One of my coworkers, soon after I started my first job after school, owned a sailboat. He took me out several times and I fell in love with the feeling you get when you're out on the water with very little noise to distract you. There's something special about being out in nature and feeling her caress you.

After nine years of working with that same company, I was getting burned out and knew I needed something different in my life.

My epiphany came while driving home one night. The radio was playing music from my mp3 collection and a quiet song started wafting from the speakers. Reflexively, I turned up the volume so the sound would actually mean something during my drive. I heard the sounds of Crosby, Stills, and Nash singing "Southern Cross" and my mind left the traffic around me. Instantly, I was back in the sailboat, feeling the wind on my face and the shore leave me far behind. I hadn't a care in the world.

Thinking of sailing my troubles away, I realized that I wanted a sailboat. I needed the freedom that comes from having the ability to sail away.

I listened to that song over and over on my drive home, living the dream in my mind of sailing in my own boat or flying a plane, another dream of mine.

When I got home, I told my girlfriend of my epiphany and she immediately doused the my dream with the icy waters of reality, reminding me of my debts and how there was no way I'd be able to afford a boat at that time. There's nothing quite like the support of loved ones.

Unfortunately, she was right. I wasn't quite prepared to buy a boat. I did, however, have the desire and started putting money away immediately to satisfy my dreams. I started watching the local paper for boats that were for sale and checked internet sites for options. I looked into getting a loan from my bank and found that it wouldn't be too difficult. Though my debt was high, I had a long history with the bank and had not had any problems in the past, so they were willing to work with me.

To my surprise, I found a really nice looking, 26-foot sailboat for sale in South Carolina for only $13K. That was well within my price range and I knew I just needed to get out there and take a serious look. I contacted the seller and made arrangements to visit with them at their marina the following weekend. Then I called and made the appropriate flight and hotel arrangements for my visit.

Throughout the following week, I couldn't stop thinking about what I had taken to considering "my" boat. I made the appropriate arrangements with my bank so that I had funds available should I decide that I wanted to buy the boat when I got there. I found that the cheapest way to get her out to me was to have it hauled from Miami by truck. That meant I would get to sail her down from South Carolina to Florida as a maiden voyage. I made the arrangements for her delivery and downloaded a lot of pictures of similar boats so that I could tell what I was getting into with this purchase. I researched and studied as much as I could about this type of boat and the best way to handle her. I searched for any pitfalls that come with operating a boat like mine. I thought I was ready.

When the time came for me to go, I kissed my girlfriend good-bye at the airport and walked with a spring in my step towards the security check. Even the silly checks that had been in place in the airport for the past several years didn't get me down.

The flight was uneventful. I used the time to go over my research again, trying to be absolutely sure I was really ready to make the purchase.

I checked into my hotel and then went out to walk around. I was too excited to go to bed right away. I ended up in a small, seafood restaurant near the beach. While I ate, I kept looking out the window at the boats in the nearby marina, wondering which one was mine. The restaurant wasn't too busy, but there were some attractive women there. Even in my state of excitement over the boat, I couldn't help but notice them. I suppose I should have felt guilty that I had a girlfriend at home and I was checking out other women, but things had been strained at home and I needed something different. After enjoying my meal, I went back to my hotel room and phoned the current boat owner to verify that we were, indeed, on for our visit tomorrow. When I knew that was settled, I sat back and watched a little TV, then went to bed.

The next morning, I woke up early. I had the hotel's continental breakfast and then walked down to the marina. I knew I would be a bit early, but I just couldn't wait any longer. I wandered along the piers looking at the various boats, letting my mind drift to what it would be like to actually be out on the water in them.

Jim, the owner, showed up about half an hour after I got there and showed me to my boat. She was absolutely beautiful. It sure looked like he'd kept good care of her. He talked about the maintenance history, showing me the log he'd kept of everything that was done, and it looked like he must have really loved her. I asked why he was selling her and was told that his life had taken some turns recently that made it impossible for him to keep the boat and his family together. I felt for the guy. He obviously loved the boat, but sometimes family just doesn't make a boat possible.

I was just about to tell him he'd sold the boat when he offered to let me take her out in the bay to make sure that I understood how she worked and to make sure I was pleased with everything. I jumped at the chance. We motored away from the pier and then he helped me raise the main sail. We figured that was all we'd need in the bay, but he also showed me how to raise the jib so I was better prepared. We sailed around for about 45 minutes, just enjoying the wonderful weather and the feeling of being on the water. I realized he was saying his good-byes so I left him to his reverie for a while. Once he'd finished, he seemed to snap out of it and suggested we take her in. I'd found that everything felt natural and that I was really comfortable in my new boat.

