Date: Sun, 27 Jan 2013 23:15:04 +0000
From: robert goater <winchesterbornbred@hotmail.co.uk>
Subject: M\V Jean Peterson. Part 8

"I name this Ship..........."

Mayday Mayday Mayday!
____________________________________________________________________________

"You really want that Scott? Marry me I mean?"
"Never been more sure of anything in my life, but only if that's what you
want."
"Ask me next year, but you already know the answer!"

Scott showered first, but it did not take long, he wanted to get to bed
with Andrew as soon as possible. Half hour later they were cuddled up
together arms and legs wrapped round and loving the small bed.
"Christ what a day. You could not write a story about all that's
happened."
"I'm still writing it Andrew. I don't suppose many are reading it, but
i'm having a bit of fun with it."
"Don't you think people will read it then?"
"No idea, but it's something I like doing and this is about my fifth
story. I just write and if anyone reads it and likes it, that's a bonus,
by the way you have a boner. What's that all about?"
"You, you daft shit and I would not mind betting there have been a few
more guys with boners thinking of you. Did you see all the looks you were
getting?"
"Yes and a few phone numbers. I may have to extend my time here." It
wasn't really a fight, they were a bit restricted due to space and family
not so far away. Still they managed a small one which Scott "allowed"
Andrew to claim victory.
It had been a very long day and they were very tired and now that they
had settled back into being adults again they just cuddled and kissed one
another to sleep. A perfect end to a perfect day.

When they woke they were in their usual position with Andrew on his left
side and Scott behind him, both at full extension. Andrew shot out of bed
and went to shower and then climbed back in facing the same way. He did
not have to say a thing. Scott ran his hands all over the front of Andrew
taking sometime stroking his massive erection. Both men moved so that
Scott could get to Andrew's entrance and there he remained just applying
a slight pressure to start with and then adding more and more until
Andrew's door opened and Scott went in. Scott stroked just with the head
which bought him even more pleasure. He moved further into Andrew which
brought a contented sigh from him. Further and further he went until
finally his entire 7 inches was fully embedded into Andrew and began a
slow withdraw and an equally slow push back in. It was going to take a
long time which meant even more to enjoy and become even more close as a
couple if that was indeed possible. As Scott made love to him so he
stroked Andrew in time with his own movements and together they were
climbing the mountain together so they would reach the top at the same
time. On and on they went each absorbed in what was happening and knowing
it was going to get even better as Scott brought them even nearer the the
final goal. Andrew put his hand behind Scott's head and moved so their
mouths could meet. At last Andrew spoke.
"It wont be long now Scott, i'm not far away. Here it........" Scott felt
Andrew's cock swell in his hand and at the same time Andrew experienced
Scott's own swelling in his tunnel and together they tensed their bodies
as their cocks ejected volumes of cum, time and time again. As each of
them came so their bodies recoiled as never before. It took an age for
them to returned to some semblance of normality. Both the new graduate
and the new captain were beside themselves with happiness and
contentment.
Finally Andrew managed to turn and smiled at the man he loved so much.
Still nothing much was said as they once again showed that love via their
kissing. At long last Scott told Andrew he loved him which came as no
surprise. He waited for the response, but non came. He then knew Andrew
was winding himself up to do or say something stupid which would lead to
a fight.
Fuck it, get in first. Scott suddenly forced himself on top of Andrew,
got his fingers into his pitts and tickled the crap out of him. Andrew
was all over the place trying to get free, but Scott hung on, not that he
had a choice, let go and he was in deep trouble. They fought all over the
room until mom knocked on the door and threatened to come in unless they
stopped being kids. They were back in bed giggling with the covers drawn
up to their chins in case she carried out her threat. After a lot more
kissing interspersed with threats of murder from Andrew they got up and
went down for breakfast.

"Oh good morning children. Remind me to get the toys out of the loft
space. It maybe a bit quieter around here." Walter had a huge smile and
so did everyone else.
"Good morning everyone, sorry about that, Andrew had a fit and it took me
ages to get him out of it." Scott looked around and sat down quietly and
said no more. Andrew did the same. Everyone was looking at the pair of
them and the message was clear. "Yeah right!"

