Ch. 70: Christie Has Needs

Ch. 70: Christie Has Needs



*****NOTE: This chapter is more about surviving a storm at sea, although some sex appears at the end. *****



I had only planned on staying at this marina for a couple of days. Running into Liz and the unexpected funeral had seen me extend my stay for nearly two weeks. Although this was a Class A marina, with all the amenities, it was also quite expensive. It was time to move on.

I spent my last day there doing laundry, shopping for last minute food and booze items and getting the boat ready for my next passage. I spent my last night there studying charts, looking for suitable spots to perch.

In the morning, I fired up the motor and prepared to cast off. Gliding out of the slip, I headed for the inlet and, beyond, open water. It felt good to be underway again. It was a beautiful day, sunny, a 10-knot wind, relatively calm waters.

As the day progressed, the wind picked up speed and changed direction. It was now coming at me from directly ahead. Even a novice sailor knows that one cannot sail directly into the wind. So, I had to tack or change my heading in order to keep going. The wind was picking up speed and moving parallel to the shore. This meant that I had to point away from the land, farther and farther out into open water.

In addition to the increase in wind speed, there was an ominous bank of dark clouds extending all around. I pulled up a few of my weather apps and saw that a serious storm front was headed my way. And I was headed away from shore!

Fearing the worst, I engaged the auto-pilot and went below. I secured what I could and battened all the hatches. I retrieved my foul weather gear from the locker, keeping it ready at hand.

I was now out of sight of the land; nothing but open water in every direction, with a big storm bearing down on me. I changed my course so that I was now headed back towards land and reefed in my sails. None to soon, either. Suddenly, all hell broke loose.

The wind whipped up to 25-30 knots and it started pelting rain. The wind was gusting to 40 knots making the boat heel over considerably. The waves had increased to 5 to 7 feet, showing whitecaps all around. It was a bouncy, frolicking ride.

The boat would ride up a tall wave, then smash down into the trough as the next wave would crash over the bow, drenching the deck.