Miss Lille
By Julie, julierich2@hotmail.com
An evening sail with friends


After a day sail on a Tornado, I accepted an invitation from the crew of 
the sixty-five foot ocean racing yacht Miss Lille for a ride back to 
Marina del Rey. 

The six of us walked arm in arm along the Promenade through downtown 
Santa Barbara.  We were five rugged yachtsmen in deck shoes and shorts 
and a tall blonde woman in a blue dress.

"You're a devil, Julie," Yost, the big Swede commented.  

"How so?" I inquired innocently.

"You left that poor guy standing on the dock with a hard-on and wouldn't 
even reach in his shorts and jerk him off."

"He would have been embarrassed with you guys hanging around," I 
replied.

Yost was referring to my date for the day who had become far too 
amorous.

"Thanks for rescuing me," I murmured.

"Devil with a blue dress on," Spider, the short muscular man on the end 
chimed in and started a line dance.

Step, step, step, kick, step, kick, step, kick.

"Devil with a blue dress, blue dress, blue dress, devil with a blue 
dress on! Hey!"

I was really getting into the high kicks and wondered why we were 
attracting so much attention. Then I remembered, in my haste to cover my 
nakedness earlier I pulled a dress on but wasn't wearing panties. 
(Blush)

The smell of oiled teak and fiberglass enveloped me as I unbuckled my 
walking shoes and felt the familiar deck under my bare feet.   I ran my 
hands over polished stainless steel fittings and suddenly felt right at 
home.  Memories of days and nights aboard this beautiful yacht flooded 
back and left me almost misty-eyed.

"Where's Jim?" I asked not seeing my old friend, the yacht's owner 
aboard.

"He had some business back in LA and caught a flight home," Ricardo the 
navigator told me, "He left a case of Champagne and more buckets of 
chicken than even this crew can handle." 

"There's no wind predicted so we're going to motor all the way south," 
he went on, "We should be in the slip about two A.M."

"You and Karen can sack out in the aft cabin if you like and we won't 
disturb you when we get in.  We have the watches covered so don't worry 
about anything." 

It would be an easy walk to my apartment in the morning for a change of 
clothes and then my usual bike ride to work.  I was beginning to relax 
already.

There was a deep rumble as Heinz fired up the main engine and slowly 
backed us out of the slip.  A sleepy looking dark haired woman stuck her 
head out of the aft cabin and blinked in the bright light.

"Hi Karen, good to see you."

"Oh wow, Julie, are you coming with us?"

"Not much choice in the matter now," I nodded at the widening gap to the 
main dock.

"I just went below for a nap when everyone took off to go see you.  I 
didn't know you were coming back with us."

"It was a snap decision," I said.

As Santa Barbara faded in the distance, we sat around on deck enjoying 
food and wine under a spectacular sunset.  All working professionals, we 
have separate private lives but share the common bond of sailing.   It 
is a bond developed under the stress of intense competition on the open 
ocean.  Living together in the close confines of a boat we treat one 
another as members of an extended family where we trust and rely on one 
another

Faces glowed in the gathering twilight as I glanced around the familiar 
group.  Yost, the big Swede, has a wife who is an accomplished cyclist 
and two small daughters.  Spider is known for his technical rock 
climbing and writes a column for a leading sports magazine.  Ricardo is 
a program manager at the same big aerospace company where I work and has 
a wife and two kids.  Heinz is a third degree black belt, works as a 
Mercedes mechanic and teaches karate.  Karen is a computer science major 
working for her Masters degree at UCLA and makes a living as a web site 
designer.

Whenever sailors gather, tales of the sea get hairier and hairier.  As 
the big diesel droned on in the night, we shared familiar experiences.  
Finally someone said "Hey Julie, do you remember that time you single 
handed Miss Lille back from Mazatlan?"  How could I forget!

That night in the screaming wind with seas breaking over the deck I was 
as close to giving up as I have ever been in my life.  My only thought 
was, "Jim trusted me with this boat and I'm damn well going to bring it 
home."  I nearly died trying and it was only sheer force of will that 
pulled me through.  

We finished a race that left us in Mazatlan with a crew who wanted to 
get home to jobs and family.  I had some time on my hands so I 
volunteered to sail Miss Lille back to Marina del Rey single-handed.  
While everyone else took commercial flights home, I convinced Jim I 
could handle the big boat by myself and off I went.

My first hint of trouble came on the second day.  Rather than the usual 
cold dry winds from the northwest, I was sailing in a warm humid 
westerly that provided a comfortable beam reach.  Weather charts showed 
a tropical disturbance far to the south but it didn't look like a 
problem.  Gathering high clouds got my attention, however, and I studied 
the latest chart off the fax machine in more detail.  There it was!  A 
clear pattern in the isobars showed a squall line reaching out like a 
tentacle from the main disturbance.  It was about to get me and I knew I 
would be in for a big blow.

