Family and Friends 6 (Extensive reading: We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea)

We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea

What has happened so far...

Jon, Susan, Roger and Kitty Walker were staying by a river. They met a young man called Jim Brading who invited them to go sailing on his sailing boat. Their mother agreed, but told them to stay on the river and not to go out to sea. The children sailed to the mouth of the river but then the wind died. They tried to use the boat engine to go back up the river, but there wasn't any petrol! Jim rowed to land to get some more. While he was gone, fog suddenly appeared and then the children realized they were floating out to sea. They decided they had to wait until morning before they could return to the shore. But when the fog finally disappeared, the rain started.

At first, the rain was not too heavy, but then the wind quickly became strong, and out of the west behind them came a white wall of rain, falling down into the sea. It was still too dangerous to think of going back because they couldn't see anything through the rain.

So, they went on, and the wind blew them further and further from the land. When it finally stopped raining, the sky in front of them was already growing dark, and the boat was sailing faster and faster through the tall waves.

"Let's turn back now," said Susan.

Jon took a deep breath. He wasn't sure that he could find his way back, but he didn't say this to the others.

"All right," he said. "I'll turn the boat around now."

The next moment terrible things began to happen. When you are sailing with the wind behind you, you never really know how hard the wind is blowing. It's very different when you turn and sail against it. As the boat turned into the wind, a wave

broke over it and water flooded the boat. Up the boat came again, then down again and then there was another big wave. The children were soon knee-deep in water. Jon was scared, but he tried to steer the boat against a

sea and a wind that were too strong for him.

"Stop! Jon! Stop it!" cried Susan at last. "We'll have to turn round again! We can't do this!" Susan, almost shaken to pieces by the boat's new violent movement, lay across

the side and was terribly sick.

Jon slowly steered the boat round. Very slowly, the little boat turned away from the wind and back on her old course with the wind behind them again. From the cabin they heard Kitty's frightened voice. The boat was full of water and she needed to get it out before they started sinking. Susan found the pump, and began pumping hard to get the water out of the boat.

It began to grow dark. The wind was still blowing hard but the boat sailed on smoothly.

Even Susan began to feel better. No one had fallen into the sea, everyone was safe and soon the night would end. The sun would rise, the wind would stop and they would sail back to land.

Susun und Kily didn'i feel seasick any more. Jon's arms hurt with steering, but he felt much happier. Roger was hungry and wondered if everyone had forgotten about supper.

"Susan," he said. "It's ten o'clock. What about some chocolate or something?"

"Ten o'clock?" said Susan in surprise. "It's time you all had something to eat." And a few minutes later they were all eating very large pieces of fruit cake and pieces of chocolate.

Suddenly, Susan saw lights ahead.

"There's a green light on one side, and a red light on the other side."

"It's a big ferry, on its way from Holland to England. It's coming this way," said Jon.

"Maybe they could take us back home," said Roger. "It's getting nearer and nearer. I can see it very clearly."

"But they can't see us!" shouted Jon suddenly. "We've got no lights! And it's coming straight towards us. We've got to get out of the way. We've got to warn them. Roger, sound the horn!" Jon was very frightened as the boat was coming straight towards them and it was very big. Roger sounded the horn.

Someone on the ferry heard the loud noise of the horn, and at the last minute the ferry changed course. The green light of the big ship disappeared and it went quickly past their little boat, almost touching its sides. "Show your light, you stupid fishermen," came an angry voice from the ferry. Then the ferry had passed them and was off on its way to England. The waves that the ferry made were very big and everyone was thrown from side to side and get very wet again. They were still in one piece although they were sailing further and further away from England.

An extract from a story by Arthur Ransome