Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience.
 
 Sun and Sea 10 A James Gang Story by Mike C

   Feedback is welcome - but please keep it constructive.  Address: mikec
(at) nspace.net

   = = = = =

   "That curry is SO good!" I enthused as I licked my fingers of the last
of the coco bread holding the spiced lamb, "But we'd better go help
Amanda..." I took another swig of beer.

   "Honey, that curry is SO gone!" Laughed Sherri, "You've managed to out
eat the entire Pilates class combined!"

   "Nah, I left them the veggie bits."

   "Here, have a slice of pineapple, it'll help you digest the food."
Brenda said from my other side, where she'd been taking turns with Sherri
feeding me.

   Eva came by to replenish our drinks, "How are you enjoying yourselves?"
She asked.

   "Ahh...  For a minute I thought you came to tell us not to let James eat
any more!" Laughed Sherri.

   "What fantastic food, Eva," I said, "The company's something too..." I
hugged the girls to me, adding, "I'd hug you too, if my arms weren't
occupied."

   "From what I understand, you'd need quite a few pairs of arms to do
that!" Eva laughed, "Where's your other girlfriend?"

   "She's gone to set up the boat so she can go bonefishing." Sherri said,
"Something James had promised to help her with!"

   "Just heading off - as soon as I get some food to sustain me!" I burped
discreetly.

   "Not that there's much left!" Brenda said.

   "Why don't I wrap it up for you," Eva suggested, "and send it down to
the boat?"

   "Now here's a woman who knows my heart!"

   "Or his stomach..." Brenda laughed, as they pulled me out of my chair
and marched me down the hill.

   Amanda had her feet up on deck talking on the cell, 'Sara,' she mouthed,
then pointed me to the half-assembled folding-dink on the aft deck.

   Modeled after the sailing-dinghy design, the dink featured construction
from four large panels of industrial-grade Kevlar that made up the sides
and bottoms of the boat, with a ribbed keel running the entire length. 
Collapsed like an oversized "W", it resembled a thickish surfboard which
can be fastened to the space over 'Jester's engines.  Assembled, it is a
very sea-worthy boat that even has provisions for a bowsprit sail.

   With the girls putting pressure on the sides, I attached the transom
piece and the three bench seats which gave the design its rigidity and
strength, then dropped in the piece of marine plywood that provided a flat
bottom to stand on, or to fish from.

   Amanda passed the phone to the girls and came to help me lower the dink
in the water, then we attached the 55-lb-thrust electric motor to the
transom.  Power was taken from a watertight box under the rear bench which
held the lithium cells for a two hour run-time.  Tests have shown this
combination will plane with up to two passengers and reach 18-knots. 
Recharging is provided with a secondary circuit on board the 'Jester'.

   In just 15 minutes, the compact 80-lb package was transformed into a
10-feet long dinghy with room for five that is unsinkable and quite
literally bulletproof.

   Donnie had arrived with our picnic and, in a large tin bucket, twenty or
so kelp shrimps.  "These are fresh and I've put some frozen chunks of conch
cuttings to chill the water, and in case you need to chum - so they will be
good for an hour or two.  Make sure you rinse your hands in sea water
first; put the hook through the back in front of the tail, then through the
head, that way they can still swim, but won't turn the hook the wrong way
on a bite." He handed us a small mesh net, "If you need more, drag this
through sea grass and you'll get a handful each time."

   He looked at the Kevlar boat, "More toys?  I've seen this on one or two
boats that's come in.  A couple from Miami called theirs 'Origami'...  Of
course Eva had to explain it to me!" He laughed, then, "Now I'm off to
start the roast for supper," He grinned in my direction, "Should be ready
in five hours!"

   I went back to my preparations and just had time to tie the dink's
15-foot bow rope to Jester's tow stanchion when Amanda pulled away from the
marina.  I grabbed the phone and retired to the cabin to talk to Sara.

   "Hey babe, I missed you..." I said.

   "And I miss you!" I could hear her smiling.  "You having fun?"

