Authors: Alicia Hope
Royce
gave a deep laugh
.
‘Fine, how about we swap?
You take the gear
with my name on it,
and I’ll take your
s
.’
She glanced at him with a curious frown.
‘You don’t mind?’
He shrugged and
gave a cheeky grin.
‘Why should I?
Like you said, it’s all the same.
A
nd
I’m
sure the fish won’t mind what colour I’m in.
’
H
is face grew serious again. ‘
But your pink
fins might be a bit small for me, so I’ll keep my whi
te ones if that’s OK with you?’
‘Fine.’
Verity found the cruise
to the dive site
calm
ing,
and
the rush of sea air in her face
,
refreshing.
While the
other divers
were busy donning wetsuits,
spitting into
their masks
to stop them fogging
underwater
, checking their gear and preparing
for the dive, she took a few minutes to move about the boat to take in the views from all sides. As she passed the do
orway to the bridge, the skipper
emerged
.
‘Well, hello lady diver. Enjoying the ride are we?’
‘Yes, very much.
L
ovely calm seas today, should mean good diving.’
He looked
down
at her from an impressive height
.
Only a
bit
shorter than Royce,
Veri
ty
acknowledged,
startling
herself
. When had she become so familiar
with
her operations manager
’s physique
?
The captain’s
thick, dark
hair was going grey, giving him a ‘salt and pepper’ look
,
a
nd he wore a
nautical cap
at a jaunty angle
.
He rested his hands
on the bow rail and squinted at her
through his cigarette’s smoke
.
‘So, what do you think of my boat?’
It was obvious
he expected to hear praise
, and Verity didn’
t disappoint him.
She gave a wide smile, saying,
‘She’s
certainly
a
lady
, and a gracious one at that.’
The captain’s
proud chortle
rattled in his chest and he gave a cough
.
Verity
went on
, ‘She
travels
very
smoothly.
By her size, I guess
your charters
normally
cater
for
larger groups
than we have here today?
’
He cleared his throat before answering,
‘Yes ma’am.
She’
s certified to carry thirty-three divers, but for the comfort of our
passengers,
we
set a
maximum
of
twenty. That way, everyone can enjoy the
ir on-board experience
in comfort
.’
‘Yes, I noticed
we were getting the ‘five star’ treatment.’
Verity
smiled
again
.
‘
So, do
you
own
the boat
, captain
?’
He stood upright and puffed out his chest. ‘I certainly do
.
H
ad her custom made
to my own specifications
.
She’s
f
ifty foot
long,
with two diesel engines
and
a
cruising speed of up to
twenty-eight
knots
. Our
on-board
generator supplies
all the power we need, and we have
state-of-the-
art electronics including radar, two VHF radios, three depth finders and a global positioning system.
And w
e
can fill scuba tanks
using our
compressor and cascade system
,
with four fill whips.
’
Verity gave a low whistle.
‘Impressive.’
S
purred
on by her interest, he
continued
proudly
,
‘I had her designed with two side exits
,
three feet from
the water for easy ocean entry, and fitted her
with a stainless steel
dive platform
at the stern,
which
can take
four divers at a time. There’s no queui
ng to enter the water on
my
boat.’
His chest
swelled
again
as he spoke.
‘
Well, we couldn’
t have chosen better for our trip today.’
‘Why thank you ma’am. I take it you’ve been on dive charters before?’
‘Yes, but
not many, and none
on a boat
that
could compare with the Indian Princess.’
‘Where did they operate from?’
‘
Fremantle
,
and the east coast.’
T
he captain smiled knowingly and remarked, ‘Of course they have the barrier reef over east, which is marvellous, but give me the WA limestone reefs and wrecks any day.’
‘So you’re a diver as well?’
‘D
ive master
,
actually.’
Verity smiled and nodded.
It was reassuring knowing
a dive master
was
on board, in case of emergencies.
The captain was gaz
ing at the ocean.
‘Have you ever dived on the wrecks near Hamelin Bay, down south of here?’
