Posted by Andrew Craig-Bennett on April 20, 2009 at 11:21:35 user ACB.
In Reply to: Peter Duck - an alternative. posted by Owen Roberts on April 20, 2009 at 00:53:09:
I distinctly recall thinking this, as soon as I had read "Treasure Island", as a boy. I thought of taking all the boats and, if I recall correctly, the "Viper" was riding to her kedge, so all one needed to do was to cut the warp, from the "Swallow", rather than letting the cable run to the bitter end and cutting the lashing, in order to and allow the "Viper" to drift, either out to sea or ashore. It is a weak spot in the plotting.
With foutr decades of AR- insopired saikling behind me, I would now take the boats off the beach, unreeve all the halyards - the work of a moment - and cut them into fairly short lengths - the work of half an hour at the most, but, whilst a crew of hard case seamen, such as Black Jake has shipped would be able, eventually, to swim out to their ship, long splice the cut halyards and re-reeve them, this would be the work of a couple of days - enough to give the "Wild Cat" a clear start.
In defence of AR's plotting, the S&A's may have assumed that the "Viper" waa not deserted...