Date: Tue, 22 Jan 2013 12:09:31 +0000
From: robert goater <winchesterbornbred@hotmail.co.uk>
Subject: M\V Jean Peterson. Part 2

Change of life


They were pleased to get back home. It had been a great time, but the last
two days had dragged for Scott. As soon as he could he was in his room
sitting in front of his computer trying to sykpe Andrew. He was not on
line, so he emailed him instead telling Andrew he was navigating the trip
to Australia in two weeks and was scared and excited at the same time. I'm
going to be at sea for six weeks, but I wont be far away from my
computer. The following day whilst messing about in his room he heard the
bleep which told him someone was on skype. It was Andrew."YOU navigating a
ship all that way. Fucking glad i'm not there!" The smile was as broad as
it could get. They talked for four hours until Andrew told him the
time. It's 2am here Scott I don't want to go, but I have got to sleep. They
looked at each other, finally Andrew spoke."Scott?""Yes?""Hope you don't
mind me saying this, but I miss you like hell. I just wish we had met at
the beginning of my time in Dalvik and hope we can sort something out and
meet again soon.""I miss you too and want to see you again Andrew. Maybe
you can come over and stay with us for a couple of years!" Andrew loved
that. They said their goodbyes and made a skype date for the next day. They
spoke every day for hours until it was time for Scott to report to his ship
two days before they sailed.



He worked with his father for most of the time before the sailing, but
finally packed up to join the ship. He had sailed with the Captain several
times now and knew each other very well. Senior Captain Bob Taylor liked
Scott a great deal and had taught him well. They settled on the bridge and
he watched and listened as Scott planned the course to Cyprus. Of course in
this modern age the ship could almost sail itself. Tap in the departure
port and then the destination and the computer will plan the course for
you, it will even sail the ship from outside the harbour until the entrance
to the destination port. However, you also had to know how to navigate
without all the aids and Scott was trained well enough to do just
that. There was also the matter of weather conditions and that was always a
concern of course. Captain Taylor was satisfied Scott in fact had got it
all right. He had some news for Scott.

"Right my boy, here is something you don't know. Tomorrow Captain Morton
will come on board and he is on board to assess you and report back to Sir
William. You are not to engage with him, except answer any questions he may
ask. Apart from that he does not exist. Do you know Morton?"

Did he! Who didn't! His reputation of being one of the toughest Captains
afloat was known throughout the Merchant Navy. An uncompromising man who
called a spade a spade and if you didn't like it, "fuck off"! It was also
known that he was a brilliant Captain and what he did not know about all
matters sailing was not worth knowing anyway.

"Yes Captain, I have heard of him, loads in fact." The worry on Scott's
face was plain to see. Taylor laughed out loud. "You will be fine Scott and
if your not I will personnaly throw you over board. Save Morton a job!"



Scott had a "good luck" call from his father the day before they sailed. He
was already in Sweden and told Scott how pleased he was about the new ship.

"Have you heard from Andrew?" Now that WAS a surprise. Mum's been talking
it would seem. "Yes Dad, he has sent a few emails. I have told him i'm
going to be a bit tied up until we get to Cyprus, got lots on my mind!"
They both laughed at that knowing his father knew he was referring to
Captain Morton.

"I know it will be a bit stressful Scott, but I would not let him anywhere
near you unless I was confident you can handle the trip. Don't worry son,
Mum and I are very proud of you."

That could not have been a better confidence booster and Scott had just got
a bucket full of it. He had four hours rest before his next watch, they may
still be tied up, but there was still lots to do on his next one.



 He checked his emails, two, but neither from Andrew. He got undressed and
was about to go for a shower when the computer gave out a bleep. It was
Andrew.

The connection came through and there he was, Andrew in all his naked
beauty.

"You fucking tart, go and get some clothes on!" Scott dropped his towel and
stood back to expose himself to Andrew.

