High Seas Series: The Brandon Saga ~ Escape

The Carl

Since both Eduardo and Santi wanted to be engineers, it fell to Gil to lead them through the grease and oil, chasing out knowledge and experience. When Santiago was finally ready to enter the University, he already had his Oiler's Certification and his friend, Eduardo, sailed on the Domingo as Third Engineer! Charlie considered the two as jewels in their crown, both men would remain with the company and would have to be forced to retire. Eduardo would eventually become the Chief Engineer of the MV Evelyn, a position he stubbornly refused to leave until he was forced to retire. Santiago entered the University as a Freshman and soon stood at the head of his class. He was an accomplished speaker, but it was mathematics and mechanics where he outshone all others. University went by like a flash for him and seemed a very short time to him when he was receiving notification that his Third Assistant Engineer's License was being activated. He requested that he be assigned to Chief Eduardo's ship. He would remain on the Evelyn until he became a Chief Engineer himself and was forced to take another ship. By that time, of course, Domingo Marine Services had become a much larger company.

The four years of Santi's University classes seemed to spin by almost before they knew it. With Santi on the Evelyn as Third Assistant Engineer, it was Junior's time, like Santi, Junior had already gotten his Oiler's Certification and he had been spending his school breaks sailing on any of the ships that needed him. The only Chief that refused to have him in his Engine Room was his Daddy, Carl.

Carl would be damned if he was going to listen to anyone claiming that Junior got special treatment! Of course, he did, however, not for who his Daddy is, but every Chief he sailed under swore he was the best damned Oiler he had ever had! Every Assistant Engineer who had shared a watch with him would have donated body parts to be allowed to keep him!

Between the time he had already spent on the various ships and his studies, he felt he was ready to take the Second Assistant Engineer examination, so he hitched a ride on the Domingo and went to take the exam in Brazil. There never was any consideration that Junior would fail the examination, however, he was the first person to complete the test and he walked out with a bright new Second Assistant Engineer's ticket before lunch and was able to ride the Domingo back home!

They had no slack in their manpower, if someone was sick or hurt, the ship would have to sail short. That meant that someone like the Captain or the Chief Engineer could not even take a vacation! John could sometimes fill, in for a Captain, but Charlie could no longer fill in for another Chief, his heart just wouldn't take it, even if he could get his license reinstated.

They were so busy, it was looking like they needed to start looking for yet another ship and The Minister of Energy was hoping they would put on a tanker, the vandals were always cutting the pipeline coming up from Venezuela and it would be touch and go before the storage tanks ran dry.

He had already approached Charlie and John about a tanker and had even offered to subsidize the vessel. John and Charlie were trying to get some time to look around for some more ships, but the ^^*#* telephone would not stop ringing! They heard about some ships at anchor in New Orleans, but they refused to deal with the gangs that had taken over all of the North American ports in the gulf.

Finally, they got in touch with Comandanté Roman Duarte of Puerto Montevideo and he told them there were four ships that had been sitting in his harbor since the collapse and he wanted them gone!

Charlie asked what they were and the Comandanté said, "There are two small tankers and the others are freighters." The Comandanté added, "I can let you have both small tankers for the accumulated anchorage fees, we need the room!"

The Domingo was in, so Charlie shanghaied Ben and Carl and told them they were taking him and John to Montevideo!

Ben complained that they didn't have a cargo to go and Charlie said, "Suck it up son, sometimes we have to bite the bullet!

It was a fair run down to Montevideo from Costa Rica. The Domingo was riding high with no cargo and was rolling abominably, causing Ben to actually curse, something he rarely did. He did not get seasick, but there were several nights that he skipped his supper!

Domingo and Junior were along for the ride, both young men loved the crashing seas and Dom spent some time sketching the waves crashing over his namesake's bow. Ben glowered at his son, being so happy and carefree and he was struggling to make his stomach behave!

