Customer Reviews

We Didn't Mean To Go To Sea

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Arthur Ransome's seventh "Swallows and Amazons" adventure is set not long after the action of "Pigeon Post". The action occurs, this time, in the south of England, rather than in the Lake District, and with just the Swallows alone. They are passing the time on the Rivers Orwell and Stour, while waiting to meet up with their father - due, at any time, on leave from his overseas posting with the Royal Navy.

What starts out as a few days quiet sailing, though, quickly turns into something rather more frightening, with the children suddenly drawn into a terrifying and completely unexpected adventure, when they find themselves and their (borrowed) boat being swept out to sea by a fierce tide. For once, the Swallows face a very real and serious danger that is to test their combined courage, fortitude and seamanship to the utmost. It is fascinating (for grown-up readers, at least) to see each of the children's highly individual (and completely characteristic) reactions to their predicament. Younger readers, of course, are more likely just to be carried away by the pure nail-biting suspense of it all!

While this is a gripping and enthralling tale throughout, the tensions (arising from the danger and the worries of the older children) are lightened for the reader by the pure infectious glee of the younger pair. They, of course, are less aware of the seriousness of their predicament - especially Roger, who, as usual, is perfectly content so long as there is plenty of food around - and rather enjoy themselves!

As in all of the "Swallows and Amazons" books, Ransome's story-telling abilities are second to none, here. The narrative is at all times feasible and this book is a completely absorbing read for young and old alike. This is an inspired and an inspiring tale. Readers who have worked their way through the earlier volumes will also not be disappointed when they finally do get to meet Daddy in this volume!

The "Swallows and Amazons" books are a variable bunch. They range from "The games we played on our holidays" (Swallows and Amazons, Swallowdale, etc.) to "The stories we made up about ourselves" (Peter Duck, Missee Lee). Even in the straightforward sailing stories the children's imaginations turn Lakeland fells into Darien Peak, casting an air of unreality and whimsy over the narrative that some readers like and others find irritating.

We Didn't Mean To Go To Sea is different. The Walker children find themselves in real danger when, through a mixture of bad luck and a crucial mistake, they are swept out into the hostile North Sea in a small cutter, the Goblin, which they have hardly sailed before. There's fog and a storm-force gale building up. Can they save the ship, and themselves, purely on their own experience of dinghy sailing and their own guts and determination?

Of course they can. But it isn't easy. The core of this exciting story is the overnight transformation of John Walker from boy to adult. He takes responsibility for the ship and his brothers and sisters, takes difficult decisions and sticks with them through an extremely hairy night at sea.

There is little artificiality to most of the narrative. Everything that happens - until they reach Holland, that is - springs naturally from the situation the children find themselves in. The story's only flaw - and it's a serious one - is the deus ex machina springing of Commander Walker, their father, out of practically nowhere to take them home again. From the moment he jumps from the Flushing-Harwich ferry, the gripping realism of the story evaporates.

If you love the sea and sailing, if a tale of courage winning through appeals to you, then read this book. It's a classic and, in this reader's opinion, the best of the Swallows and Amazons series; an opinion I formed 34 years ago and see no reason to alter now.

Of all the "Swallows & Amazons" books, this is the most compelling read -- it doesn't share the laid-back mood of most of the others, and the Walker children are in real danger, which is unusual for the series (the nearest to such would be the "Israelites" sequence {in "Secret Water"} or in "Pigeon Post" {in the "Moles" or the fire sequence} all of which are important but limited parts of the books).

Visiting aboard the "Goblin", the yacht of a young man they had recently met, they find themselves adrift in a fog, swept helplessly out into the North Sea as they drag (and lose) anchor, and then running before a full North Sea gale, with no idea where they are or where they are headed, and no certainty that they will not find themselves sinking on shoals or run down by much larger ships (In a particularly tense and thrilling sequence, just that almost happens, averted at the last instant by ingenuity and level-headedness on the part of Captain John.).

Facing the dangers they discover, drawing on their experience in sailing much smaller boats and on their own courage and common sense, they succeed in keeping themselves and the "Goblin" from harm, and even succeed in a mid-sea "rescue".

And, in the course of the adventure, John Walker (somewhere in his late teens, if i calculate aright) makes a major part of the step from boy to young man, learning valuable lessons about himself and what he is capable of, and keeping himself and his sisters and brother safe through the long, stormy night.

This is children's adventure at its best, with action, comedy, thrills and danger enough to satisfy almost any taste, but no violence, gratutitous or otherwise.

I have read all the SWALLOWS AND AMAZONS books several times since I was ten. Now I'm fifteen and they are still among my favorite books. I DIDN'T MEAN TO GO TO SEA is my favorite of them all. The Swallows are all of a sudden in a very precarious situation - How do we survive this? They are in a small schooner in a big storm at night on the North Sea. John must use all his seamanship to get them across to Holland. It is an awesome adventure against the sea and all the problems that arise every two seconds. Its not a book you can put down easily. I guarentee you'll love it.

