Chapter 40

Steve

Chuck had come out for breakfast this morning to talk to me about something. When we had our coffee and were sitting at the bar away from people, Chuck said, "There's a bunch of things coming together all at once. Magellan called to say the boat's ready to be picked up. I've transferred funds and paid them, so we can bring it up any time."

He took a sip of coffee and said, "You want to go to Hawaii for a few days, which at a minimum is a day going and a day returning. I can get the time off, but the time may be important for other things."

Still sipping his coffee, he looked at me a little odd, and said, "I need to make a trip to Costa Rica for some personal business and that will take at least three days. That trip will depend on what Ben has lined up, but I think he's planning on making it soon."

I looked up and asked, "Anything else?"

"Plenty, Lisa wants me to give her and your new girl, Charlotte, chopper lessons. Then there are the guys out at the helicopter shop that are looking to me for leadership. I'm giving them their rein and letting Betty schedule the aircraft, and it's working out so far. Hell, they know more about running a helicopter shop than I ever will."

I laughed, "That's the way you manage Chuck. You pick out the leaders and ask them to make everything happen. Each of the people are cogs and all of them together make the wheel turn without any hiccups. You're doing right."

"What's with this anyway, Steve? You're the owner of that joint out there and you should be giving the marching orders."

Still laughing I said, "You forget so easily, Chuck. You bought in already. Tiny said everything is a done deal, right down to you autographing the power of attorney for the operation. Yep, you are the majority owner of the helicopter operation. I think you need to be in with me on the fixed wing operation too. You're spending more time out there than I am, and you seem to be interested in everything."

"Steve, Steve, Steve, don't do this to me. Christ, I'm a Deputy U.S. Marshal that hunts escaped criminals and protects federal buildings and employees. That's what I am, that's what I do. I'm not some mega-business owner that knows how to manage a thousand employees or how to make a multi-million dollar operation work."

"Give it a rest, Chuck. I need you as part of that operation, and I sort of tricked you into becoming a part of it. Somehow, someway, you've come up with enough money to do all this stuff, help some people get back on their feet, and still can go buy one of the nicest sailboats ever built. If you need help getting stuff done, let me know and I'll help. You see what's happening, don't you? You have more to do in life than being a deputy; you have to be the man of your house. You have to be the final word for a bunch of people who look up to you out at the whirlybird shop. Decisions won't come easy sometimes, but they will come. Just hang in there, and if I can help, pull my chain."

Poor Chuck, I don't think I helped him all that much, but at least he knows I understand. I leaned over to him and said, "If you want, I can send John and a crew down to bring the boat up here, or Mercy and I will go get it. That's the easy one. Just say the word and I'll get it done. As far as Hawaii is concerned, I thought we would leave Wednesday and be back Sunday. So big deal, we'll leave next Tuesday or Wednesday and not this week. We'll have enough time to work with Crystal and Bear on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, and fly back on Sunday. It's a fast trip, but we're not going for a bunch of changes or decisions. We're just going to find out what Bear and Crystal have up their sleeves."

Chuck's cell phone started ringing. He answered it and then said, "Hey, Ben, just the man I was talking about. You are, huh? That soon? Okay, sure, I'll fly us down this afternoon. How about we leave around one? Okay, then we'll leave around two or two-thirty when you get out to the airfield. I'll file the international flight plan and get an aircraft ready."

"Oh yeah," Chuck said into his cell phone, "You're in Key West. Okay then, meet me at the airport at the private aircraft operations building. Make sure you thank Rosie for me and if you would, leave her a tip. I'll give you a C-note for her when I see you. I know that's too much, but she's looking after everything for me. See you then."

Chuck called out to the airpark and asked for Jimmy. "Jimmy, did you get that mod completed on the 55C? Right, the long range tanks. Great, Jimmy, transfer me back to DeDe and let me talk to her."

You could see Chuck burning the brain cells thinking, then he said, "DeDe, I need the Lear 55C for today and tomorrow. You can use the Phenom for most everything except too many passengers. Please tell me it's possible. Great, DeDe, I love you. Thank you. Right, I'll be out to preflight it around one. Please have them fill the new tanks too. Thanks."

