A Voyage of Discovery Unravels

First things first. I need to thank my friend 'OhDave1' for his generosity, time and talented editing.

Any errors, and there will be some are mine, and I own them because I tinker even after editing. Yes, I know. A bad habit, but so hard to break.

I've tried to cover content in tags. However for those that didn't read them. This is to warn you. If the thought of married couples indulging in extramarital sex offends you. Read no further.

*****

"Babe, are you happy with life, with things in general, but most importantly, with me?"

Her comment made me turn from the TV, which blurted out the evening news. "Why?" I asked confused by her question. "Are you unhappy with me? With us, with our life?"

Her grimace spoke volumes. "No, not unhappy, but perhaps jaded, or listless. We never do anything these days. We don't go out, the only other people we talk to are friends or family. We never do anything."

"Bored huh..." I muttered unhappily.

"Yes, sorry, but that's how I feel. We both work long hours. Work as much overtime as we can. We don't even go out for dinner the way we used to. The last twelve months we've done nothing but work, eat and sleep."

"You want to go out more?"

"More, Christ. We don't go out at all."

"Naomi, it was a joint decision to save like crazy and try to put together enough money to buy a house. You were part of that decision. It wasn't just me."

"Tommy, I'm not blaming you. I know what we said and why, but I'm getting bored with it. I'd like to step back from the crazy savings regime. Maybe buying a house isn't that important."

Picking up the remote, I turned off the TV. "You don't want to buy the house?"

"Of course I want our own home, but not at the expense of giving up our lives. Christ, Tommy, everything's tied to the savings at the moment. We don't even include treats in our grocery shopping any more. God knows the last time either of us bought something that wasn't essential."

"But we talked about it, Naomi. We both committed to it. Said we'd give up the next two years. Save every penny then buy a house and get our lives back on track..."

"Yeah I know what we said, but I don't know babe. I feel like life is passing us by."

"Life?" I snorted derisively. "What are you getting at?"

"Everything," she said with a sad exhale. "All our friends are going on holidays, going to concerts. Christ, when was the last time we went to see some live music or a show?"

"We can't have everything, Naomi. We agreed to forgo some of the fun stuff to get the house. Shit, once we have that we can go back to normal. It feels like if we give it up now the last year's been for nothing."

"No, not nothing. We could use the money to go on a holiday. Do something exciting. Go out, have fun. There's more to life than the bloody house."

"But we'd come back to this," I grumbled. "Living in rented digs, never having our own home."

"We could still buy a house babe. All I'm saying is we need to live now. Tomorrow might never come. I know it's a cliche, but it's true. Look at what happened to my Nan. Healthy one day and fighting for her life the next."

"Jesus, that's not fair. Your bloody Nan's eighty-seven years old. We're not even thirty yet."

"It doesn't matter. Read the bloody paper. Every day people get killed in car accidents, get sick, get murdered. Nobody knows what's going to happen. What I'm saying is if we don't enjoy today and somebody steals our tomorrow, we die without having lived at all."

I sighed deeply. Things had been difficult lately. We'd sort of fallen into a rut. She wasn't wrong there. The problem was all down to money. We paid a lot of money in rent and we'd both decided to try and buy our own home. That way we'd at least get something back from the money we paid in the way of a mortgage.

"Okay, what are you suggesting? We go out once a week, like a date night or something?"

"No, I'm suggesting we restart our lives. Go somewhere. Do something. Concerts, movies, parties. A bloody holiday for sure."

"So we totally forget about buying a house?"

"No, not completely. But for the moment, yeah. Let's enjoy life. Bloody hell, we're only twenty-six. We haven't even been out of the country. Never been on a flaming aeroplane. I want to do some of those things."

The weight of defeat sat uncomfortably on my shoulders. We were so close to the dream. We almost had the deposit saved. We were almost bleeding well there. Seeing the look of determination on Naomi's face showed this wasn't the time to argue. If she wanted to throw all our hard work away, so be it,

"Okay, I think it's daft to give up when we're so close but if that's what you want."

"Tommy, we aren't close. We're probably not even half way there. The way property prices are going. We'll still be saving for a deposit in five years' time."

