Paradise is Possible

I am submitting this story as my "On The Job Challenge 2023". The workplace is a sailboat. The participants are fictional and depicted as consenting adults. If you like my story please rate it, and give me a comment, if you can be nice.

Shelly was a good sailboat. She was only 8 years old when I sold my home in Vancouver to buy her. I spent a year in Panama refitting the electronics, but I was able to live on it while I did most of the work myself.

After a few short test runs, I headed out across the mighty Pacific. My intent was to offer remote holidays to couples and families throughout the islands of Indonesia and the Philippines. Then the epidemic canceled travel plans for the entire world. I had to make a change. I was slowly going broke. I needed a better plan for making money.

I saw a lot of Youtube tags on the sides of sailboats and I figured that most of them were still making money, even when tourists were stuck at home. I needed a piece of that action.

I wanted to hire a first mate anyway, so I figured, why not find a Videographer? So I put an on-line ad in 'Sailor's World' and waited for the flood of applications.

It was amazing how many people, from all over the world, wanted to go sailing, and they wanted it badly. I hadn't even required photos, but I got photos and videos galore. I quickly ditched the male respondents and reluctantly weeded out the ladies with limited or no videography experience; even if they looked really good. They would have made excellent mates (in a physical way), but the video was needed for dollars, and I had no clue about Social Networks or Videography. I could sail a tank, if it had a sheet and a rudder, but cameras and computers did not play well with water, or with me.

Then I saw the subject line of one applicant: 'THIS IS MY JOB'.

I loved the confidence. It came with a photo, which prompted me to play the video; and my search was over.

The picture was just her face, but her eyes were so vibrant and sexy that I had to watch her application video first.

The video introduced Kali Bishop, a 20 year old student at the University of Brisbane. Her long dark brown hair would contrast nicely with my short blond hair for our potential YouTube Channel. She stood back from the camera, showing a stylish pink tube top over a yellow skirt with pink trim. Her thin waist had sparkles at the belly button, making me instantly wonder about other piercings. I only have one in my ear, but women are getting them in very interesting places now.

She explained on her video how she was taking graduate studies, while waiting for an opportunity like this one. Her degree was in Video Production and Cinema Studies, so she obviously had the education, and she looked great; a vibrant, full smile, sparkling brown eyes, thin but curvy body. Then she snapped her fingers and she was in an itsy bitsy, teeny weeny, yellow polka dot bikini! Just like the song.

Her smile made her look so young. I wondered what she would see in my 38 year old face? My hair had no gray, and it was still thick, but the cheep local beer and fried plantains were starting to thicken my middle.

Her lengthy video showed her in the water, wearing a thong bikini and long fins for snorkeling, but no mask. The effect made her look even thinner. She finished this sequence standing in front of the camera with a wicked grin, then she snapped her fingers and her bikini disappeared! She was naked and proud! Then she snapped them again and the polka dots were back, along with the cover of her pussy. She did it three times in rapid succession.

"I'll see you soon." She promised, with an air kiss.

I gave my head a shake. Wow, did she just reveal it all!

It took a bit of figuring for me to replay the video but this time she stayed in her pretty swimsuit the whole time, and explained that she would be in Manila, on the 23rd of May. I went back and forth, but I didn't get to see her naked again. I couldn't figure out how to make it go frame by frame, so I eventually turned to the weather app to find a wind pattern that would take us to Manila Bay.

After a quick review of the charts and shipping regulations for the area, I sent a quick reply; that she should get to the government docs in Batangas, an hour south of the capital. I offered to meet her there at noon, 3 days from now.

I brought my laptop to the helm and secured it there for the passage. An hour later Shelly was under sail and heading north.

We would seldom get above 8 knots, so I needed two days to get to Jaena Sur; the closest working marina to Manila. Shipping is too heavy near the capital, so this would have to do. I got one of their last mooring balls, then I spruced myself up before catching the ferry to Batangas' Pier.

The pier was jammed with people, but there was no doubt as to which one was Kali Bishop. Many were fishing or waiting for the next ferry, but one stood next to a large backpack and a steel chest on wheels, the size of a dishwasher; she was the only non-Filipino on the pier.

I was immediately smitten.