Working my way around the boat I secured all the hatches then lashed 
them down.  I inspected the working rigging and lashed down anything 
that could move both above and below decks.  I stowed loose gear and 
shut down any systems I didn't need.  I put on a body harness and used a 
safety line whenever I moved around on deck.

By mid afternoon the sky was getting dark and the wind was up to twenty 
knots.  I set a storm jib and took the first reef in the main.  I 
started feeling better and thought I could easily handle the conditions.

As night fell, the wind picked up to thirty knots gusting to fifty.  I 
had trouble taking the second reef in the main and for the first time 
started to worry.  Waves were breaking over the bow and solid water 
slammed me around in the cockpit.  

I have no idea what time it was when the main squall hit.  The wind 
screamed in the rigging and I couldn't hold Miss Lille into the breaking 
seas.  As the bow came around and the full force of the storm hit us 
broadside, my only hope was to let the sheets run and relieve the 
pressure on the sails.  I made a desperate lunge for the cleats but a 
wave slammed my head against the side of the cockpit.  Lying there 
helpless and half-conscious I could only watch as the big boat slowly 
rolled over.  

As the cockpit filled with seawater, I found myself drifting and made a 
grab for anything I could get a hold on.  In spite of my efforts I was 
swept over the side and watched in horror while Miss Lille wallowed and 
then slowly righted herself.  

The only thing that saved me was my safety line but I found myself in 
the water with the rail far above.  It took all the effort I could 
muster but I lifted myself hand over hand up the line.  My arms and 
shoulders ached but I knew if I let go I would die.  Each time a wave 
slammed me against the side of the hull I hung on until I could 
continue.  When I finally dragged myself over the rail I just lay on my 
back exhausted.  Seawater swirled over me but I could tell the wind was 
slacking off.  

By one A.M. the storm passed and stars were beginning to show between 
the clouds.  I set the autopilot for a broad reach and fell sound asleep 
where I lay.  

Halyards clanging against the aluminum mast brought me around with the 
sun high in the sky.  Not a hint of the storm remained as sails flapped 
in a dead calm.  My head was throbbing and my hair caked with blood from 
a deep gash.  The heat was oppressive and I found myself sweating in my 
harness, vest and damp foul weather gear.  I desperately needed to take 
a leak so I stripped naked, squatted against the lee rail and relieved 
myself over the side.  

It took me the rest of the day to get things cleaned up and back to 
normal.  By then the cool northwest wind had returned and I was running 
along smoothly under power.  I took a long shower and noticed the cut on 
my head wasn't as bad as I feared.  

When I finally got around to checking my faxes and e-mail I read all the 
messages from the crew back home warning me of the squall.

"You had no way of knowing what was going on, Julie," Ricardo said, "Two 
boats were badly damaged and one was lost in that storm.  We all knew 
you were in it but had no way to help you.  It was a tremendous relief 
when you finally checked in."  

"See you later, guys, I'm going to go hit the sack," I finally said with 
a big yawn.  

"Me too," Karen said and followed me down the stairs.

I borrowed a big floppy T-shirt from one of the guys for a nightgown and 
took a pleasant shower.  When I walked into the darkened cabin, I could 
hear Karen sobbing in her bunk.  I came over to comfort her and she put 
her arms around me and pulled me close.  

"What's the matter, Karen?" I asked brushing her long silky hair back 
and wiping a tear from her eye.

"Oh it's Harold, I thought I loved him but he's so crude and such a sex 
fiend," She sobbed. 

I could feel the warmth of her soft lush body next to me as she cuddled 
closer.   Big brown nipples showed through her sheer pink negligee.  I 
envied her ripe full breasts and glanced down at my own small pair. 

"Hold me Julie, please?" She wrapped her arms tighter and pulled me even 
closer.

"Have you ever been with a woman?"

"You're not supposed to do that, are you?"

"Sometimes a woman can be soft and comforting and do things for you that 
a man can't"

I guided her trembling hand down between my thighs and showed her how to 
explore my sex.  In return I gently stroked her moist slit and felt her 
body relax in my arms.  She pressed her lips against mine and we both 
enjoyed a soft lingering gentle kiss.  As she pressed closer I let her 
lie on top of me while I explored the full length of her soft beautiful 
form.  

Our fondling became firmer and more intense as we both climbed into a 
mutual orgasm.  This time her kiss was deep passionate and probing, 
leaving her gasping for breath.  Her body shook with pleasure and she 
nearly let out a scream before collapsing in my arms.

We finally lay exhausted with our bodies pressed together as the big 
boat rumbled on into the night.  When her soft rhythmic breathing told 
me she was sound asleep, I quietly slipped into my own bunk.  What I 
really needed was a man.

Julie