Chapter 13

Everyone, except Erica of course, took a trick at the wheel for the passage back to Maldon; even Erica was held up by her father to hold the wheel for a few minutes. Grace, of course, didn't stay long. But Ted made it clear that he wanted Linnet, as far as possible, to manage the ship. The idea made Linnet a little – okay, more than a little – nervous, but once she was 'in the groove' she forgot any misgivings and just got on with doing the best job possible. In fact, essentially it was herself and Jamie that did the bulk of the ship-handling.

The fresh north-easterly wind gave them a quick passage; 'Grace' was making ten knots through the water. They anchored off Osea Island at mid-day, as it would not be high-water at Maldon until four ... They could not have had a much better slant of wind; one tack after rounding Herrings Point and they sailed right up to the Hythe Quay. Reluctantly, Linnet ordered the sails dowsed and used the engines to turn to face downstream and moor alongside Thistle. They were securely moored by four, and everything stowed and tidy by five.

Unsurprisingly, they had a stream of visitors from the barge community. Ted left Linnet and Jamie to entertain them in order to escort Grace home. For the most part their visitors were very complimentary; only one – strangely, perhaps, one of the younger skippers – had anything really negative to say ... He had nothing good to say and was particularly scathing about her approach and berthing. Linnet could think of nothing to say in reply. As sometimes happens, her tendency to lack confidence in her own ability meant his negativism severely undermined the almost universal approval from her other peers. As it happened, though, Ted caught the tail end of his comments.

"You might like to consider, Captain Atkins, why I have chosen to sponsor Miss Masters rather than employ you, or some other certificated Skipper..."

"Oh, that's easy enough! You've only to look at her to see none of us has a hope of the place, whatever her competence or lack of it."

"Is that so? That's a rather serious accusation, Captain. Just bear in mind my wife and I have over a quarter of a million pounds tied up in this vessel. Even if I had any need for sexual favours – which I do not – I certainly wouldn't risk that amount of capital to get it."

The man snorted and might have continued, but another said sharply, "Give it up, Rupe. You know perfectly well you're just jealous. There was absolutely nothing wrong with that approach. I don't doubt she could have docked under sail, but she, quite rightly, put safety first. If you keep it up, you'll be going for a mud-bath if you're not careful."

'Grace' was the focus of attention for several days, but after stocking the stores, freezer and fridge ... oh, and the bar ... and having topped off the fuel-oil and drinking water, Ted, Linnet and Jamie cast off for London at seven-thirty in the morning at the top of the tide.

The wind having backed to the north-west, Ted had Linnet sail off the quay, adding, "I'm along for the ride and to satisfy the law, okay? You are in charge."

Two hours had them passing Mersea Island, and after another four, they were well into the West Swin and the tide was turning. They passed Canvey Island, Gravesend and Tilbury and dropped the hook by Swanscombe Marshes as the tide turned against them, by which time they were more than ready for a meal and bed. Four in the morning, Linnet and Jamie were making coffee and frying bacon when Ted appeared from the deck.

"Looking good," he commented. "Breakfast, too!"

By five they had the anchor catted up and were under way for St. Katherine's dock, where they moored up just before high-water. Ted turned to Linnet and Jamie once Grace was secure. "Excellent work, Linnet ... and you, Jamie, too. You seem well up for Mate. I'm going to leave you to it and go back to my family. Not fair, I know."

"Don't be daft, Skipper. We don't have anything important to do, but you need to get back to Grace and Erica. We'll be fine."

"Okay, then. EssCom will be in touch; they've got your mobile number, Linnet, and will give you a half-day notice of when they're coming. We've talked about what they're to do, yes?"

"Aye, Skipper."

"Apart from that, you may well have some visitors from companies that have expressed interest in chartering. You know what we can and can't do, and I can trust you to offer light refreshments. Anything more than that, we can arrange but will be by appointment, okay?"

"Okay, Skipper."

"It's okay for you two to take a morning off here and there, see the sights, whatever. Leave some handouts at the office with your mobile number."

"Aye, Skipper."

"Apart from that ... make yourselves at home. And ... it's a forty hour week, okay? No more. Got it?"

"Got it, Skipper," Linnet smiled, "thanks. Give Erica a hug and kiss for me."

It took a couple of days for the IT company to start work; at that, Ted must have pulled some strings. Linnet and Jamie kept a discreet eye on them at first, but they were obviously very professional. Within a couple of weeks of their arrival, Grace had data sockets in each cabin and the saloon as well as a wireless router, with internet connectivity through both satellite and cell systems, just as Ted had specified.

The first visitors trickled in even as EssCom were working and were very impressed. For the most part Linnet and Jamie traded off their time, at least when Jamie wasn't working as an accountant, so that one of them was available during normal business hours. Several times, with warning, they used a local catering company to provide a buffet meal to entertain a party, and from time to time either Ted or Jenni Peters appeared on the scene to supervise Linnet for a short cruise.

In late August, one of the pre-arranged parties was to come. The caterers duly delivered a lunch and Jamie started a coffee maker to be ready for the arranged ten a.m. arrival time.

"Miss Masters ... so good to meet you again." Dennis Thornton's voice held amusement.

Linnet was torn between irritation and amusement, as Ted had failed to warn her who was coming. "Mister Thornton ... a pleasure. And ... Miss Thornton too..." she turned to the young woman at Dennis' side.

"Indeed. May I also introduce Michael Forbes, my CFO?" The distinguished older man's grip was firm and reassuring; Linnet smiled as she shook his hand.

"Welcome aboard, Mister Forbes."

"And," Dennis beckoned a pleasant-looking older woman forward, "Missus Svoboda, my PA." She inclined her head to Linnet and smiled.

"Ma'am," Linnet nodded in return.

The introductions went through an Executive Director, a Director of Communications, and several other titles Linnet was going to have difficulty remembering. At the end, she stepped back a pace to address them. "Ladies ... Gentlemen ... We have an hour before we can lock-out to sail, and we have coffee made and a kettle boiling for anyone who wants tea, as well as assorted cold drinks. If you'd like to come below, we can talk about your requirements over some refreshments. Miss Thornton?"

"Yes, Miss Masters?" The girl's tone clearly conveyed amusement.

"I know you are familiar with the management and character of vessels like this one, so if you'd like to assist with the ship-handling, I can loan you some suitable clothing..."

"Why, thank you! I'd like that very much."

Over coffee, Linnet and Jenni, when she arrived, talked about what 'Grace' could offer. "Everything," Linnet said, "from being a mobile, small-scale conference centre with excellent catering and communications and your choice of location, dependent only on the time available and, of course, weather, to fully participatory team-building. A vessel like this is capable of being handled by two people, but some of the tasks are quite physically demanding for the sedentary, so for serious sailing a larger crew is perfectly satisfactory. We can do a Barge Match; Grace should be competitive in the staysail class, we just haven't had an opportunity to try yet."

"What sort of ... demanding ... tasks?" one of the men asked.

"Well," Jenni put in, "usually for ordinary sailing, the lee-boards are left down on both sides and only partially raised until it is essential to raise them completely, the last lift is hard work. But racing in a barge match, they are lifted so only the one needed on a particular tack is down, which means hard work every few minutes. Just raising the anchor is another one. The level of participation is up to the party. Of course, if you opt for a match there's some expectation of commitment."