Sharkbait

Driving through the town, we followed the roads through the swamps until we reached an industrial area about eight that night. “Most of these companies provide support for offshore oil drilling in the Gulf,” Cyprian told us. “I have a substantial interest in one of these companies, C&C Technologies. You’ll be meeting with Steve Clarke, the President of the company.”

“What do they do?”

“They perform underwater seabed surveys, pipeline mapping, and inspection services. Many of these rigs are in water over a mile deep.” The limo parked in the small lot, a steel building with the company’s logo in front of us. “We have some other business, so we’ll be back in an hour.”

“Other business,” Fiona asked.

“Vampires have to eat too, and they like to spread things around,” I said as she got out.

“Only one fresh scent, and it’s human,” Fiona told me as she opened the door for us.

A black man in his fifties, his short hair graying on the sides, opened the door of the building. “Welcome to C&C Technologies, I’m Steve Clarke,” he said with a strong Cajun accent.

“Vicki Lawrence,” I said.

“Lifesaver, model, shark conservationist, and now television producer,” he said. “I’m a big fan of your work.”

I smiled and continued. “Linda Cartwright, director, and Fiona, my head of security.”

“Nice to meet you all. Well, come on back,” Steve said as he held the door open. He led us through the offices into a warehouse. The big space overflowed with rolls of cable, towed sonar arrays, and other equipment.

“Cyprian said you do marine surveys and inspections. What is involved with that?”

“Lots of towed sonar arrays and magnetic mapping equipment for the survey work. With the inspection and repair, it’s mostly remote operated vehicles. We do have a two-person submersible capable of diving to over two thousand feet, and remote vehicles capable of diving more than five miles down.” Damn. That was some impressive equipment. “The Scout has worked well for us, but the new technologies require more than she can give us,” he said. “Underwater pipeline inspection and repair has gone to autonomous robot crawlers with artificial intelligence that can be deployed and retrieved weeks later. They are too big to deploy from our old vessel, so we had to buy a bigger survey boat with a heavier hoist capacity. That left the Sea Scout without much to do, and boats cost money to maintain.”

I knew all about that now. We walked out to the pier behind Steve. I stopped when I saw it; the ship was a thing of beauty. “Holy shit,” I said. The catamaran design was almost twice the size of my yacht, with a forward superstructure, a big open area aft, and not one but TWO A-frames. One went nearly the entire width of the stern, the other on the side, plus a marine crane.

(You can see the actual vessel at allamericanmarine.com/vessels-gallery/the-sea-scout/ )

“Do you mind if I record the tour for the people who aren’t here,” Linda asked as she pulled her phone out.

“Not at all. This ship is the Sea Scout Multipurpose Survey Vessel by All American Marine,” Steve said as we walked towards the gangplank. “Launched in 2009, it’s constructed of welded aluminum, so it’s lighter than a steel hull and won’t corrode. One hundred and thirty-four feet long and thirty-seven feet in beam, it’s big, stable, yet can turn on a dime and race to the job site. Top speed is twenty-six knots, and seakeeping is excellent. It’s big and fast enough to pull a water skier across the Gulf of Mexico nonstop. Come on.”

I was shocked. It was twice as fast as the other research vessels I’d looked at on the Internet, and four knots faster than my motor yacht was! In my terms, it was as fast as a Great White, but not quite as fast as a Mako.

We walked on board; since Steve was expecting us, all the lights were on, and the working deck was well-illuminated with work lights from the superstructure. It was more than enough to work safely after dark. “This deck area is HUGE,” I said. It was twice as wide and deep as the fantail of the Ocean Explorer, thanks to the catamaran construction.

“With the A-frames, you could easily deploy a submersible or remote-operated vehicle, or multiple shark cages,” Linda said as she looked around. “Great lighting and shooting positions from the forward superstructure and the room makes shooting safer for the camera operators.”

Steve walked over to the A-frame at the stern. “The big frame has a 14,000-pound capacity, while the auxiliary has 10,000. We can run winch cables up to five thousand feet long. The hydraulic crane has a five-ton capacity and launches the sixteen-foot Zodiac up there.”

“More than enough for what I need,” I said. Even the most massive Great White that the Ocean Explorer brought aboard was less than three thousand pounds.

“Let’s go into the main deck compartments,” he said. “Wet lab and storage here, and with the catamaran design, plenty of room. My jaw was on the ground as we took the main deck tour; it had twelve staterooms with twenty-six berths, many double bunks with a small desk. He showed us one of the four shared heads with showers and toilets. Other spaces included a fitness room with a treadmill and exercise bike and a laundry room with two sets of washers and dryers. We finished in a crew lounge with three tables and television, next to a commercial kitchen and walk-in cooler. “The Sea Scout was designed with fourteen-day open-water expeditions in mind, carrying up to twelve crew and fourteen scientists. Everything about it is designed around that mission, including fuel storage. It can race out at full speed to a site in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico, spent two weeks on station at cruising speed, then race back to port again. It’s unique in that it has four engines and propellers; one set is big, the other small. You use all four diesel engines at top speed, but at low speed, you only use the two smaller engines to go between four and eleven knots. It makes it more fuel-efficient; add in over eleven-thousand gallons of fuel capacity, and it can go anywhere in the world. I’ve taken it through twenty-foot waves, but I can’t recommend that while you’re eating.”

I was falling in love with this ship with every step; I just hoped I could afford it. Even buying it used, I knew it wouldn’t be cheap. “What is your normal crew load for missions?”

“For underwater survey and mapping, we bring more technicians, but I’ve never had more than twenty. Four to eight crew, depending on the mission.” He took us up the ladder to the 01 Level. “Most of the survey work goes on in this lab; there is a computer room attached.”

