The Sands of Shark Island

by Alexander McCall Smith

  Captain Macbeth was now at the helm. The last watch – those people who had spent the last four hours of the night on duty – had now been told to go below, eat the early breakfast Cook had prepared for them, and try to get some sleep. They knew that would be difficult, though, as nobody wanted to miss the excitement of making landfall, but an order from the Captain was an order that nobody could disobey, and they all made their way reluctantly below.

  The Captain called Thomas Seagrape over to his side. “Well, Thomas,” he said. “I know this isn’t Jamaica, but it’s still the Caribbean. So it must feel a little bit like coming home.”

  Thomas nodded. “It does, Captain. I’ve been here before, you know – quite a few times – on my mum’s boat.”

  The Captain nodded. “I thought you might have. And so I wondered whether you would like to be at the wheel when we come in, with me standing right behind you, just in case.”

  It was the biggest compliment that the captain of a ship can pay – to offer the helm to somebody – and Thomas could not conceal his delight. Stepping forward, he squared his shoulders and took his place behind the great wheel that guided the ship.

  “Keep her on this course,” said the Captain. “That’ll take us nice and straight into Green Island Bay.”

  Ben and Badger watched in admiration as Thomas steered the great ship. They could not stay for long, though, as breakfast was about to be served, but Thomas, and anybody else on duty on deck, would have hot bread rolls, filled with bacon or jam, brought up to them, together with a mug of steaming hot chocolate.

  Distances over water can be deceptive. Something which looks close can actually be much further away than you think. So even after land had been sighted, the Tobermory still had a good few nautical miles to cover before it reached Green Island Bay. But eventually they arrived, and the order was given to drop the sails. Because the entrance to the bay was narrow, it would be safer to go in under engine power, so standing behind Thomas, the Captain gave orders for that to be done. Speaking to the engine room through a long rubber tube, he told them: “Start engines: half-speed ahead.”

  Once again the whole school was on deck, excitedly pointing out features on the land.

  “Look at that house!” exclaimed Tanya, pointing to a building perched on the very edge of a cliff. “If Matron lived there she’d be able to dive straight out of her window into the sea.”

  “And look at that one,” she said as they sailed past a house on the edge of a small beach. “The sea probably comes into your bedroom at high tide.”

  “I’d love to live here,” said Fee. “I’d love to be able to walk out of my house and dive straight into the sea whenever I wanted to. And look at the colour of the water – look at that amazing green.”

  She was right. The green, everybody agreed, was extraordinary – and when water is that colour you want to jump straight in. It was the colour of an emerald, only a bit lighter.

  The water became shallower. Leaning over the railing, Angela Singh spotted sand down below and called out to the others in her excitement. They peered down and saw, far beneath them, the white sand, mottled here and there with dark patches of seaweed.

  “That’s a good thirty feet,” said Tanya. “The water’s so clear here you can see right down.”

  The ship slowed down now, as the shore was not far off and there were rocks. On one of the outcrops of rock, half covered by the breaking wavelets, was the wreck of an old ship – a warning, if one were needed, to sailors to be careful of the reefs and currents.

  Ben was fascinated. He had never seen such exciting and appealing waters, and he could hardly wait for the chance to swim. Ben was imagining what it would be like to swim amongst the fish in the clear warm water when he suddenly noticed something. At first he thought it was a fishing float that somebody had dropped – a round, bobbing piece of cork – but then, when he looked again he saw that it was something quite different.

  “A turtle!” he cried. “Look – a turtle!”

  Badger was soon at his side, peering in the direction in which Ben was pointing. “There it is!” he shouted. “And it’s a big one.”

  The turtle was swimming directly towards the Tobermory but suddenly it stopped, looked up, and dived. For a few moments it could still be seen, a light brown blob under the water, and then it was gone. And now another creature had arrived to inspect the new arrivals – a large brown bird with an elegant long neck and beak.

  “That’s a booby,” said Poppy. “I’ve seen one before. A lot of people think they bring good luck.”