Junior was very suspicious that neither John nor Uncle Charlie had protested their coming along and had an awful premonition that he was about to be made a Temporary Chief Engineer on some new ship! With the lax enforcement of Brazil, any ship master could upgrade a Mate or Engineer for ninety days on his signature alone. Many licenses were in continuous "upgrade" until the licensing authority lost track of them. Then, the license was considered permanent!

They arrived in Montevideo in the late afternoon and Uncle Charlie took Junior and Domingo out to supper, further confirming Junior's suspicions! Over Beef Tornadoes, Junior accused his Uncle of cunning skullduggery and Charlie smiled and said, "Who, ME?"

The next morning, they met with the Comandanté and the first ship he showed them, they all fell in love with it. The ship was small enough to get into any port they served and large enough to be profitable.

It was a relatively new vessel, having been built in Holland just five years before the crash. The owners had abandoned the ship and the crew had disappeared after not getting paid.

They had not even finished dickering with the local government when seamen began coming to the Domingo, asking for Capitan John. John was ready to dig his heels in, he was tired and had not had shore leave in two years! He was beginning to feel like a Caribbean Zombie! John had already decided he was NOT going to sail the new ship home, that was going to fall to Ben and Junior, although they did not know that yet, he hoped that he could pull it off.

While the two "victims" were being shown the new ship, a tired young man appeared at the gangway. To those on the Domingo, he looked as if he had slept on a park bench and missed more than a few meals. He gave the watch his name, Jorge Benevides and, could he please speak with the capitán of the tanker that was being purchased.

The young man looked so tired and dejected that the Bosun, Tomás Garcia, brought him on board and offered him a meal before he met Captain Ben. While the young man was wolfing down a roast beef sandwich, Tomás knocked respectfully on Captain Ben's stateroom door and stuck his head in, "Sir, there is a very sad young man down in the mess to see you, I think he is looking for a job." He continued, "He sure looks like he is hurtin' mighty bad, sir."

Ben replied, "OK, well, lets go speak with him, it looks like I am gonna get stuck bringing the new tanker home, so maybe he can be our first crewmember."

Ben went down to the mess and saw the young man sitting there, he had finished his sandwich and Ben saw tears running down the young man's face. Ben sat down beside him and said, "What is troubling you? Perhaps I can help you?"

The young man spoke excellent English, indicating he was an educated young man. He said, "Captain, Sir, please I need a job, I will do anything so that my two sons may eat."

Ben was disturbed by what the young man had said, so he asked, "Where are your sons and why have they not eaten?" When he discovered the man and his sons were living at the edge of the city dump, sleeping in old cardboard boxes, he nearly screamed. Struggling to remain calm, he asked, "What did you do before this?"

Jorge replied, "Sir, I was third mate on a tanker very much like the one you are purchasing, the company went bankrupt and, without a job, I lost our home and my two boys and myself were thrown out."

Ben asked, "What about your wife?"

The young man looked even more dejected, "Sir, she left us when I lost my job, we have not seen her since."

Ben made an instant decision, one that would prove of great value to the company and to himself. He said, "OK, first, let's go get those boys out of their box and bring them to the ship."

Ben slipped into his stateroom and pulled a pistol out of the safe, he didn't like the sound of the situation and, if he had to shoot his way clear, he was gonna bring this sad young man back to the ship WITH his two sons.

Jorge tried to protest, but Ben wasn't having any of it: "Come on, we will take the company truck." Their factor in the area had lent them his truck to run any errands they needed.

The closer they got to the municipal disposal site, the more disturbed Ben became, he had clenched the steering wheel of the truck in a death grip and his teeth were clamped so tight, they hurt.

There were sea gulls flying around, snatching up garbage and half wild dogs were fighting over garbage scraps. He could imagine the whole area crawling with disease and vermin, he almost shouted, "Where are your boys, quick, we gotta get them outta here, PRONTO!"

Jorge directed him around the right side of the dump, where several large cardboard boxes were sitting. He spotted a boy about ten or twelve years holding onto a stick, like a club and a smaller boy hiding behind him. The older boy was clubbing wild dogs, keeping them away from his smaller brother.