Chuck hung up his cell and said to me, "I had the 55C modified to long range. We should have a range of over twenty eight hundred miles. We'll use it to go to Hawaii. I'll be back in a couple of days, and we'll make the trip next week or when I get back. Send John and any crew he might need to pick up the boat. That will take care of everything at this moment. I gotta run. See you later."

And just like that, Chuck was gone. I waved at Mercy to come over and said to her, "The boat's done. Chuck has to go somewhere and wants John to bring it up. What do you think?"

Mercy looked aggravated, "Darn, I wanted to make it a fun trip for his women to come up in the boat. I guess if they can't go, John might as well go get it. I'll ask Brandy to see what she thinks. The girls might want to go bring it up anyway. If they do, I think you and I could sail it up. We don't know the boat yet, but we'll learn. We could always take some crew. We should probably bring John anyway. He'll know what else we might need on it by helping us sail it up."

I said, "Sounds good to me, I'll call John and have him pick a couple crew members out that would be good. We'll take a few boxes of food for a quick trip. Call Brandy and see if the girls want to go. Hell, find Lisa and see if she wants to go. The charter service can do without her for a couple of days."

Sue came over to me and said, "What's going on, Mercy is about to jump out of her skin?"

I explained the quick trip to Sue and she laughed, "I should have known it had something to do with sailing. She's so excited about our planned vacation that she's going nuts over it. She's got all the clothes for the kids planned already. I mean all of the kids that are going. She is really excited."

I asked, "What do you think. Want to come along? We could have a night on the boat. That would be nice."

Sue said, "I have too much going on right now. I have to go in front of the county board for the permits to build the new building. They're talking that there will be too much commercial footage out here, when there are buildings that could be modified within a half-hour of here. I will explain that I need my people near me, not across town. Besides that, it is our land."

"Be nice, Honey, those bureaucrats can be a real pain. They have thin skins, so don't insult them."

Sue was heading toward the kitchen as she said, "I know, I know, it's the same old game. They would rather have us give them money than to make it and employ people."

I called John, our boat charter manager, to see what his schedule was. His easy response was, "To bring that boat back up here, I'm available in about, oh let's say, five minutes. When do we leave?"

"I'm setting it up now, John," I said. "How about picking out a couple of crewmen that can help on a quick trip like this? I'm not sure of the passenger list yet, but we could have a dozen by the time we get out of Miami."

John said, "Hell, a dozen people are few enough that they will get lost on that monster. We'll have to put GPS on passengers to find them. I have just the two who would enjoy the trip and would love to crew on that boat. They're in port and not due to sail until next week. I'll get them going and you call me."

I called out to the airpark to find out if I can get an aircraft to fly me to Miami. DeDe laughed, "What is this. The day everyone in the company is going to fly somewhere. Chuck, at least, is flying himself. Maybe he can fly you down. He's leaving here around one."

I said, "I'll have to find out whether the Lear is big enough. The 55C will only carry ten. I'll call you back and let you know."

I found Mercy and she said that all five girls were going. That would be seven with us plus John and two crewmen. There wouldn't be enough room for Ben. Then again, I wondered where Ben was.

I called Ben's cell, and when he answered, I asked, "Where are you, Ben? Are you in town?"

Ben laughed, "No, Beth and I are in Key West waiting for Chuck to pick us up around two or two-thirty. He's flying us down to Costa Rica this afternoon."

I said, "Good, the only thing better would be if you were in Miami. I'll call Chuck and see what he thinks."

Ben said, "We can get a commuter into Miami if we have to. They leave here every thirty minutes. It's only forty-five minutes to get there."

"I'll call you, Ben. Let me ask Chuck."

I called Chuck, "Hey, Chuck, since you're going to the Key's to pick up Ben and Beth, could you fly your girls, John, Mercy, me, and a couple of crewmen down to Miami. I know that would be an extra hour up and down, but if it's a problem, Ben said he could catch a commuter to Miami."

I could hear the wheels turning in Chuck's head, but he surprised me when he asked, "How much luggage?"

"You know your girls. Just tell them to bring the minimum."

Chuck said, "Okay, we can do that it'll only add an hour to the trip down. We can leave whenever you want. I can be ready in an hour. I've got my travel bag and I'm ready. Should I call the girls?"

"You call your women, and I'll get everyone else out to the airpark."

