Marooned
by: justjames17
(Copyright 2005 -2007 by the author)

The author retains all rights. No reproductions are allowed without the author's consent. Comments are appreciated at...
 

Chapter 10

Wanderer cleared the churning washing machine waters of the turbulent entrance to the bay and sailed out into the large smooth swells of Bass Strait as she turned to port and began her long voyage along the Victorian coast. The lighthouses on the cliffs guarding the dangerous entrance slowly sank below the horizon as she cruised slowly past the rearing shape of Cape Schanck, soon they could see the entrance into Western Port Bay as the yacht gradually eased her course further off shore, a pack of the local fur seals joined then for a period gambolling about the hull before swimming back towards their rocky habitat at Seal rocks as the sun lowered in the west kissing the horizon.

The boys feeling the chill of their salt spray dampened bodies headed below to don some clothing on their almost naked bodies, Ashley called up to Brian asking if he could prepare the evening meal and Brian called back that sounded like a good idea as he flicked on the navigation lights. Dusk dawdled on turning yellow, orange then faded to a pinkish grey as night descended wrapping the Wanderer in her cloak of black, the night sky emblazoned with stars glinting and glimmering overhead brought the lads up from below and wondrous gasps sounded as they saw the glittering magnificence of the firmament. Wayne and Donny being raised in the country had seen the stars in all their beauty before but Shaun and Ashley being city dwellers had never witnessed the full beauty of the night sky due to the light pollution.

Ashley prepared a delicious meal of pasta and fresh vegetables which the lads wolfed down, the salt air giving them huge appetites, Wayne brought his and Brian’s dinners up on deck and they sat there eating together in quiet contemplation as Brian steered with his feet on the wooden wheel. Wanderer sailed smoothly on greasing through the humpy swells, the wind dropped with the sun and the light night breeze gently caressed the sails pushing the heavy hull slowly along. The dark water lit eerily with phosphorescence as the yacht slid along leaving a pale lime greenish light bubbling in her gentle wake which faded as she moved away and the wake dissipated. Wayne asked the cause of this phenomenon and Brian told him it was caused by microscopic life forms in the water stirred by the yachts movement which caused them to become agitated and thus illuminated.

Wayne leant against Brian companionably as they sat quietly communing with the night, Ashley’s head appeared at the hatch as he asked for their dirty plates and Wayne picked them up handing them to him for washing below in the galley. Brian kept the yacht on a South Easterly course as they had to clear Wilson’s Promontory the southernmost land mass of mainland of Australia, he’d never sailed offshore before their sailing trips limited to the bay due to Brian’s business commitments. He had checked the charts and knew this long rocky extension with its many small rocky islands needed to be passed in the morning. He called the boys on deck and said, “Lads we need to set watches for sailing through the night, I can’t be the only helmsman on board we need all of us to take a stint at the wheel, you all had a little practice during the day now I want volunteers to take a watch through the night. It is easy as we are not making much way with the light breeze so the job isn’t too onerous.”

Wayne and Ashley volunteered to take over and I thought it was a good move as they could keep each other awake, I told them I’d steer until midnight and they should have a sleep until I called them to take over. They nodded and went below into the small stern cabin and turned in, Donny and Shaun stayed on deck for some time till sleep urged them to go below and I sat in the darkness watching the compass and Global Positioning Satellite display as Wanderer moved smoothly through the slumbering swells. The sails palely illuminated by the red and green navigation lights and I watched the reeling white light on the masthead as we rolled and swooped on the humping waters. Peace and solitude accompanied me as I sat there trance like staring into the blackness my thoughts revolving around Wayne’s emotional attachment to me and what this trip had in store with Shaun and whether I could win back his love.

Time passed slowly as I checked my watch but eventually midnight arrived and I heard Wayne’s voice mumbling through the partly open skylight of their cabin, “Come on Ashes its time to go up top and relieve Brian, he must be buggered by now its been a long day.”

Ashley groaned and replied, “Oh lets have sex before we go up and I’m as horny as Wayne.”

Wayne laughed softly and I heard the sound of flesh striking flesh and an “Ouch” from Ashley as Wayne said, “Get up stud, we need to let Brian get some sleep, come on or I’ll paddle your sweet arse again.”

Ashley groaned and laughed saying, “Ha, ha, ha, you can paddle my arse anytime Wayne I’m a sucker for a bit of pain.” Then, “Oh gees Wayne look at that boner of yours its unreal at least let me suck you off before we go on upstairs.”

Wayne giggled sexily then replied, “No way duder, come on, you can give me head while I’m steering.”