  They watched as the bird circled the Tobermory. They felt its eyes on them and all of them, in their different ways, wondered what good luck the booby might bring. Badger thought of his parents: good luck for him would mean they might find a bit more time for him. Tanya thought of her father, and of a possible reunion with him. Ben thought of Hardtack and his gang: good luck might bring justice and the exposure of the sheer nastiness of that unfriendly trio. For a moment he allowed himself to think of Hardtack being made to walk the plank, as they would do in the old pirate days. Walking the plank was a terrible fate, as sharks would be waiting below. Ben would never wish that on anybody, but if Hardtack were made to walk the plank and given a good soaking before being picked up and brought back on board, then it might make him think about mending his ways.

  The excitement they all felt was now mounting. But they didn’t have time to sit and talk; anchoring Tobermory involved not only the dropping of the ship’s great anchor, but also the stowing away of ropes, the fastening of sail covers, the preparation of shore boats, and a general tidying up of the decks. Everybody had something to do, and in no time at all – or so it seemed – they were at anchor, not far off a beach, with the great sweep of Green Island Bay behind them. It was an ideal spot to spend a few days. It had been hard work getting across the vast ocean, and now, they hoped, there would be a little time simply to have some fun.

  And there would be fun. Shortly after, Captain Macbeth called the whole ship’s company to a muster on deck. Standing with Mr Rigger on one side of him and Matron on the other, he told them what lay ahead.

  “Now listen,” he began, which was the way he often started his talks. “This is the plan.” That was another thing he said rather a lot. “We are going to spend a whole week here. Then we are going to sail south, to an island called Dominica. We shall spend three weeks there while normal lessons take place. But before that, I want you all to enjoy yourselves as much as possible.”

  This brought a cheer, with several caps being thrown in the air.

  “So we’ve laid on various activities,” the Captain continued. “Matron here is going to be running diving lessons – if you’re interested, sign up with her.”

  Matron gave a nod. “Anybody can learn to dive,” she said. “Whatever shape you are, there’s a dive for everybody.”

  “And then,” the Captain said, “there’s kitesurfing. As you may know, kitesurfing is a really exciting sport and …” He hesitated, and then pointed over the starboard side of the ship. “And here’s a kitesurfer coming towards us right now.”

  Every eye looked to the right to see a large kite filled with the breeze coming towards them at what seemed like an alarming speed. The kite was tethered by lines, and these lines led down to a trapeze grasped by a woman on a small surfboard. This surfboard was cutting through the water like a powerboat, leaving a wake in the water behind it. As the kitesurfer approached, she suddenly pulled on the kite strings and changed direction, heading back out towards the open sea.

  “You see,” said the Captain. “How’s that for fun? And lessons, I’m happy to say, will be given to all those who want to learn. The instructor will be Miss Worsfold. Miss Worsfold,” he added, “is a very good kitesurfer. She took part in the World Kitesurfing Championships some years ago in Mexico and came eleventh overall.”

  That last bit of information had been a surprise. The teachers on the Tobermory were all very capable
, but nobody knew just how good they were at various things. There was a loud cheer. Miss Worsfold was popular, and there would be a long list of people eager to try kitesurfing.

  “In addition,” the Captain went on, “there will be snorkelling, long-distance swimming, and kayaking.” He paused. “Safety first, of course. Always look before you jump into the water. Check there are no rocks down below. Don’t pester any turtles or fish – they have their own lives to lead and they don’t want you interfering.”

  Matron made her contribution too. “Wear plenty of sunscreen,” she said. “It’s available from the sick bay. And don’t touch coral – it can be sharp, and a coral graze takes a long time to heal. Also, wash the salt out of your hair after swimming. Is that clear?”

  Everyone nodded their heads, and with that the Captain dismissed them.

  “Kitesurfing for me,” said Badger. “I’ve seen it done up in Maine, but I’ve never had the chance to do it myself.”

  “And for me,” said Ben.

