CHAPTER 31

 

SAURIAN

 

Wewak hove to fifty metres from the yacht. By then Willy could see what Capt Kirk meant. The yacht’s mainsail was only half up and was all in a tangle. Capt Kirk leaned over the wing of the bridge and raised a megaphone. “Dyfken ahoy!”

Willy could clearly see Jacob, his sister Julia and his mother. They waved back and a faint ‘Hello!’ was called back.

“Do you need assistance?” Capt Kirk called.

There was a short delay during which Willy could clearly see Jacob arguing with his sister. It was Julia that answered. “We have a bit of a problem with our sails and the engine has broken down,” she called.

Capt Kirk swore under his breath, earning him a frown from Mrs Kirk. Then he said, “We can’t leave them if there is the possibility of bad weather.”

Carmen stepped forward. “Sir, I have been trained on the rigging of yachts like that. I spent a week on one during my coxswains course.”

“Good. You and Andrew come across with me and we will take the engineer,” Capt Kirk replied. He went below, calling for Jock Cullen. Ten minutes later the boat was lowered. Willy badly wanted to go, so that he could question Jacob about what he was looking for but there was no room for him. Graham and the mate were left in charge of Wewak.

The boat went across and there was then a wait of half an hour. During this time both vessels drifted, rolling gently on the oily swell. Then a few whiffles of breeze ruffled the sea and Willy sighed with relief. The breeze slowly grew in strength until it was a steady breeze. To Willy’s surprise both the mate and Graham frowned and looked anxious. “What’s the matter?” he asked.

The mate answered. “That wind is coming off the land, from the South West. That could mean that the low has formed into a cyclone and that the whole system has begun to rotate.”

Willy had never been in the destructive part of a cyclone but he knew enough to also be worried. Even if it was 500 km away it was a threat. He knew that cyclones were gigantic revolving storms that could be two or three hundred kilometers across, with an eye that varied from 20k to 50km in diameter. The wind speeds would be above 60 knots- about 120 kph- and the entire system could move at anything up to 10 to 15kph. Their course was very difficult to predict.

When Capt Kirk returned at 2:00pm he was just as worried. “Don’t like this wind direction,” he commented. He then sent the mate and Graham aft to prepare a steel wire towing rope. “Their engine is seized- overheated- and Carmen says that she needs calm water to get up the mast to fix the mainsail. It has a steel wire halyard jammed in the groove that the sail slides up. We will have to tow them to a safe anchorage.”

It took twenty minutes to attach the towing cable to the bow of the yacht. Andrew, Carmen and Jock Cullen returned back aboard and the boat was hoisted up and secured. The Wewak then got under way. All Willy could do was stand out of the way and watch. From a slow start to draw the tow line taut gently speed was slowly increased until they were moving at 10 knots, the Dyfken following along a hundred metres astern.

From time to time the yacht would veer and sheer off to one side or the other before steadying back on course. Capt Kirk watched this several times and shook his head. “I wish those landlubbers could steer a straight course. They could break the tow line with that sort of nonsense.”

“Would you like me to or Andrew to go aboard as quartermaster sir?” Carmen asked.

Capt Kirk shook his head. “No. We got a frosty enough reception as it was.” He then bent to look at the radar screen and tapped at it. “Odd little blip. Must be a small boat,” he muttered.

Willy and Carmen both moved to look. The screen clearly showed the shape of the huge bay and also the mountainous islands of the Flinders Group 20km ahead. Several other small blips showed. “That one is the beacon on Wharton Reef,” Carmen said, “And the one to the North West is the lighthouse on Eden Reef. But this little blip just north of there must be a boat.”

At 3:00pm Capt Kirk turned on the computer. This was linked by satellite to the Bureau of Meteorology website and gave the latest weather reports and warnings. Looking at the screen and watching the reactions of the sailors caused Willy a spasm of anxiety. The report said that the low had now developed into a tropical cyclone- a hurricane- except that in the southern hemisphere they rotate in a clockwise direction. It was only a Category 1- the weakest- and was still about 500 km away- but it had turned to a more westerly course. The computer predictions were that it would move west and cross the North Queensland coast between Cooktown and Cairns.

