Chapter 36

Tom woke up before the alarm went off. The excitement of the tournament kept him from sleeping well. He shook Kim. Leaning over, he kissed her as her eyes fluttered open.

"Time to get up, Honey," Tom said.

"Mmmm, okay. What time is it?" Kim said as she stretched her arm above her head.

"It's a quarter to five. I woke up before the alarm. I guess I'm kind of excited this morning," Tom said.

Kim pulled the covers off them. She looked down and giggled. "Not that excited," Kim said as she reached for Tom's penis. "Maybe I should help you take the edge off."

"That would be nice, but I don't think we have time. Let's take a shower and get dressed," Tom said.

"Wow, you must be geeked about fishing. You don't turn down a blowjob very often," Kim said with a giggle.

While Tom used the head, Kim went to wake the others. Even with the alarm clocks set, the teens agreed that the first one up would wake the others. Kim went from stateroom to stateroom waking up her teammates. When she woke Eddie, Kathy, and Molly, she and Molly shared a smile and a giggle.

Kim joined Tom in the shower. They washed quickly and then went to dress. Kim and Tom put on their khaki uniforms. She went back to the staterooms to make sure the others were wearing the same outfits.

The teens gathered in the galley. They decided on cereal and juice for breakfast. Jenny put on a pot of coffee. At five-thirty, Randy and Fran came aboard. They ate with the teens and talked about what they planned for the day. A few moments later, Kristin called for Jenny. Jenny went out and invited Kristin aboard.

"We have coffee, juice, and cereal," Eddie told Kristin as she walked toward the galley.

"I'll have coffee please. My husband and I had breakfast this morning," Kristin said.

Molly poured a cup of coffee for Kristin. She asked if anyone else wanted some and filled cups for those that said they did. When she handed Tom his coffee, Molly giggled.

Brad went to the bridge and started the engines. He turned on the electronics and reviewed the checklist to make sure he didn't forget anything. Once the engines warmed, Sally, Jack, and Eddie went out to release the boat.

The parents walked up to the boat and wished the team good luck. They told their kids they would see them at the weigh in later in the afternoon. The teens waved to their parents as the boat began to move.

Brad pulled out of the slip. He maneuvered the boat to the outlet and into the ocean. There were several other boats ahead of him and a few behind the Lady Guinevere. Eddie came up to the bridge and told Brad to hold back so they could see where the other boats headed.

"It looks like most of them are going out to the shelf," Eddie said. "I think we should go to the place we caught the marlin. You know, fish over what we think is a wreck."

Brad headed the boat toward the south side of the island. Eddie went out on the sundeck and glanced down at the rest of the team in the cockpit. Jenny and Kathy had begun showing the other's how to mark the leaders on the pitch rods.

"You have to make sure the mark is no more than thirty-six inches from the hook. I usually mark them at thirty-two inches with a red marker and thirty-six inches with a black marker to make sure. Make the marks an inch long," Jenny said.

Once the leaders on the pitch rods were marked, they showed them to Kristin.

"That's a good idea. I've never seen anyone make two marks on a leader," Kristin said.

The teens prepared the rods. They attached the bright hook less lures to the teaser rods and rigged ballyhoo to the pitch rods.

"Why don't we just leave the teasers on the rods when we go in? That would make it easier," Kim said.

"We don't want the other teams to walk by and see what we plan to run," Kathy said.

"Oh, that makes sense," Kim said.

Once they were out of sight of the other boats, Brad speed up. He pulled up the waypoint for the place they wanted to fish first. Brad turned on the cockpit cameras and the recorder. He checked the monitors to make sure everything was operating properly.

On the pier, the parents began walking back to their rooms. Sarah came up between Joel and Laura. She hooked her arms in theirs and chuckled. "When you get Joel in the shower later, shave his hairy balls. I was spitting pubes after I blew him last night," Sarah said.

"I see all the other men shave their nuts. Is that why?" Joel said.

"That's part of it. We love clean shaven men," Sarah said with a chuckle.

"Don't worry, he'll be a bare as a baby's ass when I finish with him," Laura said. She laughed and added, "Maybe I'll be that way too."

Marge heard Laura and turned around. She walked backwards and said, "I'll shave you if Joel doesn't want to."