 All the talk was about the ceremony in Norway. They wanted to know all
the details which Scott could not give them exactly, but told them all he
could.
"You will be contacted by one of my fathers people and she will arrange
everything and will be with you throughout the whole trip. On the day you
wont see Andrew or me as we will be at the dock waiting for the ceremony
to start. The whole crew will be there. You will come with my Dad and
when you arrive the ceremony will start. After you have done the naming
Janice, you pull a lever and a bottle of champagne will smash on the bow
and the ship will become officially the Jean Peterson. I then make a
speech and it's all done. We will then go on board and get drunk!"
"Wow, can't wait fot that bit." David laughed.
"Nor me." Shawn said and got a cuff from his dad.

It was a wonderful week and when it came for Scott and Andrew to go there
was a lot of fighting to keep the eyes dry. Scott had been welcomed and
he went knowing he had another family and all thanks to two guys he never
met who had become ill which allowed him to meet the man who became the
center of his life. Strange how things happen. They sat in first class
and were pampered all the way back to England. Thomas met them and an
hour later they were back with William. William was over joyed, he had
his two boys back.
Everything that could be done had been and a week later Scott and Andrew
flew to Norway and got to their hotel. Just three days to go and they
would have a ship to sail!
It was early enough for them to go and look over the Jean. Scott had
already seen the ship all but complete, but this was the first time to
see it like this. He was amazed at the transformation and just stood in
wonder. "God Scott she is beautiful! I never thought I would ever say
that about a ship!" The Jean Peterson was indeed a sight for sour eyes.
She sat on the water with her new livery and to all appearances looked
brand new. Her hull was painted dark blue with a broad red band going
right round the hull. The superstructure was white. All very traditional
and that's how Scott wanted it. However, at the midship part of the red
band was the word RESCUE in large yellow letters. A large red cross
was painted on the superstructure. It's role was easy to see. He took
Andrew on a tour and for the first time Andrew saw the engines and all
the other equipment he would be helping to maintain. On to the generator
room, stores, workshop, water purification machine and much more. Scott
pulled up a hatch.
"See that? Poo tank."
He took him to the boat deck at the stern and showed him the RIB and the
life boat both of which would be launched from the stern by raising a
huge door and the boats running out on rails, all within two minutes. On
up to the bridge with all the systems waiting to be put into action.
Everything that was there you would find in any modern ship, from depth
gauges, to radars, GPS, communications systems, computer systems, ships
controls and a whole bank of main engine gauges and support engines,
pressure gauges, fuel gauges, even a gauge for the poo tank. Instruments
monitoring every part of the ship including video tracking, fire alert,
navigation instruments as well as charts. The ship could be run on lock
down from here without having to leave the bridge if the situation
demanded. They went to the upper deck above the bridge and looked at the
water cannons and all the other equipment up there.
"I cant wait to fire off these two Andrew!"
One place Andrew would be even more interested in was directly below the
bridge, their cabin. It was the biggest on the ship. It served as their
living space and Scott's office. It was fitted out to a very high
standard and they knew they would be more than comfortable there. There
was much more to see, but Scott wanted him to look at two more areas. The
first was the medical center which in fact was a mini hospital and the
equipment level was some thing to be envied. There were 6 fixed beds and
10 portable ones that could be used in an emergency. The second was the
biggest area on the ship and that was the saloon that was the crews
social centre and dining room. Off from there was the well equipped
galley, again a place to be envied.
"I love it Scott, what a ship!" You may not be saying that in a force 8
gale Scott thought to himself!

The crew arrived at midday at the hotel. They were in great spirits and
by the reports that Scott had got back, after a month together they were
molding into a good team. So far so good. He had met them all during
training sessions and took part in some of it himself. It did seem all
was well. He would find out soon enough. He had a programme waiting for
them which would keep them busy, but after putting their gear in their
rooms it was time for a meal and then off to the Jean. There was a buzz
and all anxious to board her for the very first time. They had become
familiar with her during their training, but only through a model, plans,
photos and video. Now it was for real and they would have four hours
to explore her. They had been at sea on one of his fathers ships which
had given them a good sence of what it was like to sail as a team. Again
good reports came back to him.