  In addition to diving, Poppy was keen to do some snorkelling, and would be joined in that by Angela and Tanya, even if they were still a bit nervous of the water. Fee was keen to have diving lessons with Matron – she had already mastered the basics and wanted to try more demanding dives. Everybody, it seemed, had something they really wanted to do. There were still a few hours of daylight left, so there was no reason why activities should not start straightaway. Miss Worsfold led a large group off for their first kitesurfing class, while Matron climbed high up into the rigging and started to perform display dives for her class down below.

  The kitesurfing class was not only interesting, but challenging too. The highlight, though, of the introductory session – at least for Badger and Ben – was when Geoffrey Shark, who had pushed himself forward to be the first to have a go, was caught in a sudden gust of wind and whisked up into the air, surfboard and all, and carried along for a good distance.

  The wind dropped suddenly and he fell like a stone into the water. Shark was unhurt, but his dignity had taken a tumble, and he looked embarrassed and surly when he swam back to the beach.

  “You weren’t listening to me, Geoffrey,” scolded Miss Worsfold. “You did it all wrong, and that’s why you were picked up in the air like that.”

  Shark stared down at the sand, ashamed and angry. And he was angrier still when Badger, who was next up, managed a perfect circle round the bay at great speed, the kite completely under his control. He was roundly congratulated by Miss Worsfold on his return.

  “That’s exactly how it should be done,” she said. Turning to Shark, she said, rather sharply, “And Geoffrey, I hope you were watching how Badger did it. If you can do it half as well as that, you’ll be making great progress.”

  William Edward Hardtack was not in the class to support him, so Shark just glowered and said nothing. But Badger knew that this would be reported back later on, and that it would probably be made worse in the telling. That worried him; Hardtack was capable of anything, and Badger had no wish to provoke him unnecessarily. Don’t poke a rattlesnake with a stick, he thought.

  Of course all of the day’s activities were tiring, and that night everybody felt far too exhausted to talk very much after lights-out.

  Ben and Badger had a conversation though, although it came to a sudden end when Badger dropped off to sleep mid-sentence.

  “I like it here,” said Ben drowsily.

  “Me too,” murmured Badger.

  “I never want this to end,” Ben continued.

  “Me too,” said Badger, barely audible now. “I really like …”

  And that was it. Sleep claimed him, and Ben was not to hear what his friend really liked. But he could imagine what it was. It was everything.

  Meeting Mike

  After breakfast the following morning, when Poppy and Fee were busy scrubbing the deck, the two girls noticed a small, brightly painted boat making its way towards them across the bay. They had already seen a few such boats that morning – they were used by local people for fishing, or getting from one side of the bay to the other, or, in some cases, for going up to visiting ships to sell them fish, fruit and vegetables.

  At first they thought that this was one of those boats, but as it drew closer they recognised that it was different. This boat had no wares on board to sell and seemed to be quite empty, apart from the person at the tiller. As the boat drew closer, they realised that the figure at the tiller was a boy, who was waving as he approached.

  Mr Rigger was in charge on the deck. He had spotted the approaching boat too, and gave Poppy and Fee the order to lower the ladder so the boy could come aboard.

  “Ahoy there!” Poppy shouted as they dropped the ladder that enabled visitors to come aboard the Tobermory. “Who are you and what do you want?”

  “Ahoy there, Tobermory!” came the reply. “I’m Mike Wood and I have a message for the Captain.”

  “Tie up and come aboard,” shouted Poppy. This was the correct thing to say, as the sea is an hospitable place, and you should always invite a visitor aboard unless you have a very good reason not to do so.

  The two girls watched as Mike tied up his boat and began to make his way up the ladder. They saw that he was a boy of about their own age, and judging by the speed with which he secured his boat and climbed up the rungs, they could tell that he must spend a lot of time on the water. As he came up on deck they noticed a few more things about him: his smile, which was broad and friendly, his clothes, which had obviously seen a lot of hard work, and the fact that he was not wearing any shoes.

