Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience. (C) Copyright 2002. M.C. All Rights Reserved. All Reproduction for fee or profit forbidden. Copies of my stories can be downloaded from: </files/Authors/MikeC/> What do you think of the story? Send comments and suggestions to MikeC@NSpace.net ============= James Part IX. Soaring Visions James 63 In the early light of dawn, I felt Sara roll off me and out of bed. "What are you doing up so early?" I murmured. "Going to check the crab trap. And make breakfast." "What crab trap?" "Come, I'll show you!" She waited as I untangled Sherri's hair from my arm and took my hand. We went out to the patio in the back, "I saw it yesterday when I was cooking the fish and dropped it in." She leaned over the railing and started hauling on a rope going into the salt marsh. The sky had barely begun to lighten and I could already feel the heat of the coming day. The air was filled with the rich aroma of the flora from the large bay that made it such a haven for crabs and mollusks. "Bingo!" She cried as she displayed a huge trap with her writhing catch. "Bingo!" I echoed her, enjoying the view of her jiggling boobs and soft curves, "YOU look good enough to eat!" "Oh yeah?" She smiled, spreading her legs, "Come and get it!" "Don't mind if I do!" "Watch out our friends here don't grab something tender!" She laughed, putting the cage on the deck, then, "You're really gonna do it out here?" "No honey, WE'RE going to do it out here." I grabbed her waist, "What have you got to say 'bout that?" "I hope they built this strong enough!" She laughed, turning and resting her arms on the railing, "Do me this way, I want you to play with my breasts while you fuck me!" I hugged her from behind and her nipples jabbed into my arm, "Hmmm, are you ready? Or just cold...?" Giggling, she grabbed my hand and rubbed it on her nose, "Does that tell you anything?" "Hmmm, perhaps... I think I'll need another test..." I slipped my hand down over her body. "Wait! Let me get you ready too!" She grabbed my finger and slipped it in her mouth, running her tongue gently around as she stroked it lovingly with her soft wet lips. "Ahhh! I don't need the second test anymore..." I sighed, as my suddenly rampant cock poked in her soaked cunt. With a hand on my ass, Sara pulled me into her. "Ohh, fuck... GOOD!" She cried breathily, "Do me, lover! Fuck me! Uhnnnn!" I held her hips and slammed into her. For long moments all we could hear was the slapping of our bodies and the guttural cries as we shared our lust. "Well this is ONE way to greet the morn!" Sherri laughed as she came out, "Or is this the new exercise regimen I've been hearing about?" "We came out to see if I got any crabs..." Sara's voice faded as she realized what she had just said and we started laughing. "S-stop!" She wheezed, "I can't come this way!" and started giggling again. "I d-don't think I can stay hard!" I chortled. "You'd better!" Sara was suddenly sober, "Don't you dare let that yummy thing slip out! Ahhh, ahhh... So close...!" She reached back and stroked me. "Let me help," Sherri whispered as she crouched and started fingering Sara's clit. "Ohhh yesssss! Fuck yes!" Sara screamed into her arm, "Oh god! Yessss!" She humped wildly on me and started shaking. Suddenly Sherri reached and started massaging my balls. With a loud groan I exploded into Sara's tight pussy, pumping liquid fire that shook us and left us gasping. "Oh god!" Sara started shaking again as Sherri leaned her head in and started licking her cunt. "Oh lord, too much! Ahhhh!" "You want me to stop?" Came Sherri's muffled voice. "God, no, please don't... No... Ahhh... D-don't stop... Ahhh!" Sara cried and shook to a stream of climaxes. Finally she slid weakly down my legs and kissed Sherri, "Thank you sweetheart, you are the best!" She looked up at me, "And you did great too!" Dreamily she turned to suck my soft cock into her mouth, carefully tonguing me. "Mmmm, sloppy seconds!" Sara grinned, as Sherri took over and tasted me. "More like thirds!" She laughed, "Or fourths!" "Okay guys," Sara sighed as she kissed Sherri across my cock, "Have to go - have to get breakfast ready..." "Can we help?" Sherri asked, ignoring my frantic pleas for her to get back on the job. "Yeah," Sara pointed at the cage, "Let the small ones go, and also the ones with the red claws, those are the fertile females. Then run the hose over the rest for 5 minutes before you clean them. I'll start a pot for them." We had prepared 3 large crabs and a smaller one and were washing each other when Sara came to check. Naturally she got an impromptu shower as well. "Good thing the fencing is so high, otherwise, we'd be raided by now!" Sara laughed, shaking water out of her hair, "But I wouldn't mind - you guys were fantastic!" She kissed us and led us back inside where water was boiling and coffee perking. They got me a towel as I cooked the crabs in the boiling water, "Eight minutes!" Reminded Sara, as, hand-in-hand, she and Sherri went to the bedroom to dress. The crabs were done and I had picked almost 2 cups of crab meat by the time