Again, she wasn't completely wrong. Property prices in our area were sky rocketing. It used to be an affordable suburb, now though, it was almost unachievable. There were cheaper suburbs, but who wanted to live there? Nobody that's who. Muggings, burglaries, thuggery. No, nobody lived there unless they were desperate.

"Okay then. Where do we start?" I said with a resigned sigh.

"A holiday. We haven't gone away anywhere for ages. I saw some cheap holidays to Spain advertised the other day. We could go away for a week. Who knows, it might recharge our batteries enough to go back to saving."

"Spain huh... Yeah okay. Let's see what we can find. We better get our passports sorted I guess."

She leapt into my arms. Her excitement shocked me. Not that I complained. Lately our sex life had dried up. When I thought about it she was right. We were in a rut. Our lovemaking that night kicked back in with a severe rush.

We went from watching TV every night to watching travel shows and searching for a suitable destination.

Three days later, her shriek startled me. "Tommy, look at this... Oh my fucking god. I think this is it."

She turned her laptop for me to see. "What the fuck, Naomi?"

"Think about it, babe. That could be amazing. What an adventure that'd be."

"Hold your bloody horses, slow down. That is completely different to taking a week away. That's changing our whole life. We'd have to give up our jobs. Put everything in storage. That's not a holiday."

"Don't be bloody daft. Of course it's a holiday. A permanent holiday, or at least a couple of months."

"No way," I spluttered disparagingly. "That's more than a couple of months. That'd take like six months minimum. Probably a year."

"It says right there you can get off at any time you want. It's not like you're signing on for the whole trip. We could get off in Portugal and fly home."

"Bleeding hell Naomi. You've never even been on a boat and neither have I. We might spend the whole time heaving our guts out over the side of the boat sea sick."

"Or, we might love it so much we want to keep going. Christ babe. Imagine it. Sailing into new countries, meeting new people, seeing new cultures. It'd be flaming ace."

"What the fuck do we do after it's over? We'd come back to no jobs, all our money gone. No house no fucking nothing. We'd be dossing down with our folks, or mates."

"But we would have lived. Had an adventure. Seen some of the world. Done something none of our mates have ever done. I love the thought of it."

"What if the guy who owns the boat's a fucking nutter? We'd be out at sea with him and there'd be nowhere to hide out there. You couldn't decide, "I've had enough. I want to go home. A thousand bloody miles from anywhere."

"Obviously, we wouldn't do it if we didn't like the bloke. That'd be daft," she sighed.

"No, I'm not doing it, Naomi, that's not what we talked about. Shit yesterday we were talking about seven days in Spain or France. Now you're talking twelve months in a tiny flaming boat with a stranger."

"Tommy, he wouldn't be a stranger. We would meet him first. If he's some weird flaming knob jockey we wouldn't consider it."

I sat there staring at her completely stunned. "You're flaming serious?"

"Yes, Tommy, please. I know this is a shock but lately I've been feeling really lost. We had so many dreams when we started dating. They're all disappearing and life is passing us by."

"What about our jobs?"

"Bloody hell babe. I work as a receptionist. You repair tyres. It's not like we have careers. Shit, we can easily find other jobs."

"You're scaring the shit out of me at the moment Naomi. I need to go for a walk."

As soon as the night air hit me in the face, I started to breathe deeper. What the fuck. It wasn't as if it was something we'd talked about. Something that'd been a dream or ambition. When we dated we did talk about travel, but not on a boat. It'd always been posh hotels and resorts.

This was something different. Sailing out into the bloody ocean on a yacht with only a couple of people on board. We'd never even been on a ferry, let alone something with sails on it.

With each step, my mind did another flip. I started building a pros and cons list in my head.

Pros. It would definitely be an adventure. I struggled after that... What were the bloody pros?

The cons list built quickly. It'd be dangerous. We'd lose everything we worked for. Lose our jobs. Lose our savings. We could end up somewhere and get stuck there. We didn't know what it'd be like to be stuck on a small boat with somebody."

A quick pint at the local and a stroll home. Hopefully, Naomi would've been doing exactly what I was doing, and her pros list would be as short as mine.

"Hey, I'm home," I called, as I hung my jacket on the rack inside the hall. I found Naomi with her laptop open looking at photos of the boat in question.

"Small, isn't it," I muttered scathingly.

"It's sixty bloody feet, Tommy, that's hardly small. I stepped it out. It's longer than our bleeding house."