   "Amazing place, full of life and, thankfully, very few humans yet." I
told her, "We have a few things to fix up here, then you can come visit."

   "I'd love that..." She sighed, "I got my shooting schedule, I have five
weeks on, then 2 weeks off, another five-and-two, then maybe six more weeks
before we wrap.  Depending on what the writers come up with, we'll spend
the last four weeks in Miami for a handful of episodes.  They're planning a
cliffhanger with me to end the season - assuming we don't get canceled, of
course.  Oh, and they OK'd my raise!"

   "They should have given you one last year!"

   "Well, this one should make up for it!  I'm getting two-and-a-half mill!
Of course the agency is getting a third of it!  But I've got half of it,
minus more taxes, in the bank already!"

   "Wow, I can see Amanda working even harder to find ways to spend it for
you!"

   "Honey, my Mom thinks getting my own place in LA might be a good idea. I
can sell it if they fire me, and maybe come out with a profit too!"

   "They'll be stupid to fire People's Awards most popular teen star!"

   "We'll see...  So, you'll come house-hunting with me?" She said huskily,
"And we can visit all the Ikeas in LA!"

   "And check out all their beds?"

   "Oh yeah, definitely!  And maybe get some more shots of your ass in the
tabloids!"

   "I can't wait!  I'll make sure I build up my strength for that!"

   "They tell me that you haven't stopped eating since you arrived!"

   "I was trying to make sure I try everything so I can make them for you!"

   "Aww, that's so sweet, baby...  You know I love you, right?"

   "Honey, they have stuff here we never get at home!  Like lamb curry, and
jerked pork, and chicken!  And that pattie is so awesome - it's like a
flaky burrito with a chili center, but spicy; I have to get the recipe for
it."

   "Yeah, Sherri's been telling me, promise to take me there so I can try
it in person!"

   "Cross my heart, hon...  and I love you too!"

   "Yeah, don't make me all weepy again.  We have another meet and greet
for later..."

   "Are they treating you well, baby?"

   "Can't really complain - a lovely suite and red-carpet treatment
everywhere.  We're going to a big splash on Star Island tomorrow, and then
we'll do a few spins in the Top Gun for the photogs.  Which means I'll have
to at least eyeball the new 6-liters and the Bravo-3 transmission. 
Yeah..." She drifted off, "I think my driver should know where it is... 
need to check the dyno readout...  and the balance too...  Heh, I wonder if
I can do a 'gyro' in it with the big engines!" She sighed, "OK, I'll need
to go if I'm to do that before I have to show up at the Mall...  I love you
so much baby, and I miss you so much too!"

   "Yeah...  I love you lots honey.  And we'll visit here, I promise..." We
shared kisses as we hung up.

   I came up from the cabin just as Amanda opened up the boat in her haste
to find fish.

   "Is this a new route?  Are you sure there are nothing submerged here? 
Those coral heads can be vicious things!" I said over the wind and the
growl of the engines.

   "Brenda mapped it," she hugged Bren next to her, "When she flew in with
Colin, it's a minimum of 9 feet for two miles."

   "We overflew it two times, and it was clear, even at low-tide," Brenda
assured me, "Then I took note of the GPS readings, both times - I knew I'd
need it to take off again!" She pointed backwards, "Colin took me on a dead
reckoning path; sight the Turtle Cay house at 310-degrees magnetic and--"
She pointed to a stubby white building on a finger of land a few miles
ahead, "Start the descent as you pass the lighthouse, to land a mile down
range." She grinned, "That was why I overflew it so many times...  The area
ends with rocks on this side, and shallow banks on the other."

   "The sand banks is where we're heading for!" Amanda told us.

   "Colin mentioned another rock in the ocean as secondary reference at
63-degrees magnetic, but I couldn't even see it!"

   "I have it on radar," Sherri showed us, "But Google Earth doesn't even
have a name for it.  I'll update our vector maps with the information
ePilot collected today; the charts available for the area really are
inadequate."