“That is not good news,” Capt Kirk said. “We had better start looking for a safe place to be, just in case.” He went to the chart and did some calculations. After a few minutes deliberation and a short discussion with the mate he announced, “We are going to head for the Normanby River. If there is going to be cyclone I want to be right up a mangrove creek. And we can fix that yacht’s rigging there. Damn! I wanted to reach Cooktown tonight and Cairns tomorrow.”

Willy now knew enough about the economics of coastal shipping to understand that a day or two’s delay cost a lot of money and he felt sorry for Capt Kirk. Capt Kirk next went to the marine radio and called his other ship, the Bonthorpe.  “Where are you now Tom, over,” he asked.

“Off Murdoch Point, over,” came the reply.

“You’d better think about turning back. I don’t want you running into this cyclone, over,” Capt Kirk said.

“Already thinking about that. We are starting to run into some big seas already. I don’t think we can get to Cookotwn before it arrives, over,” came the reply.

“Better to be safe than sorry. Turn back, over,” Capt Kirk ordered.

Wewak’s course was now changed to south. Capt Kirk tried calling the Dyfken to explain but they apparently did not have their radio on. Carmen shook her head. “They are unbelievable lubbers. They wrecked their engine, then they got their halyard jammed. Worse still they thought they were at Clack Reef. When I looked at their chart and saw that they had a pencil line from Burkitt Island direct to Clack Reef I could not believe it. The line ran across Hedge Reef, Grubb Reef and Corbett Reef as though they just did not matter.”

“So how come they didn’t run on one of them?” Willy asked.

“Pure good luck and bad navigation,” Carmen answered. “They had not taken any magnetic variation into account and the currents must have helped push them south. So they went South East instead of East.”

“Did they say what they were looking for?” Willy asked.

Carmen shook her head. “No. They didn’t say why they were there at all. They weren’t very friendly but had to grudgingly admit they needed a bit of help.”

“Strange,” Willy commented.

Andrew laughed and said, “It just confirms that they have some secret they want to keep.”

It was a good mystery for Willy to puzzle over. He went back to watching. The LCT was now heading directly into the wind and waves but these were only about half a metre in height and caused almost no noticeable effect. The wind however surprised Willy. It was coming off the land and was hot, as though it was coming from a giant fire. The sky remained cloudless and the sun blazed down so fiercely that metal fittings were painfully hot to the touch.

After an hour and a half of uneventful progress the low coast of the southern shore of the bay came into sight. By this time the rugged and barren peaks of the Flinders Group and the Bathurst Range were standing clear above the horizon 15 km to port.

As they approached the coast Capt Kirk brought Wewak to, the Dyfken riding easily at the end of her tow. “The problem now is to get us across the bar. It is an hour past low water. I don’t know this river mouth well, have only been up it twice and that was in a dinghy. But I think Wewak will be alright. She only draws a metre at the bow and a bit over two metres aft. It is the yacht I am worried about. I don’t know how deep her keel is.”

Carmen looked at the yacht, on the deck of which the three van der Heydens could be seen standing staring at them. She said, “I had a look when we were diving to fix her propeller. She is only a seven metre ‘trailer-sailor’ and has a sliding keel that is wound up and down, like a big centre board.  If that is up she should only draw a bit under two metres.”

“We will try that,” Capt Kirk agreed. He picked up the megaphone and bellowed, “Raise your keel so we can cross the bar.”

The response was a lot of gesticulating and barely audible yells. Capt Kirk called again and got the same response. This time they heard the words, ‘don’t know how.’

Capt Kirk muttered an oath and shook his head. “People like them shouldn’t be allowed out on the water,” he grumbled.

“I can do it sir,” Carmen offered.

“OK. Graham and Andrew, launch the boat and take Carmen over. Then stay in the boat and go ahead of us to try to sound out the best channel,” Capt Kirk ordered.

Another ten minutes went by before Carmen had been transferred to the yacht. Within a couple of minutes she came on the radio. “Radio was turned off. Ready to proceed sir, over,” she reported.

Capt Kirk got the Wewak under way again. He then did a quick check of both the echo sounder to check the depth and then the radar. “Hmm. That small boat is still on the screen. He must be heading the same way as us,” he said. Then he turned and said, “Lester, you take the wheel. I will con us from the monkey island. Dr Williams, will you and Willy come up and help act as lookouts please?”