We stowed everything where it needed to be and got the cabin closed tight then stepped onto the pier.

With a catch in his throat, Jim asked me what I thought of her and whether I wanted to make the purchase. Though I felt bad for him, I knew I needed her at that time and told him so.

"I'm glad she's going to someone like you," he said sadly. "I wish ... well, I'm glad she's going to you. The slip is paid up through the month, so you don't have to worry about leaving her here until you're ready to ship her out. I hope she gives you as much enjoyment as she's given me."

We completed the sale and then Jim walked away looking much sadder than when he came down to meet me that morning. He had money, but that only gets you so far. I really felt sorry for him and hoped that I would never have to sell something I loved that much.

I walked back to the hotel feeling much more free than I had in a long time. I was a boat owner. My smile must have been huge and it felt like my feet didn't touch the ground as I walked.

I checked out of the hotel that morning and walked to a nice restaurant nearby for a celebration lunch. The restaurant patrons were all enjoying their meals and I took time to examine them. I'd always been a student of human nature, enjoying going to the mall and watching people do their thing. I have learned a lot about what makes them tick, often imagining why they were there and doing what they were doing. People are generally really easy to figure out if you take the time to watch.

There was a couple there that appeared to be on a date. They were dressed for sailing. From what I could hear of their conversation, she seemed a little nervous at the prospect of sailing. She seemed to have a fear of the water, but she didn't feel comfortable enough with him to share her true feelings. She was trying to be strong for him. He seemed oblivious to her feelings and was so caught up in regaling her with stories about his prowess that he was missing the boat with her entirely. At one point, she looked around the restaurant as if looking for reassurance from somewhere. Our eyes met and I smiled at her with understanding in my eyes, trying to project that reassurance she craved. She held my gaze for a while and then slowly started to smile back. The tension seemed to leave her shoulders and she took a deep breath. She smiled a thank you back at me then looked back at her date, reassured and ready to continue the charade that she was ready to sail.

After eating, I went back down to the marina to begin my maiden voyage. I couldn't wait to get out on the water in my new boat.

I stowed my gear in the cabin, donned my life vest, and did a last check of the boat to make sure I was ready to sail. It was at that point that I realized that I would probably like to have some food on my trip. I had to remove the life vest, get things locked up, and ask at the marina for a nearby store to stock up. I felt so foolish that I'd forgotten something so basic, but chalked it up to my inexperience.

After obtaining what I thought was a good, two week's worth of supplies, I went back to the marina and went through my mental checklist one more time to prepare for my trip. Things appeared to be in order so I cast off and motored my way away from the slip. As my boat cleared the last pier, I shut off the motor and raised the main sail. It was a little different doing it by myself, but not too bad. It felt really strange moving up to the front to open up the jib since nobody was manning the tiller, but it went quickly so I could get back to steering before anything went awry.

There was a nice, off-shore breeze blowing that carried me easily out of the bay into the open water. I let out the sails to catch the most wind and flew along the water. It was exactly as I'd hoped it would be. I was in my boat, sailing along the open water, free as could be. I didn't need to be in Miami for another week, at least, so I could take my time and enjoy my maiden voyage.

The rest of that first day, I sailed along at about 5 knots, just enjoying the art of sailing. I fell into a rhythm rather quickly and got a good sense for how she felt in the water. It's definitely one thing in the bay, but another to sail in open water. Still, it didn't take me too long to pick up the nuances of my boat.

As sundown approached, I looked for and found what appeared to be a sheltered cove along the shoreline. I lowered and stowed my sails, dropped anchor, and let enough rope out so my boat could move easily with the tides without pulling the anchor up and went into the cabin. I looked through my stores and decided on a sandwich for dinner. I was still pumping with adrenaline from being on my first trip and didn't have too much appetite. After preparing dinner, I went up on deck to sit and watch the last vestiges of light from the west play with the clouds in the sky. It was absolutely beautiful. The clouds were so full and billowed high up in the sky, catching the sun long after it had ceased to shine on the water.

Being so tired from my first, exciting day at sea, I decided to turn in early. I figured that waking early would give me a jump on tomorrow and I'd get a fair distance down the coast, but wanted to be well rested. The cabin rocked softly with the waves as night progressed and I found myself lulled into an easy sleep.

I was startled awake by a lurch of the boat and a loud sound. I must have been really asleep because the boat was rocking really bad as my mind tried to remember where I was and why I was there. The wind was howling outside and I could hear thunder rumbling from time to time. When I came fully awake and remembered where I was, I started to take stock of my situation. I knew that boats are designed to withstand a lot of wind and buffeting without capsizing, but still got nervous at just how much I was rocking. I really didn't expect this much motion being in what I thought was a sheltered cove.

