Chapter 45: Uneventful Crossing

Tuesday morning dawned clear and bright as we sailed towards the Canary Islands. I relieved the two Captains around six a.m. because I knew they had had a long night. They wasted no time going downstairs. If they were hoping for Archara to fulfill her part of the bargain, they might be in for some disappointment. I made a mental note to check and see if she needed any healing for last night.

I had thought that I might need healing myself after making love so many times yesterday, but if I did, it had already happened. I didn’t feel bad, but I was tired and more than a little hungry. I suspected that healing myself had taken a lot of energy.

Fleur rescued me around eight o’clock with a selection of breakfast rolls, croissants, and my favorite, cinnamon rolls. She also brought a fruit and cheese plate, juice and coffee. It was a five-star breakfast and I told her so.

She beamed at the praise.

“Thank you for what you did for momma last night,” she told me. “She told us how perceptive she thought you were and how lucky we were that you were our firsts. Do you think that you might have time to allow me to thank you later?” she asked.

“I’m not sure when I will be relieved, but I would be glad to spend some time with you later,” I told her. She hung around for a while before she carried the dirty dishes back to the galley.

Some of the best days at sea are days where nothing major happens and nothing goes wrong. Tuesday was one of those days. I did help Archara with a little healing, but mostly she wanted to rest. And I did get together with Fleur later. I also got a good eight hours of sleep, and I didn’t miss but one meal (which they saved for me) and even the weather cooperated, by becoming warmer.

My watch began at midnight, just like usual. Tomorrow, or later today I should say, we will arrive in Las Palmas, technically Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, the capital city of Gran Canaria, in the Canary Islands.

The capital was also home to the Puerto de Las Palmas (Port of Las Palmas), the fifth largest port in all of Spain. For over five hundred years, this port has served as the jumping off point for ships crossing the Atlantic to the west and the first place to make land after crossing from the west.

Today, the large port is divided into four sectors, one for commercial fishing boats, one for commercial traffic, one for passengers (large cruise ships), and one for yachts and other sport sailing boats. I was going to have a good time navigating this busy place.

Captain Tony had us reservations for two nights at the Silken Saaj Las Palmas, just to break up the three week trip a little. A four star hotel, the Silken Saaj, was located within walking distance of the marina and right on Playa de las Alcaravaneras (Las Alcaravaneras Beach). The beach view rooms were going to be about a hundred Euros per night, so I opted to stay on the Windsong. Of course, that meant Sarah or Samantha would be staying with me. But that also meant that Captain Tony only had to pay for five rooms.

Why would I worry about €100 Euros a night when I make over €1,300 per day just in salary and Captain Tony is rich? Well, first, I wasn’t used to having money. I was raised in a middle-class family in a middle class community. So spending money on a hotel room that I didn’t have to, just went against my upbringing.

Second, I have found that really wealthy people don’t like to waste money. They will invest it, or spend it to make their lives and the lives of the ones around them happier, healthier, or safer. They don’t like to throw it away needlessly.

Third, and probably the most important reason, I wanted some time away from everyone else. Oh, I know one or both of the twins had to stay with me for security purposes, but they would leave me in peace if I asked it.

I furled the sails and entered the vast marina on engine power and made my way to the yacht fueling station. After topping off the fuel tanks and dumping the black water tanks, I found the berth we had been assigned. In European marinas, space is at a premium and catamarans that are forty feet wide takes up twice the space of a monohull sailboat, so docking is very expensive. But again, Captain Tony thought it worth the expense.

While the Fourreau’s and the Lavigne’s went to check in at the hotel, I stayed behind and began cleaning the yacht. Starting at the bow, I scrubbed and rinsed the entire yacht and then packed the sails. By supper time, I was exhausted. I ate the meal Samantha prepared, told them both goodnight and went to the owner’s cabin and promptly fell asleep.

Thursday morning, after a cup of coffee and a sweet roll, I set to work under the yacht, scrapping the barnacles off both hulls. I had the advantage of not having to wear underwater gear, but it was still hard work. And it was exactly what I needed. The last three months had been full of discovery and travel and much that I did not understand. So losing myself, under the yacht, to the monotonous work of scraping and cleaning the hull was therapy of a sort.

Once more, I was exhausted by suppertime and once more, I ate a simple meal with the twins and went to bed by myself.

The two families began returning to the ship Friday morning, carrying their spoils of two days of shopping along with all the provisions Archara and Monique deemed necessary. Shortly after noon, I was taking us out of the port of Las Palmas and south around Gran Canaria before switching to sails and heading southwest toward Martinique, some 3,100 nautical miles away. If we could average twelve knots, we should be there in eleven or twelve days.