As Jorge got out of the truck, the older boy came running to him, "Papa. Papa, este muy....."

Jorge said, "It's ok 'Berto, I am here now, speak English so my new friend can understand what you are saying." He did not know that Ben had been fluent in Spanish since his own childhood.

The boy began again, "Papa, the big boys came and took all our food and tried to hurt Jose."

Ben knelt down beside the child and asked, "Chico grande, quando ustedes tenias comidas?" (Big boy, when have you had some food?)

The boy looked at Ben and said shyly, "Yo tengo doce años, eeer, me twelve years old, Señor, me protect baby brother from big boys. Us not eat this day, us have no food."

Jorge pulled out the sandwich he had been given; it had only one bite out of it. He broke it into two pieces and gave them to his sons. The boys ate them in nearly one gulp. That was all Ben could take, he turned to Jorge and said, "Gather up your boys, they are coming home with us!"

Jorge was trying to understand all that was happening, he said, "HhhHhHome, we have no home, Señor Capitán..."

Ben cut him off, "Nonsense, we need a mate and you need a home and these boys need food AND a home, come on, let's get outta this awful place!" Ben could not repress his shudder at the horror that was all around them.

When they got back to the Domingo, Ben gave the Bosun a fist full of hundred peso notes and told him to go to the nearest store that sold children's clothes and buy some clean clothing for Jorge's sons and not to worry about bringing back any change, SPEND IT ALL!

He said to Jorge, "As soon as we complete the purchase of the tanker that sits beside us, I will move you into the Third Mate's Stateroom. When we get back to our home, we will see about a house for you and your sons, then they need to go to school and they will need a housekeeper while you are out at sea."

Poor Jorge's head was swimming; he kept repeating, "House, boys, housekeeper.........." The important thing for him was that he had a job!

They completed the purchase of the tanker, and the only name possible would be, "The Benjamin"! The new Third Mate was in complete agreement, Capitán Ben was a gift from God!

Carl was there to celebrate with his Mate, Ben. They had steadfastly refused to be assigned to different ships. Carl had spent his afternoon with Jorge's boys, particularly Alberto, who was fascinated with the engine rooms on both ships.

Both men were impressed with Jorge and his sons, Jorge was very intelligent and struck them both as being someone who could advance to Captain of his own ship in short order!

As it was, Ben signed his temporary upgrade to Second Mate and told him he was to go take the test as soon as they returned to Limón Port, the company would pay all the expenses to go down to Brasil and take the test and he was not to worry about his boys, they could stay with them until he got back.

Jorge's head was still swimming when they sailed the Benjamin across the river to BA and put her in dry dock for a hull inspection and to have her bottom cleaned and painted. They would worry about painting topside after they returned home. Jorge had a stateroom of his own and did not have to share a bunk with anyone else, unless it was one of his sons who needed a little extra attention.

The Minister of Energy was so excited to have a tanker home ported in Limón, he offered them the use of the government pier and issued a contract for three sailings a month to deliver fuel to the tank farm near the port. It would go a long ways to ensure the economic safety of all of Costa Rica in these unsettled times. All too frequently, the banditos severed the pipeline and held it for ransom. The tanks might go dry before they could pay the bandits to reconnect the pipeline.

Jorge's head was still swirling when it came time to return to Limón Port. They filled the cargo tanks on the Benjamin and topped of her own fuel tank.

Ben maneuvered the ship to the Refinery dock in BA and sat in his bridge chair while the crew filled the cargo tanks. The Oil King was running around like a head without its chicken, making sure they got all the oil they paid for and did not run any tank over. A spill on their first cruise would shame him for life and he was taking no chances. By the time the cargo tanks were topped of, the poor man was a frazzeled wreck!

When all the cargo tanks were filled and capped, Ben sat in his chair and turned to Jorge, "Take her out Mr. Second Mate!" Jorge had suspected something like that would happen. He was beginning to understand how these people worked, encouraging everyone to do their very best. So he had gone over in his mind everything that he would need to do. He carefully eased the ship away from the pier and had to turn her around, before they could sail out of the harbor. He then ordered "AHEAD SLOW" as the ship straightened out and began heading for the breakwater.