At last the day Scott and his father had been waiting for had arrived.
Scott and the crew stood in uniform, waiting for Andrew's family and
William and all the people who had been involved on the project.  As soon
as the guests arrived Andrew went off to greet his family and Scott to
his father.
"My word they are a lovely bunch Scott, great fun, but watch those boys,
both of them want to stow away!" Janice looked amazing with a great
outfit including a new hat. A priest came to Scott shook hands and when
everyone was quiet blessed the ship. Janice was handed a cable with a
button on the end and said in a loud voice,
"I NAME THIS SHIP JEAN PETERSON, MAY GOD BLESS HER AND ALL WHO SAIL IN
HER". She pushed the button which released the bottle, it dropped and
smashed on the bow. The first thing said as it broke was from David,
"What a waste!" Everyone was very happy. Scott and William looked at one
another and just smiled.
Scott stepped forward and faced the small gathering and thanked Janice
for naming the ship. "Over a year ago my father and I lost a wife and
mother and this ship has been converted to save lives, not take them. She
is a memorial to Jean Peterson and Dad and I know she is very happy that
her ship will very soon be at sea doing the work she has been built to
do." He thanked everyone for all their work and then invited the crew to
take the guests on board.
After a very happy few hours it was time for everyone to go. David and
Shawn were really impressed with the ship and said they would sign on any
time. After hugs, handshakes and goodbyes, the ship was at last Scott's
and his crew. There was a special goodbye from William. "God bless Scott.
The worry starts for me now. Stay safe son."
They sat around in the saloon chatting and going through the next 5 days
when the Jean would go to sea for the first time and carry out sea
trials. On board would be engineers and experts from all over the world
to test the equipment that they had fitted on the ship. The entire ship
would be tested to the limit and it was going to be great fun doing it.
Scott knew he would be looked at by the crew as this was obviously his
first time in command of her and them.

At first light the engines were fired up and an hour later Scott ordered
the ropes be taken in and captained the ship out to sea. The trials had
begun. They all worked well as a crew as each member worked with the
engineers in their particular departments. It was all very intense, but
when it came to running the engines at full power it was amazing as the
ship reached 23 knots within a very short time. Scott had her thrown
about all over the place which everyone enjoyed, but the best was when he
alerted all on board that they were going full astern. With the engines
still at full power, he pulled a lever that would direct the propeller
pods to move outboard still at full revolutions until they were directly
pointing the opposite way. The reaction was amazing as the ship rapidly
came to a stop. The deceleration was incredible and Scott knew this was
going to be a great asset in the event of attack. Day after day they went
out and carried out more tests. The third day Scott took the Jean only as
far as the middle of the harbour and dropped anchor. They spent the
entire day exercising "abandon ship" routine including having a race as
to who could get into survival suits the quickest. Marcell won every time
as he had during the training on his Dad's ship. They decided that he
would definitly loose at least once by duck taping the legs of his suit.
It was great fun and gave them all time to relax a little. By the time
they had tied up they were well drilled in every aspect of safty
proceedures. The ship could at least sail knowing they could address any
emergency. They would continue these drills many more times during
the trip to Southampton.
And so it went on and by the time the last day of trials were completed,
they knew the ship was ready for it's missions and indeed so were the
crew.

The ship was ready, all the test equipment had been taken away and all
the experts had gone, they were on their own at last. This would be their
first night on board and after taking on supplies to get them home, the
chefs served up the evening meal and after a few drinks one by one, or
two by two, went to their cabins.
Scott's thoughts about the crew were very positive. They all seemed to be
getting along just fine. It was good that there was a good attitude
towards their responcibilities and commitment about the Jean's reason to
exist. No one seemed to be just having a bit of fun and getting paid for
it, but one thing that Scott felt good about was, if any one of them were
not up to the job, there were at least five who were ready to take over
every post. There had been a huge response from the advert which took him
and his father by surprise and the crew who were now with him knew it.
 It was up to them to prove themselves as much, if not more, than Scott
had to prove himself to them. Still, he knew that one reason why they
would gel and work well together was because of their Captain and his
standard of professionalism. At just 22 Scott had a lot on his shoulders
and it would be a while before he could relax and know he had them fully
on his side.