"I think I can handle it, Marge," Joel said.

The adults all laughed at the exchange. They went back to their rooms and back to bed. The group planned to spend time on the beach during the afternoon while their kids fished.

Brad announced that they were approaching the first waypoint over the intercom. Jack scrambled up the ladder to the tuna tower. He turned on the electronics and then told Brad he was ready to take over. Jenny stayed in the cockpit and sent Kathy up to watch for fish.

Jack slowed the boat to trolling speed. Brad went down to the cockpit to help set the lines. Jenny began shouting out instructions to the other girls and within minutes, the teasers were out. Kim and Molly lowered the port rigger while Sally and Jenny took care of the starboard side. Eddie, Brad, and Tom stood back and watched the girls work.

"I'm impressed," Kristin said. "The girls set up this boat as well as anyone I've ever seen do it."

"We all practice together. Everyone can do any of the jobs necessary to fish competitively. Our team wants to do well," Brad said. "Jenny doesn't have to give us instructions, but it helps make sure we don't get in each other's way."

"It's refreshing to see men that don't act all macho. I've been on boats with female members of the team, but they are treated as if they don't know what to do," Kristin said.

Fran moved closer to where Kristin and the boys sat on the mezzanine seat. She pointed her camera at the transom and the girls that stood ready. Randy stood up on the sundeck so he could capture the action from above the cockpit.

"There's a fish following the starboard teaser," Kathy shouted down to the crew.

Jenny grabbed a pitch rod. She handed it to Molly and said, "You're up, girl. Catch that fish for us."

Molly looked shell shocked for a moment. Tom noticed that Molly was unsure and went over to her. "You can do it, Molly," Tom said.

Taking the rod from Jenny, Molly flipped the bait into the water. She free-spooled the reel while listening to Kathy's voice over the intercom. When Kathy said the fish took the bait, Molly flipped the lever and headed for the fighting chair.

Molly sat in the fighting chair. She attached the straps to the reel and waited for the line to go tight. When the rod jerked and bent toward the stern, Molly began to fight the fish.

Reeling down, then, using her legs, Molly pulled back on the fish. The fish pulled line off against the drag. Molly kept up the fight while the fish ran.

"That's the way, keep pressure on it," Jenny said. "The drag will keep the fish from breaking the line. Use your legs and back, not your arms."

The fish came up for the first of a series of acrobatic jumps. It danced on its tail and then porpoised across the water. Molly cranked on the reel to keep the fish from making the line slack.

Jack steered the boat toward the fish in an attempt to cut it off. He worked the throttles carefully and kept his eyes on the fish.

"It's a marlin. I think it's a white marlin. The fish looks like about a hundred pounds," Kathy shouted into the intercom.

The fight lasted thirty minutes. When Molly brought it close to the transom, Jenny used a gloved hand to grab the leader. Jenny carefully wound the leader around her hand, making sure she could release the fish if it made a run. Kim stood next to Jenny with the tag stick in hand. Sally stood close with the line cutter.

Jenny managed to get the fish along the portside of the boat. She reached over the gunwale, grabbed the long bill and held on. Kim placed a tag in the fish while Kristin watched.

"Good tag," Kristin said.

"Sally, see if you can get the hook out," Jenny said.

Sally grabbed the hook removal tool. She leaned over the gunwale, grabbed the circle hook with the tool, and wrenched it out of the corner of the fish's mouth. Screeching, Sally held the hook up for Kristin to see. Jenny revived the white marlin and released it.

The girls gave each other high-fives and then they hugged. Kristin marked the fish on her clipboard and returned to her seat.

"Great job," Tom said as he began resetting the teasers.

Eddie congratulated Molly, as did the rest of the team. The guys reset the lines and prepared for the next fish.

"Oh my God, oh my God!" Molly chanted. "I can't believe I did it!" She looked at Fran and smiled. "Did you get that on tape?"

Fran nodded and said, "Yup, every minute. I think Randy did too."

Molly couldn't stop dancing. She felt excited by the fact they let her catch the first fish. Kathy and Jack shouted down, telling Molly that she did a great job. Jack used the intercom to tell the others he was making another pass. He made a wide turn and approached the waypoint from the north just as he did the first time.

