condensed master

Will Bonner
interruption throughout the night, Will panicked, thinking that it was now past his
time for duty. Glancing at his watch assured him this was not the case, it was only
6 a.m. and the "Wiltshire" was making an early start.
The accommodation was above decks, avoiding most of the noise from the
engines, which had developed a gentle throb as the ship gained speed. It was a
brilliant sunny day as Will walked out on deck to witness the departure down the
Thames estuary. His first duty period started at 12 noon and apart from time out
for breakfast, he would stay on deck until then as he had never sailed out of
England via that route before, and wanted to take in the sights.
The 12 to 4 p.m. watch went very well, with Will still making comparisons with
his previous ship. He was adapting rapidly to the informal atmosphere, and his
place of work situated on the port side, enabled him to look out across the sea,
a privilege he never had before. As he left his watch at 4 p.m. they were well into
the English Channel with the English coast line on their starboard side. The sea was
calm, but looking in that direction the beach seemed perilously close. Will ran to
the rail, joined by others all asking the same question.
"Why are we so close?"
"It's the crazy skipper," someone answered, pointing to the open deck
adjacent to the bridge, "he'll bloody well run us aground if he goes any closer!"
Will looked up to see the captain waving, and glancing across at the grassy
bank that grew down to the beach, he could clearly see a woman, waving what
appeared to be a white flag.
"That's his wife," someone called out, "he's waving goodbye to her. If he
doesn't pull away soon, we'll hit the bottom!"
Apparently, he had done the same thing on previous occasions, and the crew
would get tensed up waiting for the ship to run aground. Captain Angel was a
disciplinarian, with unorthodox methods. Will studied him as he paced backwards
and forwards still waving to his wife, with the navigator probably biting his finger
nails in the chartroom.
He was a man in his mid-fifties, of medium height but very thickset. His gait,
as he walked the deck was timed to robotic perfection. When coupled to his
hunched shoulders and bulldog like appearance, he fitted Ted's description
perfectly. This man, Will supposed, would have fitted most appropriately into the
"Mutiny On The Bounty" film, which featured Charles Laughton, playing the role
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