 As soon as their door closed Scott took Andrew in his arms and kissed
him. They went to the couch and cuddled up.
"Welcome home, are you ok?" Scott asked.
"Very happy, i'm a bit nervous about going to sea tomorrow though. We
have been so busy for the last few days there has been no time to think
about being sick. Just hope I will be ok. I bet every body eles will be."
"You will be fine, try not to think about it, but if you are just
remember Admiral Nelson was sea sick every time he went to sea. If you
ask me who Nelson was I will throw up all over you!" Scott took his mind
off their worries and stripped them both off and lead the way to the
shower and then afterwards they made love for the first time in their new
bed, sorry, bunk!

Scott had set his alarm for 6am, but was awake long before it. They were
still cuddled up with Scott behind Andrew and his arms around him.
Andrew's steady breathing told him he was still fast asleep. He laid
there and thought of the enormous responcibility he now had. All of a
sudden there was nobody above him to tell him what to do, when to do it
or how. Although he had Andrew and all the crew around him, he felt very
much alone at this time. He was the top man now and all eyes would be
looking at him. He could no longer look at someone eles for answers. As
captain it was up to him to give them the answers. No pressure then!
He quietly got out of the bunk and took a shower, then got into his day
uniform. Dark blue trousers and a lighter blue open necked shirt, on the
left breast above the pocket was the company logo, two crossed anchors
with his rank and name below. On his shoulder straps were the three and a
half gold rings. He put his cap on with the gold braid on the peek. He
looked at himself and thought, "Well I look the part, lets see if I can
BE the part."
It was only 5am and everyone would be still in their cabins. He toured
his ship from top to bottom and finally got back to the bridge, the very
centre of the whole ship. He sat in his chair and stared out into the
still, black night. The only sound came from the generator three decks
below, he could only just hear it, but found comfort in the vibrations
that came from below. He was in deep thought and did not hear Andrew come
onto the bridge until he felt an arm around his shoulders. He turned and
looked into Andrew's eyes. In them he saw the answers and smiled at the
man he loved so much. Andrew kissed him and in that kiss he was telling
Scott he knew how he must be feeling. Without a word Andrew took Scott
back to the cabin, stripped him off and took him back to their bunk and
wrapped his arms around him. After some time like this Andrew kissed
Scott's ear and whispered. "So, who was this Nelson guy then?"
Scott burst out laughing and as he did Andrew joined him. It took an age
for them to stop. "Oh God I love you so much Andrew!"
 In that one thoughtful act Andrew gave Scott all the confidence he
needed and because of it he was to become an even better Captain of the
Jean Peterson and all because of one mans love to another.

Scott gave the order to cast off and the Jean Peterson drew away from the
dock and headed to the open North Sea. As they cleared the harbour Scott
gave out three blasts on the horn to say "thankyou and goodbye." He and
Freddy had plotted the course back to the UK and settled down to the two
week voyage that would get them to Southampton. Scott had told them he
wanted to sail at 10 knots which would give the crew more time to train
and get even more familiar with the ship. All he wanted from the crew was
for them to be prepared to confront any possible attack on his fathers
ships or indeed any other ship that the Jean Peterson would be close
enough to protect, but at the same time help anyone at sea who maybe in
trouble. He sat on on the bridge and knew he had to appoint a second in
command, a first officer. He was certain he knew who it would be, Paul
Smith he was sure would be his man. He would know by the time the Jean
got to Southampton.
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY!

On the second night out Scott and Andrew were in their bunk. Scott could
not sleep, this was the first time he was off watch at night leaving the
ship to another crew member. The only thing that he was comfortable about
was Paul was on watch and he knew he would be fine and the ship safe.
Paul was a very experienced sailor and had served in the Royal Navy for
16 years, 6 of them with the SBS.
At last Scott fell asleep with Andrew tucked into his arms.