Carl was down in the Engine Room, overseeing the new Chief Engineer, Carl Junior and his crew started up the huge MAN Diesel Engine. The engine developed full power at only ninety rpm and its thud was felt all over the engine room! They had run the engine several hours tied up at the pier, before they headed to the refinery, so, by the time they reached the mouth of the Rio de Plata, the engine had settled down and was running smoothly.

Junior had no idea where the builder had gotten the electric switchboard, but he swore the damned thing was going to be replaced at the very first opportunity, it was a live front board and the slate was all cracked. Surely, it had come over on Noah's Ark!

He was positive he could hear the damned thing sizzling and hissing like a jungle snake, every time he walked by it and even the crew gave it a wide berth, expecting it would lash out at them with a bolt of lightning!

As the Benjamin entered Limón Port, after a calm trip up the coast from BA, the Harbor Master radioed them that they were to go directly to the Government Fueling Pier.

When Ben asked, the man would not say the reason. He was later told it was for security reasons. There was a revolution going on in Venezuela and the fuel pipeline had been cut off. The Government tank farm was nearly empty and fuel rationing was throughout Costa Rica!

Ben groaned, knowing it was going to be a turnaround cruise! They pumped all night long and had the tanks empty by daylight. He could see the float indicator on the tank was only a third of the way up the side, the country was depending on the Benjamin for all their fuel needs.

He couldn't afford not to have Jorge on the ship, but he pleaded with Evelyn to take care of Jorge's two sons. They were going to be hard pressed to keep Costa Rica in operation, the entire country was in crisis!

The Grandmother in her could not say no and, before the Ben was ready to sail, Berto and Jose Benevidas were seated at the table in the Big House up on the hill, eating ham sandwiches and drinking large glasses of milk, with Gamma Eve cutting wedges of chocolate cake for them. Both boys spoke English and they warmed up to Grandma Evelyn in no time at all. When it came time for their Papa to sail, he found them sitting on Evelyn's lap, being read to!

The Benjamin was stuck, running round trips for more fuel to keep Costa Rica running. It was a fast voyage back to BA, Ben kept the ship at full power the entire voyage, not reducing speed until the Rio Platt Lighthouse was directly off their starboard bow. The main engine had hardly time to cool off, before they were headed out with another load of fuel.

This was going to continue for several months until the political situation in Venezuela stabilized. It never did become completely stabilized, and, just to be safe, the Benjamin was kept transporting fuel even when the pipeline was repaired.

When they finally had some breathing room, they returned to Montevideo and purchased both freighters that were also available. They rejected the second tanker because its engine room had been trashed by vandals and someone had stolen all the brass fittings on the entire ship.

With Ben's recommendation to the Examining Board, Jorge Benevidas was allowed to sit for his Master's License in Rio and passed it with flying colors. Before the ink was even dry on his ticket, Jorge Alexandro Benevidas was appointed Captain of the MV Benjamin, a position he would hold for many years.

Jorge was a skilled skipper and popular with his crew, it was a rare event that there was ever an opening on his ship and, whenever such an event took place, applicants were lined up at company headquarters begging for the job. Besides his skills as a Captain, Jorge took a page from Señor Carl's book and took an interest in all his crew. This was unheard of in their society, but it became standard practice to find Captain Jorge at the front door, with his two sons, of every member of his crew at Christmas, with a ham and bags of food for a holiday meal! If a crew member was sick or had been hurt, his family was taken care of by Captain Jorge and their job was still there when they had recovered.

The Benjamin was kept busy, the government of Costa Rica found that they could buy fuel in Argentina or Brazil and have it delivered by the Benjamin cheaper than they could purchase the same quality fuel via the pipeline from Venezuela. They also discovered, the quality they were buying was often not the quality they received through the pipeline! The shipped in fuel was better and contained no water!

