Rope's off on 'The High Seas'

By Sue M Bannister

Summer holidays should be full of adventures and new challenges and this is certainly so for Rope. Disastrously impetuous he's very quick and courageous and always bounces back fearlessly to face the next day and the next new experience on the water in his small boat. With such a positive 'can do' attitude we are swept along by his

• Language: English
• Publisher: SM Bannister
• Release date: Nov 16, 2020
• ISBN: 9780995542631

Book preview

First Edition published 2020 by

(Lightning Source, 1246 Heil Quaker Blvd.

La Vergne. TN 37086)

Copyright © S M Bannister 2020

The right of S M Bannister to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

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A CIP catalogue record for this ebook is available from the British Library

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. Unless otherwise stated, all names, characters, businesses, events, places, locales and incidents in this ebook are either the product of the author’s imagination or used in a fictions manner.  Any resemblances to actual person, living or dead, of actual events is purely coincidental.

ISBN 978-0-9955426-3-1

ISBN Bluebell Publishing

REVIEWS

Summer holidays should be full of adventures and new challenges and this is certainly so for Rope. His greatest wish is to learn to sail a dinghy by himself and understand and master all the technical terms too!

Although he’s by far the youngest in his family and, at times, disastrously impetuous he’s very quick and courageous and always bounces back fearlessly to face the next day and the next new experience on the water in his small boat.

With such a positive ‘can do’ attitude we are swept along by his enthusiasm. Rope is determined, he learns many new things and has masses of fun and struggles along the way.

If you want to be a sailor and are looking for boating adventures too you will not be able to put this story down until the final page.

Franciska Bayliss – Global leader in academia

It’s a lovely book for many reasons. The characters, including the dogs, are captivating and any child would love to be part of this story. It introduces a new world of sailing and will spark the imagination of any child – or adult, it made me want to go sailing! Beautifully and simply written with charming illustrations, not only is this a wonderful kids adventure but it also teaches children the basics of sailing and safety on the water in a simple and practical way. Double win – a kids’ sailing manual and a great story to boot! 

Jessica McGregor-Johnson - Bespoke retreats, life guidance and coaching

Sue Bannister believes anything is possible even having dyslexia, for her it’s the right mindset that counts.

She remembers the first time she experienced feeling petrified and excited at the same time at the age of five, crewing a Cadet sailing dinghy at Hayling Island Sailing Club.

Spending her childhood around boats or bobbing about the Solent in a yacht on the south coast of England with her parents, two sisters and Ollie the dog, sailing quickly became part of her DNA and passion.

Having the fortune to be introduced to sailing as a youngster those early years of mucking around in boats have developed to her being an experienced racing sailor competing in sailing championships at local, national and World level.  She has been the first lady President of the UK Flying Fifteen Assocation and now enjoys retirement with her husband sailing their Dehler 37 yacht. One of her favourite past-times was when she volunteered to help the local community children get on the water, at Hayling Island Sailing Club, The Thursday Club, where she helped as an RYA coach.

Embarking on this children’s story on boating a few years ago, it has finally developed into print and to share her passion for having fun on the water with you.

Sue’s other passion is ski-ing, so possibly a ski book adventure is on the cards... This is Sue’s second book,

No Sugar my journey my choice is a biography that came about from her recovery from primary and secondary cancer.

Introduction 6 - 10

The Harbour, Boat-House, Boat-Shed 11

And Boat-Park, and the little boat

Chapter 1 12 - 29

Hold the stick – oops the tiller

Chapter 2 30 - 45

What’s the anchor?

Chapter 3 46 - 63

Regatta Day - lots of flags raised and lowered

and a shore winner

Chapter 4 64 -102

Alternative regatta day, without flags

Chapter 5 103 -130

Light Air Day – why row when you can sail?

Chapter 6 131 - 159

The mystery of the special guest

Thanks 160

INTRODUCTION

This story is all about Rope, and with the helping hands of Sheet, Halyard and Bosun, he falls in love with sailing.

He wants to become a champion, but decides to become a confident sailor first.

In this tale you’ll meet Sheet, who is Rope’s big sister; then there is Halyard, his older brother and Rope is the youngest.

In the coming pages, you’ll find out how the holiday is made rather special by their lovely family friend Bosun, with whom they love spending their summer. You will see how he guides and encourages them to fully appreciate the fine art of bobbing about on the water.