"Oh fuck Scott come here, NOW!" They stopped being daft and each got close
to their web cams and talked for an hour. But Scott had to go soon."Andrew
are we still ok? I mean I know I am, but I understand if all this long
distance stuff may not be what you want.""I know what I want and it's to
stay in touch. I don't know how you feel, but i'm guessing you feel like I
do other wise we would not have talked so much and just got on doing other
things." Andrew said."You mean like dating other guys? My trouble is
you. You are so fucking handsome, so fucking beautiful, so fucking
available and so fucking far away!""Don't you think I feel the same? I'm
shit scared that you will say one day you have met another guy.""The only
place i'm going to is Cyprus and then on to Australia. No place else and
certainly no other guy. Andrew lets give both of us time, please."Andrew's
smile told Scott all that he needed to know. Both said goodbye and good
luck and signed off. Neither said, "I love you," each was waiting for the
other to say it. For sure they both were in fact in love.Ah, life can be so
complicated at times. Of course the ships appointed Navigator was on board,
but as this was a qualifying voyage Scott was nominated as the Navigator
for this trip and he would not be allowed any contact with him. The
resident Navigator would only be on watch when Scott was "off watch" and
never would the "twain" meet.



The voyage was as stressful as Scott imagined it would be, but despite it
Scott was confident even though he was so young. He had been navigating for
years now and knew his subject inside out. Captain Morton did try his best
to knock the confidence out of the him though. He questioned every thing as
though he was wrong and would suggest alternative actions in an attempt to
put Scott off. One entire day Morton kept Scott on the bridge and had the
GPS and backup systems turned off which meant Scott had to navigate by the
old methods of dead reckoning and the use of the sextant and giro
compass. When the systems were turned back on, he was right on
course.Morton had Scott plot courses from one point of the globe to another
in which he had to estimate the time of arrival given a certain speed and
assumed rough weather conditions so that Scot would have to alter course to
avoid the storm and then get back on the original course. He had to
complete five of these exersices as well as write them all up. Scott always
thought that to qualify it would be because of just one good example of his
skills and initiative and he managed to impress even Morton with this
one. He was sent off watch for two hours and when in his cabin he took out
the compass which had belonged to his grandfather. Scott had a hunch. He
opened the compass and laid it on a cupboard and would check it every so
often. He went to his computer and wrote an email to Andrew and after he
sent it off he went back to the compass and smiled to himself, they were
going off course! Not by much, just two points, but nevertheless, off
course. When he went back to the bridge he checked the course."Captain
Taylor, if we keep on this course we will miss Cyprus by 200 miles. I need
to bring us back on course. "Thankyou Mr Peterson, carry on."Morton made
one last attempt to pressure Scott when he continued to critisized just
about every thing he did or said and even though Scott came back with
answers Morton seemed not to be impressed and showed it when he told him
that he was a danger to the ship and crew. Morton just stared at Scott
waiting for his reaction. Scott scored many points from everyone on the
bridge when he replied. "Captain Morton, sir. If I thought I was a danger
to the ship or crew, I would not be standing here now". Scott was so
confident he was not about let Morton ride him any more, fuck the
assessment. He turned to Captain Taylor. "Do you want me to leave the
bridge Captain as it seems I am a danger to your ship?" Taylor smiled at
Scott. "Please remain on watch Mr Peterson." And then the biggest surprise
of all to those who heard it. Morton put his hand on Scott's shoulder and
said. "Well done lad, well done." He turned and left the bridge. There was
utter silence on the bridge, every one looking at each other, except
Captain Taylor, he knew what this was all about. Scott bought the whole
situation back to normal when he called out. "Does any fucker know where we
are?!"