Putting on my life vest, I stumbled towards the hatch to get on deck and see what sort of storm had come up. I guess those clouds last night were a precursor of something big, from the sound of things. It was then that I remembered another basic preparation to sailing: check the weather forecast! I had been so caught up in the idea of sailing away my boat that I neglected to think clearly about what I was really doing and all the preparations required.

Reaching the deck, I looked around to get my bearings. Everything was dark and I couldn't make out the shore. I was straining my eyes, trying to see the edge of the cove, when lightning struck overhead, lighting the sky for miles.

My heart sunk. In that one flash of light, I realized that the shore was nowhere in sight. Lightning started to strike more often, as if taunting me, showing me just what sort of trouble I'd managed to get myself into. I spun circles, trying to see shoreline in any direction and only saw wave after wave. I scrambled up to the front of the boat and found the anchor line hanging free, snapped from the anchor. I had no idea where I was or how to get back to shore. I decided the best thing to do, the only thing to do, was to wait out the storm and try to get my bearings when it cleared.

I worked my way back to the tiller, hoping to grab it and stop it from swinging wildly, thinking I could at least control something in this crazy world I woke to find. My foot slipped just as I neared it and I went down. Unfortunately, that was just as the tiller swung back towards me and it slammed into my head.

I don't remember anything else of that night.

When I regained consciousness, I didn't feel the rocking of the waves and started to breathe a sigh of relief. It really hurt to breathe that deeply, though, and that made me nervous. I started to sit up and mentally checked my extremities and just where the pain was felt most. It was mostly in my head, but I also felt pain in my left leg from a sizable cut and my side seemed to be bruised. At least the cut had stopped bleeding, but it sure looked like a mess. I leaned back, trying to ease the pain, lying back on the ... sand?

Why was I on sand? I sat up, way too quickly, to figure out what had happened. Pain shot through my body and I felt instantly sick. I got dizzy and fell sideways, vomiting on the sand. When I had recovered enough that I felt I could sit up through the pain, I slowly eased myself to a sitting position.

I was sitting on a beach. There was some debris around me and as far down the shore as I could see. I was still wearing my life vest, which must have saved my life when I was obviously thrown from the boat. Oddly enough, I noticed little things like the fact that my watch was gone but that I still had my shoes on my feet. It was a surreal experience to realize I'd been in a shipwreck and that I was still alive, but had no idea where I was. I sat there for a while, trying to come to grips with what must have happened to me.

After a while, I started to think of getting to civilization again. There are little towns all along the eastern coast, so I knew that if I could just walk to one of them, I'd be able to get medical attention and could get back home. Standing, however, wasn't the easiest thing for me. Luckily, there was a stick next to me that was almost long enough to work as a crutch. I used it to help me get vertical and to hobble a little down the beach. Further on, I found a more appropriately sized stick and grabbed it to help me walk. I noticed that it was engraved with the name of my boat and felt my heart drop. My new boat was now in pieces, which probably explained the debris along the shore. I had hoped it was still fine, just out on the water and that I could recover it again. I had to let that go now, though, and work towards getting to town.

I found several other items as I walked, including some of my clothes. I gathered a few items, but figured I'd buy new stuff when I got back home, if I needed it. I did find an ice chest that hadn't been mine, but that had some juice in it. Being incredibly thirsty, I downed a couple of bottles of juice right away. I felt a lot better with some liquid in me. I could feel strength returning to my body, slowly but surely. I moved the ice chest up to the treeline and put it in the shade. I couldn't carry all of that, but did take a couple more bottles and put them in the big pockets on my pant legs.

I walked a bit further until I came to the extent of what I could see earlier and realized that the beach curved back from this point and headed back behind me. I couldn't see any land in that direction and started to wonder just where I really was. I continued along the beach, starting to worry that I could see any land in any direction except where I'd been. The only way that could be was if I were on an island. I didn't like the sound of that at all!

While walking, I did pass a small stream that wound its way out of the trees, over the beach, to the shore. I knelt down and tasted the water, prepared to spit it out if it turned out to be salty. It wasn't, much to my relief, and that told me there must be a spring up in the forest. Knowing I could get water was a relief, but it didn't overshadow my worries that I wasn't actually on shore, but on an island. If this was, indeed, an island, I could very well be here for a long time.

Getting tired, I decided to follow the stream inland to see if I could find the spring and maybe some fruits that should be growing along the stream. I figured that would be a good place to rest.

Walking through the forest was a lot harder than walking on the beach because I had to maneuver around and over fallen limbs, but I did manage to work my way through it all. This really was a beautiful location. I guess if I had to choose a place to be stranded, it would have to be somewhere like this.

