Geoffrey’S Adventures on the High Seas

By Byron B. Oberst MD FAAP

This is the story of the pluck, courage, and adventuresome nature of a young teen who was orphaned early in life and raised by an older childless fisherman couple. His early life was spent in a small fishing village. Through his courage, he was able to save the life of his future benefactor who opened the world to Geoffrey and his ambition to be a part of the British Royal Navy. Through the assistance of his benefactor, he obtains an appointment as a midshipman in HMS Orpheus whence his adventures begin.
He encounters pirates in the Caribbean area where he seizes the opportunities to fight for England and a better way of life for the colonists. After many exciting adventures, he returns to England, is knighted by the King, and given a command of a frigate to wage war against Napoleons forces on the Spanish coastline where he further distinguishes himself by his ingenuity and resourcefulness. He participates in the historical battle of Trafalgar which saves England from being invaded by French forces.
This story is fraught with action, romance, and a certain amount of realism. It should appeal to all ages and walks of life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trafford Publishing
• Release date: Mar 31, 2016
• ISBN: 9781490772011

Byron B. Oberst MD FAAP

Dr. Oberst is a ninety-three [93] year old author of several medical books pertaining to a child’s growth and development and computer applications to healthcare and healthcare delivery. His writings include a Trilogy on his many different medical experiences including two [2] real miracles which should never have lived but did and, now, lead very normal functioning lives. He was in the private practice of pediatrics for thirty-seven [37] years. He was certified by the American Board of Pediatrics. He was a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics and was active within the Academy at the national level for over fifteen years [15]. He has received many awards and accolades. He was the president of the Omaha Childrens’ Clinic for over twenty [20] years. In addition to his large general pediatric practice, he had an extensive consultative practice. He was a pioneer in many areas of pediatric medicine. He was an early student in the use of the Exchange Transfusion for the rH negative mother with an rH positive infant performing over five hundred [500] exchanges with a miniscule morality rate. He was an early participant in the infancy days of the private practice of adolescent medicine and an early advocate for the child or adolescent with the Attention Deficient Disorder with and without Hyperactivity having cared for over three thousand [3000] of these folks with excellent results. He was an early proponent in the use of computers in the private practice of pediatrics. He was an authority in private office practice management. He retired from medical practice in 1988. He now lives in the Immanuel Lakeside Village Retirement Facility in Omaha, Nebraska. He has written seven [7] books and one [1] children’s book since living here. He is now learning to play the guitar and to speak Spanish.

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© Copyright 2016 Byron B. Oberst MD, FAAP.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written prior permission of the author.

ISBN: 978-1-4907-7200-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4907-7201-1 (e)

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

The characters portrayed in this story are totally fictitious. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental. The author claims poetic license in stretching the truth in order to add a bit of spice flavoring to this narrative and will naturally embellish certain situations beyond the realm of credibility.

Trafford rev. 03/23/2016

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Contents

Dedication

Acknowledgements

Prologue

Chapter 1 Life in a Fishing Village

Chapter 2 The Storm

Chapter 3 The Aftermath

Chapter 4 Life at the Malvern Academy

Chapter 5 Aboard the HMS Orpheus

Chapter 6 Enemy in Sight

Chapter 7 An Independent CommandandAn Encounter with a Pirate

Chapter 8 Aboard the Eagle

Chapter 9 The Battle of David versus Goliath

Chapter 10 Another Amazing Victory

Chapter 11 Back to England

Chapter 12 At the Admiralty

Chapter 13 Cruising along the Spanish Coast

Chapter 14 A Crisis at Sea

Chapter 15 Fire Ships

Chapter 16 The Battle of Trafalgar

Chapter 17 Home at Last

Curriculum Vitae

DEDICATION

To the memory of my wonderful wife

Beloved Mary Catherine

She was my anchor and the light of my life for 66 years

To my Three Sons, Who taught me so much:

Byron

Terrance

Matthew

Mary%20at%20Age%2020.jpg

Mary at Age 22

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Mary and Obie in the Early Years         Mary and Obie at Age 68

BOOKS BY BYRON B. OBERST M.D., FAAP

Practical Guidance for Pediatric and Adolescent Practice

Computer Applications to Private Practice – A Primer

Co-Author: R. Reid M.D.

Computers in Private Practice Management

Co-Author: J. Long PhD

A Trilogy:

Reflections on Pediatric Medicine from 1943 to 2010

A Dual Love Story

A Mother, Her three Sons, and Their Dog

The Love Story of a Father for His Family

Miracles and Other Unusual Medical Experiences

The Golden Years: Living in a Retirement Center

The Romance and Adventures of Roger King M.D.

