Posted by Robin Selby on August 19, 2018 at 09:24:39 user RobinSelby.
In Reply to: Re: 'Speedy' in SW posted by Mike Field on August 16, 2018 at 06:17:39:
One comes across abandoned boats rotting in the mud or on the saltings along the East Coast. In my experience they rot in a uniform manner, so it would be surprising to find a boat which rotted like Speedy. If you search on ‘Thames barges rotting’ you find a lot of images which bear this out. I wonder whether Ransome was drawing upon the hulk in which the Breydon pilot lived. I’ve tried to find an image of this, but the Incredible Hulk gets in the way.
I don’t know whether there was much call for the pilot’s services. He seems to lead a leisurely life. His small contribution to the S&A books made me consider who makes the smallest contribution – perhaps the man (whom we never actually see) who compliments Roger on Swallow in S&A?
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