Slave Of Destiny (12 page)

It was a long way
from Bali to here; the Karimunjawa Islands. It really ended up being two nights
and two days trip from Bawean Island and with lots of salt water spray and fresh
rain water falling on the
Mabuhay.
The decks are usually dry, but on
this trip the schooner kept getting rogue waves that splashed over its decks,
dumping saltwater from time to time. Then early this morning the heaven’s
opened up and they were deluged with tropical monsoon rain.
The rain continued all day, so Michael guessed
they were in the world of sun and rain and the crew had to be prepared for the
rain constantly.
The schooner was only three
degrees south of the equator and the crew could surely feel that they’re close.
The other issue is the heat and everyone felt a noticeable difference in
temperature. It has been hot all along, but it is now in the nineties with a
rising humidity level. Just moving from one spot to another here caused a
severe outbreak of perspiration, but on the afternoon the
Mabuhay
arrived,
the crew began with a series of necessary repairs.

* * *

Michael tipped the
glass of rum up to get the last few drops of the fiery amber liquid, which was
his answer to conjuring up some Dutch courage. Today seems as if it has been
tailor made for oppressive boredom. A thick veil of cloud had filtered the
summers sun's rays just enough to take some of the heat out of the air, but blanketed
the humidity around them. Here he is with the most beautiful woman in the
world, alcohol in his blood stream, an almost perfect night and they’re
overlooking the ocean in one of the prettiest places in the world. Michael
slowly traced a path from Sally’s face, down the soft swell of her breasts and
to her bare legs which were folded at the knees and slightly leaning against
his. Her dress was bunched up, not revealing too much but definitely making his
eyes wander down there. He turned to his right and faced her, suddenly
overwhelmed by a humongous feeling of longing for her. Michael draped his left
arm around her back and snuggled up to her, nuzzling the side of her neck yet
not really kissing.

Michael woke up
some time later, probably about two o’clock in the morning, still clinging to
Sally in the same embrace. His arm was tingling with pins and needles from being
in an unusual position, so he moved slightly to try and circulate the blood.
Sally’s eyes opened slowly and she looked at him with a familiar smile. She was
beautiful. They hugged each other again and he was pleasantly surprised to find
she didn’t pull away from him. There wasn’t anything sexual with this entire
evening, but it was a step in the right direction with their relationship. The
two of them knew they should go to their bunks, but they were clinging to the
fading remnants of a perfect evening.

“We’re sailing in
the morning” she whispered; a statement, nothing more, nothing less.

* * *

The
Mabuhay
left for Sumatra when the sun was shining brightly in a clear blue sky. It was
a big evening for Sally and him last night, but Michael felt fully refreshed
despite ending up in his bunk during the early hours of the morning. The sea
was as smooth as a mill pond and it was a lovely day. He would have liked a bit
more wind, but the
Mabuhay
had a strong current with it and Michael
wouldn’t let anything spoil it. The main sails hung limply, filling
occasionally by a blurred shadow of a wind across the blue mirrored water. The
schooner drifted on slowly, but suddenly there was a rustle and Michael felt a
constant breath of wind on his sweaty face. As the morning progressed the wind
increased to a point when it became a decent breeze. The coast was now far behind
them, so he returned to complete his given tasks for the morning.

“Tacking” the
helmsman called out.

Three booms slammed
over and the winches screeched as they tacked. The white-capped waves were
everywhere now, attacking them from the north-west. A sudden violent gust of
wind came screeching through the rigging and pounded into the
Mabuhay’s
sails and she went over on her beams ends, before righting again.

“We need to reef
the mains before the next one, Cap’ain” shouted Dayang.

The captain issued
the order to his men to reduce sail. The eight crew members smashed the
mainsails down fast; down to their first reefing points. The ride was less
severe now, but the sea kept roaring like a wounded animal.
But for now the goal was to just survive the
night!