Scott's phone rang. It was 3am.
"Sorry to wake you skip, but there is a Mayday call out and we are not
far from it."
Scott was on the bridge in record time.
"Ok what's up?" Paul gave him all the details he had.
"We have picked up a Mayday call from an Icelandic trawler saying that
their engine has failed in rough seas and they have taken a big one and
are sinking. The Captain has ordered abandon ship, but they could be in
survival suits only as it seems it was not possible to get the life rafts
off in time. The signal's gone off so I assume it's sunk. As far as I can
tell the trawler was 20 miles north west of us and by the ASI we are the
closest to the signal. Here is their last position and if we can get to
full speed it's still going to take us an hour to get to the area."
"Ok Paul thanks, go to full speed and steer towards the position. I will
contact the Icelandic coast guard. By the look of it they are well out of
helicopter range, it could be we are their only hope.
Scott got through to them and were told that they were indeed the
closest, but two other trawlers were on their way, but much further away.
"You guys should be in the area long before anyone eles, good luck
captain."
Andrew came on the bridge and Scott told him what was going on. Soon
after that the whole crew came up. They had been woken up due to the
ships increase in speed and the motion of the ship as it plowed into the
waves. Scott told them all he knew.
"It will only take an hour before we get to their last position.  Marcell
go out when I say and get the Bell ready in case you can take off, but
it's shit out there, so be very careful, I don't want to be searching for
you as well. IF you can take off go forward of us 200 yards and fly at
100 feet, maybe another 50 if you can see better. Fly 30 degrees port and
starboard. You and all of us will be looking for flashing becons on their
survival suits. Just wait for me ok?"
"Ok skip."
"Paul you are the only one who can operate the winch, so that's where you
will be, but I need someone to go over the side."
"Me." Scott looked at Andrew and knew he could not say no, even though he
wanted too.
"Ok, you two need to work out what rescue gear to use and get into
survival gear." There were two pieces of rescue equipment which would be
attached to the winch. Two strops, one of which would be around the
rescuer and one to go around the survivor and a rescue basket which would
be put over the side for two survivors to climb in, assuming they could.
Paul and Andrew picked the strop as they were sure these guys could well
be in no state to get into the basket.
"Ok skip." Paul said. Scott wondered were this "skip" thing came from,
but no time to ask.
"Freddy you will take the helm when we get to the area."
"Ok skip."
"Reg and Paula it's obvious what you two will be doing, I just hope you
have people to tend too."
"Thats fine skip, Paula and I will go now to the sick bay and get ready."
They left the bridge.
"Gerry you will be on camera of course." There were several fixed cameras
around the ship, but the one Gerry would be operating was in a clear dome
raised up on the fly bridge and would give an all round cover of the
ship. It was a brilliant camera and would prove more than useful over the
coming months.
"Ok skip."
"Janet I want you to help launch the RIB. Neil and George man it, but
there is no way you can go if the weather stays like this."
"Fine skip." Jan spoke for them all.
"That leaves Colin and you Gerry. When we are in the area you guys go to
the fly bridge with night glasses and lookout. If we can't use the RIB
you guys go to the fly as well."
"Right thats it for about about an hour I will call you to stations then
or maybe later if I can't keep this speed up. I just hope the weather
will be kind to us and of course the trawlermen. So, if your not involved
just now stand down and wait in the saloon. Colin and George went to the
galley and knocked up something to eat for the crew and coffee. There was
nothing to do now except wait and hope.

The coast guard informed them that there were 6 crew and search planes
had taken off from Iceland and Norway and would be in the search area
within a half hour. They were asked to change to channel 16 on their
radio so everyone could talk to each other and coordinate the search.

The luck they were hoping for did not appear as the sea worsened and with
10 to 15 meter swells Scott had no choice but to reduce speed. The search
aircraft had no chance in finding anything in this weather they could not
even see the water it was so bad, but they remained on station in the
hope it would clear. It was looking bad and Scott was very doubtful that
this would have a happy ending.