‘No,
I haven’t had the pleasure.’
‘Well, take my advice. Go there the first opportunity you get, because that area has some of the best dives in the world, and a bu
nch of interesting wrecks; some
only
swimming distance from the shore.’
‘S
ounds great.’
‘
Yeah,
that it
is
.
There’s
a wreck trail
there
,
part of the
Maritime Museum
’s
heritage t
rails network.’
She
watched
as he
r
eached into a pocket and brought
out a battered tobacco tin. He ground the butt of his
cigarette
into it, and then pulled out a packet of tobacco and began rolling another
.
After
lighting it and
ta
king a deep drag
, he said
, ‘
I love that place, despite what it’s done to some fine seafarin’ men ... and women,’ he added hastily, glancing her way.
‘Is there much known about the wrecks?
’
His eyes cri
nkled with pleasure at her genuine interest.
‘
Yeah
, there is
. W
ould you like to hear about them?’
‘Sure, I’m not going anywhere.’
‘You’ll regret it,
’ a
deckhand sniggered at her on the
way past, earning himself a playful punch in the arm from his skipper.
‘
Don’t worry a
bout him
, he’s just,
’ and
t
he
captain
raised his voice so the chuckling decky would hear, ‘an uneducated young pup who doesn’t know ’is arse
from ’is elbow. Now, where were
we
before we were
so rudely interrupted? Oh yes,
Hamelin Bay
.
’ His voice took on a narrative quality.
‘
It was a
busy port for sailing ships and steam
ers,
and
provided
safe
anchorage
in summer
. B
ut winter
’s
fierce gales
claimed many a ship
.
There’s
a
n anchor from one of the wrecks,
the
Lovspring,
resting
in the bay’s parking area.
She was a victim of
the great storm of July, nineteen hundred, along
with three other ships
.
Only
one storm
, but it
sent
so many to a
watery grave
.
’
Verity
gave a slight shiver and s
ettled herself more comfortably against the railing.
‘You can see two
wrecks, t
he
Chaudiere
and the
Agincourt,
from the shore
—what’s left of ’em
.
Them and their timber cargo, now
reduced to dark outlines
rotting away
where they fell.’
The captain
paused
to take another drag on his cigarette
before turning
back to
Verity
.
‘
They’re not all sad stories, though.
When
the iron steamer,
Georgette
ran aground north of the bay, i
t’s said
an aboriginal stockman
by name of Sam Isaacs, and local girl
Grace Bussell,
saw the wreck and
rescued a number of
survivors.
They were among the lucky ones.
’
The captain’s eyes
returned to stud
ying the watery horizon
with
a far-away look
in them
, but after a moment he turned towards Verity again and said a little sheepishly,
‘It’s probably not good talking about ship wrecks while we’re
on the water
!
But
I can assure you the Indian Princess will keep us safe.’
Verity grinned and nodded,
and he went on, ‘
I used to take diving to
urs around the bay
. Its
maritime history
intrigues
me
,
and
it seems I’ve turned into
an ambassador
for the area
.
’ He chuckled and took another drag on his cigarette
, squinting at her through the smoke
.
‘
Hope I haven’t bored you?
’
‘
Not at all. It’s been
fascinating
, and I’m always happy to hear of dive spots
that I can add to my
‘to be
explored
’ list
.’
‘Well,
it’s not
only
wrecks
the bay
offers. I
t also has swim-throughs and caves. One cave is so large they call it
“
the ballroom
”
. It’s a real diver’s Mecca.’
Verity beamed at him
.
‘Thanks Skip
per
,
you’ve certainly inspired me to go there the first opportunity I get.’
A
nother
crew member came up
to speak
with
the captain, and when
they’d finished,
he
turned to Verity again,
saying, ‘This is Andy, one of the
more well-mannered of my
motley
crew.
Andy’
s a certified diver. He’ll
be joining yo
ur group on the dive tod
ay, o
therwise you’d be
one buddy short.’