I heard movement as they got their clothes on and soon I saw them appear at the hatch and they climbed up into the cockpit, I pointed out the course and asked Wayne to wake me if anything happened they weren’t certain of, also that I was to be woken at first light, Wayne took my place behind the wheel and I went below leaving them to it for the rest of the night. I collapsed on my bunk and instantly fell into a deep sleep, my slumber disturbed again by that nightmare of the huge sea crashing down on the boat tearing out the mizzen mast and washing Shaun overboard. I began tossing and turning as this horror played over and over in my tired mind until I awoke sweating and shaking in the tangled bedclothes, I checked my watch in the darkness and saw it was nearly 4am. I decided it was no use trying to get back to sleep and struggled up exited the cabin to pad my way barefooted to the sink for a glass of water.

I stood there sipping the water watching Shaun and Donny as the slept snuggled together warmly at peace in their slumber, hugging face to face with their noses touching, arms and legs entangled, they looked so cute I felt an ache in my chest, happy that these two darling boys had found each other, I wondered how Shaun would react when Donny had to leave and return home. I hoped being his age he would soon get over the loss and find someone else to love. I put the kettle on to make tea and poked my head up through the hatch after checking the GPS readout in the cabin; I could see Wayne at the helm with Ashley sprawled out on the cushions his head resting in Wayne’s lap. Ashley sported a huge hard bulge in his trackie pants as he slept, Wayne saw my head emerge and he grinned at me whispering, “G’day Brian, you’re up early it isn’t first light yet.”

I smiled tiredly at him and said, “It soon will be but I had that nightmare again and I woke up, it wasn’t worth trying to go back to sleep so here I am, I’ve put the kettle on for a hot cuppa I’ll bet you could go one for sure.”

He nodded in the gloom saying, “Yeah the cool damp air is really eating into my bones, I could go a nice hot sweet cuppa thanks Brian. Ashes has been asleep for about an hour but he sat up with me most the night.”

I heard the kettle whistling and bolted below before it woke the sleeping cherubs, I needn’t have bothered they hadn’t stirred; I think I could have dropped a bomb and they wouldn’t have heard a thing. I brewed the tea and poured out three mugs sweetened with sugar and added milk then carried them to the cockpit, Wayne took his and as he moved woke Ashley who blearily sat up rubbing his eyes, he looked at me and said, “Oh hi Brian, sorry I fell asleep on the job.”

I laughed saying, “Its ok, Ashley, you kept Wayne company that’s the main thing, here grab this cup of tea it’ll warm you and help you wake up.”

Both lads wrapped their hands around their mugs warming their fingers as they sipped the hot brew with gasps of pleasure; I sat beside them as the sky began to lighten in the east. The sun was waking up and getting ready to put in its appearance, gradually we could discern more and more as the sky brightened. I could see the dew glistening in the lads tousled hair, the wrinkles of the night watch creasing beside their eyes; Wayne yawned and put his mug down to stretch his cramped arms and legs as he stood up his pants creased by his prominent cock and balls as the material stretched to his movement. I saw Ashley’s eyes slide over his crotch as he smiled slightly with a possessive look on his drawn face.

I finished my tea and said, “Well guys you can go below and get breakfast I’ll take the wheel, Shaun and Donny are still dead to the world so don’t wake them yet its still pretty early.”

Wayne gave me a quick hug and followed Ashley below as I sat on the warm cushion where his tight muscular arse had been; I checked the compass and waited for the hazy morning sea mist to clear. Wayne appeared with some cereal, another mug of tea and hot toast handing me the meal, I thanked him as he popped back below like a rabbit down its burrow. I ate slowly savouring the food watching a pair of Pacific gulls, the male black and white while the female drab brown, circling the boat their dark eyes watching my movements.

The mists burnt off in the warming sunlight and in the distance I could see Cape Liptrap with the looming Prom behind it, the Northerly breeze began to stir the smooth swells I checked the barometer it had dropped a little and I listened to the marine weather forecast. An increasing North breeze to 25 knots then a front was coming in with a westerly wind gusting to 30/35 knots accompanying thunder storms, I called to the boys that we soon may have some dirty weather approaching and we might have to shorten sail later in the day as Wanderer began to kick along faster and heel over slightly to the freshening breeze.

The smooth surface whipped by fast moving gusts wrinkled as they passed across the surface gradually beginning to form wavelets as the wind steadied and increased, we picked up speed until Wanderer was heeled over considerably knifed along at a steady 12 knots. The boys reveled in her motion lying about sun baking in the hot sun, I called to Shaun and said, “Better get some protection before you get fried, you don’t want to get burnt it will be very uncomfortable.”

