Chapter 43

Steve,

Sunday mornings are always fun around home. Chuck showed up with his crew, dressed to stimulate as much as my ladies did. As breakfast was eaten, Chuck said, "I want play with the new boat. What do you think, Steve, could we take it out for a while?"

People heard Chuck's request and were speaking up, "Yeah, take us out on the new boat." "Let's see if Chuck can captain his new boat." "Come on Steve and Mercy; let's help Chuck check out his boat."

Sue rolled her eyes and said, "We're not going to get any rest until we all go take a ride on the boat. Let's get dressed and get it out into the gulf. I'll call mom to see if she wants to come."

Sue came back and whispered into my ear, "Ask Chuck about his other new boat. Mom said there was a hell of a story behind it. She said she would tell us when they get out to the boat. They will meet us there."

As his girls were changing clothes, I asked Chuck, "Beth said I should ask you about your other new boat?"

Chuck looked at me almost as if he was aggravated and said, "It's a long story. Let me tell you later over a drink. Some of it isn't pretty."

I let it go and figured the story would come out in time. I was curious as how he had come up with another boat, though.

About fifty people headed to the marina yacht club to take a ride on the new boat. It took a long time to get enough life jackets from the other boats so we could go out. Some of our regular crewmen from the other boats were at the docks and wanted to come along. Why not, the more crew, the easier it would be.

I introduced Chuck to all of the working parts of the boat. We inspected the engine and maintenance rooms, along with the desalination room. Chuck couldn't get over the size of the laundry room. He did check out the gym room and smiled as he looked into the plush office that was on the lower deck.

Topside, I opened the helm area and explained all of the equipment and the computer. I had found out that the screen and keyboard outside was a terminal off the computer at the inside helm or bridge.

Chuck just nodded, found a couple crewmen, and instructed them to disconnect the shore services. Chuck went through the procedure for starting the engines and let the engines warm. He said, "A bunch of people are bringing food and beverages. They should just about be here."

About twenty people were pushing carts up to the boat. The carts were emptied and the goodies taken below deck. I introduced Chuck to the new Chef the boat charter company had hired and said, "Today is probably an on deck grille day. I saw lots of hot dogs and hamburger put aboard."

When everyone was on board, Chuck hollered for the crew to release the lines aft, then the forward lines. He engaged the propellers and gently took the boat out of the club harbor and out into the channel. As we motored out of the channel heading for the gulf, Chuck was busy checking gauges and smiling as he got the feel of the wheel. He said, "I wanted to see if I felt comfortable manning the wheel of this monster. I love this thing, and can see how one can get hooked on it. I hope you don't mind that I just took over. Trust me, I feel more comfortable with you next to me."

I said, "You're doing great, Chuck. I'm surprised you're as comfortable and as good with the boat as you are. This is one hell of a boat."

When we were clear of land, Chuck began raising sail. He was using the computer for the configurations. This was perfect, as now I knew I could depend on him to take over if necessary. When we were under full sail, Chuck shut the engines down and was relaxing at the wheel. He said, "You know what, Steve, I think one guy could just about sail a boat like this by himself. If no one bothered you, and you didn't get into too much bad weather, this could be a fun getaway for a guy."

I said, "That's what they make the smaller craft for. If you had a forty-five to sixty footer rigged the way this one is, it would be perfect, small enough to be able to do everything on board, yet large enough to handle heavier seas. You and I will look for one of those so we can get away on a weekend or to rent out to experienced sailors. I'll bet there's a market for one of those."

All of Chuck's ladies came to learn about the helm. The pregnant Frieda and the dark Nancy showed the most interest. I think they will become Chuck's first mates out in the water after they have their babies. Mercy came up and said, "Don't hog the helm all day, Sue, Kathy, and Juanita want a turn."

I said to Chuck, "Let's have a beer and get in line for a couple of those hamburgers." The kids were having a great time exploring the boat. All of them were up to the top of the high deck, then down to the engine room on a continuous rampage.

Big Tina and Lena were hanging on to Ben who was regaling them with tales of our past sailing adventures. Both girls were fascinated with the tales of pirates, hijackers, and gangsters in Hawaii. Ben did have some pretty good sea tales to tell.

Tiny was sitting on one of the big deck chairs with a beer in his hand. Martin and Glenda were sitting beside him. He said, "You know, a sailboat is nicer to relax on. Just listen," he paused, "quiet, just the sound of the water along the boat and the rigging groaning and snapping. You hear the sea birds so differently on a sailboat than you do on a motor launch."

Glenda said, "This is as peaceful as Martin and I have been for a long time. This is wonderful. Martin likes our cabin that I picked out. We are going to enjoy the cruise to Europe."

People everywhere were just enjoying the wind in their hair and the sun. Off to the west, we could see some storm clouds building, so I went into the main lounge to look at the satellite weather on the monitor there. There was a small storm coming, but it wasn't moving fast. We should be back in by the time it gets here.

