Captain Bligh and Captain Cook

By James Gardner

Odyssey Down Under: Sailing Bligh Waters is the sixth series in an ongoing project of Odyssey Down Under. The first book introduced you to the first adventure I took with Captain Mobley. Succeeding novels were journeys to different islands in the South Pacific. Then we went North.

Each journey contained a story about Capt. James Cook and Capt. Williams Bligh. In our last book, Return to Fiji, a long story was told about Captain Bligh as we toured the fifty islands around Fiji. This story is about Captain Mobley's desire to sail the waters that Capt. William Bligh sailed on his journeys to the Pacific and also the Caribbean islands.

Get set for a long journey from Sydney, Australia, through the Pacific and up and down both sides of South America as we spin another tale of ship life and adventure. Thanking you for coming aboard!

PS: Return to Fiji includes James, the story of Captain Bligh, and the mutiny on the Bounty.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Newman Springs Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jul 25, 2023
• ISBN: 9798887636726

James Gardner

JAMES GARDNER is an American art and culture critic based in NYC and Buenos Aires. His writings have appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The New Republic and The British Spectator. He was the art critic at the New York Post and wrote architecture criticism for the New York Observer, before serving as the architecture critic at the now defunct New York Sun. He now writes for The Real Deal Magazine, the Weekly Standard, and Antiques.

Book preview

Table of Contents

Title

Copyright

Acknowledgments

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Pacific Journey 6W

Also by James Gardner

Novelettes

The Quest for Quanah

Return of the White Wolf

Odyssey Down Under, First Edition

Odyssey Down Under: South Sea Islands Adventure

Norfolk Island, New Zealand, Tasmania

North to Aleutian Islands

Return to Fiji

Sailing Bligh Waters

Short Stories

A Winter's Tale

Suzeane and James

About the Author

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Captain Bligh and Captain Cook

James Gardner

Copyright © 2023 James Gardner

All rights reserved

First Edition

NEWMAN SPRINGS PUBLISHING

320 Broad Street

Red Bank, NJ 07701

First originally published by Newman Springs Publishing 2023

ISBN 979-8-88763-671-9 (Paperback)

ISBN 979-8-88763-672-6 (Digital)

Printed in the United States of America

Odyssey Down Under

Acknowledgments

I wish to acknowledge Hannah Singhurse for acting as my typist for this book. Hannah was the typist for my previous books. Without her help, this book may never have reached completion. A big thanks goes to Hannah and her quality workmanship.

Also, the support of Candace Johnson of the printshop. Candy worked with me on all the book covers to bring a quality front cover to coincide with the story within. Thank you, Candy, for the professional ideas and workmanship.

Chapter 1

I have taken a lot of big journeys with my friend Captain Mobley with his ship named the Sheila II. A beautiful three-master patterned after the HMS Vanguard. We have been all over the Pacific islands, both sides of the equator, even touched the Far East to Singapore and Japan. A side trip on the northern trip to the Aleutians—it was a trip that amazed me, which this sea captain had in his crawl to take. The side trip on the way was a treat for me and his crew, a mystery trip, so to speak.

After each trip, I returned home to the Ozarks. In flight out of Sydney on the Qantas Airlines, I would have an encounter with my wife, Anita, who had passed on to paradise five years before I got another call from Captain Mobley for a flight to Fiji for a friend to visit his uncle. This is a long story that was told in the last episode of Odyssey Down Under: Return to Fiji.

When I returned from that trip, I was again flying home from Sydney. To look back on the past on each trip, a flight attendant by the name of Leilani, from Samoa, spent time with me on each flight, many comfortably sleeping on my shoulder. During each flight and sharing my trip stories with her—to shorten a long story—we kinda fell in love. I was reluctant to pursue the situation because of my age and time in the world.

The last flight after our return trip to Fiji with Captain Mobley and friends, Captain Mobley played Cupid and arranged for Leilani to be on the flight and had bought me a round-trip ticket! Leilani announced that she was resigning from her position and wanted me to go to Samoa with her. That was after another encounter with my wife, who had been keeping tabs on the situation.

As she spoke to me, I could feel that it was a soft voice, maybe far-off from a distant friend. She gently spoke these words: Honey, you have grieved for five years. Do you think that is long enough? We will be together at the end of your time, and time is short. I want you to follow your heart, and while you still can, seek some happiness in your life. This young island girl is the answer for you. Try to move on. I love you!

I was so choked up that I was at a loss for words. When the plane hit the ground at LA, a decision had to be made. Leilani and I had several talks on this, and I was reluctant to budge, and she was bound and determined to sway me with her love pouring out and tears running down her cheeks. Everything fell into place. There I was, with Captain Mobley's gift of a round-trip ticket in my hand and the woman who loved me in my arms. It was time to turn around and go to Samoa!

Chapter 2

Once in Samoa, Leilani and I quickly got a residence established on a hilltop overlooking the island of American Samoa. It was like living in a tropical garden, and plus, I had this beautiful island girl! I had left my Ozark property behind but still intact. I missed my old dog Cocoa, who was in someone else's care, and needed a plan to retrieve him. We needed to live out our days together.

As I was sitting there, deep in thought, the cell phone started to ring. I said, What the heck! and grabbed it up.

Hey, James, that you? It was Captain Mobley.

Gotcha, Captain. What's up?

Well, James, I rang your old number to see what or who I would get! I'm glad your phone is still active even in Samoa. How did you manage that?

"Well, Captain, I left everything the same, even the international calling, so I could still have all my contacts online."

Well, I am glad I caught you, mate! How are things going? and he chuckled that famous chuckle!