He shambled below and reappeared clutching some factor 15+ and commenced rubbing it into Donny’s smooth lightly muscled back, Donny was moaning seductively as Shaun’s hands caressed him with the slippery lotion, his tousled blonde locks waving as he rolled his head about. Wayne and Ashley appeared on deck stretching and yawning, their Speedos packed tight with their delicious genitals, my eyes were filled with erotic images of these youthful bodies caused my own pole to twitch in my togs. I tore my hungry eyes away and stared towards the approaching Wilson’s Promontory as we passed Turtle Island, a low barren rocky island which looked like a turtle swimming.

The sun disappeared as the heavy thunder heads drew nearer, the strong wind was gusting and veering from North to North west, we could hear the thunder as large rain drops began to fall from above to splatter on the teak deck, sails and ourselves. The rough confused sea turned white as the rain pelted down, the seas flattened somewhat under the deluge and the boat wasn’t being buffeted as hard as we sailed on. The rain was warm but the wind seemed to chill our almost naked bodies as it blew across our wet skin. I checked our speed and found inexplicably it had slowed suddenly, I asked Shaun to take the wheel while I went below to check the chart.

I found the cause of our retardation, we had passed into the forceful Australian Current which swept all the way down the East Coast, it hit the tip of the Prom and swirled about the position we were now sailing through. I heard Wayne call out to me asking me to come on deck quickly, I leapt up the companionway and scrambled onto the deck to find him pointing to starboard. I turned to see a weird sight; I’d seen it on the Bay under very rare wind changes, the sea had turned white under the raging wind as it swung about and howled in from the opposite direction, I yelled, “Quick lads shorten sail now or we’ll cop a hammering.”

The boys leapt to the winches and began shortening sail as fast as they could, we succeeded in getting in the sails just as the North wind died eerily, Wanderer slowed as she tossed and bucked in the confused humpy waves. I watched the white squall racing down upon us telling the lads to get below and close the hatches, they dived down into the cabin and I heard the hatches and port holes slamming closed as the gale hit us like a cyclone. Wanderer shuddered and was tossed on her beam ends as she lay struggling to regain her stability, seas crashed across our deck as I clung tightly to the wheel with one hand and fumbled to attach my safety tether to the guard rail. I wondered if the old boat could regain her equilibrium as we seemed to be almost totally submerged in the frothing surging demented sea. We were battered, drenched, pummeled mercilessly by the demonic gale for what seemed like hours before the wind slackened in its initial force and the Wanderer shrugged the water from her buried decks and slowly righted herself, still heeling over but now driving forward with the gale.

The seas built into ravening monsters as the wind and current battled for supremacy, we were climbing up the sides of these moving mountains and I felt very insignificant in the face of such incredible power. Wanderer laboured up the sides of these huge waves teetered on the brink before smashing her bows down and sliding down the back of the monsters to wallow in the trough as I stared up at the next approaching slavering sea. The boys below were being tossed about and sea sickness raged as they vomited their stomach contents again and again until they ended up prostrate on the fouled deck drooling bile from the corners of their mouths.

We inched our way past the rugged rocky tip of the Prom and I steered for the protection of Corner Inlet, we limped past Rabbit Island and now protected from the force of the wind and seas Wanderer raced on as I called to the lads to come back up on deck. The hatch slid back and I saw Wayne’s face appear he was pale green in complexion, his eyes surrounded by dark circles as he stumbled out on deck and rushed to the guard rail to retch painfully and emptily, I was treated to the sight of his perfect arse tight in his Speedos as he bent over the side heaving dryly, his muscular body straining and stained with vomit from the reeking deck below.

The other lads struggled on deck to lie moaning and clutching their aching strained bellies, it was a pitiful sight as they lolled limply on the deck their bodies continually sprayed with salt water washing the disgusting mess from their tortured bodies as we knifed through the humpy confused seas of the large shallow bay. I swung the Wanderer up into the still gusting wind and dashed forward dodging prone bodies to release the anchor which rattled loudly as it ran out and sank to the sea bed, the boat swung beam on to the wind as she drifted quickly back, the anchor grabbed and she halted tugging hard on the warp swinging her bows into the wind as I slipped on the stopper locking the chain in position. The sails slatted loudly in the strong wind as I began furling them everything quietened except the low moan of wind through the rigging and a halyard tapping loudly on the mast as Wanderer tugged and danced ponderously on her mooring.

The lads slowly regained their equilibrium as the heavy hull settled they sat up still weak and pale beneath their sun tans, I smiled at them saying, “Well that was a lot of fun it was an exciting time I hope you all enjoyed it?”