Since all their ships ran on diesel, Domingo Shipping Services was happy to oblige and, soon, about the only fuel delivered by the pipeline was gasoline and not a great deal of that as the predominate fuel for wheeled traffic in the country was also diesel fuel!

When Berto Benevidas reached the age of sixteen, he asked to be apprenticed to his Papa's ship and Junior saw to it the boy was ready to take the exam for Oiler the day he reached eighteen. From there, it was a steady climb and Berto's twenty-first birthday fell on July twenty-fourth and that was also the date on his Third Assistant Engineer's License!

Jose Benevidas would follow his big brother, rising from Deck Hand to First Mate on the Benjamin and, when a heart attack forced his Papa to retire, he became Captain of the MV Benjamin!

The Benjamin would become the flag ship of the Domingo Shipping's Tanker Fleet, they would eventually have six tankers serving all of South America, Central America and the Caribbean. Jose Benevidas would be the Senior Tanker Captain of the Domingo Fleet for the next forty-five years! He would have to be forced into retirement to make way for his own son, who also became the Senior Captain!

The business was booming and Domingo had been assisting Uncle Charlie in scheduling ships and cargo. He didn't mind, his paintings were selling well and he had invested his money wisely, in Domingo Shipping Services Company. Dom stepped into Charlie's office one morning, with a handful of shipping orders that had come in on the overnight fax. Everyone in the house heard his scream!

Charlie Brandon was dead. Dom had found him slumped over his desk, the victim of a massive heart attack!

John sent a message out to all the ships of the fleet, "COME HOME AT ONCE, CAPTAIN CHARLIE BRANDON HAS DIED!"

The Domingo ships began arriving and Charlie's Family went into mourning, stunned and staggered at their loss! The business community of all Costa Rica and surrounding countries mourned the loss of Charlie Brandon, the company he had helped found was now one of the most important firms in the area. His Home Country, Costa Rica, depended upon Domingo Shipping for their life blood of fuel. He had never missed a delivery nor had he ever charged extra for any service to the country that had become his home and sheltered his family from the troubles in North America.

With six tankers and eighteen freighters, they dominated sea shipping in all of the western world and as far as Australia and New Zealand. The pause in shipping was, by necessity, short. Their customers needed the supplies and goods that they depended upon Domingo Shipping to deliver. Customers, like their adopted country of Costa Rica, were dependent upon regular fuel deliveries to keep their economies going and their people fed.

John flatly refused to take over as company President and the family elected Domingo Carl Brandon as President. Dom fought and screamed, but in the end, he accepted the office as President of the company that had been named in his honor.

Dom was as tough a negotiator as he was a fine artist and he knew to the penny what their costs were, when he quoted a price to a customer, he rarely reduced it further and he never jacked up a price because a customer was in a bind.

He made it a practice to ride their ships and visit every customer at least once a year and he knew the names of every member of the crews that manned their ships. He was not a "soft touch" but, there was not a single member of the crew of any of their ships that could not come to Sr. Domingo Brandon's office and ask for some help.

After he had been in office a couple of years, Domingo had an idea, they always needed trained Licensed Officers and Certified Crew Members, there were no more training facilities left, anywhere in the world.

He got together with the Minister of Education for Costa Rica and the Domingo Seaman's School was born. Initially, they had thirteen students wanting to be Mates or Engineers. It would gradually expand to a student body of one hundred students and included oilers and AB's. They would all have jobs on a Domingo ship!

He persuaded John to become the first School Comandante and, upon their retirement, his Papas, Ben and Carl, would manage the school until their deaths, many years later.

Domingo's next project was to explore business opportunities among the islands of the Caribbean and look further at what was left of the United States. That once vibrant country had fallen on hard times, but, hopefully, some parts of it might be coming back in recovery. No one had checked on the old country of The United States in years.

To that end, he began looking for a small freighter that could be armed, but still could carry a cargo that people in desperate straits would want and need. The ship would need to be self-contained as far as cargo handling, as it was unlikely there were any working ports remaining in North America and must have the means to protect itself!

Is it time yet to return to North America? What will they find there of the country they had known as The United States of America?