her eyes moved from side to side as she looked into his as if she was questioning their next move.