"You must be Captain Harris." She offered her hand so I shook it, while she maintained eye contact. Her grip was strong and dry.

"Lyn," I offered. "As in Lyndon Johnson."

Miss Bishop looked at me like she was buying a horse. I instantly felt self conscious; pulling in my gut as she circled.

"I think that I can work with this," she finally said, completing my inspection as if I was just warm meat on legs.

I mentally shrugged and picked up the handle of her big steel box. She hoisted her back pack to her shoulder, and we headed for the ferry.

"You don't talk much, do you Cap'y." Kali grunted under her load. She was probably 110 pounds, while her pack was maybe half of that. My load rolled smoothly on the concrete wharf.

"If you throw it on top, you can push it and it would be easier for both of us," I suggested, but then I had to help her lift it.

She opened a zippered compartment and found some spring loaded carabiners to keep her backpack secured to her equipment container.

"I guess you plan on staying," I grunted as I lifted my end onto the ferry ramp.

"I told you it was my job, and I plan on making us a lot of money."

Her confidence was still running high.

I went to the bow of the ferry for some cool air. It was 92 degrees and it felt dry, even on the Indian Ocean. The spray helped to cool me. Kali stayed by her luggage at the stern, proving that she was smarter than a lot of tourists.

It was a 40 minute crossing, and I used the time to think about how her Australian accent made her even more sexy. I would have to stay aloof to maintain the control that a boat captain requires and deserves.

We had the same distance to walk on this side of the ferry to get to Shelly, and here we had dock planks to walk on. Kali continued to push, making my job rather easy, until a wheel got caught in a wider gap. Then I had to pry it loose and lift.

"There she is," I finally introduced my vessel to her new First Mate. "Kali Bishop, meet Shelly."

"Charmed, I'm sure," she mumbled. "Where do I bunk?"

I showed her the front cabin with the 'vee' shaped bed and rear cabin, with a more standard double bed. Then I showed her the two side bunks in the ship's belly. I explained that we would have guests in the rear and fore, while the crew sleeps in the tight side bunks. She could sleep wherever she wanted when there were no paying customers.

I had to cram some docking bumpers into the forward, starboard locker so she could stow her equipment box on the port side, but otherwise it was fine. She had two laptops, two fancy digital cameras with long lenses, 3 or 4 GoPro's, a drone and an underwater camera that looked really expensive.

"That is about 15 thousand dollars worth of lenses and electronics. So we had better keep everything dry." She insisted.

"Don't leave anything near a hatch," was my response.

Small talk has never been my favorite way to fill a void, but I learned about her childhood in Queensland. Her mum was still there, but she never knew her dad.

"I've never been there, so it probably wasn't me," I joked.

She went quiet again, so I changed the subject.

"We will be heading out the day after tomorrow, after we get provisions. I need to get you acquainted with sailing Shelly before we take on a charter."

"A charter?" She looked uncertain of its meaning.

I had to explain the adventure packages that I offered to couples and families. Everyone wanted to snorkel the reefs and swim with the turtles and the Manta Rays and the dolphins. We would have to get their signed releases, if we wanted to put our paying customers on our new Channels.

"You will have to learn the cameras too, Cap'y," Kali warned me. "I know that our channel will be showing a lot of me in bikinis. We will want our audience drooling over me, and someone has to film it."

She obviously knew how we were going to get viewers.

I was thinking about her tits and ass when I finally slipped into my bunk. We were so close, and she had lots of room in that side berth. She could have used the back cabin, but she wanted to make a home for herself, so she got some tape and hung up a snap of mom and her diploma on the side wall in her sleeping space. Unfortunately, my services as a stud were not needed to help her sleep. No, I didn't ask, but I am sure that she knew I was available.

In the morning Kali popped her head through her privacy curtain while I was cooking the bacon.

"Do we get up so early everyday?" She asked.

Her dark brown hair was all over the place but she still looked amazing.

She saw me staring at her.

"Don't burn my bacon, perv."

I got back to the bacon, but I still saw her get out of her bunk, wearing a white teddy. I could just see her panties, it was so short.

"I'm using the forward bedroom and bathroom to get dressed." She explained as she headed for the bow.

"There's no water for showering. Just fill the sink and use a cloth." I commanded my crew. "And it's called a berth and head."

