Coasts of Cape York Read Free Page A

Then he shook his head. ‘I am in an aircraft, and old American one at that. I should be calculating distance in Nautical Miles. Let’s see, that would be about… Hmm….about fifteen nautical miles.’
    From that he worked out they would be back in the area in about seven minutes. ‘Not long,’ he thought, until he remembered how hard it was to swim for any length of time. ‘I hope he’s got a lifejacket,’ he thought, before adding, ‘if I really did see a man!’
    Even as he worked all this out the ‘Catalina’ covered the distance from Noddy Reef to Magpie Reef and Willy clearly identified Lytton Reef ahead. ‘Not far now,’ he thought anxiously.
    Mr Southall turned from scanning ahead with binoculars and said, “What’s your name son?”
    â€œWilly sir, Willy Williams, I mean Leading Cadet Williams.”
    â€œWilliams eh? Any relation to Group Captain Freddy Williams?” Mr Southall asked.
    Willy shook his head. “Not that I know of sir. Both my parents are doctors,” he replied. He found it hard to carry on polite talk when all he wanted to do was look outside. To his relief Mr Southall nodded and also turned to look.
    The ‘Catalina’ flew quickly over Lytton Reef and then out over a stretch of open deep water about seven miles wide between it and the end of the odd shaped reef. ‘It was in this area,’ he thought as the western end of the odd shaped reef drew closer. He began to peer out anxiously, appalled at how much the surface of the sea was ruffled by tiny white wave tops. ‘Oh dear! This might be harder than I thought,’ he realized. Now he regretted ever taking his eyes off the tiny shape.
    They reached western end of the reef and the navigator passed over the bearings and timings for a square search pattern. The plane went into a gentle bank to starboard and then steadied on a run west. Willy moved to behind the pilot so that he had a clearer view.
    Nothing. Mr Southall took the controls and turned the plane south for five minutes, then back east. Still nothing. Willy began to feel both anxious and very foolish. They turned north and headed back towards the western end of the odd-shaped reef. “This is the area where we saw the whales,” Mr Southall said.
    Willy stared down at the ripples and mottled blue surface of the ocean and felt slightly sick. There was no sign of the whales. ‘If we can’t find a dozen huge whales what chance do we have of finding anything as tiny as man?’ he wondered.
    And then he saw him.
    It was a man!
    And he was waving at them.
    â€œThere!” Willy cried, pointing down off the port bow. “It is a man.”
    â€œGot him!” Mr Southall answered.
    A huge wave of relief surged through Willy and he smiled. Then he went stiff with worry. ‘What is that in the water near him?’ he thought.
    Just as his own mind registered the concern Mr Southall focused his binoculars on the tiny shape and said, “That’s a bloody great shark in the water near him!”
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CHAPTER 2
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    A GHASTLY MESS
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    Willy gasped in horror. “Oh! A shark! Quick! Land! We must save him!” he cried.
    Mr Southall now had the ‘Catalina’ in a steep bank. The plane slid down towards the water and he stared out the window before easing the controls and levelling out a couple of hundred feet above the sea.  As he took the aircraft around in a wide, gentle turn Mr Southall said, “There’s a second man there.”
    The co-pilot nodded and said, “I see him.”
    Willy hadn’t but the tone of the men’s voices bothered him and he peered anxiously out. Then his eyes detected the second man and he realized why he hadn’t seen him earlier. The man was floating face down about fifty metres from the first and even at that height Willy felt sure he was dead.  Worse still there was another shark there, and