   At the end of the channel, about 100 yards from the sand banks, Amanda
stopped us.  As I readied the Kevlar boat, she dropped anchor, letting the
momentum of the boat set it in the sandy bottom.

   "What are you doing to the dink?" She asked as I was fitting a large box
to hang over the transom.

   "It's a 70-watt solar panel," I told her, "That we can use to recharge
the batteries."

   "What else is in there?  What's in the box underneath?"

   "Ahh, clever girl!  It's a WREN - Water Reclamation ENgine!  Should give
us about 2-liters of fresh water from the sea for each hour of sunlight."

   "As long it doesn't interfere with the fishing!" Amanda declared,
handing me a shipping-trunk sized tackle box and an armful of rods.  She
followed, gingerly handling the bucket of bait.

   "You guys coming?" She asked.

   "Nah, the boat's got no place to sit with the junk you've loaded."
Brenda observed.

   "And we'll stay to catch some real fish..." Sherri added, "Holler if you
run out of bait and want us to get you more shrimps!"

   "Scoff all you want," Sniffed Amanda, "You'll be begging to come with us
after you see what a real fighting fish is!"

   "We'd better hurry sweetheart," I pointed, "Looks like someone's beaten
us there..." There were two skiffs fishing on the shoreward side about a
mile away.  Those flat-bottom boats, about 20' long, each held a single
angler and a guide in a raised seat who propelled them along with a long
pole.

   We followed the channel, some twenty feet deep here, until it ended with
mounds of huge underwater dunes of sand piled on to volcanic rock and
coral. Hundreds of fish in all colors fluttered in and out of the
underwater forests of sea grass and kelp.

   "Man, we can catch food for the whole week here!"

   "Dude, we're here to fish, not get food!" Amanda reminded me.

   "OK, but if we don't catch anything in an hour, we're coming back here!"

   We skirted the jagged tops of the reef and before us stretched the sandy
flats, covered by 2 or three feet of glass-flat water.

   Amanda was busy getting her gear rigged as I watched the other boats. 
From what I could see, they were using equipment similar to ours.  Neither
angler seem to be having much luck, and soon, the guides had to help them
with the casting.  I can understand their frustrations, because although I
could catch the occasional glimpse of ripples and exposed fins, the schools
of bonefish did not seem to go anywhere in particular and seldom stayed on
the same course or speed for more than a second.

   "Don't seem to be biting," I commented.

   "Except for me!" Amanda predicted, and winged her bait towards a likely
spot.

   "Damn, they're too fast!  By the time I cast, they've already gone
past!" She stood up and told me to move to shallower water as she scanned
around.  "They speed up in deep waters, so let's try there," She pointed,
"Stop..." She whispered, "A school of little ones!"

   She flicked her bait and a heartbeat later, "Fish on...!"

   With a lurch, it almost pulled Amanda out of the boat, followed a split
second later with a loose line as the fish spat the hook out, minus the
bait.

   "Shit!" She swore, "The damn drag's way too high!"

   We followed another school but they turned and disappeared from view. 
After another fifteen minutes, we realized that we had to be within twenty
feet of the cruising fish for her cast to be close enough to have any
effect.

   "Damn, just the sound of the bait hitting water scares them off!" She
scowled further when one of the other fishermen raised his catch and his
gleeful cries echoed across the bay.

   "Babe, settle down, we had a good start, just take it easy and it'll
happen!"

   "Yeah, why don't you cast for a bit?" She stretched, and made her
Diveskin do some very interesting things.

   "Ahh, I'd rather watch you instead!" I smiled.

   "Stare later!" She told me, "We can't let them out-catch us!" Then
exchanged seats with me so that she had the controls and I could cast.

   "Yeah, OK.  Let's go near that clump of grass, I've seen fish cruise by
a few times.  Here, yeah, not too close...  Wait..." The fish seem
attracted to the grass but darted away quickly.  "They're picking off
shrimps washed out by the current!"

