Re: A SWALLOW'S TALE


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Posted by Peter Hyland on April 04, 2014 at 04:11:50 user Peter_H.

In Reply to: Re: A SWALLOW'S TALE posted by Magnus Smith on April 03, 2014 at 04:57:17:

Although not a small boat sailor, oddly enough I do have experience of pulling boats up on shallow beaches and pushing them off again. I know the drill that you should not load the boat until you have pushed the boat off a little way, otherwise you’ll never get her off. (And you load stern first – vice versa when running in) Anyway, I have done a brief (but not exhaustive) check to see how AR handled this in his SA text.

First landing on WCI – “Susan had gone to the stern to lighten the bows of the boat and . . .there was a gentle grumble and scrunch and Swallow’s nose was on the pebbly beach . . .Roger had jumped ashore with the painter”. It looks there as if Swallow’s momentum carried her up the beach slightly, but she was mainly secured by the painter.

When they first enter the hidden harbour, the procedure was much the same – Swallow "ran her nose up the beach" and the painter was fastened to a tree stump.

Captain John returns from visiting Captain Flint (end of Ch XV): “He pulled Swallow up on the beach" Here we have a 12 year old boy pulling a wooden craft up the beach by himself - possible perhaps because the mast and sail had been taken out.

Setting off for the Amazon river (Ch XVII) – “ . . the mate and the boy climbed in and went to the stern. The captain pushed, and as the Swallow floated off . . .

When Man Friday left the Island (Ch XVIII) – “Mother got into the boat, and pushed off with an oar.” Note that Titty did not push her off here – would the combined weight of the rowing boat and Mother have been too great? However, what about this:-

A few moments later Captain Flint’s rowing boat grounded beside the Amazon. It was instantly seized and pushed off again by Nancy and Peggy." (Ch XXVI) A heavy rowing boat with a heavy(ish) person in it, which has been rowed fast and has therefore driven itself hard up the beach – pushed quickly off again by two girls aged 13 and 12? Well maybe . . . Perhaps the beach was steeper than one imagines?



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