Thursday:
Jake was sitting alone in his office staring at his computer screen. The monitor was showing the general weather for the Bahamas Islands. His nautical charts were laid out in front of him, faint pencil lines of previous trips criss-crossing the paper. He was the President of High Seas Adventures, a charter company that catered mainly to wealthy clients. Captaining a charter sailboat had been his dream since he was a young boy, but after 10 years of taking people to the same areas, showing them the same sights, and giving the same speeches over and over he was getting tired. He still enjoyed his job still loved the wind in his face and harnessing the power of nature to move him around the world, but the people were getting to him.
"Skipper, we've got a new reservation for this next week." His assistant, Tina, was poking her head through the door. Jake looked up.
"Huh? Were you saying something?" He shook his head side to side, clearing out the clutter that was causing him to stare into space.
Tina sighed. "Yes." She walked over to his desk, and dropped a manila folder on top of the charts. "We just got a new ten day reservation for next week. On the Wanderlust."
The Wanderlust was a 57 foot Beneteau sloop that Jake had bought the previous summer. It was perfect for medium length trips and large parties. It had all of the new equipment, and it was his new pride and joy. It's not that he didn't love his other 3 ships; they were like his children. But Wanderlust was the favorite.
"Great." He picked up the folder and opened it up. "Second honeymoon again?"
"No, it's worse than that. Apparently daddy is buying some college girl a trip for her and her friends for spring break."
Jake rolled his eyes. He'd done these trips a few times before. The last one had ended badly. The girls had gotten riotously drunk, and one had fallen overboard. Then, they insisted that he accompany them to the clubs to scare away any 'Uggos' that might approach them. He had worked hard to be a respected sailor, and he resented having to be a babysitter. He looked at Tina. "I hate you for this."
"Yeah, yeah, but we all got bills to pay." With that, she turned around and went back to her desk in the lobby of their office.
Saturday:
Dawn was breaking in the marina. Jake was making the final preparations for the voyage. He checked all of the sails and rigging, making sure that everything was in order. He went over his Coast Guard checklist for all the required items. Then he went below and checked the galley. He normally cooked for his guests, and this trip would be no exception. The refrigerator was fully stocked with food and beverages. He'd even stocked the liquor cabinet and verified that he had plenty of mixers. He knew college girls really just wanted to drink, so he might as well accept it.
Sitting in the cockpit, he looked at his watch. 8:15 am. He looked up just in time to see a duffel bag flying at him. It hit him squarely in the chest and knocked him backwards.
"Mornin' Skip. Need anything?" Jake sat up to see Ray jump from the dock to the deck. Ray was one of his regular mates for the Caribbean runs. A good kid of 23, he was still in school, but he always skipped class to come on trips. He was a good navigator, and so Jake overlooked his cavalier attitude...most of the time.
"Hi Ray. Grab me a Coke from below?"
"You got it." Ray went below to stow his gear and grab drinks for the two crewmembers.
They sat there drinking their caffeine and chatting about life for a solid half hour before Jake saw a limo pull up to the end of the dock. The driver got out and opened the rear door. One by one four young women stepped out and stood in the sunlight, looking around. The driver went back to the trunk to gather the luggage.
"Oh, Skipper, we sure know how to reel in the good stuff." Ray's eyes were about to pop out of his head.
"Easy Ray. You're a professional. Go help them with their bags, will ya?" Ray jumped up and ran full out to the top of the dock.
A few minutes later, Ray began to lead the foursome down the ramp toward the Wanderlust. When they had reached the boat, Jake stood up and stepped onto the dock.
"Good morning ladies. I trust you had a good journey here. Let me first say, welcome to the Wanderlust. I'm Captain Tucker, but you can call me Jake. You've already met my First Mate Ray Faccio. You can just leave your bags on the dock there; Ray and I will get them in a minute. Now just step aboard, and we'll get you all settled."
Jake took a step backwards so that he had one foot on the boat and one on the dock. He reached out his hand for the first girl, who he assumed to be the one whose father had paid for the trip. "And who might you be, miss?"
"I'm Allison MacDougal, I arranged this trip. These are my friends." She took his hand gently and stepped onto the boat. Allison had soft hands, Jake noticed. She had a nice touch. She was good looking, too, and she knew it. She was medium height, about 5'5" with breasts to match her frame. But what Jake noticed most was her shoulder length red hair, blowing about some in the morning breeze. She stepped beyond him into the cockpit. "We're glad to be getting away this week."
"Nice to meet you Allison." He reached his hand for the next girl, a shorter, heavier, brunette.
"I'm Rachel. Rachel Jones." She took his hand and jumped next to Allison.
"Amy Reynolds," the shorter blond said, grabbing his wrist as she bounded past him.
"Kate Thatcher, Captain." Kate was also blond, but taller than Amy.