It was in the middle of the spring of the year when the ship I was assigned to had been repaired, provisioned and was waiting in the harbor ready to leave port on our expedition.

Our ship was named the HMS Royal Reserve and it was a three mast converted merchant vessel. We had been commissioned to sail to the South Seas and explore the islands we found in that area of the South Pacific Ocean.

We were to make peaceful contact with the people inhabiting those islands and return to England on our inbound voyage with our findings and report our findings on our return. The Captain of our ship was Fredrick Elphinstone and I am Roger Fletcher, Sailing Master of the ship.

Captain Elphinstone and I had sailed together through many voyages to the Caribbean and to the Colonies. We were very well acquainted with one another and we trusted one another, implicitly.

Through our long association we had a lot of confidence in each other’s judgment and capabilities. This voyage was going to be a big change from our previous voyages to the Caribbean and to the Colonies.

We left the port of Spithead (Yes, boys and girls there really was and apparently still is a Spithead.) with the morning tide. As we left port we set course to sail to round the Horn and cross from the Atlantic into the Pacific Ocean that way around the Horn of South America.

After several months of sailing we reached the Horn. When we arrived and tried to make passage into the Pacific Ocean the storms were too numerous and too fierce to risk losing the ship and the crew.

The seas were way too rough for the ship to safely endure the passage. The Captain was very concerned as was I that the ship could be broken up in the very rough and heavy seas we found on our arrival approaching the Horn.

Of course, that would result in the loss of the ship and all hands if we continued to attempt passage into the Pacific Ocean by that route. The Captain quickly came to the conclusion that further attempts to round the Horn was way too dangerous to try any further.

Rather than risk losing the ship, the officers and the crew the Captain made the hard decision, with which I agreed, to turn the ship around and set a course to the East. He altered our original plans to sail across the South Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean and enter the Pacific Ocean by that route from the Indian Ocean.

Making the passage through the Straits of Magellan was deemed to be too risky and too dangerous because of the very narrow passage and the unpredictable winds and currents.

Taking a route across the South Atlantic and the Indian Oceans to the South Sea Islands would add several months and many thousands of miles to our voyage. But the risk of losing the ship to the storms and the very rough seas of the Horn was considerably greater that way. Not only that, the Captain had no intentions of abandoning the expedition when there was an alternative course to take to complete our assignment and the expedition.

Several months later after a successful voyage across the South Atlantic and the Indian Oceans we arrived in the South Pacific Ocean. Sailing along the northern coast of what was later to become Australia we began to explore for the widely separated and isolated islands we could find on our journey. Many of the islands were very small uninhabited islands and we saw no useful purpose in stopping at any of those islands.

We sailed across the designated area and back, charting our progress as we went. The Captain ordered us to continue our search. He was not going to return to England with nothing to show for our voyage especially after the extra time we took to come across the Atlantic and the Indian Oceans into the South Pacific Ocean to begin our search of the area.

By that time, our provisions were beginning to run low and we found the need to look for an island to replenish our food and especially our water supplies. As the time wore on, our supplies were beginning to run very low and it became imperative to find new provisions for the ship’s officers and crew.

We returned to the original point of initiating our search taking a little different heading as we sailed. It almost seemed like the Captain knew specifically what he was looking for. His search for an island to replenish our food and water supplies almost seemed to be systematic.

After about another month’s voyage, the lookout in the crow’s nest yelled out, “Land Ho”. The lookout pointed out the heading that the ship must take in order to arrive at the island the lookout had spotted through his telescope. The Captain then ordered the helmsman to bring the ship about to that heading and about two hours later the ship approached the unknown and uncharted island.

Rather than risk running the ship aground on a reef surrounding the island, the Captain halted the ship while we were still in deep water. We then dropped the anchor several hundred yards offshore. It was as if he knew that we couldn’t take the ship into the lagoon for fear of tearing the ship apart on the coral reef surrounding the island.

The Captain checked the ship’s charts and said that the island was not on the charts. He then ordered the ship’s cartographer to record the island and our location on the chart.

The Captain called me and two other officers to the deck. He ordered us to lower a longboat into the water and then we as officers representing the ship were to choose six men to go ashore.

We were under his orders to look for inhabitants of the island and make peaceful contact with them. If they were friendly we were to ask for their permission to secure fresh water to bring back to the ship to replenish the ship’s water supplies if there was any water available.

