Chapter 2: A night on a pontoon in the Great Barrier Reef - pleasant company included
After my farm stay and very enjoyable evening with Steph (See Chapter 1 of this story), I wound my way up the East Coast of Queensland, thoroughly enjoying my solitary travels. I won't bore you with the details of the places I saw, as I am sure, dear reader, that you are more interested in my sexual escapades.
As planned, my trip was to conclude with a four-day stay on a dive charter boat departing from Airlie Beach, the hub of the Great Barrier Reef. I arrived in Airlie Beach the night before, and camped in a very nice caravan park, not too far from the harbor where I boarded the charter early the next morning.
The trip was well-organized, with four crew members tending to the eight guests, and we had a minimum of two dives a day - three on the one day when we did a night dive as well. The marine life was incredible, and every dive delivered something new and exciting. The water was incredibly warm, and instead of wetsuits, most of us just wore thin stinger suits to protect from sun, as well as the different species of jellyfish and stingers that could be dangerous, or even deadly. My dive buddy was a young Frenchman, Philipe, who was also a solo traveler. The other dive pairs were either friends or couples traveling together, and apart from companionable meals where we all ate together, those couples seemed to prefer each other's company.
Although Philipe was pleasant enough, he and I did not have much in common except our interest in diving, and between dives and meals, I mostly kept to myself, either sleeping or reading in my cabin. On the third day, one of the boat's engines broke down, and the captain decided that it would be safer to return to port rather than pressing on with no spare engine. We were to be refunded for the one day that the trip would be cut short, and I felt that I should have a full trip, and enjoy at least one more dive. Philipe had told me about overnight reef stays on a permanently moored pontoon in the outer Barrier Reef, and our captain was able to provide me with a brochure of their sister company who offered these trips.
The captain radio 'd ahead, and was able to book me for a reef stay the next night. We spent the last night on the boat moored in the harbor. Since I was packed for a four-day trip, the next morning I could just grab my dive bag and walk to the boat that would ferry us to the pontoon. The trip to the outer reef was uneventful, and when we arrived there, the scuba divers were immediately ushered to one side of the deck to kit up, while the rest of the group went on other excursions. There were ten divers in total, which made for a nice split into two groups, each led by a dive master. The first dive was uneventful, even though we saw as much marine life as I did on the charter, but because the story really starts with the second dive, let me race ahead.
After a lovely cold seafood buffet, the divers were once again called to one side to kit up for the second dive. This time, I was assigned to a different group, led by a different dive master. Our dive master was to be Anke.
At first sight, I was stunned; Anke was a beautiful Swedish backpacker who was on a two-year break after university, and had been working out of Airlie beach for six months. She checked our log books and asked who wanted to be dive buddies. Fortunately for me, the other divers were all couples who wanted to be together, leaving me to pair up with Anke.
Poor me
. Anke was the epitome of a Swedish beauty, at least in my book. She had her thick blonde hair tied up in a ponytail, exposing a pair of big pale blue eyes, wide cheekbones, and a set of full lips. She wore a red one-piece bathing suit, cut high around the thighs, exposing a pair of muscular legs, which reminded me of that of a short-distance runner or hurdler.
The most striking part, however, was a pair of trophy breasts that threatened to pop out from her swimsuit every time she bent over. I am not usually drawn to big breasts, preferring smaller and firmer B's or C's, but this pair of D's were spectacular, and not at all out of balance with her athletic frame.
I felt drawn to Anke like a moth to a flame, and had to keep my wits about me to assemble and test my diving gear before kitting up. Because we were so far out on the reef, there was very little danger of stingers, and most of the group chose to go diving just wearing our regular swimming gear. I followed Anke as we descended, and relished the sight of her well-defined leg muscles as she slowly kicked her fins. I don't remember much of the dive, except for the vision of the gorgeous white sea nymph in a skimpy red bathing suit in close proximity to me. I do remember that she grabbed my wrist with a slender but strong hand once or twice to point something out to me, and how her touch sent shivers up my arm and down my spine. At one stage, one half of her swimsuit bottom slipped up, exposing most of a perfect white buttock, adding to my gawking pleasure. Every time she kicked her right leg, I could see her buttock muscles contract, making a beautiful indentation on the side. Much too soon for my liking, she discovered the wardrobe malfunction, and pulled the elastic seam back into position with two fingers.
One of the other divers was an older overweight gentleman, and within 30 minutes, his air was low. He appeared to panic, and swam into me in his haste to show Anke that his air pressure was low. Anke signaled the group to get together, and checked each of our air gauges before signaling that she would take the old guy up, and that I should lead the rest of the group back to the pontoon. I purposely sat the rest of the group down on a sandy patch on the seabed, and stared up as Anke slowly ascended to the surface, holding on to the older fellow to control his ascent. As they rose through the warm water, the sunlight from the surface flashed patterns on her legs, appearing to caress her body, much as I wanted to do.
When the pair stopped for their compulsory 15 feet safety stop, I signaled for the rest of the group to follow me, and we slowly swam back to the pontoon before making our ascent. As we got out of the water, Anke and the big fellow had just arrived in a rubber duck after being picked up from where they surfaced. As we rinsed off underneath the fresh water showers, I managed to steal a few more glimpses of Anke. Although the ocean was quite warm, the water from the showers was cool, and her nipples poked through the thin fabric of her swimsuit, as big as the tip of my little finger. I tried to burn that image into my mind, as I did not expect to see her again.
When all the divers were dried off and dressed, we could join the rest of the day trippers for afternoon tea and biscuits ("bikkies", the Australians called it) whilst the crew cleaned up and put equipment away. Not being much of a tea drinker, I had my first beer of the day, a delicious pale ale manufactured in Canberra. When the boat arrived to ferry the day trippers back to Airlie beach, people started queueing up to board, and I quickly grabbed a second beer before the barman left for the day. I could see that Anke, now wearing a pair of short white shorts and T-shirt, had started hosing off the deck, starting on the far end. She seemed oblivious of the fact that the rest of the crew were getting ready to leave, and a little flame of hope started flickering at the back of my mind.
When the boat honked its horn to indicate that it was ready to depart, Anke closed the hose, and trotted over to the side of the pontoon to help with casting off of the mooring lines.
As the boat powered up next to the pontoon and sailed off, Anke walked over to me where I was lazing in the sun. "So, Mister Brian," she said in perfect English but with a definitive sing-song Swedish accent "it's only you and me tonight".
I had expected that there would be more than one overnight guest, and more than one crew member to guard the pontoon overnight, and said so.
"Yes, there are usually two crew members staying overnight, but since you are the only guest, the manager thinks that I will be able to
serve
you tonight".
I may have imagined it, but I definitively heard a bit of emphasis on the word "serve", and decided that I had nothing to lose by upping the ante.
"I will be honoured to be
served
by you tonight. When do we start?". I made sure to put the same emphasis on the word, maybe even more.
"I need to wash the deck, and make a five o'clock radio call, and then service will start." she smiled.
"Anything I can do to help?" I offered, not really keen to work, but willing to do anything to stay in close proximity of this gorgeous woman.
"No, I won't be long, and anyway, guests are not supposed to work - the Health and Safety rules prohibit that. You can help yourself at the bar - everything is included. Just make sure that you write down if you take anything other than beer and wine."
She led me to the bar counter, and showed me a little notepad where I had to write down if I used any spirits. I grabbed another beer from the bar fridge below the counter, and held it up: "Anything for you?"
"No, thank you - work first, then pleasure!".
Things are looking promising,