"Look, there's another fish," Kathy said as she grabbed the microphone. "Fish on the port rigger!"

Tom pitched the bait to the fish. Kathy watched and told Tom when the fish ate the bait. He got in the chair to fight the fish. Once again, the team hooked a white marlin. This fish was about the same size as the first one. Tom fought the fish to the stern and then Brad grabbed the leader. A few moments later, the tagged fish swam free.

"It looks like we've located a school of young marlin," Eddie said to the rest team. "If we play our cards right, we can probably fish here all day."

As the morning progressed, the teens hooked additional fish, all of them marlins. The fish weren't huge, but that made it easier for them to tag and release the marlin. By lunchtime, the team had tagged five of the marlin.

Tom and Molly went into the cabin to make sandwiches. While they worked at the counter, Molly babbled about catching the first fish.

"I can't believe you guys let me catch that fish," Molly said.

"Why not, you're a part of out team," Tom said.

"I know, but what if I would have lost it? What if I broke the line?"

"You didn't, Molly," Tom said with a chuckle. "What the hell, those things can happen to any of us."

"This is the best time I've ever had. You guys are so nice to me," Molly said.

"That's because we want to play with your sexy ass," Tom said.

"You're a goofball, Tom."

Molly and Tom finished making the sandwiches. They took out a bowl of potato salad and placed it on the counter. When Molly bent over to get paper plates out of a cabinet, Tom playfully patted her butt.

Once the food was out on the counter, Tom and Molly went out to tell the others, including Kristin, Fran, and Randy. The fishing slowed down and it gave the teens a chance to eat. After lunch, the girls changed into shorts. The temperature had climbed to over eighty.

"What happened to the cold front you thought we were going to get?" Sally asked Eddie.

"I guess it passed us by. This has been a great day so far," Eddie said. "Brad, you and Sally should take over on the tower and give Jack and Kathy a break. I'll take over a bit later."

"Why are you two taping this tournament? I saw you at the meeting last night," Kristin said to Randy and Fran as they fixed their plates.

"We're making a pilot for ESPN. The network wants to make a show featuring the Lady Guinevere team," Fran said.

"That sounds interesting. Why did the network select these kids instead of a seasoned team?" Kristin said.

"I think it's for several reasons. As far as being seasoned, do you think the other teams are any better than this one?" Randy said. "Not only that, but the kids have an appeal that some of the other teams ESPN thought about don't have. They are coed, young, and very pleasant."

"That's very true. It's nice being on a boat where every other word isn't a cuss word. Do you think the pilot will be aired?" Kristin said.

"We hope so. It would really help our carriers if it does make it," Fran said.

"The team seems very well rounded. These kids are very smart, aren't they?" Kristin said.

"Yes they are. We've been with them for several days and it's refreshing to see teenagers that are willing to learn from each other," Randy said. He smiled, thinking about how much he was learning from the teens.

Kristin, Fran, and Randy heard someone yelling, "Fish." They went out to the cockpit to watch the action. Kim stood at the transom with a pitch rod in hand. Eddie cranked on one of the teaser rods, drawing the fish closer. When he told her to, Kim flipped the bait toward the fish.

"He ate it!" Sally screeched, not needing the intercom.

Kim asked for a stand up harness. She said that she wanted to fight the fish standing up because the other fish were small and she felt this one would be small too. Eddie helped Kim into the harness while she kept track of the running fish. Eddie's hand brushed against Kim's mons, causing her to giggle. She turned her head so she could keep an eye on the line and also talk to Eddie.

"I don't think we have time for that right now, Eddie," Kim said and then she giggled.

"Damn, I always wanted to fool around with a cute girl while she fought a fish," Eddie said. He finished adjusting the harness and stood next to Kim. "Don't forget to snap the clips on the reel."

Kim placed the butt of the rod in the gimbal. She held the rod with one hand and used the other to snap the clip on the right side of the reel. Switching hands, Kim fastened the left side.

When the fish came up and jumped, Kim pulled back and cranked the reel. She kept the line tight and let the fish wear itself out. Brad maneuvered the boat to shorten the distance. Thirty minutes later, Eddie grabbed the leader. He pulled the fish close so Jenny could put a tag in its back. With the fish tagged, Tom released it by removing the hook.