Up top, on the sun deck, several women were bare, enjoying the sun. The two super large girls had Ben nude and were massaging oil into his skin. My sister was acting as a chaperone, telling the girls to keep Ben's excitement level to a minimum.

Greg asked me, "Can you show us what all of the dials and gauges mean down in the engine room? That is really interesting."

We went down, with a couple of the other boys following. Stevie and CJ were with us as I began describing what each gauge meant. I said, "You can control the engines from down here or up at either helm. I could even engage the propellers from here if I had to. See this big handle? That is the manual lever to engage the propellers. If the electronics were to go out, the boat can still operate."

We went into the desalination room and I showed them what the machinery was doing. "We really don't need that much extra water right now, but it is good to run machinery so it will continue to work right. Let's check the purity of the water. First, we get some that is from the flow on the way to the holding tank. We test the water for salt or foreign substances by using these test strips. We'll pull an eyedropper of water out first. Now each of you stick one of those strips in and read from this chart what the directions are for each one."

The boys read what the colors of the strip indicators meant. I put a drop of water on a slide and then adjusted the laboratory microscope so we could see how pure the water was. The boys took a turn looking through the eyepiece and Greg said, "It's very clear. It doesn't look as if there is anything in it at all."

I said, "That means it's pure and good for us to drink. We use the water we make for drinking, to wash ourselves, wash clothes, cook with, and make ice."

Stevie asked, "Do we use seawater for the toilets? That water looks kind of green. I smiled and said, "We must have the intakes open for sea water to be used. We can also use our fresh water. When we use sea water, we have to clean the tanks differently than with fresh water. Let's shut off the intakes, then we'll go flush the toilets a couple of times."

I turned the big valve to shut off the seawater intake and then applied some air pressure to blow out the small holding tank that feeds the toilets. I turned on the fresh water valve and let water flow into the small tank and showed the boys the gauge that showed the fresh water rising in the tank. When it was full, we walked to one of the two cabins on this deck and flushed the toilet. They went next door and flushed that one as well as the one in the office and the one in the gym. After flushing them a couple times, they reported that the toilets were now very clear.

We checked out the crew's quarters and they asked why they had their own galley. I explained, "Some people who charter the boat, or some people who own boats such as this, have others sail it and take care of them instead of doing it themselves."

CJ said, "Doing it yourself is half the fun. I'm glad we don't need anyone to sail the boat for us."

Stevie was nodding and said, "You mean like the Irish people and their big boat? That one is too much to take care of the way you have polish all the furniture everywhere. I would get tired just washing the windows every day."

That was sort of funny, but very true. I said, "Sailboats have to have daily care too you know."

Greg said, "We know, we learned how to polish all the brass and chrome last summer. We washed the deck with the moms and did the cleaning in our rooms too. It didn't take very long at all when all of us worked together. When we go to Europe soon, we'll do it again. Should we be cleaning now, Dad?"

"Not today. The crew that will be working around the boat will take care of it. Those guys like this boat as much as Chuck does."

Stevie asked, "So this boat isn't ours. This is Chuck's boat?"

I said, "Yes."

Stevie asked another question, "So how come we are all going on one boat? Shouldn't we take a boat for each family?"

I said, "This is a big boat with lots of room. Chuck had the boat built with two big master cabins and lots of smaller cabins just for all of us and he had the boys' and girls' bunk rooms built just for you guys."

Greg said, "Do you know that every bunk has a light and a place for a book and other stuff. The bunk rooms even have a couple of big chairs plus a table with a bunch of chairs if we want to play a game."

Stevie said, "We'll probably all be in the big lounge or topside in the top lounge most of the time. The big lounge up top is really big. It's nice up there because of all the windows. When we're not outside, that will be the place to be."

We made our way back to the deck to see that Mercy was directing Chuck to begin making a big turn to head back toward home. Lisa was standing on the other side of Mercy, listening intently and asking questions as they manipulated the sail. When we had turned around, we caught a great sailing wind and Chuck unfurled more sail to take advantage of Mother Nature's push.

We were now sailing at a little over fifteen knots, very fast for our size craft. Juanita took the wheel and Chuck went to the bow to watch as the boat slipped through the swells with no noticeable feel to the rolling water. While he was standing there, his women gravitated to him one at a time. First little Tiani wanted Chuck's arm across her shoulder. Frieda came next to stand beside him. Nancy and Judy walked up and joined the three, and shortly, Brandy, Tina, and Lisa joined them. They stood with their arms stretched around each other.

Sue and I were standing a little behind the group on the bow when Kathy and Juanita joined us. Sue said, "I think those folks will be good sailing companions for us. Being on board a big boat for over a month might be more than our relationships can stand, but for some reason, I think we'll be fine."

Kathy said, "Chuck and Steve both have a quality that people enjoy being around. With both of them on board, we should be a happy group."

Juanita asked, "Is there any danger going to Europe like there was in the Caribbean?"

"I don't think so, Juanita, but we'll be prepared. I think Chuck's girls will respond well if we were to get into trouble."