"I've heard of waves higher than that out in the Atlantic. Trust me. Sixty feet is small. How wide is it?"

"It doesn't say but it looks pretty wide."

"Naomi, this is ridiculous. We're not boat people. None of our mates've got them. We've never even been on one."

"Tommy, I'll make you a deal. The boat's here in Bournemouth, well, down in the marina. What say we go down and have a look? Meet the owner and see what it's like. If it doesn't feel right, or we don't like him, we forget all about it."

"All right, we could do that I suppose." I wanted to say no, but couldn't think of an argument. "Saturday, we'll go for a look."

Naomi was a bundle of nervous energy as we prepared to drive down to the marina at Upton Lake Marina. The whole way there she kept chattering like a parrot. That was her way though. When she got wound up, she was full-on.

Wow, the boats in the marina shocked me. I'd never really been into boats. There were wall-to-wall boats. Hundreds of them. Wooden piers with, as I said, hundreds of boats tied up. There must have been millions of quid's worth.

"Ben said he would meet us by the office," she said uncertainly as her hand slipped into mine. We wandered towards what looked like an office. I hadn't paid a lot of attention to the photos in his advert. We would rely entirely on Naomi recognising him.

As we neared the building, she squeaked happily, "Oh, there he is." Her steps sped up as she dragged me along.

"Naomi, so nice to finally meet in person," he said, extending his hand. His eyes caught mine and he nodded. "And of course this must be Tom. Also a pleasure."

His handshake was firm without being vice-like. The shake vigorous.

"Come along, shall we go down so you can get acquainted with 'Sea Queen'."

We strolled along the floating platform piers, and I recognised the boat from the photos. Quite large in comparison to the other boats moored nearby, she looked tidy and clean. The bright white hull glistened brightly. Her mast stretched high into the late morning sun.

He stood beside the plank that went from the pier down to the deck of the boat. Ben stood beside the plank and held Naomi's hand as she walked gingerly down onto the deck. Once she was down, he guided me as well.

"What do you think?" He asked, unable to hide his pride.

"Very nice," I replied almost begrudgingly. "How long have you owned it?"

"Her, Thomas. Sea Queen is a she. I have had her about ten years I think."

"Was she brand new when you brought her?"

"Heavens no," he said laughingly. "I am the third owner."

"Do you take her out often?"

"Take her out?" he said cynically. "I live on her. She is my home, my life. We are constantly on the move. We have sailed around the world together. Europe and the Mediterranean. Bournemouth isn't our home. We stopped in here to visit with some friends."

We walked around the boat and it was hard not to be impressed by the quality of the workmanship. The decks were incredible. Everything looked well maintained. He guided us down into the main cabin. A galley kitchen, which was very modern and well kitted out with stainless steel appliances.

A plush sofa with a table sat along the left-hand side of the cabin. Through another door was the cabins. Not huge, but holding a double bed and a small wardrobe.

Back on deck, he asked, "What brought you both down here today. It seems clear neither of you know much about yachts."

"Recently," Naomi said, quickly jumping in before me. "We have been talking about needing some excitement, some adventure to break up our lives. When we saw your advert for sailing companions it really piqued our interest. We thought we should come and see for ourselves."

"Jolly good," he said.

"I imagine you're looking for experienced sailors though?" I asked quickly. I took the time to walk around. The feeling of the deck moving as I walked felt oddly energising. Unusual though.

"No, not necessarily. That would indeed be nice, however, in my opinion, it is more about the people than the experience of said people." He smiled broadly as he spoke, and he met my eyes steadily. "Thomas, I can teach people how to sail, what I cannot teach them is how to be pleasant."

"You've done this before then?" I asked.

"Yes, several times. If I am planning a long voyage, it is nice to, number one, have some company. Secondly, it is helpful to share the costs."

"Costs, those would be?"

"Fuel, food, maintenance if required. Honestly, for me, it is mostly the company."

I watched Naomi as she listened. She seemed intrigued by him. "What were your other experiences like?"

"Mostly good. My first time was the worst." He glanced at me knowingly. "Thomas, hit the nail on the head earlier. On my very first trip with another couple I chose sailing experience over other intangibles. They were good sailors, but good lord. They were horrible people."