The weather forecast called for cooperative winds for the next three days but there were two low pressure areas to the northwest that I’d have to keep an eye on. The good thing about our route is that the weather was much warmer than it had been in the Mediterranean. That meant that I got to enjoy watching the girls sunning themselves out on the bow nets almost every day.

About the bow nets. On a catamaran, there are two holes cut into the deck in the very front of the boat, between the twin hulls. The reason for these holes is to keep air from becoming trapped under the bow in rough seas. If the holes in the bow were not there, then as the bow of the catamaran rose and fell in the deep troughs that occurred during bad weather, the rising air would push against the bottom of the bow and possibly flip the catamaran over.

It also serves to allow much of the water that washes over the bow in rough weather, to drain away quickly. These holes in the deck are usually covered by a variety of materials, most of them resembling the materials used in nets, except with slightly smaller weaves.

They are very comfortable to lounge on and with the warmer weather, had become the preferred place to get a tan. And the very best view of these popular sunning spots just happened to be from the elevated captain’s chair on the bridge deck. I wasn’t sure that they were only sunning when I was on watch, but found it odd that they didn’t seem to sun when I wasn’t there to watch them.

One of the things I noticed when the girls were sunning (besides the obvious, duh!), was that three of the teens plus Samantha, were wearing their bikini bottoms. That usually indicated that they were on their periods. That meant that those four would probably not be seeking my company this evening. It didn’t necessarily make me happy, but maybe relieved might be a better word.

I understood that their parents all had a pretty liberal attitude about the girl’s sexual adventures that was partly due to their culture and partly due to their belief in their open lifestyle. I also had come to realize that I was a hand-picked, safe option for the girls to explore their own sexuality with in a controlled environment. While I appreciated their parents’ faith in me and I loved the situation I seem to have stumbled into, (I mean, it’s almost every young guy’s ultimate dream), there is still a certain amount of pressure there.

And after over forty days at sea, with every day packed with more learning than I ever did in a day in high school, added to the stress of always being on the lookout for someone trying to harm me, well, sometimes the pressure to perform was a little overwhelming.

Not that I was complaining! I guess that I was just thankful that the pressure would be a little less for a few days.

The next ten days were as close as I’ll ever come to heaven. By night, I stood alone on a bridge that was now mostly open to the warm tropical air as we sailed towards our destination. We encountered two storms. One during the day and the other at night. But except for having to re-enclose the bridge deck with the plastic panels and rig the sails for running with the storm, it was no big deal.

By day, I spent my time reviewing or sometimes fixing all the different systems on the yacht. Either Captain Tony or Captain Alfred were right with me and the knowledge they imparted was immense. They had me clean the scrubbers, the water maker, the ice machines, and even the toilets. They helped me take apart both generators, one at a time and clean the contacts and any surfaces that might have accumulated a layer of salt from the salt air. They had me change the oil in the engines (while we were under sail) and we repaired one of the bilge pumps and one of the fire suppression system sensors. And many other details involved in maintaining a sailing vessel.

By the time we reached Martinique, I felt that I could probably take the catamaran apart and put it back together if I had to and had the time.

And most nights we enjoyed a delicious meal (prepared by different ones) and a couple of hours of laughter and conversation around the table.

I was a guest in someone’s bed most nights as well. How the girls determined who was with me and when, is a mystery I never attempted to solve. I was having too much fun just going with their flow.

Monday morning began our nineteenth day at sea since leaving Monte Carlo. Captain Alfred was the one to relieve me at 8:00am.

“Alex, I wanted to tell you what a fine job you have done on this cruise,” he said. “I think you are going to be a hell of a skipper when you get your rating.”

“Thank you, sir,” I replied. I was pleased that he felt that way.

“I also want to thank you for the way you have conducted yourself with my wife and daughters. You have made their cruise very special.”

I just nodded my head. I wasn’t sure where this was going.

“We should reach Martinique around midday tomorrow and the word I have is that your family as well as the Rappeneaus, who are bringing my son, Henri, with them, will be there by then,” he told me. “That’s a total of twenty-one passengers for the two yachts.”

I just nodded again. I knew that Henri had stayed home in order to go to school and play soccer.

“What we’d like to do, is put you, Samantha, Sarah, and the eight teenaged girls on the Serendipity and Henri and Phillipe along with the eight adults on the Windsong. Would you have a problem with that?”

“No, sir,” I said with a smile.