* * *

The dawn arrived
and turned the inky-black sky into a pale murky grey. No one had slept last
night and everyone’s eyes were sore from salt and a lack of sleep. Another gust
of wind screamed through the rigging and then the rain began, misty at first
before it came in heavy; a total whiteout. Michael had always worried about
falling overboard and now was a good a time as any, so he decided to go below
and offer his services in the galley. He had worked out long ago, not to be
stupid when there could be a huge risk. Suddenly the
Mabuhay
slowed,
gained momentum before slowing with a sickening thud.

“Come about” the
captain ordered, as the noise increased.

Michael had been
thrown against the hull as he tried to access the galley and the schooner was leaning
over at a sharp angle. The hull shuddered again as another huge wave slammed
into the stricken vessel. Big gusts were now tearing into the
Mabuhay
,
making it heel even further. It was as dark as if Michael was inside a whale’s
belly, but he could feel little jets of water on his face.

“Come about,
Dayang” stressed
Vijendra.

“Can’t Cap’ain, we’re stuck fast” he retaliated.

Michael managed to stand up and crawl up to the deck.

“I think we’re holed, Captain
” he shouted over the noise.

“What did you say,
lad?”
Vijendra
asked,
beginning to stress.

“Water is coming
through the hull, I think we’re holed” Michael shouted.

“How bad is it?” he
shouted.

“It’s too dark to
make out clearly, but there’s definitely some water coming through the hull”
Michael replied.

“Go back down and
see how bad the leak is and see if you can slow it down”
Vijendra
ordered. “I have to stay
up here.”

Michael slid his
way back down to the depths of hell and groped around for a hurricane lamp. He
struggled to light the lamp, but once he had struck a flame to the wick the
weak light illuminated the havoc. Constance and Sally were lying crumpled
against the lockers, blood pouring from head wounds.

“Uhhh…” Connie
groaned as she moved slightly, before she slumped again.

“Connie…Connie”
Michael shouted as he crawled over to her.

He pushed away the
pots, pans plates and anything else in his way. Her blood was sticky on my
hands as he tried to straighten out her body and make her comfortable. As
Michael checked to see if she was breathing, the hull shuddered violently as
another wave slammed into the schooner’s side. He couldn’t tell if she was
breathing so Michael attempted mouth to mouth resuscitation. He couldn’t
remember what to do, but her lips were warm and he felt the faintest of breath
on his cheek.

“She must be
alive!”
he
thought; his hands shaking were shaking with worry.

Michael left her
and crawled over to Sally. Her limp head was flopping from side to side with
every wave explosion and he began to panic.

“Is she dead?”
he thought; falling
over as another wave hit.

“No No No, she
can’t be dead.” he screamed at the top of his lungs.

The bilge began
filling with water and he cried out. “They’re going to drown!”

Suddenly there were
arms and hands around him, pushing him aside. Connie and Sally were carried up
to the top deck by several crew members, so Michael crawled up after them.

“Mabye” shouted
Manshur happily.

“What did he say?”
Michael asked Dayang.

“He said, they
live” he replied.

“Where’s
Vijendra?” he asked the group.

“Alane keni”
Shafwan replied.

“What did he say,
Dayang?” Michael asked again.

“He said he’s gone.
The boom crashed down and knocked him overboard, so George went over to try and
rescue him” Dayang replied sadly.

The schooner was
resting against a rocky reef, just off an island. The seas had begun to calm
down again, but the heavens had opened up and the rain was teeming down,
heavier than before.

“We’re sinking, but
the water is shallow. We will not submerge this time, but the
Mabuhay
could slip into deeper water at any time. We must take what we can now and go
ashore. If the schooner stays in place we can come back for more provisions.
You must take the women ashore while we collect what we need and follow you.
You have to go now” he urged Michael.

The two women were
placed on the floor in one of the small dinghies, so Michael climbed in
hesitantly.

“You need to go
now” he urged Michael as he cast off the line and pushed him away from the
schooner. “Go.”

The beach appeared
to be about nine hundred yards away and the sea was still too rough for such a
small craft, but Michael had to give it his best shot.