Let’s start with Rope. Full of energy, he loves to do things - not necessarily in the right order, because things just happen around him. Until now, Rope has never been sailing, but this is soon to change. A38393D1-CB65-4EDE-A9A3-96C277A9E622-L0-001.jpg

Halyard, on the other hand, is already a bit of an old sea dog. Older than Rope, he is accomplished in both the art of sailing and paddle-boarding. Paddle-boarding is a sport where you travel across water, or ride the waves, on a specially made buoyant board. You can sit, kneel or stand to paddle it. For those who have never seen a paddle-board, it is a similar shape to an ironing board without legs, but a bit longer and thicker.



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As we start our story, Halyard’s preference is for paddle-boarding over sailing. It gives him great opportunity to combine his love of fresh air with vigorous exercise. At the moment he knows little about racing sailboats, but he plans to learn more during the summer. He loves his sister and his brother and he really enjoys helping others.

Sheet is the boys’ elder sister and sailing is always her first choice. She is a true natural around boats. As you read on, you’ll see that Sheet’s ability to learn quickly is thanks to the way she listens carefully before diving in head first. It works well and gets her great results.

Halyard and Rope, on the other hand, are not patient enough to take that approach and just works things out as they go.



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Sheet has adapted a little boat named            ‘Come Alongside’ to be either a sail boat or a row boat, depending on the weather.

Let’s set the scene. Both Halyard and Sheet have pets - Half-Hitch, an English bulldog, belongs to Halyard, and Painter is Sheet’s friendly cat. Rope doesn’t really have a pet, but he decides it might be a nice idea to adopt one during the summer.

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Their pets play a big part in the childrens adventure with Bosun. Halyard’s dog brings some of its own challenges; he is not the ideal pet for someone whose passion is spending time on the water. This is because English bulldogs do not float - it is true that they have zero bouyancy.  But Halyard works round this by playing safe, and making sure that Half-Hitch wears his life jacket before heading anywhere near the water.

Half-Hitch absolutely adores Halyard and never misses a trip that involves water - wetter the better, it seems – even for a dog that cannot swim.

You will find out more about Half-Hitch in the coming pages.

Then there is Painter, Sheet’s cat. She can swim and thoroughly enjoys dipping her paws in the water as Sheet sails along. Sometimes she can be easily startled, but not when she is onboard Sheet’s little boat Come Alongside. She either curls up in the bow, or goes on lookout, giving the impression that she’s helping Sheet find her way! More than likely, she’s hoping for a fish or two.

Although Rope’s main quest this summer is to learn to sail, he also wants to adopt a pet. But what kind of pet? He’d like one that costs nothing to feed and one that doesn’t need to be taken for a walk each day. A pet without costs and without a lot of responsibility would be the best of both worlds, thinks Rope. Over the course of the next weeks, he soon discovers that adopting his pet comes with its own hiccups. Was it a price worth paying? Maybe! 

Remember, throughout their adventures the children are watched over by Rope and Halyard’s godfather, Bosun. How cool is that!

Bosun is an early riser. Fishing is one of his rituals and he loves the quietness of early morning before breakfast. He heads out to cast his line without too many distractions.

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But Painter, Sheet’s cat, knows all about fishing too and is quick to get in on the act. The minute Bosun picks up his fishing rod, Painter is first to the door, with an ever hopeful look in her eyes as she gazes up at him. Painter comes back after many a trip licking her paws. You may be wondering why?

Fortunately for Bosun, he has an ideal job which allows him to do something he loves and has also earned him the nickname ‘Bosun’. In case you’ve not come across one before, a bosun’s job is to look after boats. Wherever there are boats and ships you’ll find a bosun, hard at work in a workshop, repairing and maintaining all kinds of craft. A bosun is also an able seamen, who can handle sail boats, dinghies, motor yachts, launches and all kinds of craft out on the water as well as in the workshop.

In our story, while Bosun works in his workshop, he’s just a stone’s throw from the Boat-House and the Boat-Park is only 20 metres away. It is all conveniently placed so that he can keep a watchful eye on the three children as he works.

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Let’s begin

THE HARBOUR



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If you look carefully The Boat-House,

Boat-Shed and Boat-Park are tucked on the