When Barnaby Went to Sea

by Pauline Tait

With a suitcase in one paw and a packed lunch in the other, Barnaby hurried towards the tiny boat tied to a giant palm tree. He had spent weeks weaving it from twigs and leaves, and now, if he timed it just right, he would catch a wave as the tide came in, and he’d soon be on his way.

Barnaby was off to see the world. He’d heard many exciting stories from the sailors who visited the island, and now Barnaby was about to see it all for himself. After freeing the boat from the palm tree, he jumped aboard, made himself comfortable and took hold of the oars. Now, all he had to do was wait.

Barnaby waited and waited. His patience eventually rewarded as the tide brought the crashing waves closer. Holding on tightly, Barnaby squealed in excitement as his precious boat was carried out to sea.

As he plunged the oars far into the deep blue water, Barnaby guided the boat towards the open sea. Seagulls squawked above him. Waves crashed around him. Barnaby smiled the happiest smile as his little boat bobbed up and down, rising and falling with the tide.

He stopped rowing and looked back at his island home, now just a speck in the distance. But only for a moment. There was a whole world to see, and it was almost lunchtime.

As waves carried him east, his arms worked the oars. And it wasn’t long before he spotted an island in the distance. It looked a lot like his island, but given he’d been sailing for most of the morning, he was sure he’d sailed halfway around the world by now. It had to be one of the far-off lands the sailors had told him about.

Guiding his boat ever closer, he reached the sandy beach just as his tummy rumbled the loudest rumble. Deciding a picnic on the beach would be a good idea, Barnaby found the perfect spot under an old palm tree. Taking a blanket from his suitcase, he unpacked his lunch. He had cheese and bread, grapes, and a biscuit. Just enough to fill him up until dinner.

And now, belly full, Barnaby lay back with his paws folded comfortably behind his head and enjoyed the midday sun. It’s a sailor’s life for me he chuckled before deciding a nap was in order.

An hour or so later, the afternoon sun disappearing behind a cloud caused Barnaby to yawn himself awake. It was time to get back out on the open sea. So, once again, Barnaby packed his belongings into his boat and rode the crest of the waves until he reached open water.

But the sea breeze carried him further from the island until no land was in sight. And, while his paws worked the oars, Barnaby’s boat was tossed around. The waves were getting bigger, and the breeze was getting stronger.

Deciding it must be one of those horrendous storms the other sailors had told him about, he grinned the biggest grin. He was beginning to feel like a real sailor now. But he was also wondering how he would steer his boat home. The sea was too rough to use the oars. All he could do was hold on tight while the sea tossed his little boat around.

The sun was beginning to set when Barnaby, and his boat, were thrust from the water. The sea falling away, they soared through the air. Today was turning into the adventure of a lifetime, and Barnaby couldn’t help but cheer the loudest cheer as he peeked cautiously over the side.

A dolphin grey, sleek, and riding the waves, was carrying Barnaby and his boat on its long slender snout. It swam through the waves with the utmost ease and soon guided Barnaby and his boat safely into the calmer waters of the island bay.

Releasing Barnaby and his boat, the dolphin gave a high-pitched squeal goodbye. Barnaby shouted thank you to his newfound friend before rowing towards the shore.

What a day it had been. He had sailed around the world, picnicked on a desert island, and rode a sea monster home. Oh, the sailor stories he had to tell.

Pauline Tait is a prolific novelist and children’s author. Based in Perthshire, Scotland, she writes both suspenseful romance and children’s picture books for 3 to 7 years. With a background in Primary Literacy Support, Pauline is passionate in encouraging children in their own reading and writing.

Visit Pauline’s website – https://paulinetait.com

Sea Robin (or, things I learned from a derelict sailboat)

by Cherime MacFarlane

“What do you think?”

He walked around the thirteen-foot day sailor. I didn’t need a tour of the small boat with the deep keel. I could see the peeling paint and the hole in the bow. If anything screamed rescue me, the little boat did.

The trailer it sat on put the vessel far too high in the water for a decent launch. Someone had hand built the thing. A person would need to drive the car or truck towing it too far out into the water.

The sign on it put it in the price range of what we wanted as long as you didn’t total up the materials needed to fix it. Then there was the absence of any sail. We’d be spending all our time and energy on the boat.

I’d just learned that morning, I was pregnant, and it occurred to me I might spend the entire nine months working on it. Then again, we did little for fun. Too broke. The little sailboat wouldn’t help that.

“We can do a lot of this by ourselves.”

“Uh-huh. It’s going to be expensive.”

“But think of the fun…”

“Alright. Go tell the man we’ll take it.” I had a hard time telling him no.

We filled the hole in the bow with a layer of plywood. Time for the maiden voyage to test it out. Our patch was great. We made the discovery of the leaking daggerboard in the water. A kind soul towed us back to the dock while we bailed like crazy.

I knew about the Dutch boats that used retractable leeboards on either side of the hulls instead of daggerboards. Okay, we could do that. So instead of a daggerboard keel, it would have leeboards. In preparation, we fiberglassed the entire hull. The light blue tint we added looked better than I thought.

It got harder to climb on top of the overturned hull in the garage as I got bigger. Time to purchase a stepstool.

We got the leeboard fittings from a smaller sabot class sailboat. Both boards, cut from marine grade plywood, got several healthy coats of varnish.

We stepped the mast, got out on the water and discovered it hardly moved under sail. Another kind soul suggested someone had cut down the mast, and it was too short to work. We couldn’t afford another mast. Well then, how about gaff rigging it? Sure.

That meant getting a new sail. No money for that expense. I had an old singer treadle sewing machine. Enter yards and yards of canvas. Good thing the apartment had a long living/ dining room combo.

We laid the sail out with ice picks stuck through the cloth and into the floor. On hands and knees, I cut the canvas and began sewing. It took me a week. We ate in the bedroom for the entire time.

He didn’t care for the tan canvas. We dyed it red. I had to rinse the bathtub five times to get the dye out.

Then we took it out again. It flew! Sea Robin carried nearly double the sail area it had when it first started life. It was doing so well; it broke both leeboard fittings. Off to the store for new ones.

This time, we put a loop fitting on the bottom of one board and a jam cleat on the other. When you dropped the leeboards, you had to pass the line under the boat and tie the boards together, so they didn’t bow out to the sides and break the fittings again.

But the little blue boat with the huge red sail became a fixture in southern California that summer. It could surf. He and a friend spent a lot of time surfing in Sea Robin.

Cherime MacFarlane is an award-wining, bestselling, prolific, multi-genre author. She has a broad range of interests that reflect her been there– done that life.

Discover more about Cherime on the Mom’s Favorite Reads website: https://moms-favorite-reads.com/moms-authors/cherimemacfarlane/