"That makes six marlin. All of them properly tagged and released," Kristin said. "I have to admit, I'm impressed. I'm also impressed by the fact the girls caught four of the six fish. Most of the teams I have observed have one or two anglers and the other members tend to the tagging and releasing."

"We do this for fun. We want everyone to have a chance to do everything—that's how we practice," Jack said.

"That's what Jenny told me. I think it's great. Maybe some of the men can learn from you kids," Kristin said. "I'm sorry; I don't mean to call you kids."

"Why not? That's what we are, isn't it?" Jenny said.

"You are to me. I'm old enough to be your mother," Kristin said with a chuckle. "I used to go out with my dad, but I stopped when I turned sixteen. I thought it wasn't cool. I wish I hadn't done that."

While Kristin talked with Jenny and Jack, Eddie, Molly, and Kim reset the teasers. At two o'clock, Sally told the cockpit there was a fish chasing the starboard outrigger teaser. Eddie grabbed one of the pitch rods and waited until the fish swam closer. He flung the bait at the fish and let the reel free spool. Kim reeled in the teaser and the fish took the bait.

Once the hook set in the fish, it made a jump. Eddie saw the size and made his way to the fighting chair. He fought fish larger in the past while standing up, but now they had a fighting chair. Eddie decided to use it.

"That looks like the largest one we've hooked today," Kathy said while standing behind Eddie.

"It looks big, that's for sure," Eddie said. He clipped the reel to the straps and settled in for the fight.

Eddie fought the fish for an hour. Jack grabbed the leader and began pulling the marlin close to the boat. Kim poked the tag into it and then stepped back. Tom couldn't control the fish by holding it by the bill so he cut the leader at the hook. Tom showed Kristin the leader so she could see it.

"Looks good, Tom. That makes seven fish. It's three o'clock, time to pull the lines," Kristin said.

Eddie sat and rested while the rest of the team tended to the rods. They cleared the lines while Eddie fought the fish. All they needed to do was bring in the outriggers and remove the teasers and baits. Brad headed for port while the others put the rods away.

Jack went to the bridge to take over from Brad. Sally came down from the tower and joined Jack at the helm. A few moments later, Brad and Jenny came in.

"I hope we place well today," Brad said. "We fished our butts off."

Sally giggled and grabbed Brad's bottom. "You still have a butt. A nice butt."

Brad laughed and gave Sally's butt a firm squeeze. "You have a nice butt too, Sally."

The four of them were still laughing when the rest of the team came into the covered bridge. They all felt good about the day, and congratulated one another.

Brad pulled up to the gas dock so they could top off the fuel tanks and have the holding tank pumped out. When the attendants finished, Brad moved the boat into the slip. With the boat secured, they went to the conference room for the day's weigh in.

Kristin took the score sheet to a table where the tournament organizers recorded the fish. A man took the sheet, looked it over, and then talked to Kristin for a moment. He went to a large board, which they kept turned away from the room, and began entering the catch.

The teens bought sodas and then sat at a table near the front of the room. They watched as the other observers took their score sheets up to the table. All of them squirmed in anticipation of what was going to happen.

Fran and Randy came over to the table. They chatted with the team for a moment before beginning to tape the activities.

"How did you kids do today?" Marlin Parker said.

Eddie glanced around and then said, "We did okay I guess. We'll have to wait and see what happens. Your teasers worked great today."

"That's good to hear. What colors did you run?" Mr. Parker said.

"We ran all twelve inch pink and green," Eddie replied.

"That's an odd size and color for sailfish, Eddie."

Smiling, Eddie said, "We didn't fish for sails today. But we did raise sails with those teasers when we were pre-fishing."

Marlin Parker told the teens he would see them later. He left to man the booth his company set up for the tournament.

The tournament committee continued to record the different fishing team's catches. The observers gathered around a couple of tables near the stage. The teens had trouble sitting still while they waited.

The teens' parents came into the room. They walked over to table to talk to their children. When Molly saw her mom, she jumped up. Molly hugged Laura as she babbled about the day's fishing.

"What did you do today, Mom?" Molly said.

