Flashlights

As a yacht Captain, returning home to Australia from the Mediterranean, Caribbean and the USA for the past seven years, I quickly found work at Brisbane Ship Yard refitting a large sloop.

I was approached by a young English Captain of a British Flag yacht called “Lord Jim”, who was leaving after three years, He joined as an unpaid deck hand and ended up being the only one left on board after crossing the Pacific.

The vessel was at a marina Marina in the Whitsundays, Queensland. It wanted an available Yacht Captain take it to Thailand via The Great Barrier Reef and Cape York. The brochure looked great, as they always do.

The boat was a ketch with an old steel hull and was built in the UK by the famed Camper & Nicholson in about 1977.

I gave him a CV and forgot about it till I got a call from the owner who was psychologist in the performance coaching business .Of course he was a very convincing man. I took the job.

After driving north for two days I arrived at the marina and saw the boat, I realized I’d been conned. The yacht was a mess.

It turned out it was completely un seaworthy and most systems broken down, With the Australian Cruise Permit expired, Ships Registration in Gibraltar expired, the hull and crew insurance expired, radio licenses expired. Added to this, all the safety equipment was out of date.

With the old Captain leaving two days later and the owners disputing his return ticket to England, this was a harrowing time for a new captain.

The Boat was desperately in need of repairs and I as the relief captain Phuket started on my own. I wanted to save face and get going but had no boat money or cards.

About 19 month later I arrived at the Yacht Haven Marina in Phuket . I even continued restoring the vessel to her former glory with all systems up and running within a limited budget.

Being Part of the nautical history of this magnificent boat has given me a great sense of pride and I am glad that I finished the Job.

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