A Fiction Story

Rocky Ford’s Adventures in the Old West

A Fiction Story

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

To my Beloved Mary, who always inspired me to strive to do my best and comforted me when I was low in spirits.

To my wonderful sons, who married special wives.

To my major Editor, my son Terrance, who drove me crazy with his insatiable and innumerable corrections along with many caustic comments.

PROLOGUE

His name was Geoffrey Jones. He lived in Mullion, a small fishing village near Cadgwith Cove on the Lizard Peninsula¹ [the tip of England] which had a lighthouse and lifeboat station close to the larger village of Lizard. Their main fish catch was Pilchard². [Similar to a sardine] He was orphaned as an infant when both parents died in a nearby boating accident. There were no close relations to care for him. No one came forward to acknowledge a relationship. He was considered to be a ward of the nearby region and was under the jurisdiction of the Vicar. He arranged for him to be raised by an older childless couple.

When he became about seven, he helped on the family boat. Their income from the sea was sparse. They lived a simple life existing mostly of fish and black bread. The life was rough. Jerry as he wished to be called was twelve years old. After many a fisticuff encounters resulting in black eyes, bloody noses, and fat lips, his village acquaintances reluctantly settled on his desired name, Jerry. After this acknowledgement, everyone lived peacefully.

CHAPTER 1

LIFE IN A FISHING VILLAGE

He went to the local school where the teacher was the Vicar’s daughter. She discovered that Jerry was very bright, had an aptitude for math, and with an eagerness to learn. She helped him after school in the evenings as he was much brighter and quicker of thought than the other rough fishermen’s children.

Out of her own pocket, she bought him advanced math books including some that related to navigation. He retained the secret hope of going to sea in one of His Majesty’ ships as an officer. She began training him to pass the public school examinations for the Malvern Boarding School³ which were held once a year. If he passed the exam and was accepted, his full school tuition and board would be paid.

He was an active boy always climbing around on the nearby cliffs. He was accustomed to dive off of the cliffs as heights did not bother him. He was walking by the cliffs one day when he heard a weak voice calling for help. He looked down and saw a boy clinging to a rock. Immediately he ran to where he could clamber down to the beach; threw off his clothes except for his small cloths; plunged into the water; and swam to him. He saw that the person was a teenager, who couldn’t swim and was almost exhausted. He cautioned him to keep his head, not to struggle; and to hold onto his waist. He slowly swam to where there was a low spot on the beach. where he pulled his victim ashore. They, both, lay for awhile catching their breaths and recovering some strength. Jerry’s muscles were aching from the exertion. He looked at the fellow’s foot which was terribly swollen and incapable of supporting any weight. He knew that he had to go for help, which he did.

Jerry was used to cavorting in the waters. He felt so at home in the water that he was like a porpoise swimming here and there. When he arrived at the village, he told several men what had happened to the young chap. They followed him to where the injured boy was lying on the beach. He learned that his name was Bill. Bill’s drunken father was beside himself concerning his incapacitated son, who would not be able to work for the foreseeable future. He had no thoughts or concerns regarding the close call that Bill had had. He was unhappy that no money would be coming in.

Because he had saved Bill’s life, he became Jerry’s constant companion. Bill went everywhere Jerry wanted to go. He was bigger and stronger than the other village boys and felt like he was destined to be Jerry’s protector. Bill didn’t spend much time at his home as his father drank too much and, as a resultant, had a mean streak. Both of the boys worked on local fishing boats.

Jerry had acquired a small one man sailing "Pram⁴" where he spent most of his spare time learning about the wind and currents. He was an ardent student of the art of sailing and was the best sailor in their village including the men, who spent most of their time on the water.

Jerry was like a dolphin in the water and was utterly fearless. He enjoyed swimming in the roughest of weather, especially, when the waves were high and the wind was very strong. He spent almost as much time in the water as he did on land. He would watch the waves forming and when they reached their highest peak would dive under them at just the right moment and come up on the other side. Storms never phased his antics; in fact, he relished the challenge they offered.

Jerry was equally at home in his Pram in fair winds or foul. He could anticipate a change in the wind almost before it occurred. He would sail his craft in the roughest of weather and enjoyed it. He never had any qualms or worries when out in a storm. His fellow acquaintances envied his abilities and his fearlessness.

Because of his passion for sailing and the sea, the Vicar’s daughter bought him a Navigation book which he studied diligently. She could help only him to a certain point, but the determination of latitudes and longitudes was beyond her area of expertise. Jerry learned to fudge these figures from the many tables contained in the book. He knew enough to arrive at a reasonable answer, but did