Chapter 4: The First Voyage

For the first time in many years, my wife was awake before me. I could tell that something was troubling her.

“What’s wrong honey?”

“Nothing,” she quietly replied.

“Yes, there is. What is it?”

“I am afraid that I am going to let you down!”

“Nonsense. You have never failed to impress me.”

“That’s because of smoke and mirrors. I trick you into believing things. The truth is that I have always had Martha and Carmen at my side to help me out.”

“You will have Anya and Becky helping you.”

“I know and I appreciate that. But it isn’t the same as having Martha and Carmen helping.”

“Honey, I don’t know what I can do to help you out. I can’t ask Rolf and Al to leave their wives here. It’s not fair to them.”

“I know,” my wife said with a sniffle.

“Let’s go downstairs for breakfast and some coffee. Maybe you will feel better.”

Ann and I entered the kitchen, naked as jaybirds. We both decided on fruit and coffee for breakfast.

Rolf and Martha, Al and Carmen were seated on one side of the dining room table. Vlad and Anya were seated on the opposite side. When Ann and I arrived, Anya patted the seat next to her indicating that I should sit next to her.

After morning greetings and some small talk, Rolf said, “Eddie, our wives have asked if they could stay here and help Ann get the yacht provisioned.” Before I could reply, Al said, “That’s not quite true. Our wives told us that they were staying here to help your wife instead of flying home this afternoon.”

I immediately looked at my wife. Her expression told me that she did not know about this request in advance but was happy that they wanted to stay and help.

I thought for a moment before replying. “It does not matter whether Martha or Carmen asked or demanded, it is not my decision to make. We are guests in this house. The decision as to whether to stay or leave is up to Vlad and Anya.”

“Of course, they can stay,” Anya said.

“Okay, it is settled then. Martha and Carmen can stay until Paradijs II is provisioned and ready to sail. But I want it known right now, I will not share my bed with three women.”

Anya said, “That won’t be a problem, Eddie. I am sure that Vlad would be more than happy to have two more women sharing our bed with us. Even better, Martha and Carmen could sleep with Vlad and I could join Ann in your bed.”

Alara took Rolf and Al to the airport. My wife and Anya were doing who knows what. Vlad and I were seating in his home office.

“Vlad, do you have any ideas where I can find a captain and crew for Paradijs II?”

“There are several maritime employment agencies in town but I don’t know if I could vouch for the quality of the people they have listed. The really good captains and crew members don’t need an employment agency to get a new job.”

“I understand that. In all of my years as a manager, I either knew the person I hired for a position of authority or they already worked for me and were qualified to fill the job requirements.”

“Eddie, I trust you and your wife. Hell, we fuck each other’s wives and that requires true trust. But what I am about to tell you must be kept confidential.

“I know a man who started his yachting career at 15 as a deckhand. He rose through the ranks and became a captain thirty years ago. I hired him two years ago to help design, develop, and test modifications to the S-90, S-120, and S-145 models. There is no one in this world who knows more about the S-120 than this man.

“If you hired this man, you would also get his family. His wife is an amazing cook. Her specialty is making healthy food taste good. His oldest son has his First Mate certification. His youngest son is certified as both mechanic and electrical engineer. The oldest daughter holds certifications in navigation and communications. His youngest daughter is a certified Chief Steward.”

“This family sounds like the answer to my dreams. What I don’t understand is the reason for confidentiality.”

“Thirty days ago, this family was meeting with some other families for a party. A party that would be normal and expected on Mango Island. That kind of party is against the law in Turkey. The national police raided the party. The family that I told you about escaped and are now in hiding.”

“Do you know where they are hiding? Can you get in touch with them?”

“They are currently hiding in my country dacha.”

“So, if I hired your friends I would get a ready-made crew, they would get their freedom, and you would avoid being arrested for aiding and abetting. I like this. It’s a win, win, win.”

That evening Alara took Ann and me, along with Martha and Carmen, to meet the Yilmaz family.

Alara made the introductions as soon as we were in the living room. She introduced my group first and then the Yilmaz family.

“This silly old goat is Boris Yilmaz, the captain of a ship and this is his wife, Derya, captain of this family.” Boris is 54, 6’1”, 275lbs. Derya is 53, 5’6”, 140lbs.

“Their sons, Kemal and Nacar.” Kemal is 30, 6’3”, 210lbs. Nacar is 26, 6’, 185lbs.

“And their daughters, Dilara and Ela.” Dilara is 28, 5’8”, 130lbs. Ela is 16, 5’5”, 115lbs.

It was now time for me to take the lead in tonight’s meeting. We needed to feel each other out before committing ourselves to living together. The sea is vast but the space on a yacht is not.

Without focusing on any one Yilmaz family member, I said, “Thank you for giving us the opportunity of meeting with you tonight. I suppose that you are aware of the reasons that we are here. But I also know that basing decisions on assumptions is the quickest road to failure. We do not know you and you do not know us. It is my intent to change that situation tonight.

“My wife and I are the owners of a small chain of islands located south of St. Maarten in the Caribbean. We operate three private resorts catering to wealthy guests with special needs. To be explicit, one resort caters to guests that are in polyamorous relationships. Another resort provides a safe haven for guests who practice family love. The third resort is for guests that are in non-monogamous relationships. Through hard work and good decision making, the resorts are now a billion dollar business.

“This year we decided to turn the day to day business over to our children. It was a purely selfish decision on our part. Ann and I wanted to spend more time with our closest friends while we were still young enough to enjoy it.

“Today, we bought a yacht. Specifically, we purchased an S-120. We are not naïve enough to believe that we could sail it on our own. Thus, we are looking for not only an experienced crew but a crew that could adapt to our lifestyle. Ann and I, along with our friends Rolf and Martha Svenson, Alejandro and Carmen Martinez, and our children practice a polyamorous family lifestyle. We have two rules. When in private, we are always nude and No Means No.