Naomi laughed softly. "Yes, I imagine it would be awful to be stuck out at sea with people you didn't like."

"Dreadful, my dear. Absolutely dreadful."

In a weird way, he seemed like a decent bloke. There was something about him which irritated me and I couldn't put my finger on it. He spoke with a very proper British upper-crust voice. Obviously very well educated, a little pompous, but not arrogant.

He appeared to be in his late forties maybe early fifties. Very fit, without looking like a gym junky. His clothes were casual but still stylish. His hair was thick, although I sensed the colour wasn't all natural.

His eyes stayed with you. His ego never dominated. Even when talking about countries he'd sailed to. He wasn't a braggart, his exploits spoke for him.

"So how much are you looking for?" I asked.

"It depends on the level of interest. If for instance there was another couple who wanted to go with us, I would suggest approximately ten thousand Euros per couple."

The amount wasn't horrific, but more than I expected. "Where exactly are you going?"

"Again my dear chap. It depends. I have covered a lot of the coastlines, and seen a lot of the world. I would happily modify the routes depending on the levels of interest. My destination is Sydney Australia, however. My plan was to sail from here, go to the Channel Islands, and then sail down the coast of France, Spain and Portugal. Stopping off wherever people wanted. Take in some sightseeing trips."

Naomi looked sold already. When he said, "Then I would rather like to sail down the African coast, perhaps stop off in the Canary Islands, then hop over to Cabo Verde, before crossing the Atlantic. Pass through the Panama and catch as many of the Pacific Islands as people were interested in visiting."

"Wow..." Naomi gasped with a long dreamy sigh. "That sounds marvellous."

He smiled warmly, giving her the full-on charm. "Yes, I have sailed the Atlantic many times. The Pacific I have never really spent a lot of time in. For what ever reason. We were always on our way somewhere. I believe it is going to be hellishly good fun."

"How does it all work, Ben. I mean what do you expect from us?"

"Full commitment old man. There is nobody else to do the work. We all pitch in. It's not all sailing. There's cooking, cleaning. Keeping the old girl in order. You will have to follow instructions when it comes to the shipcraft. If the weather turns foul, then you will be expected to do as instructed. Our lives may actually depend on it."

"Right, so how dangerous is it?"

"Thomas, there is no sense me sugar coating it. There is real danger. The shores are littered with failed attempts. However, I am a very experienced sailor. I have sailed around the globe several times over. In that time I have sailed through Typhoons, Hurricanes, Cyclones and survived them all. So long as we are careful, take every precaution it is very safe."

There was a short pause as his words sunk in. Naomi broke the quiet when she asked, "When do you want to leave?"

"There is no schedule Naomi. I would however like to depart within the month. Bournemouth is particularly pricey berth-wise."

She nodded, glancing at me before replying, "When do you need our answer?"

"Again, not an easy answer my dear. I would like another couple for the journey. There has been a little interest. My preference is if there is that level of interest we all get together, perhaps go for a short sail. That way you can get used to the old girl. And, we can all find out if we actually want to live together, in close quarters." He looked from Naomi then back to me. "As I said, we would be living in very close proximity. It is vital that we are all capable of getting along. I consider myself open-minded, and I seek out people of similar mindsets."

Was there something in what he said... Or was I just being paranoid? "Thanks Ben," I said, bringing a close to it. "We'll let you know, and now that we've at least met, you can decide whether we meet your criteria."

There were handshakes again as he walked us out to our car. Driving away, Naomi couldn't hide her enthusiasm. "Oh my god Tommy. The boat, it's beautiful, and Ben seems lovely."

"Yeah, nice boat all right. Not sure about Ben, a little full of himself I thought."

"No..." she said surprised by my words. Confident perhaps, and yes definitely a people person. I thought he was charming."

An awkward hard-to-move silence fell over us. We were almost home before she said, "Tommy, I want to do it. This is one of those life-changing moments, isn't it? We would get to have an adventure most people only dream about. Think about it... We would have sailed around the world. God, how many people get to say that?"

"Naomi, it all sounds wonderful. I can see how excited you are but think about it. We would be losing everything we've worked so hard to achieve. All gone, and for what? Risking our lives on some stupid Adrenalin rush."

Her brows hooded over, and whatever she wanted to say, she swallowed. It must have been bitter because it sure made her wince.