Laura chuckled and said, "We went to a nude beach. I had a great time."

Molly giggled and hugged her mom. "Things have really changed for us, haven't they? I'm having so much fun with my new friends. Sometimes I feel as if it's all a dream."

"Honey, it isn't a dream. We have changed and for the better," Laura said. "I've been doing things I would have never dreamed of."

Thinking about Tom, Molly smiled and nodded her head. Laura stepped away. She went over to Joel while Molly took her seat.

Wally Tanner, the tournament director, took the stage. He called the room to order, asking everyone to quiet down.

"Okay, we have computed the results for today's fishing. I'm sure everyone is anxious so we get started. Of the twenty-six boats entered, twenty-four caught fish. One boat wasn't able to get out due to mechanical troubles. We all hope Papa's Toy will be ready to go tomorrow," Wally said.

Two men turned the standings board around. A cover prevented anyone from seeing the standings.

"In twenty-forth place is Stern Affair with one hundred points. Stern Affair tagged two sailfish. In twenty-third place is..."

Wally Tanner read off the standings. The two men that turned the board toward the crowd moved the cover to reveal each boat as Wally announced their place. When they reached fifth place, Wally announced that Hasty tagged six fish and earned six hundred points. They beat the sixth place team because they used circle hooks.

"Our second place boat has eight hundred points. Lazy Daze tagged and released six sailfish and one marlin. That makes today's leader Lady Guinevere. The Lady Guinevere team tagged and released seven marlin, all with circle hooks. Their point total is one thousand seven-hundred fifty points. Congratulations on a great catch," Wally said.

The teens tried, but they couldn't contain their enthusiasm. They all cheered and pumped their hands in the air. The rest of the crowd applauded the team. Once things settled down, Wally stepped back to the microphone.

"You wouldn't care to share where you fished today, would you?" Wally said.

The teens all said no at the same time. Everyone laughed at their response.

"I didn't think so, but I thought I'd ask. Okay folks, that's it for today. We have one more day of fishing and anyone can win. We have hotdogs and sodas available at the concession stand. The room will be open until eight tonight. Good luck and be safe," Wally said.

"Oh my God, we smoked them today," Tom said.

"Yeah, we did real well. We have to make sure we don't get too cocky though. Like Wally said, anyone can win this thing," Eddie said.

"We have over twice as many points as the second place team," Molly said.

"That's true, but I assure you the other teams will be targeting marlin tomorrow. If they get on them, any of the boats can catch up and even win. We have to stick to our plan," Brad said.

"What is your plan?" Jeff Lamar said as he walked up to the table with his brother Eric. "Great fishing today, congratulations."

"Thanks, Jeff," Jenny said.

"I didn't see you again today. Do you guys have a secret place?" Eric said.

"We got lucky, that's all, Eric," Eddie said.

"Yeah sure. You guys don't depend on luck. Anyone that's ever fished against you knows that," Jeff said.

"Thanks, Jeff, that's nice of you to say that," Kathy said.

"It sucks, but it's the truth. So, are you going back to your secret place tomorrow? Maybe we'll try to follow you," Eric said.

"Probably, we'll leave at six thirty if you want to try to keep up," Brad said.

Jeff and Eric laughed. "Naw, we're not going to do that. We have changed to circle hooks because of you though. We kept seeing you get the extra points and decided to give them a try. Once you get used to the hook-set, it's easy," Jeff said.

Jeff and Eric told the teens they would see them later and left. Eddie and Jack went to get sodas for the team, stopping to chat with a few of the other teams on the way. All of the teams they talked to wanted to know where they had located the marlin.

Eddie and Jack bought the sodas and returned to the table. The teens talked with their parents, telling them about each fish they caught. Don commented that they sounded like golfers recapping each hole they played.

"We're going to go to the pool for a little while," Marc said. "Do you kids want to meet us for dinner later?"

"Sure, that would be great, Dad," Sally said. "What time do you want us to meet you?"

"How about six? That way you can get to bed early," Marc replied.

The group agreed to meet at six for dinner. The parents said goodbye and left. A few minutes later, Nate came over to talk to the teens.

"You kids smoked them today," Nate said in his gravely voice.

