The
adventures of John Storm and the Elizabeth Swann. John Storm is an ocean
adventurer and conservationist. The Elizabeth Swann is a fast solar
powered boat. During a race around the world, news of the sinking of a
pirate whaling ship reaches John Storm and his mate Dan Hook. They
decide to abandon the race and try and save the whale.
(Original
Book Chapter 16) – Whaling Chase - 240
N, 1410 E (Philippine
Sea)
SIX
PACK <<<
A
distant rumble in the sea about a mile ahead and to their right alerted Kulo
and Kana
to the presence of another of those large man-made metallic floating
objects in their path moving toward them and the Northern Marianas.
Along with the low grumble was a whir of bearings and thrashing of
blades from a triple cupped bronze propeller as it cleaved the water.
More importantly there was a regular ping becoming stronger, from which
whales instinctively know an object is moving towards them.
Cetacean
echo location is detailed enough to differentiate between krill and
killer whales, this signal was mechanically crude by comparison. Kulo
and Kana were enjoying themselves in the warmer water so didn’t pay
particular attention. There were many such objects, most considerably
larger, relentlessly thumping their way noisily and laboriously across
the oceans. There was another giant metallic leviathan to their left,
considerably longer and louder and several nautical miles away moving
away from them. This vessel was not producing a pinging sound.
It
was dusk, a calm soothing night; the full moon shining brighter than
usual seemed to fill the sky. The lunar light sparkled as it danced on
the waves. A light breeze wafting across the decks of the Suzy Wong,
gave temporary relief from the invasive stench of whale oil. On nights
like this the crew often forgot the purpose of their voyage, all except
their ever watchful captain: Shiu
Razor. Then, a blip of light on the fish-finder console caught
Shui’s attention. He scratched his stubbly chin, and reached for a
cold cup of green tea laced with sake from a gimballed holder. The blip
became a confused splurge off to their left. Shui altered course south,
south east until the signal was dead ahead, to intercept whatever was in
the water. He had
a hunch.
Reaching
for the tannoy, he bellowed: “All hands, time. Stow the cards away.”
The crew grumbled, and increased the speed of play, then finally,
reluctantly, threw their hands in. Two were still in their bunks and the
chef was busy making his specialty soup, in a large pan.
The blip divided into two clear signals as they closed in, one very much
larger than the other. Shui pushed the throttle forward another notch in
anticipation. He picked up the tannoy again speaking with increased
vigour.
“Rig for a big whale, a huge mother and a little baby. Harpooners,
load up. Grappling hooks ready.”
It was all action now above and below deck. The chef bolted a lid to the
soup pan, and turned off the heat. The bunks were empty as every man
donned his protective oilskins and rushed for the deck. Whaling is a
fraught affair at the best of times involving heavy manual toil hauling
blubber and meat after the kill, usually accompanied by stinging cold
sea spray. Not this night, it was calm and clear with a blazing full
moon. Two whales would set them up nicely; easy targets separated from
their pod; no doubt stragglers. The blips on the fish-finder were now
steady 1,200 metres ahead as the ‘Suzy
Wong’ closed in on the playful mammals that appeared oblivious to
the presence of the pirates as their two blips on-screen criss-crossed.
Rather than attack from the rear, Shui changed course for a better aim,
swinging to starboard, then to port in a wide arc homing in on the
smaller blip as a deliberate tactic.
Their lookout sighted the whales and shouted up to Shui. “Captain, two
whales off the port bow one thousand metres.”
Shui returned: “Take the small one first, that’ll draw in the big
one.”
Shui strained to locate their prey, and then spotted the targets now
visible at regular intervals, letting out an involuntary whoop of
excitement.
Kulo noted the changes in course and realised she and Kana were the
subject of attention as they rhythmically dived down in sinusoidal
fashion. The noisy metallic object was now 1,000 metres away coming at
them from the side. Kana was not paying attention, continuing playfully
to tease Kulo with her zig-zag random patterns, ignoring signals from
her large friend to take urgent evasive action. The pirate whaler closed
on Kana at full speed until they were less than 600 metres away. Kulo
had veered to one side hoping Kana would take her lead, when both whales
surfaced for air
some distance between them to see the Suzy Wong closing the gap to 350
metres. Kulo saw the humans on deck scurrying about as the vessel closed
to 200 metres. Two men were on the bow aiming a tube at Kana, which
suddenly spat out a barbed metal spear with a hiss, trailing a rope
behind it. The harpoon caught Kana a fatal blow to the head striking
deep, the explosive force sending her into unconsciousness instantly.
She died almost immediately after from shock, her body convulsed
involuntarily, emitting heart rending moans as her lungs emptied for the
last time.