Willy was more than happy to. Even though it meant standing in the blazing sun it was a useful job to do and he pulled on a hat and followed his father and Capt Kirk up to the monkey island. The LCT then got slowly under way and headed inshore.

To begin with Willy could not make out any sign of a river mouth. All he could see was what looked like an unbroken line of beach backed by dark green trees. Offshore the whole area was a litter of shallows, shoals and even exposed sandbars. But from the higher position a channel of deeper water could clearly be seen and Capt Kirk took the LCT in, calling instructions to the mate via the old-fashioned speaking tube.

When they were less than a kilometre off the beach Willy noted a break in the dark green line and soon after that saw that the deepwater channel curved left and went in behind a long spit of sand. The tidal current was very obviously flowing in and Capt Kirk had a few anxious moments as they rounded the curve.

As they straightened up behind the sand spit Capt Kirk looked back at the yacht, then at the sky and finally at the horizon behind them. Willy saw him frown and then raise his binoculars. “There’s that boat,” he said. “Dark coloured thing and right out on the horizon.”

Willy looked but in the glare of the sun all he could make out was a speck of some dark object on the rippling horizon.

Capt Kirk then switched his attention back to guiding the LCT around a sharp curve to the right. To Willy it looked like the gap in the mangroves they were aiming at was much too small for such a big vessel but as they got closer it opened out and he saw that it was much larger, at least a hundred metres wide. Better still, unlike the shallow sandy bottom of Port Stewart, the river had deep water in behind the entrance. The river banks appeared to be unbroken mangroves with vertical mud banks.

As the LCT slid slowly into the lee of the mangroves the breeze was shut off and they were enveloped in hot, sticky heat. With it came sandflies and mosquitoes and Willy could barely wait to rush below to smear repellent on.

Capt Kirk took the LCT about a kilometre up the river, rounding two bends before coming to a reach that was about half a kilometre long. Both banks were massive thickets of mangroves and to his great pleasure and concern Willy saw the tail of a big crocodile as it slid into the water.

“Lots of the slimy buggers up this river,” Capt Kirk commented. “It is an ideal saurian habitat. So you keep away from the water and if you go in a boat, keep your hands and feet inboard. Now, this is as far as I want to go for the moment. Any further upstream and the river narrows too much for us to turn around.”

He then went down to the wheelhouse and took the wheel, sending the mate forward with Willy to assist. Using a radio Capt Kirk called the boat and sent it to the starboard bow to take a line from the mate. This was taken ashore and threaded around a large mangrove growing right on the edge of deep water. The other end was led back and secured.

“This way, if we need to go in a hurry, we can just slip and go,” the mate explained.

“Go where?” Willy asked.

“Further up the river, right in among the mangroves,” the mate replied.

“But why? What if we got stuck and couldn’t get the barge out?” Willy queried.

The mate laughed and replied, “We would only worry about that if we are still alive. Up a mangrove creek is the safest place for us to be if there is a cyclone. If the old barky gets stuck, well she’s insured. That’s why they call captains of coasters ‘Mudskippers’. It is how they stay alive on the coast of Cape York.”

That was all a bit worrying to Willy but he saw the sense of it. He looked anxiously at the dense mangroves and thought, ‘There must be dry land through there- if we can make it! An ideal habitat for saurians Capt Kirk said.’

Just the thought of being chased and grabbed by one of the prehistoric lizards made Willy shudder. Once again he looked anxiously at the murky green water alongside. The mate then called him aft to help shorten the tow line.

The Dyfken was cast off and towed back fifty metres by the boat, Graham acting as cox and Andrew doing the rope work. They then boarded the yacht and helped Carmen drop the anchor. When that was done Carmen got into the boat and it returned to the Wewak.

“I need some rope and tools,” Carmen said.

“Are you going back to the yacht?” Willy asked.

“Yes, to fix the rigging,” Carmen replied.

A feeling of intense curiosity seized Willy. “Can I come?” he asked.

“If the skipper says so,” Carmen answered.

Willy asked Capt Kirk who said yes. “Be back for tea at six,” he added.

When it came time to lower himself over the side into the boat Willy had a few more anxious looks at the water. Graham saw this and said, “Come on Willy. What’s the matter?”