I heard what sounded like water splashing into a pond as I neared a stand of trees at the top of a small hill. I got excited thinking about a spring-fed pond, wondering if there were fish and if it would be as beautiful as I imagined. I reached the top of the hill and was just about to step through the trees when I spotted someone swimming in the pond. I was so relieved to see someone else that I opened my mouth to call out in pleasant surprise and go crashing through the trees when I noticed that it was a woman and my mind instantly began to wonder if she was swimming nude. The voyeur in me took control and I looked around to make sure I was hidden enough and could enjoy the view. I figured I could always just wait and enjoy the view until she was done and then could come out like I had just arrived.

She swam over near the far edge where water was cascading down into the pond from above. I guess this wasn't the spring, after all, but that it was further up the hill. She stood as the water got shallower and I saw that she was, indeed, swimming nude. She had wonderful curves, the type that I love to hold and caress. I could only see her from the back, but I found her quite attractive. Blood dutifully rushed to my penis, preparing it for any possible action I might be willing to take.

As she stood in the cascading water, she rotated enough that I could see her profile. Her breasts were a little larger than I usually like, but were rather well proportioned and made me think of what it would be like to caress them, to tease the nipples, to suck and nibble on them, causing her breathing to increase making her breasts heave under me.

In short, I was starting to think all sorts of sexual thoughts and, all of a sudden, being shipwrecked didn't seem like such a bad thing.

She continued to bathe for another ten minutes, or so, then worked her way over to the edge of the pool. It was then that I noticed her clothes sitting on a rock. She climbed out of the water and brushed as much water from her skin as she could then lay down on the rock next to her clothes. I figured she must have wanted to air dry a bit before getting dressed. She was a sight to see there, lying on the rock in the sun.

My leg started to throb and I knew I need to take care of it in some way. I didn't want to scare the woman or to let her know that I'd been watching her. I started to call out softly, as if I were yelling from further away. I saw her scramble up to a sitting position, looking around to determine the direction from which I was calling. At the same time, she started grabbing for her clothes and put them on as fast as she could. I increased the volume of my calls, letting her know that I was getting closer. Finally, I hit full volume and stumbled forward through the trees.

She caught sight of me and looked like a deer in the headlights. I could see her internal struggle, wondering if she could trust me, but also yearning for some sort of human contact. We'd not been out here too long, but it was really starting to feel lonely. The need for human companionship won out and she started to walk towards me. I imagine it helped that she could see I was hurt and that I wouldn't be able to chase after her if I turned out to be a bad guy and she needed to run away.

"Hello," I said, trying my best to comfort her with my smile. Generally, I'm a likable guy and people take to me pretty quickly. I've an easy smile that I share a lot and that can make a lot of difference.

She seemed to ease a bit at my friendly manner. She smiled back and said, "hi."

"Do you know where we are," I asked.

"I have no idea," she responded. "I've been wandering around here for a long time, though, and I don't see signs of anybody. The last thing I remember, that cocky asshole that took me out on the boat went flying over the rail and left me all alone to fight that storm. Something must have happened to me, too, because I woke up on the beach alone. I walked down the beach and didn't see anyone or anything but boat leftovers until I came to a stream that I followed up here."

She pointed back to the other side of the pond where a second stream left to head in another direction to the beach from the stream I'd followed up here.

"When I saw the pond, I couldn't help myself. I had to take a swim and wash off all that salt!"

She smiled again, seemingly a little embarrassed at opening up so much.

"Look at me, chattering away and I don't even know you. You look a little familiar, though. Have we met before? I can't quite place your face, but I am pretty sure we've seen each other."

I took another good look at her face. She did look familiar to me, too. I imagined her with makeup and her hair done up in a pony tail and that's when it hit me.

"We saw each other in the restaurant at the marina," I said. "You were looking around, trying to find some escape from the guy you were with."

Her eyes lit at the memory and she grinned. "That's right! See? I knew I knew you from somewhere! I'm Michelle, by the way."

She extended her hand in the universal sign of openness and greeting. I took it and we shook hands.

"I'm Mike," I said. "If you don't mind, I'd like to slip into the water a little, myself, and see if I can't clean up my leg a little. It's starting to really get sore."

She glanced down at my leg and gasped, "Oh my god! Does it hurt?"

"Just a bit," I responded as I walked over to the water's edge and started wading in a bit. It started to sting as the water hit it and started to wash away the crusted blood and sand on my leg. Of course, I couldn't show Michelle that I was in pain so I held in my grimace. I reached down and started to wipe at the mess, hoping to help clean it further.