  Mike held out his hand. “Well,” he said, “you know my name, but I don’t know yours.”

  They introduced themselves, and he shook their hands warmly.

  “Do you live here?” asked Poppy.

  Mike gestured over his shoulder. “Yes, I live back there. You see that place over there on the shore? That’s our house.”

  Poppy and Fee looked over his shoulder to where he was pointing. It was a very small house – not much more than a shack really – but it was right on the beach, with swaying palm trees behind it.

  “I live there with my mother and my younger sister,” Mike went on. “We catch fish. Well, I do most of the fishing these days; my mother sells it to the hotel and to boats that come by here.”

  As he spoke, the girls noticed that he was looking about him admiringly.

  “This is our school ship,” said Poppy. “We sail around while we go to school. Otherwise, it’s the same as any school really. Same as yours, I imagine.”

  Mike shook his head. It seemed to Poppy that her question had saddened him. “I don’t go to school,” he said. “I used to, but not anymore.”

  Poppy and Fee were unsure what to say. They were trying to imagine what it would be like not to have a school to go to. Some people might think that rather nice, but it was clear that Mike did not.

  “You’ve got a message for the Captain?” Poppy asked.

  “Yes,” said Mike. “It’s a letter from Captain Tommy, who knew your Captain years ago. I have to give it to him personally.”

  “Follow us,” said Fee.

  They took Mike down below and led him along the passageway to the Captain’s cabin. Poppy knocked loudly and waited for the familiar voice to call them in.

  “This boy has a message for you, Captain,” said Poppy. “His name is Mike and the message is from …”

  The Captain looked up from the logbook laid out on his desk. “I’m sure he can speak for himself, Poppy,” he interrupted. Turning to Mike, he said, “Well, young man?”

  Mike seemed nervous, fumbling as he took the envelope out of his pocket. Seeing this, Captain Macbeth tried to put him at his ease. “I’ve got a good idea who this letter might be from,” he said, smiling. “My old friend, Captain Tommy?”

  Mike relaxed. “Yes, sir,” he said. “It’s from Captain Tommy all right. He gave me the letter when he saw your ship sail in.”

  The Captain laughed. “I knew h
e’d be watching,” he said. “Does he still sit in that chair of his and watch everything that happens in the bay?”

  “Yes, sir,” replied Mike. “I help him a bit these days. I go to the market for him and I painted his boat last year – not that he can go out to sea any more, now that he’s … well, I don’t know how old he is.”

  “I don’t imagine he knows either,” said the Captain as he slit open the envelope with his paper-knife.

  He read the letter and then nodded. “Tell him that I’ll come and see him tomorrow morning at six bells on the forenoon watch, just as he suggests.”

  Mike nodded. “He said that you could bring some of your crew, if you like.”

  “Did he now?” said the Captain. “Well, it would be nice for them to meet him, I think.” He looked at Poppy and Fee. “You two, would you like to come?”

  Poppy and Fee nodded enthusiastically.

  “And bring a couple of the boys along as well,” said the Captain.

  “Ben and Badger,” said Fee quickly. “Can they come too?”

  “I don’t see why not,” said the Captain. “And Thomas Seagrape. I expect his mother will have come across Captain Tommy at some point. Tell Thomas to come along as well.”

  They left the Captain’s cabin and walked with Mike back to the deck ladder. Their visitor seemed interested in everything, asking about where they had their meals, where they kept their hammocks, and what the teachers were like. Their answers seemed only to further rouse his curiosity, and he asked more and more questions. Then, just as he was about to climb down the ladder, he said, “You’re really lucky, you know.”

  “Lucky?” asked Fee.

  Mike thought for a moment before replying. “Yes, having this beautiful ship. Sailing off together and learning all sorts of things. That’s really lucky, you know.”

  Poppy and Fee said nothing. He was right, they thought; it was just that there was nothing they could really say. Mike’s life, they suspected, was not quite so lucky.