"Ok, everyone in survival gear and headsets. Only talk if you have
anything to report. We cannot use the RIB or the Bell, so everyone come
to the bridge." As soon as they were there Scott sent everyone who was
free to the fly and had both searchlights switched on and had them sweep
all round the ship. Paul and Andrew stayed at the stern by the winch. It
all seemed so useless. After another half hour Scott estimated they were
now in the search area proper and began a zig zag course at just 5 knots.
The Jean was being thrown all over the place and everyone was hanging on
for dear life. Scott called Paul and Andrew in, he was worried for their
safety.
During the next hour he took the Jean at a distance that he guessed would
be outside the search area and even though it was pure luck as soon as he
told Freddy to come round 180 degrees there was a shout from the fly, it
was Janet. "CONTACT! 9 O'clock!" She had seen a flashing light on the
survivors suit. The searchlights picked it up and without being told
Freddy steered towards it and got to windward of the survivor. Paul and
Andrew had flown back to the winch and Andrew was strapped into a rescue
strop waiting for Paul to put him over the side. This was not going to be
easy. The sea was running high and Paul would have to use all the skill
he had to put Andrew near enough to the crewman for him to get the strop
around him. He guided Andrew as close as he could and when he was just
two foot away ran the cable out and Andrew literally fell the rest of the
way. Andrew after a huge struggle managed to get the strop around the man
and with a wave Paul lifted them both up and swung them onto the deck.
Reg, Paula and Andrew carried the survivor through the hatchway and into
the medical room. He was alive.
The whole mood of the crew shot up and even more so when Paula rang the
bridge and told them the guy was in fairly good shape. The lookouts
became even more focused, but added to that they had a stroke of luck
when the storm moderated a little, but still the time went by without a
further sighting. Scott ordered a wider zig zag and prayed the storm
would drop even more and he could get the Bell up. That luck came and
although it would still be risky he told Marcell to go and start up. "If
we loose the Bell it won't matter, but we need to try. Just take off
Marcell and good luck."

Marcell was brilliant and took off and managed to hang on. Normaly in
good flying condtions he would take off and once clear of the ship throw
a switch which would transfer flight control to the on board computer and
then he would go to the bridge and take over from there, but he knew the
computer could not hold it in this weather and so he had to stay on the
flight deck and manage the flight on the small screen on his control
panel. He jammed himself against the helicopter bunker to support
himself.
He got to 100 feet and in front of the Jean 300 yards. With the Bell up
Scott had trebled his search area and it was not long before Marcell
called out "CONTACT!" I'm over them!"
"Them? How many?" Freddy steered towards the Bell's navigation lights.
"Four skip. I think they are roped together!" During the next three
quaters of an hour they managed to lift all four out even though it was a
struggle, but the luck held, but also with a lot of skill and
determination by Paul and Andrew. They now had five survivors and all
still alive. Now just one left who turned out to be the captain who was
the last to abandon ship.

Reg phoned Scott and informed him that the four survivors were all
suffering with exposure, but he was confident they would pull through.
The first guy they had found was able to tell him the names of those who
had been rescued and that was transmitted to the Icelandic coast guard.
Scott tried to work out where the captain would be by following the two
positions of the ones they had already found and knowing he would be back
towards the original position when they had abandoned ship. Again a pure
guess, but he had Freddy turn the ship and followed the line towards were
he hoped the captain would have drifted. Marcell remained in front of the
ship, but was becoming worried about fuel. "Skip, i'm running low and
will have to come in soon."
"Ok Marcell, come in, you have done a great job." It took all his skill
and although it was a hard landing he made it and managed to secure the
Bell before refueling. When he came back on the bridge Scott went to him
and gave him a long strong hug and kissed his cheek. "Thankyou Marcell,
thankyou so much." Marcell threw his arms around his captain and was
never happier or more proud.