If we accomplished that, we were to ask them about looking for and gathering food and other supplies for the ship’s officers and crew. We were ordered to leave any and all of our personal weapons on board ship. We were not to do anything threatening or hostile toward any of the island’s inhabitants. Any man who took any kind of weapon ashore with him would be severely disciplined.

We were reminded that we were there as guests on their island and we were on a peaceful and friendly exploratory expedition. Any officer or crew who was judged to have been rude or who mistreated any of the island’s inhabitants would be subject to severe discipline, also.

Since it had been many months that any of the ship’s officers and crew had been ashore we had plenty of volunteers to row the longboat ashore. We chose six men at random and we boarded the longboat to row it ashore across the lagoon. When we got ashore we pulled the longboat up on the beach and moored it to a nearby tree.

When we all stepped out of the boat I told the men to gather around me. I told them, “I want everyone to stay together and I don’t want any of you running off and away from the group. But, I want you to keep your eyes and ears open and let me know what you see or hear. If we find anyone I’ll be the one to communicate with them as best we can.

The rest of you are to watch and listen. The rest of you are only to speak when spoken to.” Leaving two of the oarsmen with the longboat we started inland toward the interior of the island.

Once we made our way a couple of hundred yards away from the beach through the jungle we came on a large clearing in the jungle. There were a large number of grass huts and several native men were waiting on us to step into the clearing. It was obvious that they did not speak or understand English and we didn’t speak or understand their language either.

It became very clear that we were the first westerners that they may have ever seen. Our only form of communication was through sign language. We were able to determine that they had a source of fresh water from which we could replenish our ship’s supplies of fresh drinking water.

When we asked them about food supplies they could only offer us a fruit that we later learned was to be called breadfruit. Once we determined that, we could get our water and food supplies I invited the fellow who appeared to be their Village Chief and a couple of his men to visit the ship and our Captain.

I left the other two officers there on the island and I took the three native men with me to the beach. I showed him our ship and asked him if he would like to come out to our ship to meet my Chief.

He and the other two native men got into the longboat with us and the oarsmen rowed the longboat out to the ship taking them with us. The Captain was standing at the gunwale of the ship watching us through his telescope. We all climbed the rope ladder up to the top deck. I sent several of the crew up first to show the native men how to climb the rope ladder.

All three of the native men scrambled up the rope ladder with me and the remaining crew following immediately behind us. The Captain greeted each of the three with kindness and respect.

I reported to the Captain what we had found ashore that there was fresh water and they had offered us the breadfruit. Then the Captain offered the native men some of our food and water.

We shared some of our remaining food and water with them and then the Captain presented them with some trading goods we had brought on our voyage with us. During our meeting with them we asked them for permission to replenish our ship’s store of fresh water and we also needed food for our continued voyages.

In exchange for their help we offered them more of the trading goods we had brought along with us. With that the Captain pointed to the sun getting very low on the horizon and that nightfall was not far off. We wanted to return the native men to their village before dark. It was best for them to spend the night ashore on their island rather than on board the ship.

The rowing crew and I took them back to the beach in the longboat and they insisted on us coming back to their village with them to meet the rest of their people. I told the other officers and crew to gather around and I reminded them of their earlier orders that they were not to be rude or hostile to the native people in any manner.

And since it was getting dark we would have to spend the night here in their village. We thought it was not really safe to be rowing clear across the lagoon back to the ship after dark.

The natives started a huge bonfire in the circle of their huts after dark and fed all of us and there was a celebration of the visitors to their village. There was dancing for our entertainment and the Village Chief brought his woman and his Daughter out to meet us.

The Chief’s woman was very pretty and she had a pretty flower in her hair over her right ear. It wasn’t clear that the woman was the Mother to his Daughter and I didn’t think that I should question it. I thought it might have been considered to be rude to question it.

His Daughter was absolutely gorgeous and she was wearing an identical flower in her hair but, the flower was over her left ear. I wasn’t told how old the Daughter was but, I judged that she had to be at least 18 years old or older. She might have been as old as 20. I didn’t know if these people had any concept of years or any concept of how to measure them either.

Judging from the other young women I saw, the chief’s daughter was one of the prettiest girls it not the prettiest and shapeliest girl on the island. It was clearly evident that she was the pride of her Father and his woman and maybe even the other villagers as well.

The Chief and some of the other villagers gave each of us woven mats for us to sleep on and we laid them on the ground near the fire. When daylight came I woke my shore party and we rowed back to the ship.