I went in and stuffed a couple pair of jeans, some T-shirts, shorts, and a couple pair of deck shoes into my duffel bag. I took it and my protection suitcase out to the patio. Glenda said, "I wish I had the time or I would ride up with you. I'll bet that boat is really something."

"It is, Glenda. You'll be riding on it soon, anyway. We'll take it out a couple of weekends before our trip. I need to take Chuck out for at least a three or four day cruise to familiarize him with sailing again."

Glenda said, "Our trip will be the biggest event of our lives, Steve– since our wedding, anyway. Martin is really excited about it too."

Mercy came out and stuffed her clothes into my duffel bag and said, "I'm ready. The girls just called and said they were on their way and had used Chuck's duffel bag for all of them. Let's head to the airpark. John and the crewmen should be about there."

Out at the airpark, Chuck was fussing around the Lear, doing his preflight. He was checking over the modification and checking the fuel gauges over and over again. When I brought my duffel bag out, Chuck grabbed it and stuffed it in the luggage compartment and shut the hatch. Shortly, John and the two crewmen showed up with only gym bags. They all said they would just stuff them under their seats. Chuck just shrugged his shoulders.

Then came Frieda's SUV with her, Lisa, and 'Oh shit, ' that's eleven. Chuck just nodded and said, "Lisa or Steve can ride up front with me."

Chuck grabbed the girls' duffel bag and put it into the luggage compartment too, and this time, latched and locked the hatch down ready to fly. He got everyone on board and looked at everyone, mentally adding up weight. He should be fine considering we didn't have much luggage and had some small people on board. Then I remembered that the aircraft was heavier due to the added fuel tanks.

Lisa got into the right seat with Chuck and I saw them go through the startup procedure. While we were taxing out to the runway, some great blues music began playing over the cabin speakers. Lisa announced, "This is music from our Atlanta trip a while back. Hope you like it."

When we took off, Chuck really poured on the coals making sure we had enough speed to lift off. We seemed to get into the air easily and were descending for Miami almost as soon as we had reached altitude.

All of the women were excited about the boat, so when we landed, they were all anxious to get a taxi to the boatyard. Chuck unloaded the two duffel bags for us and was ready to takeoff almost immediately. Mercy had Chuck off to the side, talking to him as if there might be something wrong, but she came back to the group with a smile.

Chuck received kisses and hugs from his women, then we watched as he started up the Lear to continue his journey.

The two taxis dropped us off at Magellan at one thirty, where we were then shown through the plant, followed by a formal presentation of the work that had been completed on the boat.

The girls were most interested in the interior of the boat and were excited over each of the changes. I was impressed by the way they had designed the two main cabins. Both were oversized, with a lot of room around massive beds. There was a hot tub room between the bedrooms that also contained a cedar sauna. It seemed the boat was luxurious in every way that one could imagine.

The galley and eating area flowed through to a large lounge that had distinct areas, so groups could be involved in something without disturbing the other group. The children's rooms were unique as the girls had designed the rooms with multiple bunk beds. There were more beds than kids, but Chuck was trying to remedy that.

The guest rooms were extensive. There were a lot more guest rooms with private bathrooms, or heads, than you would think there could be. It did appear that the size of the boat did allow a lot of space to work with.

Up in the main deck lounge was another staircase or ladder that went to the roof of the lounge, where there was another hot tub, and a large sunning area for people to lay out. Just strolling around the deck was a treat, as there were so many lockers and items of interest. The topside lounge had a massive weather helm. There were multiple screens with dozens of gauges that reminded you of the cockpit of an aircraft. A great feature was the arrangement of a large chair for the captain, with two couch type seats on either side of it. The visibility was superb and made you feel comfortable inside.

There was a large locker at the rear of the boat that contained a heavy duty Zodiac inflatable dingy that was inflated and had an outboard motor on it. Also on the rear deck was a lift with another large inflatable dinghy on it.

When we went to look at the outdoor main helm, I was surprised to find only a wheel. John, Mercy, the two crewmen, and I were all surprised at how sparse it was.

