We Didn’t Mean to Go to

Sea
Book by Arthur Ransome
Presentation Made by Željana Pantić
 Arthur Michell Ransome CBE (18 January 1884 - 3 June
1967) was an English writer and journalist. He is best
known for writing and illustrating the Swallows and
Amazons series of children's books about children's

ABOUT school holiday adventures, mostly in the Lake District

and Norfolk Broads. The entire series remains in print
THE and The Swallows and Amazons are the basis of the

WRITER
tourism industry around Windermere and Coniston
Water, the two lakes that Ransome adapted as his
fictional North Country lake.
He also wrote about the literary life of London and about
Russia before, during and after the revolutions of 1917.
His association with the leaders of the revolution led him
to provide information to the Secret Intelligence Service,
while also being suspected by MI5. to be a Soviet spy.
THE CHARACTERS

+ Main Characters
+ John - a brave young boy with leadership skills, he seems to look up to his father
+ Susan - a responsible girl also the cook for her siblings
+ Roger - a jokester he is interested in engineering
+ Titty-a v
+ - a very caring girl with a love for animals
+ Jim Brading - he is the owner of Goblin
 THE PLOT
John, Susan, Roger and Titty help Jim Brading tie the rope to the buoy. In return, he invites them to sail
aboard the Goblin. Their mother agrees on the condition that they stay in the Orwell and Stour estuaries,
do not pass the Beach End Buoy at the estuary and go out to sea. These conditions are imposed due to
the important arrival of their father, who is expected to return by ferry from Holland at any moment.
Children agree to these terms.
Unfortunately, the next morning, the Goblin runs out of gas because Jim forgets to fill up before hitting the
road. So Jim rows ashore to buy some gas and promises to be back in ten minutes, but he doesn't. The
children wait all day until an unexpected fog descends over the river and the Goblin is without his captain.
Hours later, hearing the anchor drag in the fog, the children realize that the tide has risen, the anchor chain
is now too short, and they are drifting down the river. As John tries to put out another chain, John loses his
anchor and the yacht drifts past Beach End into the North Sea. Aboard a drifting boat, John decides it is
safer to raise the sails and continue out to sea than risk being shipwrecked in the fog. They plan to return
to the river, but find that sailing against the wind is impossible, so they must sail with the wind to the east.
The Goblin sails east through the night in dangerous conditions and is almost destroyed as the
navigation lights are out of paraffin. John has to leave Susan at the helm while he furls the mainsail. He
is almost swept overboard but manages to save himself and the rest of the yacht.
John convinces Susan to continue moving to the nearest port instead of trying to return to Harwich. On
the way, they rescue a kitten floating on a box. They discover that they are approaching an unknown
coast-it is the southern Netherlands. They see a pilot ship and pick up a Dutch pilot who decides to
help the kids for free. As they approach Flushing, the ferry departs for Harwich. Their father happens to
be on that ferry and sees John and yells at him in surprise.
Their father leaves the ferry just in time and returns to help them sail the Goblin back to Harwich. Susan
is terribly angry that their mother will worry about, so their father sends a telegram from Harwich to
their mother.
On arriving in England, the Goblin and its crew are reunited with their mother and with Jim Brading,
who is looking for his missing yacht. Their mother feels angry because she thinks that they actually and
secretly go to meet their father. Jim was unconscious and in hospital for two days, suffering from
concussion after being involved in a collision with a bus. Roger keeps telling their mother that they met
Father in Holland. Hence, Father has to tell their mother about the mishap. Finally, the children hope
that their mother will understand that they didn't mean to go to sea.
 Themes

THEMES AND Togetherness, through thick or thin, expect the

unexpected, man versus nature.
FINAL Lessons

THOUGHTS
People underestimate children, we should always
be positive and courageous.
Final Thoughts
This is a lovely story it has a great message and it
warms my heart, I was also involved in the
Walkers"
journey through the sea
THE END