   Knowing the direction of the current allowed me to cast between the
grass and the returning fish and I got a hit on my third cast.

   "Yes...!" My cry froze as this time, the line broke while I was still
trying to set the hook.

   Zzzzzzz!  I turned at the sound of a runaway line coming off drag. 
Amanda had tired of watching me and had hooked a smaller fish in the
shallows.  It unwound line at a ferocious rate as she tried to adjust her
spool.  For five minutes the fish emptied line out before Amanda was able
to start pulling it in.  Then it was HER turn to whoop it up while holding
her pale silver prize up in the air, which earned her a reluctant tip of a
hat from the others.

   She dropped down on the bench after letting the plucky fellow go, "Who'd
think a little guy like that has so much POWER!" She took a few deep
breaths and unzipped the back of her 'skin, then rolled it up under her
breasts to bare her midriff.  "Hot work, that..." She looked at the WREN
contraption that I had left running on the transom, "How do you get water
from this thing?"

   I handed my fishing rod to her and exchanged seats again, "Hold this -
I'll get the water." I reached around and unscrewed the 12-oz bottle from a
recess in the box and handed that to her, "Half full in 20 minutes, not bad
- considering it's been charging the battery at the same time!"

   "Eech!" She took a drink and spat it out, "It's hot and salty!"

   "It's supposed to be hot!" I said, "The box is just a low-pressure
distiller.  The salt is less than half a percent, which is perfectly
potable.  To speed up desalination, I'm using an ultrasonic mist-maker
running off the solar, the water droplets evaporate four times quicker, but
some salt will leak into the bottle...  I'm sure if you're thirsty enough,
it won't matter at all."

   "I'm parched and it tastes like shit!" She gave it a few more careful
sips and nodded, "but I suppose I can get used to it!" She gave me a
meanigful glance, "After all, I've had to swallow something MUCH worse
tasting than this!"

   "Honey..." I gestured, "Big 'uns at your nine..."

   Quickly handing the empty bottle back to me, she readied my newly
rehooked and re-baited rod.

   We watched as the school turned away and made a cautious zig-zag
approach.  "Cast five feet beyond the grass, the current will carry it
out." I told her, "The drag is at 10-lbs..."

   With a backhanded side-cast Amanda dropped the shrimp into the path of
the inrushing fish.  The school swerved away, but a single fish at the end
dashed in and snapped it up.

   "Don't set," I whispered urgently, "It's a round hook!" The round hook,
with a semi-hidden barb, is designed to be swallowed with the bait, but
will only set itself against a hard surface, like the jaws or the mouth,
and will not injure soft tissue like the throat.

   "Ugggh!  He's onnnn..." The round hook did its job and the surging fish
started ripping line out.  Fortunately Amanda was sitting with her feet
braced against the side of the boat and could maintain tension without
having to worry about the fish's acrobatics tipping her into the water.  I
eased the boat out of the weeds to help her with her retrieve.

   Ten minutes later, it was a sweat-soaked but triumphant little girl who
again sounded her joy to one and all in the bay.  "Yes!" She held it up in
victory, "The Chipster strikes again!  Read 'em and WEEP!  YES!"

   "Hey!  Bet mine's bigger than yours!" The other successful angler
shouted back and grabbed his crotch.

   "Yeah, maybe," She handed me the fish, stood up and with a flourish,
slipped her Diveskin off.  "But I got two of 'em!  Count them!  TWO!" She
called out, twirling her suit over her head while doing a jig on the boat.
Then she started singing:



   "It takes two, ba-by,

   It takes two, ba-by,

   When it come to fish, baby,

   You need two...

   It takes two, ba-by,

   It takes two, ba-by,

   To make a dream come true,

   It takes two!"

   = = = = =



   (C) Copyright 2001-2008.  MikeC. All Rights Reserved. All Reproduction
for fee or profit forbidden.

   Copies of this and other stories can be downloaded from:
<http://www.asstr.org/files/Authors/MikeC/JAMES/Sun&Sea/>