The Magellan owner opened a couple of large latches and swung out the two large doors that created an instrument helm area that rivaled the one inside. Three radar screens, along with a large GPS screen, were easy to see standing at the wheel, with switches for sail control located within easy reach of the wheel area. One of the very unique features was the computerized monitoring system. The computer monitored every vital function of the boat and displayed a synopsis of the status on the screen. There were even areas you could enter 'What if' questions, so you could make the right sail choices.

We were instructed that the outdoor helm was weatherproof, but it was recommended that during severe weather, the helm be closed and secured to limit the corrosive effect of wind driven saltwater.

Brandy had been designated to take care of any unfinished business with Magellan, so she and John spent a few minutes with the owners. When she returned to all of us who were still gawking in awe of the massive boat, she was carrying a large satchel that she said contained instruction manuals and guides for all of the equipment on board.

Now, Chuck's planning paid off, as he had made sure that our initial shakedown voyage would include one of Magellan's sailing engineers. Also along for the ride were an interior engineer, and a specially hired chef to cook for us and to show the folks how the equipment within the boat and galley worked.

The presentation of the boat took almost three hours, which meant we were going to encounter a lot of boat traffic out on the water after a workday.

When it was time for us to depart, Mercy placed the girls around the deck to watch for various events, and placed Frieda on the bow with a pair of binoculars and a bullhorn to warn approaching boaters.

The huge motors started easily and ran almost completely silent. We cast off with John, the engineers, and our crewmen watching us to make sure we could handle a boat this size. I was able to gently leave the Magellan docks and crawl out to the channel that led to the Atlantic. Our goal this evening was to get out far enough that we could raise sail, then go to the south of Key West and sail back northwest. Our main objective was to get some experience with the boat and to see how it sailed. We also wanted to avail ourselves of the two engineers so we could learn as much about the boat as possible.

I used the computer to give me the information for what sail I wanted to raise and initiated the sequences that would raise yards and yards of sailcloth. As two huge sails were hoisted, I had to smile as on the front sail was the cartoon character 'Deputy Dawg, ' on the rear sail was a large S&S logo, and below it, the Quality Wear logo. I wonder whose idea that was?

That's when I wanted to look to see what the name of the boat was.

Mercy said to me, "No one has named the boat yet, but there are several suggestions. I'm sure Chuck will name the boat soon."

I asked Mercy, "So what was the serious talk with Chuck about when we landed?"

Mercy said, "He's up to something, and he won't let me in. I can tell that it's something he's uncomfortable with, but he's determined to do whatever it is he's doing. Chuck can sometimes be real scary. You know he wouldn't do anything to hurt you, or anyone else that didn't threaten his family and friends, but he can get involved in things even faster than you. He assured me that he was fine and everything would go well. I made him promise to use his gift if he needed it."

Once the sail was powering the boat, I let John man the helm while Mercy and I explored the rest of the boat.

On the second below deck, we investigated the engine room, the maintenance shop, and the desalination room. The gym was really nice sized and full of good equipment. The office area was very plush. It had its own small head, and had four portholes for natural light. The two large cabins on this deck were really fancy, and there was the very big, and very modern, laundry room with two huge washers and two huge dryers. I suppose there could be a need to wash a lot of clothes with as many passengers as the boat could carry.

The crew's quarters were very nice and comfortable. They had their own galley, as well as two nice heads. There was captain's quarters and bunks for twelve additional crew. The bunkrooms were actually spacious, with only two bunks per stack instead of the usual three. This deck did have a lot of room. Up in the galley, the Magellan chef was busily preparing a baked fish dinner that was going to be good, if the smells were any indication. The big table was set so all of us could eat together.

Mercy and I went up to the main lounge, then on up to the sun deck above. We had to laugh as all six of Chuck's women were nude, enjoying the late afternoon sun. Lisa said, "This is better than the nature park. This is so quiet and smooth. I know we're moving as the boat rocks a little, but it is so smooth and quiet."

Mercy had to agree. We cautioned the girls to dress soon so they wouldn't burn. They agreed and began dressing right then. We went to see John at the helm and he was enjoying himself while chatting with the sailing engineer. I suggested he take a more detailed tour of the bottom deck as it was very interesting.

The engineer and John left the helm and went below. This was very pleasant, but also very exciting, as this boat would soon carry us across the Atlantic to visit Europe and go deep into the Mediterranean Sea.