Posted by Peter Ceresole on August 05, 2003 at 22:29:39 from 80.177.22.49 user PeterC.
In Reply to: Re: Towing Alongside was Re: Where's Wizard? posted by Jonathan Labaree on August 05, 2003 at 13:18:57:
I don't have the illustration in front of me, but I take it Wizard is not on deck(?).
Nope.
Looking at SW, 1947 edition, Ch 3, 'Into the Unknown', end of the 4th para:
"The Goblin's wake lengthened, and the water creamed under the bows of Wizard, the sailing dinghy, towing astern."
Facing the next page there is an illustration (borderless, as are several of the others, but most have borders- I can't work out rhyme or reason to this) captioned 'On the way to the islands'. Goblin, loaded down with surveyors and their kit, is heading past a buoy but there is no dinghy towing astern and no towing cable attached to tow a possibly out-of-shot Wizard.
It looks like an omission by Ransome that wasn't spotted in time by the publishers. Probably one of those moments where, when somebody did spot it, they said "Oh, let it go hang". After all, SW was first published in November 1939 and at that moment they probably felt they had other fish to fry.