Scott's responsibilities ended with the ship under the control of the
Cypriot pilot and Captain Taylor. They docked and as the last rope was put
in place Scott breathed out as though he had been holding it since leaving
England. He was asked to report to Captain's Taylor's cabin in an hour.Back
in his cabin, Scott wrote a long email to Andrew telling him about the trip
including Captain Morton's efforts to put him off. "Christ Andrew he is one
SOB, but I guess I have learnt a huge amount and i'm grateful that he was
on board. I'm just glad it's all over." He finished off by saying he wished
Andrew was with him now. "Andrew i'm so fucking horny for you, but even
more important I miss you so much!" He went to shower and change into a
clean uniform ready to report to Captain Taylor. He was glad he did as when
he knocked on the Captain's door, his father opened it. He shook his
fathers hand and gave his mother a hug and nodded to Captain's Taylor and
Morton. Morton had a grin on his face and looked almost human. He
approached Scott with a glass and offered it to him. Scott looked at
Captain Taylor who nodded his permission. Morton cleared his
throat. "Congratulations Mr Peterson, you now have your Navigators ticket."
Lots of handshakes and well wishes. His mother of course went a little out
of tradition and kissed her son instead.  It would be the last time she
ever did. Two days later they cast off for Australia. Scott would not see
much of his parents as he would be on watch most of the time. He was able
to talk to his father who gave him some really good news and could not wait
to tell Andrew on Skype. Scott had emailed Andrew to tell him he had some
news, but only when they were on skype. They greeted one another with huge
smiles. "Hi you handsome bugger." Scott saw Andrews smile broaden at that
remark. "Hi to you lovely man and CONGRATULATIONS Mr Navigator!"They talked
a while about all that, but Scott could not wait to give Andrew his
news,"Andrew i'm flying to the US from Australia, Dad has given me two
weeks off. Can you get free?" Andrew was beside himself and jigged all over
his room."Fucking AWESOME Scott, course I can get time away. Oh Christ the
best news EVER!""We will get there in three weeks, then i'm free.""I am
tracking you on the marine traffic site so I will know if you misbehave
ok?""Andrew we switch it off when we leave the Red Sea, south of there is
pirate territory.""Ok fuck, stay safe Scott, please." They talked for
another hour and then Scott had to go back on watch. They said goodbye and
made a date for two days time. The passage through the Suez Canal brings
about it's own demands for concentration and good seamanship. Fuck up and
your in a lot of trouble. Into the Red Sea and you know you are being
watched and not always by the nice guys. Captain Taylor ordered anti pirate
precautions which meant putting razor wire over the rails and testing water
cannons.  The watches were altered so more crew were on duty which meant
every one working longer. Two crew were stationed on the fly bridge as
additional look outs.When the ship passed Binim Island in the south of the
Red Sea all the crew knew they were entering the Gulf of Aden and possible
threat from pirates. Turning east after clearing the Red Sea, Captain
Taylor ordered 10 knots. He could get another 5 and that was the maximum
speed the ship had. He ordered all ports and hatch ways closed and secured
and the only way out on deck would be via the bridge. And that was it, the
ship was as secure as it could to be.Scott plotted a course that would take
them to the north of Suqatra Island in the Arabian Sea and once they had
passed it a new course south towards the Indian Ocean. 460 miles of tense
sailing that should see them clear of danger. Scott was Officer of the
Watch when his mother and father came on the bridge on their way to the Fly
to get some fresh air. They did not say anything to their son, he was too
busy. Scott saw them and smiled. "Don't stay too long." They smiled back
and went out to climb the ladder to the Fly. Scott had his binoculars stuck
to his eyes scanning the sea. All clear. He then went to the back of the
bridge to look astern and thats when he saw them, two boats at full speed
coming straight at his ship. FUCK they are close! He rushed to the front of
the bridge yelling out that they were under attack. He reached out and
banged on a large red button which automatically sent out a distress call
and also the ships position, course and speed. It also sounded the ships
alarm and at the same time fired off two distress rockets. Scott rammed the
throttle through the gate to get those 5 extra knots and then had the
course altered to put the ship dead ahead of the on coming boats in an
attempt to make a smaller target. He then turned on the water cannons which
would automatically sweep jets either side of the hull. Captain Taylor
arrived on the bridge and took command, but just as he did there was an
hell of an explostion above them and all hell broke out. "Fuck, the