“Our idea is to island hop through the southern Caribbean making short runs and then anchoring for however long we’d like at various islands and just enjoying ourselves. Maybe break out the skidoos, the scuba gear, and even the kites if we find enough wind.”

“That sounds great!” I told him.

“Well, we didn’t want it to look like we were forcing you to babysit,” he told me. “And we will be close by if you need us.”

“It all sounds just fine, sir,” I told him.

“Then why don’t you take some time this morning to talk with Archara and Monique and work out the details,” he suggested. “Just remember, you’ll need to do a thorough inspection of the Serendipity when we get there. She hasn’t been used since the first of the year. I had her hauled out and cleaned and serviced. But she’s been sitting since then. I called and they are supposed to put her back in the water sometime today.

Captain Alfred’s pronouncement had made me excited. Not so much for the end of our crossing, but for the next leg of our adventure.

“What time do you think we’ll arrive tomorrow?” Archara asked me when I joined all the ladies at the big dining table in the salon.

“Best guess is around noon at this speed,” I replied.

“Good! Then we should have time to provision the Serendipity and re-provision the Windsong tomorrow afternoon,” she said, mostly to the other girls.

“Did Alfred tell you our plans for dividing up?” she asked me.

“Yes, ma’am,” I replied.

“Anything you want to add?” she asked.

“No, ma’am. I think it a great plan!” I said with a big smile.

“I’ll bet!” Archara teased me. “I’m sure it’s every teenaged male’s fantasy to be alone on a boat with ten beautiful young girls!”

The girls giggled and I just looked down at my breakfast.

“Okay,” Archara continued, “When we get to Martinique, we’ll take the girls and go shopping. I understand that you are going to get the Serendipity ready for cruising. Will you need help?”

“Sarah and I will be here to help him,” Samantha interjected. “We’ll also keep an eye out for the others that are supposed to arrive.”

“Okay, ladies. Before we get to the marina in the morning, you need to pack your stuff and then clean the Windsong from top to bottom. Alex, can we clean the decks while we’re at sea?”

“We could, but it will be faster and easier if we wait until we dock,” I told her.

“Okay, that’s one more thing we’ll put on the list for when we get to Martinique. We may have to divide up in the morning,” Archara said. “Okay, Ladies. Hop to!”

As all the girls scattered to begin packing and cleaning up, Archara said to me, “Alex? Would you mind helping Monique?”

“My pleasure,” I replied as I suddenly realized what sort of help Monique was needing. I knew I had not been with Archara or Monique since before we arrived in the Canary islands two weeks ago. For some reason, they had stepped aside and allowed the teens to determine who was with me and when. So I decided that I would give her my best effort.

We spent the next few hours in her bed making love energetically. I had surmised several weeks ago, that Tony, while a great husband and father, wasn’t the most creative or adventurous lover. He was open-minded but he also tended to do things by the book. That was great for the captain of a naval ship, but not too hot in bed. Especially for an adventurous lover.

Monique loved to try different positions, moving from one to the next, eagerly. But the one she loved most was on her knees, when I took her like the stallion would take a mare on her parents estates.

On this afternoon, we worked through a variety of positions but I detected a kind of undercurrent to her love making. Finally she paused and reached for the drawer beside the bed. Handing me a bottle of baby oil, she positioned herself on her knees and looked at me seductively over her shoulder.

“Are you sure you want to try this?” I asked, dubiously.

“Just go slow and be gentle,” she said.

So I started with kissing her ass and her crack, trailing my tongue over her puckered sphincter. Then pouring some baby oil in my hand, I began to work my finger into her ass hole as I ran the fingers of my left hand over her pussy.

“Ugh!” she grunted, followed by a low moan.

Working slowly, I stretched her tight rear passage as I played with her pussy. The more I did, the more she moaned.

“Are you ready?” I asked as I removed my three fingers. Then positioning myself behind her, I eased my cock into her asshole. I moved slowly, in and out almost teasingly. She began to hunch back at me, trying to take more cock or make me go faster. But I eased back with her lunges so as to soften her movements.

“Aaaaggg!” she cried out. “Fuck me!”

So I quit teasing her and sped up my movements. The moment I did, she began to tremble. I just kept fucking her ass as she went through one long climax or a series of small ones. Finally, she screamed once and lunged forward, pulling off my cock.

As she lay there breathing heavily, I excused myself and jumped in the shower. When I returned, I brought a warm washcloth to clean the oil on her ass.

“You didn’t cum?” she asked.

“I didn’t have to,” I told her. “I enjoyed watching you.”