“Your dad said this was the ideal habitat for saurians,” Willy answered. “I just don’t want to give one a chance of making a meal of me.”

Both Graham and Andrew laughed but Willy was gratified to note them both cast anxious glances at the river. Carmen then passed down a tool kit and she slid down into the boat. That got Willy wondering if the boat was now overloaded but a label on the side told him it was designed to carry seven. ‘It still looks awfully close to the water,’ he thought, eyeing the freeboard of half a metre with anxiety. In his imagination he pictured the scenes he had often seen on TV documentaries: the great rush of water and grey hide, the gaping jaws, the rows of horrible yellow teeth!

To his relief it only took a minute or so to travel the hundred metres to the yacht. The yacht, like the LCT, was now lying diagonally across the stream under the influence of both wind and tide. The boat was secured on the yacht’s port side. But when he got there Willy wished he hadn’t come. His smile faded as he saw the van der Heyden’s faces almost scowling down at them. Trying to brush this off Willy clambered aboard. “Hello again Jacob. Hello Julia, Mrs van der Heyden. How are you all?”

“OK,” Jacob answered. His answer wasn’t very friendly and he made no offer of hospitality, standing just under the awning on the small aft deck.

For something to say to ease the embarrassing silence Willy said, “We have just spent a week digging up an old World War Two aircraft wreck. It is on the Wewak now.”

“Aircraft wreck?” Jacob replied, his voice full of alarm. As he did so he exchanged a glance with his sister who also looked anxious. “What type? Where?”

“A Bristol ‘Beaufighter’, a twin-engine fighter bomber type. It was buried in the sand dunes a couple of hundred kilometers up the coast,” Willy explained.

Jacob looked visibly relieved. He nodded and looked as though he didn’t know what to say. His mother then asked, “Why did we come into this stinking, sweaty river?”

“To repair your rigging in calm water and because of the cyclone,” Willy answered.

“Cyclone?” Jacob queried, looking foolish as he did.

Willy exchanged a glance with Andrew who rolled his eyes and went back to helping Carmen and Graham untangle ropes.

“Cyclone?” Mrs van der Heyden repeated. “What’s that?”

Willy was flabbergasted. He gave her a sharp glance to see if she was making a joke but then saw she wasn’t. With an effort he hid his astonishment and replied, “A hurricane or typhoon. They are called Cyclones in the South Pacific.”

“But we are in the Coral Sea aren’t we?” Jacob queried.

Again Willy was astounded. He saw the surprise and disbelief on Andrew’s face change to wry contempt before being removed. Willy shook his head. “The Coral Sea is part of the South Pacific,” he explained.

Carmen joined them. “They are called cyclones in our part of the Indian Ocean too,” she added.

“It is a long way off,” Willy hastily added. “And only Category One.” He then related the mate’s explanation as to why this was a safe thing to do.

On hearing Willy’s comment that the vessels did not matter because they were insured Mrs van der Heyden said bitterly, “That’s alright for some, but our boat isn’t insured.”

On seeing the surprised look on Willy’s face Julia added, “We used all our money to buy this boat.”

Willy nodded and thought, ‘There must be a treasure for them to do something like that.’ He tried to think of something to say.

Suddenly Jacob stared past Willy, a disbelieving look on his face. He cried, “Saurian!”

Willy looked around, scanning the mangroves and river for signs of a crocodile. “Where?” he asked.

Jacob went very pale and looked agitated, then pointed down river. “That boat. It is the Saurian !”

Willy looked and saw a motor launch coming into view around the bend close to the sea. The hull of the launch was painted a dark grey and its upperworks dark green. Two heads could just be seen looking over the cabin.

Jacob now became very agitated and even grabbed Willy’s arm. “Look! There is ‘Gator’ Smith, and he’s got a gun.”

Now Willy saw that both the heads that were visible wore balaclavas but he could also see what might be the barrel of a rifle or shotgun poking up. He was tempted to ask how Jacob knew that the hooded man was ‘Gator’ but presumed Jacob could tell. Then he saw the launch turn directly towards them.

Now real fear showed on Jacob’s face and sounded in his voice. “They are coming here! They want the maps! We must get away!”