I didn't know if she was aware of the strict water rations that most boats require. It takes diesel to run the motors, to power the generator, which runs the water purifier.

I was just pouring my coffee, when I heard her coming back to the salon.

"Coffee?" I held up the pot and a mug.

She had her hair in ponytails! It made her look like a schoolgirl, but the bulge of her chest reinforced her true age.

"Yes, thank you. Do you have soy or almond milk?"

"We can get some this afternoon, but you'll have to go black this morning or I'm sure I can find some powder."

She looked aghast at that idea.

"I'll manage with black," she concluded.

I kept ogling her, when I thought she couldn't see me. She would have that effect on any man. I pulled my gut in as often as I thought of it, even though I knew that I could not keep it up.

"Yeah, we better get some healthy choices, Cap'y. You need to lose 15 or 20 pounds if we are going to entice the female viewers."

I did not respond, knowing that she was right, but now I had a reason to watch my figure. She would get lonely at some point, and I was going to be there for her, when she needed a stiff friend.

I told her to look around her new home, now that she had light, while I washed the few dishes.

"We will be going into town for groceries but I don't think you'll need a camera," I shouted.

"Oh, I always have one, unless I'm naked," she called out as she climbed to the upper deck.

I'd love to see her without a camera! Those brief moments seeing her naked, played in my brain. I know I saw it! I would have to ask her about that email video.

We took Karen to the public dock. Karen is the dingy, or what us cruisers call our cars, but being a boat, she has to have a name. Her 25 horsepower motor gives me a lot of trouble, and she needs a lot of maintenance, so I call her Karen. She is fast though, when she works at all.

We walked to the town grocer and found lots of fruits and vegetables. They had no vegetarian milk, so Kali settled for simple powdered milk, rather than use the dreaded powdered petroleum byproduct.

I asked if she liked any kind of alcohol, and she said she'd rather smoke weed, but I found a bottle of rum cream, which doesn't need to stay cool until it's opened. Then I thought about that bikini and grabbed two more bottles. I figured it would be good in coffee.

We would get our fish off the docks and from the boats of locals. It gives more money to people that need it, and it's a great value for us. I got two cases of the local beer, in case we have visitors. The Shelly does attract young people around the docks and beaches, and the females don't bring booze.

When we got back to the sailboat we stowed everything away; it was too late to head out. There was no wind anyway, and I didn't have enough diesel to motor the whole way, so I decided to wait till morning. The sky was red, so I expected clear sailing in the morning.

After we ate a leafy salad with a few ounces of whitefish, I helped Kali to create a functioning office at the navigation desk. My laptop would now be dedicated to the helm, while one of Kali's expensive and speedy laptops would hold the charts and weather apps. She showed me her editing program, but it would be way out of my comfort zone to use it.

I asked her about her job application and the cute trick with the finger snapping.

"Ah, yes, that is a programming trick. If you knew about it in advance you could have disabled the delete sequence, but no one checks the meta data on the video before they run it."

She showed me the original video, pausing for much longer, while I checked out her birthday suit.

"You like?" She purred.

"You got the job. Or should I say, 'it's yours to lose'."

She showed me a few of her school projects, which had underwater scenes and no nudity. I desperately wanted to get back to her nude shots, but I did not want to come across as needy.

"Are you open water certified with PADI?" I asked.

"I'm Advanced level. My minor in college was underwater photography and certification was a requirement."

The Professional Association of Diving Instructors is now required by most dive shops, resorts and specialty cruises. I had been diving since I was a kid, but I didn't get certified until I had a Master Diver aboard, on a sailing contract in the Great Barrier Reef. Instead of tipping me, he paid the fee to PADI for me, and I just got my certificate in the mail. We decided to hang our official certification under my Captain's License, at the helm.

"Does this mean that you can marry people?" Kali asked.

"If we are at least 100 miles from a port I could do it, but many countries would not honor it." I had to admit that I had looked it up, but I've never been asked to officiate for anyone.

We talked until past 11 about places that Kali hoped to visit. With no television, we were usually in the sack by 9. When we finally called it a night I was not invited to join her, and I was patient enough not to ask. I did have the fresh image of her nude body planted in my brain, so I did what came naturally.

