We had departed Papua, New Guinea outbound to find an island to spend the next week in solicitude.
The Zaka was loaded stem to stern with a fresh load of supplies as her bow cut the sea on an east south east course leaving civilization astern.
Zaka was a forty foot Sabre with an auxiliary diesel and could easily be sailed by my husband and me. John had retired early from his successful dental practice and we had purchased Zaka to experience our dream of sailing around the world.
We had purchased Zaka in San Diego and set sail out into the Pacific in our pride and joy.
Both John and I were skilled sailors having owned a thirty-two foot Shark in which we had explored the inland waters of the Great Lakes. This was to be our first salt water voyage.
During our first few days out of San Diego we familiarized ourselves with Zaka's little quirks and characteristics and soon we had bonded with our new home.
Our new life was wonderful, once out of sight of shore John and I shed our clothes and cavorted naked on Zaka's deck. Well off the shipping lanes we were in a world of our own and away from prying eyes. We were able to eat, tan and make love on Zaka's vast foredeck without fear of being observed.
New Guinea was our first scheduled port of call on out itinerary. After a week at sea we needed to refill our fresh water tank and restock the refrigerator.
After a luxurious bubble bath and a good night's sleep at Papau's Mandang Hotel we set sail early the following morning on the next leg of our voyage.
The waters were more populated as we left Papua and were compelled to wear swimsuits until eventually we were able to get nude again.
Tuvaki appeared on the horizon just as the chart had predicted. Tuvaki is a small island, just under a mile in length and deserted since the Americans had used it as petrol supply depot during the war.
We had hoped to have Tuvaki to ourselves to enjoy for a few days but as we got closer we could see the masthead of another boat bobbing in a lagoon on the shoreline. It was time to don our suits again.
As the island grew larger we could make out the hulls of a pale blue catamaran laying at anchor and a curl of smoke coming from a campfire on the beach. The occupants of the other boat had gone ashore to cook their dinner.
Zaka glided into the lagoon alongside the cat were we dropped sail and the anchor. Squaring away the rigging John launched the Zodiac over Zaka's stern and we boarded to go ashore and meet our new neighbors.
The roar of the Mercury outboard coming to like with a puff of blue smoke sent a flock of birds into the sky as John pointed the inflatable towards the beach.
They came out of the wooded shoreline to investigate the noise. The Tournay's were a young couple, he about thirty and his blonde wife a few years younger.
Dave came over to greet us grabbing the Zodiac's painter and dragging us up onto the sand.
There was the customary shaking of hands and introductions as we became acquainted with our fellow islanders.
Dave told us he and his wife Judy were from Canada and had won enough money in a lottery to realize their dream similar to ours of buying a boat and sailing the seas.
Dave said they had been cruising port to port for eight months stopping here and there at their pleasure.
Dave was a good looking man of about five foot eleven with a well tanned athletic body and sporting a dark moustache and beard matching his wavy hair. He wore only a pair of cut-off kaki shorts and a pair of Dockers boating shoes.
His wife Judy was a frumpy redhead that needed to loose twenty pounds to fit into the two piece swimsuit that barely covered her.
The Tournay's informed us they had arrived the day before and spent the previous night aboard their boat before coming ashore to explore the island.
Dave told us they had found an old rusted metal shed in the bush with a bunch of old American junk scattered around it.
He said the far side of the island was a super white sand beach with the prevailing wind pounding it with terrific surf. He had wanted to try surfing and was looking for something he could make into a surf board.
John was an avid surfer and the two of them begin discussing what they could use to ride the breakers.
Judy told me that she had worked as a cleaner at their local hospital before they hit it big on the lottery. She had married Dave ten years earlier when she was twenty-two. Dave had been a truck driver who had come into the coffee shop where she worked at the time and swept her off her feet.
Judy was not use to male attention and had always been a wallflower at school dances. Dave's sudden attention overwhelmed her and before she knew it she found herself getting married to him.
Judy confided that Dave was a sex maniac wanting her only for sex. She said she had to have sex with her husband three times a day or he was not happy.
I thought of how many women would be envious of her problem. I was lucky if John wanted to make love to me once a week.
She also told me that her husband wanted to get her into "swinging", exchanging sexual partners with other couples. She had tried it a couple of times but didn't like it.
Judy and I continued chatting while we got our dinner ready. The guys were absorbed in their surfing plans.
I was relieved when we were back aboard Zaka after eating on the beach with the Tournay's.
John and I made long leisurely love before falling off to sleep. I always slept well aboard Zaka with the water softly lapping against her hull. I dropped off with Dave Tounnay on my mind for some unexplainable reason.
Early the following morning John discovered a crack forming in Zaka's fiberglass hull by the bilge water pump discharge port. It was not leaking yet but with the hulls constant twisting and bending while under sail it could become worse. Jon knew it should be repaired as soon as possible.
John and Dave discussed sailing Zaka back to Papua to have the repairs made. Dave said the trip could make the problem worse and suggested John take his boat and sail to Papua and pickup a repair kit. Dave said his cat could make the round trip in three days.
John agreed to Dave's plan and rather than leaving us women alone it was decided Judy would accompany John as she knew the boat and Dave would stay with me on the Zaka.