the giggling stopped and they reappeared, Sara in a snug 2-piece and Sherri in a spaghetti top with terry shorts. "Oh good, you didn't throw away the crab shells..." Sara said, "I think we may have enough meat for soup tonight as well." She bagged the shells along with a healthy sprinkle of her spice in cheesecloth and started simmering them for stock. I returned from dressing as Sherri was finishing her crabmeat omelets under Sara's guidance, they also had toast, fruit salad, coffee and even a newspaper waiting. "This is heaven, girls," I sighed, as I dug in, "I'm sure your parents would be thrilled with these home-ec achievements!" "And they'll thank YOU!" Sherri laughed. "Until they find out HOW you got us to this point!" We discussed our schedule for the day. We had use of the course every day until noon, after which Al had scheduled head-to-head boat competitions in various classes. At 8 we went to the marina and checked over the boat. Quite a few people had gathered already and watched us take her out for an familiarization tour. I had the girls sit at the bow so they could memorize the course as I drove them at 12 mph down the marked channel, noting depth readings on the hydro chart. We reached the end of the 3 mile course and turned back, speeding up to 55 to check for reflected turbulence. The enclosed channel was even better than the lake as the water was smooth and totally predictable, the more buoyant salt water seemed to help the boat plane faster as well. There were a few dozen people cheering us as we neared the marina, Al and his daughter among them. "Very impressive!" He enthused as he came and shook our hand, "You remember Lucy, my daughter? And this is my wife, the OTHER lovely Lucy in my life!" He introduced us to a slim, pale lady with her daughter's dark hair and eyes. "Al's been jumping with excitement since he's heard about your boat." She smiled, "He tells me it's quite amazing, what you have done; and for somebody who looks so young too!" "We need these young people!" Al cried, "To come up with fresh ideas and what's more, my dear, they have done more than just revive InterCoastal, they're gonna give the whole industry a kick in the butt!" I offered them a ride and Al happily took us up on it. We went at a slow speed again and I point out several places where the seaweed had grown too close to the channel. He talked into a small cell-phone for a few minutes "OK, they'll be out here in few minutes." He handed it to me, "Use this while you're on-island; we have our own radio network here. Dial '111' to get me and '140' for the marina. Dial '0' for the Operator and '9' if you want to get an outside line. Just drop it off at the marina office at night for recharging." We had finished the course and Sherri turned us for the trip back, "We're gonna put on a bit of speed," She warned us, as she helped little Lucy with her life preserver. Even with 6 on board, Gyro easily topped 60 and to Al's large smile, we made the return trip in a blistering 3 minutes. We were mobbed by the crowds when we pulled up, Al jumped off and helped his wife down. "Can I stay here with them?" The younger Lucy asked. "Sure, honey!" Al smiled, and to me, "Just send her home when you get tired of her." He glanced around, "Me, I'm going to make some sales!" Sherri and Sara were already deep in conversation so Lucy helped me tie down and gas up. "The salinity is not the only reason!" Sherri was saying, "5% is a lot more than it can account for!" "Sherri noticed that the boat went on plane faster when there were 6 of us onboard than before." "I think," I said slowly, "That it has to do with weight distribution again. We were all at the aft end and only Lucy and you were at the conn." "Of course!" Sherri smacked her forehead, "It shifted the angle of attack on the wing, creating less "sink" and subsequently less drag as well! Doh!" She laughed, "And I was working with Amanda all week on that too!" "Amanda mentioned something about a flexible wing," I asked, "What exactly are you trying to do?" "It's a bi-flex wing, for Max's canard, but may well apply here as well..." She paused, "Let's run a couple more tests first, and I'll try and explain it." Sara drove off again with us in the back and Sherri began, "Remember when we were calculating the lift of a wing at a particular speed? Well, I asked myself, if a wing has enough lift to support a 550 pound aircraft at 50mph, wouldn't there be twice as much lift at 100mph? I know, the flaps make a difference; but 50mph is no-flap stalling speed for the plane, meaning the lift EXACTLY balances the weight. So, again, where's the lift disappeared to at 100?" Sara throttled up and Sherri stopped, closing her eyes to concentrate on the engine revs as we pulled up to plane, "Hmmm 1160 rpm... OK!" She signed for Sara to stop. We repeated the test twice more with comparable results. Then we moved up to the front and Sara tried the same maneuver, "You are so right, honey!" Sara beamed, "1230rpm when we are all up front! 