I didn't jump right into it. I brushed my teeth and rinsed with a spearmint mouthwash. She still might want a tumble, or she might have a night terror and need comforting; she would not find me unprepared.

When I felt that enough time had passed, and I was sure that my slight rocking motion would not be detected by my crewmate, I started to yank it. Kali was vivid in my mind, but just when I felt myself ready to cum, a light flashed across my face and I saw a tiny snake at the upper corner of the curtain.

"Fuck," I yelled and threw my pillow at the slinky thing while I scurried to the furthest part of my bunk.

"Whoa! Hold fast sailor," Kali yelped with surprise.

"Sssnake!" I yelled while looking for something to defend myself with.

No water snakes would come so far into a boat, but it could have been from the hanging branches of a Borneo jungle that I was near a few months ago. Could it have hidden on board for that long? There is a labyrinth under the floorboards. Could it have been in there?

The curtains were pulled back right where the deadly reptile had appeared. Kali's face peeked in.

"Sorry, I was testing one of my spy cameras," she admitted, holding up a flexible silver tube with a red light beaming ahead of it.

"Did you see anything good?" I joked in an effort to cover my cowardice. I do have a good reason to hate snakes.

"I only saw what you wanted me to see Cap'y," she replied, proving that she is a crafty one.

I gathered my wits, put my cock away, and climbed out of the bunk.

"You know I can't look at your gorgeous body all day long and not relieve myself, and I expect you to understand that. We will be working together, so we had better be able to get along with each other."

Kali nodded, "I must admit that I had a number of boyfriends in college. They all found me a bit pushy and needy. I like a lot of sex." Kali admitted, but I had to wonder if she was just teasing me.

"We could offer the 'sail with a girlfriend' experience." I suggested, knowing that it would include a degree of intimacy that most women would find uncomfortable.

"Do you think that we could get the bookings?" Kali asked, surprising me with her sexual liberation while making me wonder why I had not seen any for myself.

"Oh, I think that we can charge a premium." I responded with a smile, and she returned it.

"Thanks, Cap, but we are going to have to start our yoga and exercise regime in the morning, right?" My first mate was instructing me!

I thought it could wait until I had trained her in the fine art of sailing, but that is really more of a process. No one can say that they know how to sail until they have been in a hundred different winds, waves and currents. It will be a process, just like exercise and eating healthy.

We returned to our bunks, but the moment was lost for me. I fell asleep thinking of sailing.

After a healthy breakfast the next morning, we stretched on the foredeck, then Kali started her yoga while I did push ups, squats, crunches and leg raises. I took my time, and really felt the burn. When I was drenched in sweat I dove in the water and set a steady pace for shore. It was about a kilometer, round trip, so my heart was pumping hard for at least 15 minutes of the best cardio you can get. I had been in great shape after college, but that seemed like a lifetime ago.

I thought that I might have overdone it as I pulled myself up the ladder at the stern. When I was standing there, wiping the salt water from my torso using my hands, I scanned the deck for my beautiful first mate, but she was not there. We usually don't use a towel when it's 90 degrees. It just fills the towel with salt anyway. My hair was dripping though, so I did not want to go below deck.

I fussed around with the mainsail, pulling the shroud away, in preparation for departure. Then Kali came up, wearing a towel around her middle.

"You had better rinse, and dry that hair if you're going to get your motivational reward," Kali explained.

She pulled off the towel and handed it to me, while I stared at her naked body. Damn! I was frozen in place. I had no idea what this motivational reward was, but when she turned and walked back inside and down the ladder, I had no choice but to follow.

"Stop staring at my ass, Captain Lyn. Rinse your junk, dry your hair and follow me."

It's funny how the suggestion of sex can take a man from a zombie state to hyperactive in seconds.

I ran back up the ladder and out to the stern water nozzle. I rinsed the salt water from my hair, both above and below then I grabbed the towel and rubbed my head as I ran. I went down the gangway so fast that I nearly forgot to duck my head. I just caught sight of her gorgeous derriere as she slipped into the forcabin. I hurried across the salon, pulling my shorts to the deck, almost tripping into the galley. I tore open the door, and found her standing next to the vee shaped bed.