Upon our return to the ship, I talked to the Captain about the officers and the crew. I told him, “Since it has been such a long time that the officers and crew had been ashore we needed to let them go ashore during our visit to the island.”

But, only a third of the crew should go ashore at one time and an equal proportion of the officers should go ashore with each group of the crew. While they are ashore they should be gathering fresh water to bring out to the ship to refill the ship’s water barrels.

With the amount of water we needed to refill the ship’s barrels it would take a month or more to refill them with our limited ability to transport it from the island out to the ship. Our ability to bring it aboard the ship was part of the difficulty, too.

Then our next task would be to replenish our food supply. Part of the crew would remain on the ship and could net fish in the small boats. Gathering food might take even longer than replenishing our water supply. I could see that we could remain anchored beside this island for four to six months before we could restock our provisions of water and food.

I would remain onshore to supervise and control the work there onshore and you might wish to remain aboard ship to oversee the entire operation of restocking our provisions, Sir. We should rotate the members of the crew onshore every couple of days while the remainder of the crew remains on board and tends to the normal daily work and upkeep of the ship and net fishing, as well.”

The Captain agreed with my plan and called all of the officers together to let them know what our plan was and how it would be carried out. With the exception of the Captain and myself a third of the officers would come ashore each day. One third of the officers would accompany a third of the crew and work for two days and return to the ship.

Later that morning I went ashore with the other officers and crew and talked with the Chief to ask his permission to start gathering the water supplies for the ship. He granted his permission and I gave him more of the trade goods in exchange for his permission for gathering the water and for its transportation out to the ship.

After obtaining the Village Chief’s permission to gather the water, I told him I wanted to go to the location of the source of the water. Then I asked him if he would show me where the water source was.

He told me through sign language he couldn’t but, he would have his Daughter show me to the location of the water source. He called his Daughter to come out to us and asked her to show me where the water source was located.

Her face lit up and her dark eyes sparkled brightly. From the previous night I was aware that all the natives of the island wore nothing above the waist. That included the women as well as the men and it was especially striking that the women didn’t wear anything above their waists.

The young women of the island were especially striking since their breasts were proudly displayed before us at all times. Of course, the women had no concern about men being able to see their breasts so vividly displayed.

The Chief turned to his Daughter and asked her to take me to the location of the water source. She nodded her head and looked at me. She then pointed to me and waived her hand in the “come here” gesture and then pointed to herself.

Before she turned to leave I caught her eye. I pointed at myself and softly said, “Me, Roger.” I followed that by pointing at her with my palms up and a questioning look in my eyes and on my face. She understood my unspoken request was for her to tell me her name.

She immediately responded by mispronouncing my name with, “Rogr”. I thought it was natural that she might mispronounce my name and that didn’t bother me at all. I wasn’t going to try to correct her since she might think it was a sign of disrespect.

She quickly followed it up by pointing to herself and slowly saying, “Tiamoana”. In turn I repeated her name by saying very distinctly, “Tia-yah-mo-an-ah”. Her eyes and her face lit up with a bright broad smile that I had pronounced her name correctly.

Taking my hand she turned and led me to the water source. When we got close to the site I could hear the men talking as they were working dipping water out of the spring and pouring it into a barrel for transportation back to the ship.

As we got to within sight of the men, I called their attention to me and told them, “I don’t want to hear any disrespectful comments on the young woman’s attire or any other similar comments about her appearance.”

I talked to the officer supervising the project and he told me that everything was going well. All the while I was talking to him, Tiamoana stood quietly close by my side with her arm threaded around my arm.

I think she may have been somewhat intimidated by the other men who were standing there staring at her. The officer mostly looked at me during our conversation and he occasionally looked at Tiamoana but, he didn’t stare at her or at her breasts either.

After my conversation with the other officer, I turned to head back to the village with Tiamoana walking close by my side holding my hand all the way back. I couldn’t get over just how beautiful she was. At 5 Ft.-11 in. tall, I was about a head taller than she was and I judged that she was about 5 Ft.-4 in. to 5 Ft.-6 in. tall.

Tiamoana was very well proportioned with her perfectly formed full breasts that stood proudly on her chest. They pointed slightly upward with dark areolas and nipples prominently topping each one without any evidence of sagging.

Her waist was very small and her hips were well rounded and looked like they topped off her womanly proportions just matching or maybe slightly exceeding the girth around her breasts.