My ten yr. old son has read and re-read the entire Swallow & Amazon series. Other reviewers can give you a good summary of all the books. I can just tell you that my son has enjoyed every book in the series. He dreams of having his own adventures on his own sailboat. His first step being taking lessons in how to sail.

We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea (Godine Storyteller)

I first read this, my first Arthur Ransome, when I was 23 years old and found it a delight - a thrilling entry into the world of childhood adventure. Now, 87 years old, I have just re-read it in December 2008 to see if it might be suitable for an adult English class that I take in Sweden. It is - incomparably so!Nietzsche said that in every true human being there is a child that wants to play. Arthur Ransome speaks to that child in this story - probably the best and most thrilling of all the Swallows and Amazons stories. If you have never read it, read it whatever your age. If you have children, grandchildren or great grandchildren give them a copy!

This was the book that got me started on the Swallows and Amazon's series when I was around 8 or 9. My father had an old copy he was awarded as a school prize back when he was at Boarding School in the UK during WWII. I enjoyed it from the time I first read it, and have reread it many a time since. The Walker children inadvertantly sail across the North Sea in a snall yacht, after first being swept out to sea and then sailing through a storm. Covers a short time-span but a lot of realistic adventures.

Some of the events in this book were based on real-life events that happened to Ransome himself and the yacht in the story, the Goblin, was based on a yacht that Arthur Ransome owned, all of which no doubt contributed to the realism of this book.

This book takes place following the events of "Pigeon Post," and finds the four Walkers--John, Susan, Titty, and Roger--staying near Ipswich with their mother and four-year-old sister Bridget, waiting for their Naval father to return home from the Orient and take up his new assignment at the nearby station. Though Ransome doesn't say so directly, it's implied that they were called away from their beloved lake before the promised Second Battle of the Houseboat; they're thinking enviously of the Amazons and the D's making Captain Flint and his partner Timothy "Squashy Hat" Stedding walk the plank, and desperately missing the fun of having a small sailcraft of their own. Then they help Jim Brading, owner of the cutter "Goblin," moor to his buoy, and before they know it they've made a lifelong friend and been invited to do a little sailing while he waits to be joined by his uncle. Their landlady, who knows him, recommends him to their mother, who consents on condition that they'll be home by teatime Friday, since Cdr. Walker (returning overland by train) is expected on Saturday. But then Jim leaves them anchored near Felixstowe Dock while he makes a run ashore to get gasoline for the engine, and before he returns a sea fog rolls up the river, the tide rises, and "Goblin" begins to drag her anchor. To their horror the Walkers find themselves drifting out into the North Sea--on a stormy night.

Ransome portrays his young characters in a very believable way--worried, scared, yet determined to make the best of their situation, and making good use of the lessons they've learned aboard their little "Swallow" to keep themselves afloat. The storm prevents them from turning back, and Susan is deathly seasick, but they know that if they keep going they're certain to hit Europe--and they do, in the form of Holland, but not before their unplanned presence gives them the opportunity of rescuing a "shipwrecked sailor," a half-drowned kitten they name Sinbad. And just as they're coming into port, they encounter a very unexpected helper (you'll have to read the book to find out who it is!). Though this series is always at its best when set in the Lake Country, this entry is almost equally enjoyable, full of thrills and nautical throwaway.

The five Walker children, waiting for their father to return from the Navy, are visiting a seaside town and befriend a young man who owns his own boat. While visiting the boat, their friend goes ashore and never returns. The rising tide causes the boat to drag anchor and the boat drifts out to sea....

While the previous novels have flirted with danger (like the brush fire in PIGEON POST), this time the kids are in a serious situation all through. Not only are they completely on their own at sea, they also have to deal with a severe storm and learn to improvise their needs.

John really comes into his own in this book, developing into a responsible young man. The kids' reactions to their situation are realistic and gripping. Their sense of responsibility is also impressive; they're desperate to take care of the boat they're in, and also rescue a half-drowned kitten from a piece of flotsam. (The kitten is dubbed Sinbad and returns for an appearance in the next book.)

The descriptions of their experiences at sea are extremely well-written. The only thing marring the book is a seemingly convenient coincidence toward the end, when the kids land in the Netherlands only to meet....their father?!?!?! Then again, I've had a few wild coincidences happen to me in the past, so it's not entirely out of the question.

Still, all in all, this is the best book in the series, a gripping adventure and coming-of-age tale.

Next in the series: A step backwards with SECRET WATER.

I read this book may times as a child and have been searching for a copy to give to my teenage boys to read.

This book probably gave me my early desire to "go to sea".

I spent twelve yars in the U.S. Navy, with a lot of time at sea, and many nights as I watched the reflections of the moonlight on the ocean, my thoughts would drift back to my early years and the evenings spent reading "We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea.

Buy it and give it to your kids for an exciting adventure without the violence we see so often.