5% different!" As Sara turned and drove us back, Sherri continued, "Back to the question about the lift. The answer is that it's still there; we simply change the elevator and force the plane to fly 'down' the same amount the lift makes us fly 'up!'" She looked at me, "Does that make sense?" Slowly I nodded, "So you're saying is that the faster we fly, the more lift we generate, so we have to aim ourselves more towards the ground?" "Exactly!" She looked at Lucy, "Isn't he a clever boy?" She turned back to me, "So what am I trying to drive at?" "Mmmm... That... that I'm not as clever as you thought?" Then to Lucy, "But I'm better looking!" THAT got a laugh out of her. "My point, my not-so-clever-but-very-good-looking boy, is that the wing has to do WORK to generate lift, and that work is called drag! Now does it make sense?" "Ummm, lessee... If lift is drag, and more lift is more drag... the less lift... means less drag!" I concluded proudly as we tied up and Sherri took Lucy and my arms and walked towards the office. "Right on!" Sherri laughed, then, to Sara who'd taken my other arm, "And THAT my sweetie, is why the boat performs better when there's more weight at the back!" "But ONLY if the weight can offset the lowered 'sink.'" Sara said. "Yeah, that's what we have to work out the details to!" She looked at me, "You were right, the less lift, or sink, the less drag. So how do we do that?" She waited a few seconds, "Think of the flaps." "Flaps? OK, you extend the flaps to get MORE lift... So, is there a way to unextend the flaps?" "See? I TOLD you you're clever! It took us 2 days to figure that out!" Sherri laughed. "Of course there is! Simply by offsetting them UP instead of down! Now there is a VERY limited range we can do this, but even by lowering our lift by 20%, we get another 25% more speed, or another 300 miles in range." She paused, "Which is what Amanda is going to work out at Regan's. She's gonna try to calculate the lift changes when we flex the trailing edges of the wing up instead of down... Bi-flex, get it?" She grinned as she fired up the laptop. "Geez, YOU are the clever one!" I kissed her and turned to Lucy, "Isn't she smart?" "And pretty too!" Lucy added enthusiastically. "Alright, enough with the compliments!" Sherri laughed, "Let me get on the Internet and see if we can get some corrections to the sea-wing too." "Do you want us to stay and help?" I ask. "No." Sherri smiled, "Why don't you two take Lucy for a spin?" "Did Lucy the turtle come back?" I asked as we went back down to the boat. Sara was busy waving and smiling to her fans, some from last night who had come down to watch her. "Yes, about a week ago, she managed to lay another batch, but she looked very tired. Janet said it was because it was hard to find food and rest with the boats and sightseers in the area. I hope she's OK where she is now." "Yeah, I hope so too!" "Come on, let's say Hi to Salty Dog Dave!" Sara led us over and shook his hand. "Sara! Ms Jeffray! James! How are you all?" Dave grinned. "Hi Salty!" Lucy laughed, then to us, "Mom keeps wanting Salty to teach me to play guitar." "I'm afraid my skills as a teacher is even worse than my skills as a performer!" "Would you like to come for a ride, Dave?" Sara invited. "I'd love to," He checked his watch as he followed us, "As long as I can be back to open the cafe at 10. So this is the super boat?" "Yep, it's basically a very nice cuddy cabin with twice the engine it needs." Sara explained. There were about fifty people along the shore and they all knew Lucy and Salty; and most knew Sara and Sherri by name as well. I took the boat all the way back to the staging area and powered her up. By the time we crossed the marina, we were going 70 and our wake was enough to drench some of the people on shore. I held it at that speed the entire course and then did a wide, skidding U-turn which swamped everything in a hundred foot radius. The trip back was finished in an eyeblink, but not before I managed to soak another hundred people who were crowding the shoreline in excitement. Dave shook his head and said, "I'm afraid this boat is too fast for me, my speed is more like lazing on a wooden tub, on my way to Margaritaville, as Jimmy Buffett says, 'with salt in the air and salt in my beard.'" He grinned, "But come down for lunch later, and we can chat some more." We let him off and Sara said to Lucy, "You had enough? Or would you like a go at driving Gyro?" "Can I?" Lucy's grin threatened to split her face. "Sure, if you're careful and not go any faster than you are comfortable." Sara sat next to her and watched. "Oh wow, cool!" With deft skill Lucy navigated us back out to the channel. Her intimate knowledge of the locale more than offsetting her lack of practice with the new boat. We managed the seaward leg at a leisurely 30mph and Lucy did a sweeping 180, leaning and grinning into the wind. Then she gradually increased the speed, to finish at 50 mph. Happy with our tests, we freed up the course for other boats and worked on the motor after that, Lucy helped with the oil change and watched us do the precipitant tests on the oil and lubricants to make sure there were no potential problems with the engine and the transmission. With the boat on slings, we checked again that the wing was snug on its mount. We went to collect Sherri who had finished her modified calculations and handed me the dimensions to the new wing; less than half the size of its predecessor, it sacrificed a small amount of efficiency but promised to be much stronger. "I worked in a blended lift effect for different incident angles and sent that to Jules; maybe Peter can do something with that. But I'm going to keep OUR version simple for these instruments of pleasure!" She held my hand and kissed my fingers.