Re:Engines and Plots was Two Aubrey de Selincourts? was Other Sailing Series


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Posted by Terence McManus on November 02, 1998 at 10:20:23:

In Reply to: Re: Two Aubrey de Selincourts? was Other Sailing Series posted by kate crosby on October 30, 1998 at 15:35:23:

Kate thank you again.

Your comment on Family Afloat has made me realise how often the authors of sailing series have used engines as plot devices. In Family Afloat the engine not working meant that Tessa had to be towed by the Blessed Maid and provided a satisfactory conclusion to the story.

In " We Didn't Mean To Go To Sea" Jim Brading would not have gone ashore if he had not run out of fuel. Interestingly Commander Walker critisises Jim not for running out of fuel but for leaving his ship. And in Missee Lee they would not have lost the Wild Cat were it not for the fact that they were using the engine and had to re-fuel.

The author of the Green Sailor's series (which only seems to be known to Woll and myself) also used engine problems to help the action along.

I suspect that this reflects a distrust or even dislike of engines by the authors as sailing men. Until fairly recently, in the last thirty or forty years, I suspect that this distrust was well founded and most auxilary engines were just that - a convience in dead calms or manouvering in harbour but not to be relied upon to get you out of trouble. "We're better off without it" said Anne. "Sometimes I think so too" replied Mr. Rutherford (or words to that effect). Better to know that the engine was not working and plan accordingly than hope that it might and have it fail when you are depending on it.

The Goblin's engine was I suspect the exception that tested the rule. Hence Roger and his father commenting on its reliability "That's the type to have" (owtte).



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