lookouts are up there!" Taylor shouted."And my parents Bob!" Bob Taylor
picked up the microphone."All crew, all crew to the safety cell, to the
safety cell.""Scott go below!""No sir, my parents!" And with that he left
and climbed to the Fly Bridge.  "First Officer take command and secure the
cell, I am staying on the bridge. I am switching all services to the safety
cell." and with that he pulled a hidden lever which disengaged the
stearing, throttle and all other services from the bridge to the secure
cell below decks. He then followed Scott to the Fly. The sight that greeted
him was one of utter horror. It was plain that Lady Peterson was dead and
so he thought was Sir William. Jean laid in a massive pool of blood, but
then so was William. He lay still with his right arm over his wife. Scott
was leaning over both of them. Remarkably both lookouts although injured
were alive."Can you guys get below?" They nodded, but it was obvious they
needed help. Bob Taylor was in a dilema, but Scott shouted at him."Help
them Bob, i'm staying here." Taylor managed to get both lookouts down to
the bridge, but not before realizing the pirates were now firing at
them. You could not hear a thing above the noise of the exhausts belching
out under full power and the first they knew they were being fired at was
the bullets hitting the bridge. Bob Taylor got to the microphone again and
told the crew now in the safety cell he was bringing the lookouts
down. Scott knew his mother had been killed and was bent over his father
trying to find out if he too had died. He found a pulse and all he could do
was stay with them and pray. He looked out over the bridge and saw them
about 200 yards away. He went back to his father. "Dad keep going, help is
coming Dad, please keep going." He went back down to the bridge and found
the flare gun and grabbing a hand full of cartridges he climbed back to the
Fly. It was pointless and he already knew they would have no effect, but it
was something to do. "Stay with me dad. Help will be here soon." He had to
say something in the hope it would help his dad to hang onto life. He fired
all the flares off then threw the gun down. Thats all he could do except
try to comfort his father. Despite the horror of what was happening around
him and knowing his mother was dead and his father near to it, Scott was
remarkably calm. He kept talking to his father, but had to go to the rail
to see what the situation was with the pirates. He could not see either
boats and guessed they were now out of sight at the hull ready to board. He
was just about to turn back when he heard the helicopter and gun fire. At
first he thought it was the pirates again, but it was in fact a Dutch
helicopter firing at THEM. With one pass the whole lot in that boat were
killed. The other? They were on the other side of the ship and sped off
knowing they were not likely to be persued. Bob Taylor came back and waved
to the helicopter indicating the mayhem on the Fly. Marines came down lines
and soon took over. They were safe now. Bob led Scott below."Come on son
there is nothing we can do here, it's up to these guys now. Scott looked
once more at his mother and father and said goodbye and went below. Once
the crew were back on stations and after he had instructed the first
officer, he took Scott to his cabin. He wanted the boy out of the way,
there was a lot of unpleasent things to do up there. Bob rang the bridge
and got Chris Barker to come to his cabin. When Chris arrived he was told
not to leave Scott and went back to the bridge to take over. The Dutch flew
the body of Scott's mother and his badly injured father to their ship and
once there they worked to save his life. The fact that the Dutch had been
at the right place at the right time was a huge slice of luck. Had they not
been the outcome would have been very different, but they were and Scott
would be recalling that sometime in the future. Scott was completely
unaware of what was going on, but he eventually found out that after a lot
of diplomatic chat the Dutch were given permission to land in Aden were the
Saudi Arabian's would be waiting to fly Scott, his mother and father back
to the UK in a fully equipt hospital aircraft. He would get round to
thanking everyone some time later.He was also completely unaware of the
breaking news all over the world and thats when Andrew heard of what had
happened. Andrew was devistated and suffered as much as his friend did.
Andrew sank to his knees and prayed as never before. It was three months
before the funeral could take place. Scott refused to allow it to go ahead
until his father was strong enough to attend.It was a very cold November
day when father and son watched as wife and mother was laid to rest. Scott
standing and supporting his wheel chair bound father. His spine had been
severed and would never walk again. Both men were torn apart with grief,
but also with a lot of hatred and loathing towards those that had taken her
away and for what?

winchesterbornbred@hotmail.co.uk Bobby