Where in the hell
are we?
He
wondered as he rowed. The last time Michael heard the captain talking to
George, they were talking about the Thousand Islands and Sunda  Strait.
I
wonder if that’s where we’re shipwrecked.
Michael finally made it to the
beach, but the surf was rolling in. He clambered out and dragged the dingy
further up the sand as each wave broke.

As Michael strained
his eyes and watched the drama playing out on the schooner, he realized it was
beginning to get dark.

“I couldn’t find
him” an exhausted voice sounded to his left.

Michael turned
around to see George standing there clutching his left arm.

“I searched and
searched, but I couldn’t find
Vijendra
”
he said sadly, almost crying. “How are the others?”

“Connie and Sally
are unconscious, but I think the rest of the crew is still on the
Mabuhay
”
Michael mentioned, remembering he should check on the women. “How are you?”

“I think my arm is
broken. I…I couldn’t keep looking” he said, sitting heavily on the sand.

“It’s getting dark
and we need to look for some shelter. We probably could use the upturned dingy
as a roof” Michael mumbled, not really knowing if they could. “I need to keep
my eye on the two women.”

“I’ll take a look
around now” George said as he walked away.

The island we were
stranded on didn’t look very big, but the survivors needed to make the most of
what they had. The wind started picking up again, so Michael assumed it would
start to rain again. He looked up again and he could just make out two dark
shapes, about thirty yards out in the bay and coming towards him. The tide was
ebbing now and his little dingy was high and dry, but the roar of the angry sea
continued on, relentlessly.

“How’s the hull?”
Michael asked Dayang when the longboat hit the sand.

“Not good” he
replied grimly, scanning the miserable faces around him. “The
Mabuhay’s
hull
had been built for speed, not strength.”

“There is some
shelter amongst the trees” suggested George as he approached them. “We can lay
the upturned dinghies over a log and cover them with palm branches. There is
another storm approaching us, so we need to hurry and keep the women as dry as
we can.”

The camp was made
as quickly as they could and the two women were placed under one of the dinghies,
but the rain began while the men were collecting the palm fronds. At least the
women would remain reasonably dry for now.

The dawn came up
and poked its golden head over the small hill, displaying pink and light-grey
clouds, heralding the end of the storm. The sea was still an angry colour of dirty
green with some white breakers, but the wind was calm. Michael felt as if he
needed forty-eight hours sleep, as he looked towards the
Mabuhay.
The
jibs were still flapping away with the steady breeze as waves smashed into the
broken side of the schooner. Five out of the original crew had survived the
shipwreck and they sat around, jabbering away. Sally was still unconscious, but
Connie was awake and still in shock, but Michael had managed to stay up with
them all night. George had a broken arm and Dayang had managed to set it with a
splint.

Vijendra. Dead.
Michael still
couldn’t believe their captain was dead.

“Where are we?”
Michael asked the group of men.

There were a lot of
anxious voices around him, before Dayang replied “The men seem to think we’re on
East Penjaliran Island; the outer island of the group known as the Thousand
Islands.”

“How far are we
from civilization?” he asked them curiously.

Again the forlorn
looking group talked amongst themselves, before George replied “We’re probably
about twenty nautical miles away from some people, but the main city, Batavia,
is at least forty-five nautical miles away.”

“Do we have enough
water and supplies?” he enquired.

“Hindi!” Shafwan
replied.

Michael didn’t have
to ask for the answer to that reply.

“We will go back to
the schooner now and take what we can. Then we must leave for Batavia” George
admitted.

George and Michael
watched the five men row the estimated distance of 700 yards to the schooner in
the longboat. They towed the second small dinghy, hopefully to fill it with
water and food.

“How are we going
to row all the way to Batavia, George?” Michael asked.

“The men will
probably set a sail, but you will have to be one of the six rowers in the
longboat. There are nine of us left, so if the seven men ride in the longboat
the two dinghies can be towed behind us. If the men can jury-rig a sail and the
seas stay calm, the journey could be reasonably swift; about two days, but if
it becomes rough….” He said, leaving the end of his reply hanging.

“I’m just going to
lie down for a short while” Michael mumbled, before yawning.