( It was getting on lunch time and we went back to the Salty Dog, picking a table outside. We placed our orders and Dave came outside and said, "I came out to see who ordered the hungry-man size triple helping of our ribs!" Sherri laughed, "Yeah, well, that's because he's already had a big breakfast!" "We are very proud of our ribs here..." Dave went on, "One of our islanders owns a hog farm just over on the mainland and we have a cook-off each year to find out who's got the best. I won two years in a row!" He grinned, then sadly, pointing down the street, "Then the Steakhouse guys got a secret recipe somewhere and beat me last year! I've been working all year for the ultimate recipe and texture." He looked at us, "Come Sunday, this shame SHALL be avenged!" The waitress brought out 3 full-racks of back ribs for us and Dave watched us as we sampled it. "It's great!' I said as I took a drink and tore into another helping. "Mmmm, good..." Sara nibbled on her first piece, "Cooked right, firm, not too greasy - nice combination of molasses with the honey... Marjoram? Touch of mint too..." She licked her fingers, "The lemon zest really, really makes it!" Dave's face had been getting pale as he listened to Sara, now he burst out, "Shhh, not so loud!" He looked around furtively, "Those are my secret ingredients!" He mock glared at her, "You are working for my enemies, aren't you?" Sara grinned, "I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you!" Dave looked at me, "This young lady is incredible!" Looking back at her, "You really could tell with just a taste?" "Pretty much," Sara nodded, "It's like people with a nose for wine. They can tell 'Smoked hickory with orange blossom, with an anise aftertaste.' Well, I can also tell that you have..." "Enough!" Dave hushed her, then, "Can you suggest anything that it needs?" "Mmm, depends whether you want the robust or more exotic taste, perhaps you can use cilantro instead of straight parsley, and Spanish onion, about three times more..." "Yeah," Dave nodded, "Let me mix up a batch and try it... Er--" He looked at her,"--would you consider..." "Checking out your competition?" I suggested. Dave sighed, "Yeah, I know, it's underhanded and sneaky, but..." He sighed, "My family honor is at stake here!" "I thought you had no family here?" Lucy said. "All the more important, the honor of the family I COULD be having!" "So your thing with Janet is on again?" Lucy smiled. "Kinda..." Dave looked at us, "She's the rep for Wildlife America assigned to the island. I made a quip about turtle soup and she, er, she..." "Flew the coup?" "Returned to the wild?" "Said 'Later, alligator?'" "Sent you to the outback?" "Weaseled out?" "Is at loggerheads with you?" Dave was laughing and wheezing, his head buried in his arms. Finally he looked up and breathed, "Yeah..." "So you're saying," Sara interrupted, "She started dancing to a different tuna?" Which of course started him up again, howling when he had the breath, and wheezing when he didn't. Just as he'd slow down he'd looked at us and collapse in another laughing fit. Finally we helped him off the ground and got him a drink of water. Sherri looked at Sara, "You stole my line! I was gonna say 'She's marching to a different Drum.'" Dave looked at her, "Er, I don't get it..." "Try 'Marching to a different Blackened Drum...'" Sara said, then to Sherri, "Loses something in the translation." "Yeah, loses a LOT in the translation." She agreed. "What's this with Blackened Drums? Everyone came in last night and said they smelled my Blackened fish and wanted to order it..." Dave stared at Sara, "No! YOU were the one?" "See?" She looked at me, "Entire neighborhoods!" "It was exquisite!" I kissed my fingertips, "Had to wear a gas mask but it was worth it!" "I have to get your recipe..." Dave sighed, "I suppose I'll have to name my firstborn after you?" "Maybe you should check with Janet first!" Lucy said. "So everything's OK between you two?" "Well, she's agreed to help me with the cook-off competition, after that..." He stopped, "Er, you won't say anything about the recipe, will you?" "Of course not!" Sara laughed. "And about the other thing..." Dave glanced down the street. "Having more ribs? Sure, always happy to help out." I belched discreetly. ============= (C) Copyright 2002. M.C. All Rights Reserved. All Reproduction for fee or profit forbidden. Copies of my stories can be downloaded from: </files/Authors/MikeC/> What do you think of the story? Send comments and suggestions to MikeC@NSpace.net