Kathy said, "You know those crazies, the hijackers, took a Russian ship in the straits north of the United Kingdom. No one knows how they got that far north but just the thought of a bunch of terrorists and kidnappers on the open sea makes me want to get some deck mounted guns."

I told Kathy, "With what we have, I'm sure we could withstand several boat loads of bad guys at the same time. Picking off the ones who are exposed and placing some of those explosive shotgun rounds should take care of us. Who would want to get closer if they were met with that type of defense?"

Sue was chuckling, "If we have Chuck's ladies working with us, we would be able to cover all of the boat without worrying about someone sneaking up on us. I wonder if Chuck has been teaching them yet."

I said, "I'll talk to him about it. I'm sure he will make a plan to make sure his ladies can protect themselves."

We were back at the dock about six. The kids were worn out after a day in the open sea air. They had gotten a lot of exercise continuously going from the bottom deck to the top of the lounge. I think they were becoming comfortable with the boat and felt it would work for the time we would be gone.

The group decided on pizza for a quick supper, so Sue and Lisa rode together and picked up stacks and stacks of pizzas from Park Place. I'm sure they were used to our Sunday evening Pizza-thons and were probably wondering where we were as we didn't order until after six thirty.

At home, Chuck said, "I'm heading up to the northeast tomorrow to check in at some stations. I'll take the Phenom as I can legally fly single in that. Even with the waiver I have for the Lear, I probably shouldn't take advantage of it. I also want to look at a Citation X and another smaller CJ series. The big Citation is really fast and could be an answer to some of our long distance flights. It has a great range, but isn't very efficient. I'll check it out to see if it's a deal."

I told Chuck, "We probably have enough small jets now. If we get more of the small Citations, we could begin selling some of our Lears. There's a great market for them and we need more aircraft that can be flown by a single pilot. If we can keep our per flight payroll and costs down, we will remain one of the cheapest charters around. We still need to find an aircraft that has forty or fifty passenger capacity. We have calls for a lot of larger charters. So far we've been able to rent aircraft, but that skews the profit, so we're working pretty close. Keep your eyes open for a larger aircraft."

Chuck said, "I know that I caused a lot of potential problems by flying the Learjets by myself, but it was truly necessary. It was my fault for starting that and for allowing Lisa to do it too. She knows the rules and was just trying to save the company money."

I told Chuck, "Just make sure you keep your logbook accurate and watch your daily hours on duty. With all the rules there are, we need to make sure we stay in compliance. The helicopter group is doing a good job and we need to keep the fixed wing group doing the same."

Chuck was stretching and yawning, and began gathering his family to head home. His girls were always reluctant to leave the ladies of the patio. They always seemed to want to talk the night away.

The patio was soon nearly empty. Just my ladies, plus Mickey, who seemed to be spending a lot of time with Chuck's ladies when they were here, were left. When the patio was straightened out and the coffee ready for the morning, we migrated to the bedroom. It had been a great day for the family; a fun day full of camaraderie among all of our friends. We had become more familiar with the new boat and were feeling more confident with it each time we were on it.

In bed, there was some loving with me contributing mostly to Kathy and Juanita. Mercy and Sue were busy with Mickey, and seemed to wear themselves out while enjoying each other. As I slipped off to sleep, I kept thinking of how neat our trip was going to be.

Monday, the great race begins again. At breakfast, DeDe asked me if I could help out with a charter on a B-200, and asked Sue if she could spare the morning to fly right seat on a G5 down to the Keys. DeDe said, "This is going to be a great day for the charter companies. Betty told me they were completely booked and we are nearly sold out as well. I have Chuck giving lessons this morning before he leaves on his trip. He has to wait until Wanda finishes with her Monday reports, then they will leave."

Sue and I left for the airpark to take care of DeDe's requests, while the rest of the group headed toward their own duties.

When we arrived, Chuck was already returning with his student. I could see him instructing the new student to fill in the logbooks before turning in the plane's book to DeDe.

We all walked into the charter office together, where DeDe went into her point and go mode. She said, "Steve, your King Air is ready. By the time you finish with your preflight, your fare will be here. Sue, the G5 is boarding now, so if you'll go help John, that will take care of that and you, Chuck, Betty needs you to use the 206 to hop down to the air base and ferry some dignitaries to the federal building. I promise, you can leave as soon as that's done. Wanda called and said she was running late."

Chuck and Sue looked at me and grinned. I grabbed the logbook DeDe was thrusting at me and was followed out the door by the other two. DeDe immediately returned her attention to the student and was asking him when he wanted to schedule his next lesson.

I said to Chuck, "Your ladies are going to have to come up with some people for us out here. It looks like we need all kinds of pilots, and most of the ones we'll get will have to go to specialized schools. I think we'll just ask for pilots with commercial tickets and help them get their air transport ratings. That way they can teach too. We're getting a lot of requests for instrument instruction lately."

By the time I was ready to go, the passengers going to Mobile were standing at the plane. This was a simple flight. Just up and back, with a two hour layover, while waiting for the customer to conduct business.