“I want this vessel,” Linda whispered as we walked around the lab. Multiple computer work stations and desks filled the expansive workspace that took up the whole level. “I can do anything I need up here. Tons of space to monitor cameras and edit, and plenty of space for the computers and cameras. You can even run mission briefs here.”

We followed him up to the pilothouse above; it was huge, spanning the width of the ship and giving three-hundred-and-sixty-degree views. The steering station had all of the electronics you’d expect. “As a survey boat, we need the Scout to be able to maintain position regardless of winds and seas. Bow thrusters and engines help with that, plus it can use GPS or reference to an object on sonar to show relative position. We have three means of deploying sonar probes, two through valves in the hull, the third through a moon pool on the deck, all with winches.”

“If you can lower a sonar probe, you can lower underwater cameras, and you won’t interfere with anything else,” Linda said with a grin.

“Let’s head back down.” The deck forward of the superstructure was much smaller, holding only the anchor windlass. He took us back through the watertight doors, then down to one of the engine rooms in the catamaran structure. I didn’t know a ton about engines, but they were big, the space was clean, and he pointed out the generator, reverse osmosis unit, and other features. We climbed back out of the engine room and headed back to the fantail. “What do you ladies think?”

“It’s PERFECT for what we need,” I said. “Plenty of room for a breathing air compressor and air bottles. The only thing it doesn’t have is a dive platform off the fantail.”

“You could lower a portable platform in place with the side A-frame when you need it, and that leaves the stern open,” Steve said. “We haven’t done any diving operations, as our work is in much deeper water.”

“Or have small, folding dive platforms added to the rear of each catamaran with ladders.” Linda was making sure her camera caught everything. “The things we could do with a ship like this? It’s incredible.”

“I hope it works out for you,” Steve said after he heard a car horn. “Your car is waiting. Can you see yourselves out while I shut everything down out here and close up?”

“Of course. Thank you for coming out so late for the tour, and I’ll send you something to thank you when I get home,” I said. I didn’t bring any of my Bodyglove swag with me, but he’d be getting something in the mail soon.

I felt like a kid in a candy store as we walked out, and Linda was just as excited. I’d picked up on how the Sea Scout was no longer useful to them, but that didn’t tell me if I could afford it. We joined Emily and Cyprian in the back of the limo and drove off. “Is that what you were looking for,” Cyprian asked.

“It’s more than I thought to look for,” I replied. It was perfect.

“I’m glad you liked it,” he said. “We were going to put in on the market late this year.”

I wanted it, but I didn’t want to appear desperate. “What are you asking for it?”

He shook his head. “It’s not ready yet. We have to get it pulled out of the water for her Coast Guard inspection. While she’s out, we need to overhaul the four diesel engines and main generator, replace the shaft seals, upgrade electronics, and remove the hydrographic survey gear and computers,” he said. “Add in refurbishing the kitchen and staterooms with the latest equipment and running fiber optic everywhere, and it’s a big job. The overhaul will take about two months, Steve tells me. When it’s over, the Sea Scout will be as good as new.”

“I still don’t know if I can afford it,” I said. “A vessel like this is not cheap, and the maintenance isn’t either. A boat like this has to sell for millions of dollars! Probably more with the overhaul you’re talking about.”

“You don’t understand, Vicki. It is not for sale,” Emily said.

It felt like I'd been punched in the gut.

Master Cyprian got my attention. “My company is donating the refurbished vessel to your research foundation, Vicki, along with one of our older ROPOS remote-operated vehicles, and some other gear we think you’ll find useful. My company gets a tax deduction, and you get the research boat. You and Linda can work with Steve Clarke on how you want it outfitted, and he will make it happen,” Cyprian said.

I sat there in shock, unable to form a word. The silence stretched on for an uncomfortable amount of time. “I think you broke our Sharkbait,” Linda finally said with a chuckle.

“Thank you,” I said. I moved across the limo, giving the Supreme Vampire a big hug.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve garnered that reaction,” Cyprian said with a small smile. “When Emily sent me your wish list, I knew I could make it come true.”

“Why would you help me like this,” I said as I sat back.

“For over a century, our kind barely talked beyond what was needed to keep the peace,” he said. “You were the one who saw beyond that and forged a bridge between us. I also respect your enthusiasm and commitment to conservation. Since direct payments would raise too many eyebrows after Master Alexander’s death, Emily and I are cooperating on this. I will be donating the vessel, and she is paying for the overhaul.”

I hugged Emily as well. “I can’t believe it.”

“What good is money if you can’t help your friends out,” she said. “The timing works out well for everyone. We can have the Sea Scout ready by December so we can deduct it from this year’s taxes. Your tour ends just before Christmas, so you can start filming as soon as January. I just need to know where you want it delivered to.”

I hadn’t even thought about that. It was in the Gulf, but most shark studies were done around Florida or up the East Coast. The spots I had in mind for my show were all on the West Coast, from Mexico up to Seattle. “How would I get it to San Diego?”

“It’s got enough range to go through the Panama Canal,” Cyprian said. “If we had longer, we could load it onto a commercial vessel and ship it to you. Or, you could stay in the Atlantic and pick a new homeport. The waters of the Gulf in this area are too muddy for your purposes.”

“We’ll figure it out,” Linda said. She looked at me, just as excited. “I’m going to need to move here for the overhaul, so I can purchase and install everything we need while in drydock. You need to think about who else needs to be involved; at a minimum, your future Captain should oversee the boat’s overhaul, plus an experienced scientist should help get it outfitted it properly for shark research.”

“I’ll take care of that tomorrow,” I said.

Maybe by then my heart rate would return to normal.