Willy saw that Jacob was grabbing at the large wallet on his belt. He looked at the launch, then at Andrew and Carmen, then back at the van der Heydens. There was no doubt that Jacob was now terrified.

Jacob almost gibbered with fear, then looked desperately around. “Oh quick! They killed Karl and now they will kill me! We must get away!”

A surge of fear overran Willy’s doubts. Noting that the boat was tied alongside on the side away from the approaching Saurian he reasoned that the yacht could provide cover most of the way back to the LCT. He looked around then quickly gave orders. “We will be safer on the Wewak. Quick Graham, get into the boat and start the engine. Andrew, untie the bow line and be ready to push us off. Carmen, get aboard and steady people and seat them. Mrs van der Heyden, Julia, follow Carmen aboard, quick!”

To Willy’s relief nobody argued. Both Graham and Andrew scrambled nimbly into the boat, followed by Carmen. Willy then grabbed Jacob’s arm as he went to jump in next. “Wait Jacob. Women and children first is the traditional way,” he said sarcastically, amazed at how cool he felt.

Mrs van der Heyden jumped into the boat, almost pitching over the side. Carmen grabbed her and forced her to sit. By then Julia had slithered down and sat next to her mother. Willy then let Jacob go. Jacob scrambled down so hastily he almost overturned the boat. Only the combined efforts of Carmen and Andrew prevented this and he was shoved unceremoniously onto another thwart. By then Willy was hanging over the side. As he lowered his feet onto the same thwart he took a last look over the top of the yacht’s deck.

He saw that the Saurian was only a hundred metres away and one of the masked men had moved up onto the foredeck. The man was holding what could only be a gun and Willy felt a thrill of fear. “Shove off! Get us back fast Graham. Try to keep the yacht between us and them,” Willy called.

Graham nodded and opened the throttle. Even as Willy lowered himself onto the thwart he felt the boat move. Andrew pushed them clear and Graham shoved the outboard controls hard to starboard. The boat surged around sharply to port, then lifted its nose as Graham straightened up.

By then Willy was in a fever of anxiety. He dimly heard a man yelling at them from the Saurian but could not make out the words over the roar of the motor. By this time he wished he had sat facing aft as he had to swivel his head around to look back. ‘Half way,’ he estimated. ‘Still no sign of the launch.’

Glancing forward Willy saw that Graham was turning them so that they would go around the stern of Wewak. He understood before Graham explained that such a manoeuvre would place the hull of the LCT between them and the launch while they climbed aboard. But it also meant they swung out into view of the launch for fifty metres.

And there it was! Willy saw the bow of the Saurian appear. He also saw the man on the foredeck pointing at them. Then the launch’s bow turn to port and it came out from behind the anchored yacht, a creaming white bow wave indicating it was now going much faster. The man began shouting at them, calling on them to stop.

Crack! Zipp!

Water flew up close alongside. Willy stared at it in disbelief. “They shot at us!” he cried. Graham shoved the tiller over and the boat slewed to port.

Crack! Tiiing!

Willy heard the bullet go past and then strike the steel side of the Wewak. ‘They wouldn’t dare!’ he thought in astonished disbelief. ‘There are adults there.’ To reinforce this belief he saw the engineer look out the door at the rear of the saloon.

Graham pulled the tiller across and the boat went surging around to starboard. A second later they shot behind the protection of Wewak’s steel hull. Willy saw Capt Kirk staring down at them, a surprised look on his face. Pointing aft Willy shouted up, “Pirates! Murderers! Get a gun!”

Graham eased the throttle and yelled, “Get aboard!”

But Jacob screamed no. “No! I am not safe there! They will kill me. I am a witness to Karl’s murder.”

“They wouldn’t dare surely,” Carmen suggested. Her face was strained and tight-lipped.

Glancing back Willy did a quick calculation. ‘We will never get aboard in time.’ He looked at Graham. “Graham, we won’t make it in time. Take us round the bow before they come into sight.”

Graham nodded and Carmen dragged Julia down as the boat surged forward. As they sped along close beside the rusty and weed-encrusted black hull Willy kept glancing back, hoping they would get out of sight before the launch appeared. And there it was! The Saurian slid into view seconds before they reached the bow.