Shaun looked daggers at me as his lip curled I knew I was going to cop a blast as he opened his mouth a scowl darkening his good looking face as he growled, “You mongrel, you nearly killed us all, you haven’t got a fucking clue about boats or sailing. I want off this crappy old boat, I want to go across to Perth to join Mum.”

I sat there taken aback by this flurry of venomous detestation, I looked at my son the smile frozen on my lips as he spat these hurtful words at me, I tore my gaze from his wild suffused visage to look up at the tall mainmast as it wove back and forth against the heavy ominous clouds. Wayne came to my defense saying, “Come on Shaun we didn’t drown I think Brian did a great job getting us through that wild weather and into safety here.”

Donny sat up and threw an arm across my son’s shoulder as he nuzzled his cute face against Shaun’s neck as he too said that he agreed my skills saved our lives in a very scary situation. Ashley stood up and nodded as he clung to a stay weaving slightly on unsteady legs as he said, “Yep thanks Brian I thought all my birthdays had come at once, my life sort of flashed before my eyes as I rolled about chucking my guts up.”

Shaun seeing he was outnumbered sank back sulking against the side of the cabin with a surly frown and pouty lips, Donny snuggled up to him then pressed his sweet lips to Shaun’s after saying, “Please babe don’t sulk your Dad did a good job back there in the storm you aren’t being fare to him Shauny.”

Shaun turned his face to Donny’s as their kisses became more fervid and soon the wild world about them disappeared in their haze of love, Ashley had his arms draped over Wayne’s wide shoulders as he kissed him while pinching and teasing his aroused nipples. I felt alone and deserted as I sat there watching this open display of masculine affection, all four lads Speedos straining to encase their aroused cocks, my hand drifted unconsciously to fondle my straining tool as it tented my damp shorts. I squeezed the pulsing throbbing hot muscle my mind conjuring scenes of erotic male sex as I stroked my big boner lost in a world of wild sex.

My reverie was destroyed as I was dragged back to reality by a horrendous thunder clap which shook the whole boat and seemed to centre in my core, the lightning hit the water off our port bow leaving a steaming boiling disturbance on the roiling sea. The lads all terrified with fright stared wide eyed at the steaming spot as huge cool droplets began to spatter heavily on the sea and our almost naked bodies stinging with the force of impact. Suddenly the rain turned to heavy hail and this machine gunned down rattling on the boat driving us below to escape its hurtful attack, the noise inside the cabin was horrendous we had to shout to be heard as we trembled and shivered in the sudden violent temperature drop.

The whole cabin reeked of stale vomit and we stood there our bare feet in the slimy mess, the sound of the hail eased quickly to be again replaced with heavy rain as a squall roared down on us from Mount Oberon, the Wanderer shook as if she was afraid and I could feel her tugging hard on the anchor as she reeled from the rushing assault. I looked out the hatch into the gloom and saw the rain driving horizontal in the gale, I was glad we were anchored safely in the bay, the surface of which was roiled to a white froth as the wind whipped up the seas.

The 27 meg radio burst into life, a fishing boat was in difficulties 5 miles off Snake Island, it was calling for assistance from the Port Welshpool Coast Guard they replied that they were launching their rescue boat and would be with them as soon as humanly possible but warning the stricken fishermen that the weather would slow them down considerably. I broke in saying if they could head towards the Prom they would find safe water in Corner Inlet where we were anchored, the fisherman replied he would attempt to make his way there but was worried he would be beam on to the huge seas. We continued monitoring the radio but no more was heard from the fishing boat and we heard the Coast Guard calling them repeatedly as the searched for them, I knew the boat had foundered in the tremendous seas and hoped the crew was able to escape as she went down.

A short time later I heard the Coast Guard headquarters call up the search vessel and give them a position saying that a position had been sent from the Canberra Rescue Centre which had picked up an electronic position beacon transmitting from the area. Time passed and we heard the rescuers radio in that they had found the crew in a life raft and were returning to base. I breathed a sigh of relief and began cleaning up the filthy cabin, the stench causing my own stomach to heave and I struggled to control my reflexes. Wayne and Donny helped as Shaun and Ashley were again looking green around the gills as sea sickness wracked them once again. The cabin slowly returned to reasonable cleanliness as the rain eased and the wind dropped, the sun reappeared fitfully between the racing clouds and I opened the port holes and hatches to air out the cabins. I felt the motion of the boat change and she seemed to be broaching beam on to the wind, I feared the anchor had dragged and we were adrift in the gale.

To be continued.


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Posted: 06/29/07