I hadn't been paying attention to Michelle, but she was walking back from her rocks, a white box in her hands.

"Come here," she said, "see if any of this stuff will help."

As I walked towards her, I noticed the red cross on the box. I was amazed that she had a first aid kit! I thought we'd lost most everything in our respective shipwrecks.

"I gathered what looked important while I was walking along the beach and figured this might come in handy," she said.

"I'm glad you did. I could definitely use something like that right now."

She handed me the box and I opened it up. Some water had managed to get in, but it didn't look like anything was ruined. There was a tube of antibiotic ointment, which I pulled out, as well as some gauze. I sat down rather heavily and proceeded to dress my wound. It looked a lot better now that the dried, crusted part was washed off. I probably could have used some stitches, but without a doctor, I was kind of lost there. I applied the ointment and then wrapped my leg with the gauze. It seemed to work pretty well. There was some medical tape in there that I could use to secure the gauze. I figured I couldn't do any better than that and, once again, was thankful that we even had the kit available to us.

"Have you found any food," she asked.

"I found an ice chest with some juice in it and some fruit along the stream on my way up, but haven't seen anything other than that," I replied.

"That might be one of the ice chests we had. Was it green with a white lid?"

"That's the one," I said. "I did drink a couple of those and brought these with me."

I pulled the juices from my pants pockets and showed them to her, offering her one. She took it and opened it up, downing half of it in one, long pull.

"All I found to drink, aside from the water in the pond and stream, is the cooler we had with alcohol in it."

I perked up a bit at that. I'm not a drinker, but I know that when people drink, sometimes they'll get a bit looser and I might just be able to enjoy the sight of this lovely woman again.

We sat and drank our juices, talking about our lives before and what we would do now. The sun continued its travel across the sky and, before long, we realized that we needed to find some shelter. We figured there ought to be something over near the waterfall and headed that way. Sure enough, about 20 yards from the waterfall, against the same hill, there was a bit of a hollow in the cliff. I figured we could put up a bit of a lean-to against that spot and we should be protected from the weather.

My leg felt a lot better after the cleaning, bandaging and rest so I was able to gather the wood and leaves for the lean-to. It wasn't the best, but it would get us through the first night. I figured once we had more time and energy, we'd be able to build a better shelter. Hopefully, we wouldn't need a shelter that was super strong because we wouldn't be here all that long.

Once we got the shelter built, I sat down and took the shoelace out of my shoe. Michelle watched me with interest for a while and then asked, "what are you doing?"

"I'm going to see if I can build a fire. I think we'll appreciate the warmth and maybe we can use something to create a smoke signal for anyone who might be out looking for us."

"You're going to build a fire with a shoelace," she asked.

"Watch," I suggested as I tied the shoelace to the ends of a stick, causing it to bow inward a little more. I then stuck a straight stick in between the bow and string and twisted it so the string wrapped around the straight stick once. I set one end of the straight stick down against a piece of wood against which I'd put a bunch of dried grasses and twigs, placed a rock on top of the straight stick and started moving the bow back and forth. With each movement of the bow, the straight stick would twist, creating friction at the base and warming it. After a while, we started to see smoke rising from the end of the straight stick. A little bit longer, and I could see small embers glowing. I stopped moving the bow and leaned in closely, blowing ever so lightly on the embers. They grew until, suddenly, flame burst forth from the grasses.

"Wow," Michelle said, "I've never actually seen anybody do that. That's really cool!"

I smiled at her and started putting small sticks on my little fire. I added progressively larger sticks over time until we had a nice, little blaze going.

Michelle said, "I'm going to go collect some of those fruits you mentioned. Will you please move my ice chest into the lean-to while I'm doing that so we've got something more to drink?"

"Not a problem," I said. "I'll also fill our juice bottles with water in case we want that, too."

I watched Michelle walk away and felt my cock twitch again. She sure had a sexy way of moving her hips while she walked. I certainly hoped she would start to feel a little excitable later. Once she was out of sight and I could start thinking again, I went down to the pond and found her stash of goodies. Not only did she have a cooler there, but she'd also found a small overnight bag with some clothes for herself, a pair of binoculars, and a poncho. I filled the juice bottles with water from the pond then went to put them in the ice chest. It had a lot of alcohol in it. I figured we were going to have a really good time together.

When I got back to camp, as I'd taken to calling our lean-to site, I rearranged the branches on the lean-to so the poncho was between the branches and the larger supports to help keep rain off should it come in the night. I figured we'd be a lot happier that way. I put the ice chest in the lean-to, along with her overnight bag and binoculars. I figured she'd appreciate having all of her things handy.