As we returned to the village the Chief was happy to see the both of us return safely and Tiamoana was smiling. He and his woman were eating their mid-day meal and he gestured for me to sit and eat with them. I accepted his invitation and he turned to Tiamoana and asked her to show me where the food had been prepared and was waiting for us.

She picked up several pieces of the breadfruit and I did the same. Then we walked over to where her Father and his Woman were sitting and I sat down opposite them. Tiamoana quickly sat down beside me and we began to eat our meal of breadfruit.

After we had eaten, I told the Chief that during the time we were gathering water and food for the ship I would be staying the night on the island and I would not go back to the ship at night to sleep.

He told me that there was an empty hut near the edge of the village that I could use to sleep in to protect me from rain in the night. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Tiamoana smiling broadly and looking at me as though she was happy to hear what I had just told the chief.

The Chief got to his feet and led me to a small hut on the far outside edge of the village. Tiamoana walked along with us holding my hand as we walked out to the empty hut. The hut was small with room enough only for one or maybe even two persons to lay on their mats and sleep.

He said he would get two mats to put into the hut for me and for one other person to sleep on if needed. Tiamoana seemed to be happy about that, too. I thanked him and turned to walk back to the beach.

The crew was just loading a full barrel of water onto the longboat. I went back to the ship on the longboat and when I boarded the longboat Tiamoana must have thought we were going to leave permanently. She stood there with a disappointed look on her face as we shoved off into the gentle surf of the lagoon and the oarsmen rowed the longboat back to the ship.

On reboarding the ship I reported to the Captain the results of my morning and that all was going well. The Captain and I stood at the gunwale and watched as the crew brought the barrel of water on deck and took it below decks to be added to the ship’s supplies. When the crew loaded the empty barrel back on the longboat I went back ashore with them.

Tiamoana was still standing there watching as we returned to the island from the ship in the longboat rowing through the gentle surf. When she saw me, a smile broke out across her face telling me she was happy to see that I had not left the island permanently. The crew got the empty barrel out of the longboat and they started back to the spring to begin to refill it.

I followed them back to the spring with Tiamoana walking beside me holding my hand all the way to the spring. When we got to the spring the supervising officer asked me, “Have you gotten a new girlfriend, Sir?”

“No, the Village Chief asked her to show me where the spring was located this morning and she has stayed right by my side all day. I don’t know if he told her to stay beside me or if she has taken it upon herself to stay beside me. And I’m not about to insult her and her Father by running her off either.” I told him.

“Well, he couldn’t have chosen a prettier girl to escort you around the island anyway, Sir.”

“She is his Daughter and I’m going to see that no insult or harm comes to her. I think she is as innocent as the day she was born. She appears to be somewhat afraid of the crew and I want all of the officers and crew to know who she is and make sure that they know if any harm comes to her it could incur the wrath of the Village Chief and his people not to mention mine and that of the Captain.

As a result, they could run us off of this island without any more of the water and food stuffs we need for the continuance of our expedition. I along with the Captain would not take kindly to any of the officers and crew mistreating her or insulting her or her Father in any way.”

“Aye, Aye, sir. I’ll pass the word to the other officers and the crew that come ashore.”

I then turned to go back to the village and thank the Chief for letting us begin to fill our ship’s water tanks with the fresh water. Tiamoana stayed right beside me step for step back to the village. When we got back to the Chief’s hut, Tiamoana told him about what she had done with me today and she was very excited to see such a big ship anchored out in deep water.

He asked me why I told Tiamoana to stay on the beach when I went out to the ship. I responded that I didn’t want to risk her falling overboard and drowning if I was to take her out to the ship. If I take her out to see our ship I wanted his permission to take her out there before I did.

The Village Chief told me she wants to go out to the ship like he did and see it up close. I replied, I’d ask my Chief for his permission and then I’d take her out there. He told Tiamoana that, in his words and language what I had said and they both seemed to be pleased with my response.

Tiamoana was excited at that news and she put her arms around me and laid her head on my chest. I was excited to feel her soft titties pressed tightly to my chest. That evening the Chief invited me to eat with him again and I accepted.

Tiamoana sat beside me as we ate and she talked with the Chief’s woman who I took to be her Mother. I presumed that she told her Mother I was going to ask permission from my Chief for her to go out with me to go aboard the ship.

The next morning not long after sunrise Tiamoana gently shook me awake and she had brought me breakfast. I looked up at that beautiful smiling vision with her sparkling dark eyes in a light golden bronze face and her head full of shining dark hair.