I said, Just fine, since you waved that little magic wand of yours and got me all this!

Captain just roared with laughter.

But, Captain, my friend, I can't complain. It is beautiful!

Well, mate, I figured I should return tit for tat since you had your little plan to get me and Sheila married up! But all in all, that was beautiful too! It was too long being done, and I dearly love that woman. Life is beautiful!

I'm glad, Captain. I love you both! But don't put the whole blame when you know the whole crew and even their girlfriends were in on this! And also your friend Cookie, your gourmet cook, was the biggest hog in the puddle!

Captain roared again with laughter! I bet he also quoted his old phrase, ‘Just love it when a good plan comes together!' So, James, how are things in Samoa?

"Well, Captain, I guess you would call Leilani and I a relationship. We are happy and dearly in love. We have built us a cottage up on the hillside, secluded, with tropical vegetation all around, and the front faces the Pacific—beautiful—and most nights, we watch the most beautiful sunsets. Things happen very quickly in a short time!

Lei really wants to get married, and I do too, but I don't want her to have the burden with me when I go down! I have made provisions for her to be well-off when it is my time to leave!

Sounds good, James, but marry the girl! Have a Samoan island native marriage. That will be satisfactory to both of you! Then you're hers!

Good thought, Captain. I'll do that.

James, I don't want to put sadness in your heart, but what about your old dog Cocoa?

Hey, Captain, he is here with us! He is so happy to have a woman around. It's pathetic, like me!

Well, how did that happen, James?

"Another story, Captain. Let me tell you! We got settled in Samoa real quickly. I was upset about leaving old dog Cocoa. Lei said something to Curt and Hawk, and can you believe? They came to me and said, ‘James, we are going to have a merry flight and go and get old dog! You and Lei have to come along!' So, Captain, a clandestine flight was in progress! We took off from Samoa, stopped at Tahiti then to Corpus Christi, stopped for fuel then up to Arkansas. We landed in the big lake and taxied into the major boat dock.

"Hawk rounds up the owner and told him, ‘We were in for a secret rendezvous. We have a naval officer on board and two other passengers. It would be to your best interest if you keep your mouth shut because this is a security mission, and the less known, the better off you will be. Well paid, far beyond dock rental, we would like to have a van for a short time, rental if necessary, and we want you to insure security on this aircraft.'

"The owner looked bewildered, standing there, talking to Hawk all dressed in his Ojibwe Indian clothes. He finally said, ‘Here, take my van for as long as need be, and I guarantee security on your aircraft, and no questions will be answered to anyone. I'll tell them they don't need to know, and if they want to persist, they will have to answer to the government!'

"So off we go to the farm in the foothills of the Ozarks. We retrieve Cocoa from the caregiver and enjoyed a few days on the farm. They were all in awe seeing a new environment! We enjoyed the farm and bunkhouse and also my house. Had good eats, good talks, and Leilani was pleased to see all pictures of the past and Anita's computer room with all her works.

"Lei said, ‘I can see now what makes you tick! I'm sorry for your loss, honey, but I love you and will always take good care of you. Someday, when you take your last flight, you will go to her.' She paused. ‘When I go, can I come to you and Anita?'

"I hugged her and said, ‘Leilani, you most certainly can.' Cocoa was right in the middle of things and was the favorite one.

"Lei, looking around, said, ‘We can't take Cocoa's couch back, but we will find a nice bed in Samoa just for him.'

"After a few days, we give everything the last look and returned to the lake. Gave back the owner's van with a thank you and a tidy wad of money. We taxied out into the lake, and Hawk hit the throttle, and we buzzed down and lifted off, flying over the damn site. It stopped traffic looking in amazement, seeing that beautiful de Havilland seaplane lifting off the water.

Cocoa was looking down as well as all of us. He looked back at me with almost a smile and laid his head on my lap! He had me back again and a beautiful woman to boot. I was all smiles too but with tears in my eyes. I had my dog and Lei's head on my shoulder, two friends up front taking us home! What more could a man ask for? I suspect Anita was smiling down also!

Wow, Captain said, what a story! That brought tears to my eyes too. That little round-trip ticket has done a lot of things, eh, mate?

It sure did, Captain, and a big thank-you to you!

Chapter 3

James, are your cruise days over now that you and Leilani are together?

"No, Captain, we have already discussed that. She knew sooner or later, you would be coming up with something! I told her if so, Curt or Hawk would fly us to Sydney, and she could hang out with the girls. She said, ‘No, I've had enough travels. I think you should go, and I'll stay home with Cocoa, and everything will be just fine!'

‘I'm sure it will be,' I said, ‘because Cocoa dearly loves you like me, and he feels secure until I get back!' So, Captain, what's on your mind?

"Well, James, since we made that flying trip to Fiji to meet Hawk's uncle and the old boy Uncle Magnus McGregor took us on a tour of all the Fiji islands, also traveling to the Bligh Waters, I've got an itch to plan a cruise through the Bligh Waters. When back in history, Captain Bligh was dispatched from England to Fiji mission to transport the fruit bread to Tahiti and also the slave owners in the Pacific islands, also back to the Caribbean islands to those slave owners to bolster their feed source. You remember the overcrowding was causing a serious depletion of food source and causing a slowdown in work from the slaves.

"The slave owners in the Pacific islands were feeding their slaves with fruit bread and were successful. England wanted to see if it would also become successful in the Caribbean. There was a big piece of history there.

"Dispatching from England, Captain Bligh had to sail the Atlantic down around the Cape of Good Hope, South America, and out to the Pacific. No carnival then! One storm at the cape forced them to