There was one more huge bit of luck when the storm abated and they found
themselves in calmer water. Visability was now much better and then the
shout they were all waiting for. "CONTACT! Over there!"
"By the clock George."
"Oh yeah, sorry 2 o'clock." And there he was just 200 yards away. Once
again Freddy took them to windward of him and for the last time Paul
winched Andrew over and placed him as near as possible to the captain.
Everyone was looking and saw Andrew struggling to get the strop over the
unconsious captains head and arms, but after quite a fight he managed it
and waved to Paul. Up they came and all breathed a sigh of relief when
they were put onto the deck. He was taken into the medical room and Scott
rushed down to be with them. He stood back as Reg and Paula worked on
him. Scott had no idea about medical matters but thought it did not look
good, he was obviously in a very bad way. He went into the ward and
looked at the other crew and at least they looked a lot better than their
captain. He went back to the bridge and contacted Iceland to inform them
of the captains rescue. "But he is in a bad way and only the Doc will be
able to tell you how things are with him later. We will let you know as
soon as we do."
"Thankyou Jean Peterson for all that you have done. Like you we will all
pray for the captain." Reg and Paula worked on the captain bringing about
all their conciderable experience, at the very least he was getting the
best treatment available.

The entire crew were on a massive high. What they had just done was a
major achievment, but it was with mixed feelings as the captain was so
badly injured. All the other crew, although still in recovery, would make
it. All thoughts were now with the captain and of course the two that
could keep him alive.

When Paul and Andrew came back to the bridge Scott threw his arms round
both of them and could not thank them enough. He took Andrew to their
cabin and made him go for a shower and waited for him to come back out.
Scott grabbed him and took him in his arms. "God I am SO proud of you,
you did such a great job Andrew and did it with no thought to your own
safety. You are my hero and everyone eles's." Andrew just smiled back at
Scott and said nothing, but indeed he was proud and had every right to be
so. "Email your family Andrew, this could be on the news channels and
they will know it's us that have been involved and they will worry about
you." Andrew did as he was told and afterwards went back to the bridge
and waited for Reg and Paula to give them some news. They had to wait for
sometime though.

While they waited Scott had been talking to Iceland coast guard and had
worked out when they could meet up with their helicopter. Scott could not
give them any news about the captain and they would have to wait for Reg
to talk to them. The helicopter could be over them in two hours and would
take the captain on board if he could be moved, but would wait to talk to
Reg.

An hour later Reg came on to the bridge. "Right, we have a very sick
man skip and we need to get him to hospital as soon as we can. We have
stabalized him, but he needs intensive care. He did not have a helmet on
and must have hit something on the way down. He has a very serious head
injury and will need surgery. As for the others, we are not too
concerned, all they need is bed rest and the treatment we can offer. They
don't need to be hospitalised as they are already in one. I need to talk
to Iceland." Reg contacted them and spoke at great length to a doctor who
agreed that as soon as they could they would get to the Jean to transfer
the patient. It was now estimated that the helicopter would be with them
in one hour and by then it would be light and transfer that much easier.

The transfer went well and as they flew away the whole crew's best wishes
went with the captain. Reg and Paula had done a fantastic job and it was
a few weeks later it was acknowledged that their combined efforts had
saved his life.
It was agreed that the Jean would take the survivors all the way back to
Akureyri where they all came from. It would take just under two days and
by the time they arrived all of the survivors were up and about drinking
the ship dry! They made many friends during that time, but what made it
even better was when they were informed that although still very sick the
captain was stable and had made modest improvement.
They had to sail past Dalvik where Scott and Andrew had first met. As
they passed they looked through binoculars at the hotel, each in his own
thoughts.

They arrived to a huge reception, just about the whole town was out to
greet them. Scott had the main water cannons fired and the sight was
really impressive and all recorded by the TV crews. He took the Jean to
the mooring and the first to come on board were the trawlermen's
families. There was a great deal of hand shaking and hugs. The guys
finally left to be with the ones who they thought they would never see
again. "Do you know Andrew if my mother had not died, these guys most
probably would have?"

There were dozens of interviews and they were flashed around the world
with the film of the rescue. Millions watched it on news channels.

 They had become famous for a short while and there was a lot of
celebrating to be done!

____________________________________________________________________________

winchesterbornbred@hotmail.co.uk

Bobby