Of course I couldn’t resist looking at her pair of large golden bronze breasts dangling and slightly jiggling low over my face. I thought, ‘God, I could fall in love with this angelic looking young woman very easily.’

I started to sit up but, she stopped me by putting her forehead on mine for a few moments with those gorgeous bronze breasts laying on either side of my neck. Then she let me sit up and she handed me my breakfast.

I didn’t understand what the head touching was all about but, I really didn’t object. I thought it could just be their way of showing their approval or their affection. However, I wasn’t about to complain about it especially with her gorgeous bronze breasts laying on either side of my neck.

Tiamoana sat down beside me and ate her breakfast with me as we ate the food she had so graciously brought for us. Having eaten our breakfast I gestured to her to stay there and I stepped out behind the hut a few steps into the jungle to take a leak and I returned to the hut. I helped her up and she continued to hold my hand as we walked on out to the spring.

The crew had just completed filling a barrel and was preparing to take it to the beach. I along with Tiamoana walked with them and when they put the barrel into the longboat I gestured for her to stay right there and I would be back very soon.

I went with the crew and we went out to board the ship where I could talk to the Captain. I made my report to him about what happened since I had been there the previous day. I told him, “Their Chief asked me why I didn’t take his Daughter out to see the ship.

I had responded to the Chief that I couldn’t do that without his permission or your permission either. I was not about to risk losing such a beautiful young flower as Tiamoana if she fell overboard and drowned.”

“By all means, bring her out here the next time you return to the ship and you can show her around the ship. I want us to do what we can to promote good will with these people” the Captain responded.

“Aye, Aye, Captain. Come the afternoon when I come out with the crew I’ll bring her along with me. By the way, if you train your telescope on the area where the longboat was moored, you should be able to see her still waiting on the beach, waiting for us to return to the island.”

By the time we finished our conversation the crew had loaded the empty barrel into the longboat and were ready to return to the beach. I saluted the Captain and hurried down the rope ladder to board the longboat and we returned to the beach where Tiamoana was still patiently waiting for our return.

After the crew had offloaded the empty barrel and started back to the spring I got out of the longboat and Tiamoana took my hand with a bright smile on her face. I took her hand in mine; gently squeezed it and we started walking up toward the village and the Chief’s hut.

When we arrived there I told him that my Chief had given his permission to bring Tiamoana out to see the ship. Further, I told him after we ate again I would take her out to the ship with the next barrel of water. The Chief told her in their language what I had just told him.

Tiamoana got very excited and put her arms around me; laid her head on my shoulder with her titties pressed against my chest and squeezed my hand. After our conversation the Chief asked me to eat with him, his woman and Tiamoana.

Again she sat by my side as we ate our meal. She was acting like I was her husband. When we had eaten I got to my feet and headed out to the spring to check on the crew and see their progress.

Of course, Tiamoana was at my side holding my hand as we walked. The crew had just finished filling the barrel with water and they were ready to start taking it to the beach. We followed them and when they had loaded the barrel into the longboat I helped Tiamoana board the longboat with me and the crew.

When we arrived beside the ship I sent the crew on up the rope ladder as I didn’t want them to invade her personal bodily privacy when she climbed the rope ladder. The Captain had two officers standing at the gunwale to help her over the gunwale and onto the ship’s deck.

When she got on board I followed her up the rope ladder and introduced her to the Captain. He greeted her very graciously and turned her over to me to show her around the ship. She seemed to be totally amazed at what she saw on the ship.

Tiamoana seemed to be very much in awe of the size of the ship. She couldn’t get over how tall the ship’s masts were or how large in diameter they were. She stepped over to the center mast and put her hands on it and patted it obviously thinking it was thin and hollow.

I took her below decks and she seemed to be repulsed by the sour smell and the stuffiness of the lower deck from so many sweaty unwashed men inhabiting the lower deck.

The Captain had a part of the crew net fishing. What they caught was to be cleaned, preserved in salt and stored in the ship’s food stocks. When Tiamoana saw the size of the fish the crew was bringing aboard she wanted to take some back to her Chief and her Mother. I asked the Captain, “Can we give the natives enough fish for the entire village at least for a meal?”

“Yes, our stores are just now starting to fill up but, we can give them fresh fish for the next several days.” When we went back to the beach the Captain sent several buckets of fish to give to the Chief and the village. I carried two of the buckets and the crew each carried two buckets of the fish to the village to be presented to the Chief.