He made his way over
to the women and lay down. Michael was just going to relax for a while, but he
promptly fell asleep.

* * *

“Let’s have a look
at that chart, now that the hard work’s done” Michael heard George suggest
loudly, waking him up from his slumber. His eye lids fluttered as he tried to
focus on his surroundings. The sun was still well up in the western sky, so he
must have been asleep for about four hours. The heat was sweltering and the men
were grumbling as they tried to cool down, now the breeze had dropped.

“This is where we
are now and that’s where we have to go” George said, as Michael rose unsteadily
to his feet and stumbled over to the group.

His tongue was
thick and his mouth dry as a bone.

“Aye, this ere’s
the island” said Dayang pointing to the first island in the group of three.

“Aye” the others
agreed in unison.

“The seas are calm
and the tide is nearly at its lowest. It’s probably best if we leave now. We
might be able to reach the nearest island before dark” suggested George,
assuming the leadership role.

“Aye” the others
agreed again.

The breeze had
utterly ceased and the currents were unknown around here, but the forlorn
looking group was willing to take the risk to save themselves. The men must
have gone briskly and willingly about their task of setting a mast and sail to
the longboat, which Michael noticed rocking gently on the water’s edge. The
passage they had to undertake would be littered with danger, but Michael knew
they couldn’t stay here and perish.

“Is there any water
to drink?” Michael asked George.

“Here lad, but just
take a few mouthfuls because there’s barely enough for all of us” he said as he
passed him the water bag. “There’s only one barrel left.”

The first two hours
survivors had one to two knots of current against them, but they enjoyed the
boost of a two-knot current for the next six hours. Today Michael saw huge
logs, barrels, tree limbs, and other unusual items floating with the currents. Probably
all the things washed out of the creeks, off the schooner and off the beaches
by the violent storm. The group was certainly not looking forward to any more
thunder and lightning shows, strong winds and rain. The reddish-brown eagles
flew majestically over our heads, looking for a free meal.

“That’s the
Langkawi eagle” mentioned George. “They get their name from what they are;
red-brown eagles.”

The seas were still
silky-smooth and the winds were light. The only compensation they had
while rowing was the fantastic wildlife. Beautiful hornbills were out in the
tops of the trees on the first island they came to. Michael had hoped the rain
would stay away, but he knew he should remember the old saying - be careful
what you wish for, because it may come true. The men had been wishing for
sunshine and they got it today, big time. It enhanced the areas natural beauty,
but with the sunshine comes the heat and sunburn; something he didn’t need.

It was twilight
when the group stopped off at the second island they came to, for a bit of
rest. The water looked clear and clean and a huge monitor lizard walked toward
them when they landed on the beach. He stopped and stayed quite a while, just
watching them. It was quite a beautiful creature and, while they were watching
it, a bird that looked very much like a huge crow landed on the beach to play
with a coconut. Michael was amazed at this bird’s dexterity. She used her wings
to roll the coconut and then try to peck a hole in it with its beak. The women
appeared to be relatively comfortable under their rough canopy. Connie had
recovered from her ordeal and she was looking after Sally who had regained
consciousness. Once everyone had their allocated five mouthfuls of water and
something to eat, the group was on their way again. They couldn’t stay too long
on the island, because the tide was receding and the fringing reefs would make
it hard for them to get back out to sea. The underwater coral wasn’t beautiful,
but Michael saw one shark cross their path and there lots of little barracudas.
One of the men spotted a huge lobster hiding in among the rocks and one of the
crew was going to jump out of the longboat and catch it, but they saw either a
very unusual sea snake or a very unusual eel hiding among the rocks which made
him change his mind.

“How far have we
come already?” Michael asked inquisitively.

“Probably only
about six miles” George replied. “We’ll need to aim for the nearest Dutch
settlement. There’s a naval base, just off Java, on Onrust Island.”

From what Michael
remembered about his history lessons, the Dutch naval base on Onrust Island was
destroyed in the 1880’s by a huge tidal wave. Krakatoa volcano blew up, sending
the entire region into chaos. China went through an entire year without seeing
the sun; crops wilted, animals and people became sick and died. He certainly
didn’t be around here when that happened.