"Yeah, I guess we did. We just used what we learned from you, Nate," Jenny said.

"You kids may have learned a few things from me, but I don't think that's why you're so successful. I really believe you have a sixth sense for locating fish. Some of the teams you beat today are made up of people that have been fishing for many years—before you kids were born," Nate said.

Jack, Tom, Kim, Sally, and Molly listened to Nate talking to the others. They knew Eddie and Jenny worked as mates on Nate's boat.

"What are you planning to do tomorrow?" Nate said.

"We haven't talked about it yet," Eddie said.

"You know that if you head out to where you caught the marlin today you'll have half the fleet following you," Nate said.

"I didn't really think of it, but you're probably right. What do you suggest?" Eddie said.

Nate grabbed a chair from the table next to them. Turning it around, he sat with his arms folded on the back. "If it were me, I'd head out to the shelf where everyone else fished today. You'll pick up sailfish, but with your point lead, it doesn't really matter. If you wanted to fish marlin, you could head out after the boats spread out."

"That sounds good to me. What do the rest of you think?" Eddie said as he glanced at the other members of the team.

"I think that's a great idea," Tom said. "I didn't realize there was so much strategy involved."

"There is if you want to win these tournaments. Many of the boats don't take the time to locate fish the way you kids did. They know there's fish on the shelf and they're happy to fish there. It's the easy way. They figure they can catch more fish than anyone else so they're happy," Nate said.

"Do you think they'll fish the shelf tomorrow too?" Molly said.

"Some of the teams will look for the marlin, but most of them won't, Hun. You kids caught them with their pants down and they will want to fish where they're comfortable. You have raised the bar. All of them know you kids will be out there fishing your asses off just like you did today. Don't rest on your lead," Nate said.

"I hope Kristin doesn't tell anyone where we fished," Kim said.

"She won't tell anyone. Not only is it against the rules, it's just plain wrong. Kristin is a good woman, I've known her and her husband for many years," Nate said.

"Do you really think the other boats will try to follow us?" Sally said.

"Hon, you can count on it. It isn't as if you can hide with that battlewagon. Your boat sticks out like a sore thumb. One of these days I'd like to fish on her," Nate said.

"You're welcome to fish with us anytime you want to, Nate. We can always use pointers," Jack said, and the rest of the teens quickly agreed.

Nate laughed and said, "Hell, I was planning on picking up a few tips from you. You kids take care. I'll talk to you later."

Nate left the table. Jack mentioned how helpful Nate was and that he liked talking to him.

"He's a great guy and a great fisherman," Jenny said. "He was so patient with Eddie and me when we worked for him."

"I would really like a chance to fish with him someday," Jack said.

"I'm sure you'll get the opportunity once you guys move down here," Kathy said.

"It won't be too soon for me," Kim said. "Going back to Michigan is going to suck!"

"It won't be too bad, Kim. We get out of school at the end of May. That's only two months from now," Tom said.

"I know, but I can't wait," Kim said and then she giggled.

"We should head back to the boat. We have to wash her down," Brad said.

The team agreed. They got up to say goodbye to a few of the people they knew before heading to the boat. Randy and Fran decided to go back with them.

Tom, Jack, Eddie, and Brad started washing down the boat. The girls went into the cabin to vacuum and dust. Fran and Randy offered to help, but Kathy told them that it was covered. A half hour later, the teens relaxed in the saloon.

"Can I show you guys some of the tape we recorded today?" Randy said.

"Sure, what do you need?" Kathy said.

"Just a television. I can connect the camcorder and play the tape," Randy said.

Kim jumped up and pushed the button that raised the large flat screen television. Randy opened the cabinet and found the connectors he needed. He hooked up the camcorder and turned it on.

"This is tape from the meeting this afternoon. We interviewed some of the other teams," Fran said.

The tape started. It showed one of the teams sitting at a table. They could hear Fran asking about the tournament. One of the men began telling Fran about their day and the fish they caught. Then Fran asked how the man felt about the first place boat.

"I'd like to know where they fished, that's for sure. I think it's great that we have young people getting involved in the sport. That team is very young to have a boat that size, but I guess that if their parents can afford it, it's okay. They seem to know what they're doing," the man said.