Kulo did all she could to warn her friend and now tried to help her. She
swam up to Kana tasting her blood in the water. Kana fell silent and
motionless, rising and falling with the waves. Kulo desperately tried to
revive her friend refusing to believe it was all over, while the whalers
grappled to secure the carcass. She shoved at Kana, swam underneath and
lifted her head, screaming a deep sorrowful trumpet which rippled
through the water. Shui has calculated that the death of the soft target
would bring the larger whale in close. His strategy was working
perfectly.
Sample
artwork, illustrating the chase and killing of Kana, Kulo Luna's small
friend.
At great risk to herself Kulo continued to try and revive Kana, even
ramming her from behind trying to break her free, but more ropes were
dug into Kana’s hide with every minute which emotionally tore into
Kulo, enraging her as she felt for her lifeless friend. Now the whalers
fired a harpoon at Kulo, who instinctively went to flee at first but was
caught a glancing blow on her back behind her blowhole, slicing through
her blubber setting salt to flesh causing massive stinging pain and a
rush of adrenaline the like of which most animals never experience. She
dived deep then surface broached performing a figure of eight on
re-entry submerged, when her attacker overshot and slowed to turn for a
second attempt.
In a momentary loss of reason and no longer caring for her own safety,
Kulo rounded on the pirate vessel, propelling herself with all her might
against the boats seam welded steel plated hull forward of the helm and
aft of the harpoon mounting. She broached magnificently climbing high
the sides and rolling the boat back using all her 60 tons causing the
rusty plates to part at the fatigued seams, slightly releasing her build
up of frustration. It felt good.
The
harpoon gunners stared in shock as the chiselled blue-grey and white
giant glared at them signaling her displeasure – a monster from the
deep, her scalloped ventral features sending a shiver down the spines of
the hardiest fisherman
onboard.
Kulo snorted hard from her blowhole showering the deck with hot spray
like a fire breathing dragon – or so it seemed, then took a voluminous
breath and cast off arcing backwards and away into the sea diving deep
amid a turquoise and white foam wash. Not yet done Kulo rounded on the
Suzy Wong from 300 metres out, the damaged boat now virtually stationary
in the water; a sitting duck. The humpback whale
stayed submerged on the return run, invisible to the men on deck aiming
for the same spot on the hull knowing she’d weakened it. The crew,
recovered from the shock attack, were now straining to see where the
whale had gone. Some daring to venture close to the buckled railings.
Kulo accelerated underwater to her maximum velocity in a Herculean power
surge coming out of the water at thirty degrees, slamming directly onto
the parted seam in a three-quarters body turn.
The pirate
ship again rolled back from the collision followed by a loud rupture of
splintered metal, as the fracture increased lower down the water line to
reveal a seventeen hundred millimetre gash. As the vessel again rolled
upright recovering equilibrium the fracture submerged. Seawater poured
into the bilges at an alarming rate. The crew reeled back from the
collapsed railings. Shui shouted to the crew from the helm for all hands
to check the damage and report, and for the gunners to get off another
harpoon at the whale. Kulo bounced back into the water momentarily
winded from the clash. As Shui waited impatiently, he fired a flare to
help his gunners track their game. Fortunately for Kulo this had the
opposite effect. The gun aimer suddenly saw the ocean light up masking
her wake. She breathed deep for a few seconds to recover from the
exertion. Then a harpoon whisked past her into the black waters ahead
too close for comfort.
Swimming at a fair pace Kulo headed south. Shui pushed forward on the
throttles and spun the Suzy Wong to give chase. Kulo felt the engines
come to life and swam faster. She need not have worried; the Suzy Wong
was going down by the head. The crew knew the vessel was doomed, but
Shui insisted they try to shore up the damage and pump the bilges. By
now the water in the engine room was rising over the bulkhead door step.
Shui watched as Kulo distanced herself, every now and again spouting
from her blowhole six metres into the air, from full-breath exhalations.
She was now some 500 metres distant. Though angry at himself for being
caught off guard Shui was in awe of the spirit of the angry whale that
had not only hurled itself at his ship, but come back for a second
charge to tear the hull open. Nobody would believe it possible.
The bows of the Suzy Wong slid into the sea followed by the weapon that
had so easily taken Kana’s life. Reluctantly, Shui commanded that the
lifeboats in two white canisters be launched. He then radioed his
position to their base in Nagasaki to give them urgent advice and then
he switched to the international distress frequency, hoping for rapid
rescue.
“Mayday. Mayday. This is the motor fishing
vessel Suzy Wong. We’ve been attacked by a giant humpback
whale close to the Northern Marianas. We’re sinking fast. We’ve
launched two inflatable life rafts. It’s a bright moonlit night so you
won’t spot our beacons. We’ll fire flares to assist. Please send
assistance urgently. Mayday. Mayday.”