* * *

Dawn heralded an
overcast morning and a light shower of rain, but it soon cleared to a bright
sunny day. The group saw more pipe fish and lobsters amongst the coral at the
next island. Dayang suggested it could be Harapan Island. Everyone was tired,
but in order to go ashore here, they had to pick their way through the coral.
The longboat and the two dinghies were a very long, long way from the shore,
but they eventually found themselves in deeper water with a sandy bottom near
the beach. The rains came again that evening and they had very low visibility,
so they decided to stay
until
it
cleared and collect the rainwater to replenish their dwindling
supplies. The camp was dry and two of the crew caught several lobsters and roasted
them on hot coals, so everyone feasted until their bellies were full.

“Now men are you
still willing to follow me or does someone else want to take the lead?” George
asked them, when they had their fill.

“Aye, we’re with
you” they all said in unison.

“Well get some rest
and we’ll head out in the morning” he suggested.

Michael wandered
over to the women and assisted Connie to help Sally stand up. They had to
relieve themselves, so he helped them walk away from the camp.

“Turn you back and
wait for my call to alert you that we’re finished” Connie ordered.

“Are we ever going
to get to civilization?” Sally asked me as he helped them back the way they
came.

“I really don’t
know” Michael admitted. “If we stick to the islands, we should eventually find
some fisherman, or the Dutch armada. They may be able to help us.”

“The Dutch would
probably throw us in jail, or at the least keep all of us quarantined” scoffed
Connie. “That’s if we survive the next four days.”

The ebbing tide was
making a strong rippling current, running south to north. The ripples and the tide
were a hazard for their small crafts for several reasons. All three boats were
overloaded, but worst of all they could be washed far away from any land and
their designated course. The surrounding islands were sheltering them to some
degree and they could also provide them with food and a place to rest. Their
make-shift sail hung limply, so the men rowed on. All of a sudden the longboat
began to turn; they were caught in an eddy and there wasn’t any control. As the
dinghies spun on their axis in the eddy stream they drifted back out to sea and
away from their security blanket.

“Wind at last!”
Dayang mentioned, pointing to the rippled water.

The sail filled
slightly, giving them some forward thrust. The group was now five miles away
from the nearest island, but the slight breeze died down.

“More wind” said
Dayang enthusiastically.

The sail rustled
and then slapped as it filled, pulling them along at about three knots. The
steady light breeze was all they needed to steer them through this mayhem.

The group had been
washed out at sea for five hours without having seen anything but sky, sea
birds, clouds and water, when slowly they saw the rugged crest of a high
mountain rising above a pile of thick gray clouds.

“That would be the
high hill of Samak Daun island” Dayang suggested.

Little by little
the low-lying clouds ascend like a drawn up curtain and the whole island laid spread
out, larger than the previous ones they had encountered.
As in all the lands
lying in these warm latitudes, the works of nature are found to have more
vigorous beauty than anywhere else.
No one said
anything as they approached the majestic scene.  In clear and calm weather, the
tropical sea presents an aspect of beauty and grandeur, with which the
loveliest natural scenery of a tropical climate. It also helped to have been
lost at sea for a while.

“Land
ho!” George finally said to the amusement of all of us.

“It’s
well and truly, land ho” Michael added.

The
group had to approach the island from the Southern side due to the fringing
reefs, but all of them were glad to stop for a while. They were sun burnt, but
happy to place their feet on dry land again.
Everyone was worn out, enfeebled
both intellectually and physically by the heavy strain and effort of being lost
at sea and not seeing any way back to their designated track.

They decided to
spend the night on the island; not wishing to encounter more dangerous
rip-tides. Michael solemnly believed in the truth that, had it not been for the
living reality of this girl Sally, he probably would have given up long ago.
She smiled when Michael hugged her and when she saw his smiling face, looking
at her; but she did not know that she had saved him from a fate more dreadful
than death.