Posted by Jonathan Labaree on July 30, 2003 at 19:28:16 from 207.5.234.19 user JLabaree.
My apologies if this has already been covered here. Ed’s excellent question about the incident that lead to them going to sea without meaning to brings to mind another nautical mishap that is central to one of the books’ plots. I’ve often wondered about the sinking of Swallow at the beginning of Swallowdale. I do not have the book handy, and it’s been a while since I have read it, but if my shaky memory serves, the catastrophe happened when John tried to “hang on” when coming into the cove. The wind was beginning to back him as he went downwind and rather than jibing intentionally in the stiff breeze, he hoped he would make it without having to attempt that tricky maneuver. His gamble doesn’t pay off, and he jibes all standing. The resulting dramatic change of sail along with the general confusion typical of that situation sends Swallow directly onto a rock which holes the boat when it strikes. The boat then sinks.
Now, I’ve jibed dinghies inadvertently a few times in my day – especially when I was John’s age. It is certainly confusing, but the worst that has happened is that the boat swung around into the wind and stopped rather quickly, being a small boat. I have also hit a few rocks in small boats. Perhaps I’m just lucky, but I have never hit a rock hard enough to put a hole in the boat (not for lack of trying, mind you). Even if I had a hole in the boat, I don’t think it would have sunk to the bottom. Swallow had ballast, didn’t it? Well, that would help it sink, but didn’t John remove most of it on his dives so they could drag it back up? It didn’t float itself, did it, they had to haul it up, didn’t they? (Shaky memory at work.)
This is in no way a criticism of AR’s writing. I love this episode for a variety of reasons, not the least of which I could/can so easily relate to John’s situation – first before, then after the incident. But I’m wondering if anyone else has raised an eyebrow slightly upon reading this. To recap: Would the jibe really have been enough to make him hit the rock? Would the force of the blow really have been sufficient to hole Swallow? Would Swallow really have sunk?