The crew hurried about grabbing all they could for what might be a long
wait until rescue. Some men clambered into the lowered yellow
inflatable, while others passed emergency supplies, flares and portable navigation
equipment. Shui looked at the horizon just in time to see Kulo give
another deep blast from 1,000 metres out. The waves lapped at the helm
as the boat’s attitude changed to a steeper forty-five degree angle.
Shui rushed to the second inflatable now level with the railings
midpoint on the hull. He clambered aboard deftly, a skilled mariner and
they cast off rowing quickly so as not to get caught in the vortex as
the boat hurtled to the ocean floor.
The Suzy Wong’s helm submerged and the hull came upright almost
vertically. She bobbed about for ten long seconds then slipped beneath
the waves gracefully amid a plume of escaping air, with rather less fuss
than all the years of service commanded - or so thought the crew. Gone,
Shui thought, never to be steered out of harbour again, taking with her
the carcass of the small whale whose death had so enraged the giant
humpback. Shui contemplated the loss for a while and looked south
straining to catch sight of Kulo again but she was also nowhere to be
seen. Suddenly he felt quite alone, a speck on the vast ocean; helpless.
The crew looked to him for inspiration and orders, but it was he who
needed the motivation. Silently he vowed to himself to avenge the loss
of his trusty vessel on this almost surreal, bright lunar night. The
syndicate would not be pleased about the sinking. He doubted that they
would believe his account? It would be a fisherman's tale; an
exaggeration. Except that all of the crew would tell the same tale. Shui
was suddenly cold and shivered. He was also broke with no catch
share-out to look forward to.
Fifteen hundred metres south Kulo slowed and turned back to glance at
the spot where she’d lost her best friend. The pirate ship that had
taken Kana from her was nowhere to be seen. She’d heard the bubbling
and commotion aboard and saw the flare go out. She knew she’d caused
the Suzy Wong to founder, but that was scant compensation for the loss
of her friend and now she felt guilty for causing the loss. At least the
ship could not give chase or harm any more of her clan. Kulo turned
south again heading to who knows what, but it had to be better than this
nights events; a fresh start. Her back was throbbing terribly. In spite
of her temper she’d not killed any of the humans in the encounter and
for that she was thankful. That was an unwritten rule that cetaceans
unconsciously obeyed, save for Orcas, their killer whale cousins.
Unbeknown to Kulo another pirate whaling ship was in the vicinity, the Jonah,
captained by Stang
Lee.
EMPTY
OCEAN >>>
SCENE
|
DESCRIPTION
|
LOCATION
|
|
|
|
Prologue
|
Shard
Protest
|
51° 30'
N, 0° 7' 5.1312'' W
|
Chapter
1
|
Arctic
Melt
|
580
W, 750 N
|
Chapter
4
|
Sydney
Australia
|
330
S, 1510 E
|
Chapter
6
|
Bat
Cave
|
330
20’S, 1520 E
|
Chapter
8
|
Whale
Sanctuary
|
200
N, 1600 W
|
Chapter
10
|
Pirates
|
330
N, 1290 E
|
Chapter
13
|
Solar
Race
|
200
N, 1600 W
|
Chapter
14
|
Darwin
to Adelaide
|
130
S, 1310 E – 350 S, 1380 E
|
Chapter
15
|
Six
Pack
|
200
N, 1600 W
|
Chapter
16
|
Whaling
Chase
|
240
N, 1410 E
|
Chapter
20
|
Empty
Ocean
|
200
N, 1600 E (middle of Pacific)
|
Chapter
24
|
Billion
Dollar Whale
|
250
N, 1250 E
|
Chapter
26
|
Rash
Move
|
140
N, 1800 E
|
Chapter
27
|
Off
Course
|
150
N, 1550 E
|
Chapter
28
|
Shark
Attack
|
100
N, 1650 E
|
Chapter
29
|
Sick
Whale
|
100
N, 1650 E
|
Chapter
30
|
Medical
SOS
|
100
N, 1650
E
|
Chapter
31
|
Whale
Nurse
|
100
N, 1650 E
|
Chapter
33
|
Storm
Clouds
|
150
S, 1550 E
|
Chapter
34
|
The
Coral Sea
|
150
S, 1570 E
|
Chapter
36
|
Plastic
Island
|
20
S, 1600 E
|
Chapter
39
|
Media
Hounds
|
170
S, 1780E
|
Chapter
40
|
Breach
of Contract
|
200
S, 1520 E
|
Chapter
42
|
Fraser
Island
|
250
S, 1530 E
|
Chapter
43
|
Congratulations
|
250
S, 1530 E
|
GRAPHIC
NOVEL
The
graphic novel
translation omits
many of the above chapters (in grey) entirely, and condenses others, aiming for a
lively visual read.
This
story is a modern Moby
Dick, the twist being that there is a happy ending for everyone
involved with the $Billion
Dollar Whale, even the whalers. Herman
Melville would have approved.
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