Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
“Don't worry, I'm not going to rape you Jonathan, not now anyway,” he grinned at his
joke. I smelled the cigarettes and booze on his breath, his acne scarred face leering inches
from mine. I pulled away from him. “I have a proposition for you, Jonathan; you are a very
good-looking lad; you have one of the sexiest bodies I have ever seen and a very cute face,
and I would like you to join me on-board as my cabin boy. You could have anything you
wished for. I would pay you a salary; you could travel anywhere in the world and mingle
with the best crowd of people.”
“I don't know what you are proposing. You mean I will be your cabin boy as in sleeping
with you?” I said shocked.
Harry laughed out loud, “Yes! God, you are so cute!” He put his arm around me now and
put his rough face against mine, and I stood up suddenly, “I don't think so, Harry. I'm not
that way; I'm really sorry if you thought I was.” He reached across to my arm and tried to
pull me down next to him again.
Just then Gavin appeared over the top of the steps. He came smartly over to us and said
angrily, “Come on Jon, let's go; these are not our people!” Harry sat and stared at him,
stunned. I was drunk, exhausted, and my head was spinning. I burst into tears! I could not
believe it; this was the second time at sea I had cried. The first was in relief when we had
been rescued by the Sea Rescue Institute in South Africa. Now this! I was very embarrassed
and turned away from them both. I allowed myself to be led away by Gavin. I was touched
by the sympathetic reaction of the other crew members. Tony cast an angry and insinuating
look at Harry who had followed silently down to the main deck. They had obviously seen
their skipper in action before. I sniffed good night, citing exhaustion and overindulgence
for my tearful outburst. We were run back to Déjà vu. What a day! What a night! How em-
barrassing! How was I going to face these people in the morning?
I was roused from a deep slumber by the sound of dogs barking. It was an unusual sound,
having spent eleven days at sea, and I was instantly awake. There were two dogs barking
on shore when I peered out of the hatch. The morning was warm but overcast with a fine
grey cloud cover reflecting the green of the lagoon. I looked back at the dogs; they had
spotted our boat, and we were keen to meet them. I waved at the solitary soul sitting in
the cockpit of the old wooden boat; he returned my wave. I could tell he was a man in his
fifties with glasses and a mop of unruly black and grey hair. I looked around towards Nep-
tune's Chariot and was relieved not to see anyone about. I cringed at the memory of the
night before. I had a blind hangover and was tired this morning. I wanted a hot shower and
a decent breakfast. The shower idea was just a fantasy, but I could certainly do something
about breakfast.
