A week with Peter 5/17

Monday

When Jennifer Jane and Peter arrived at the giant’s pool, there was no sign of Barnacle Bill, nor was the giant in one of his talking moods. He just grunted when Jennifer Jane shouted ‘Good morning’, so she showed Peter how to take off the boat cover and stow it in one of the lockers.

“What are the two poles for?” he asked pointing at the masts.

“You are joking aren’t you? They’re the masts which the sails are set on.”

“Sails?”

“You’ll soon see.” Jennifer Jane took him through the routine of setting sail and cast off from the quayside.

“Isn’t there any engine at all?” asked Peter, once they were under way and everything had settled down a bit.

“Well we do have a very small one, but the giant doesn’t like us using it in his pool because it’s so noisy and smelly.”

Peter took out his notebook and scribbled furiously. He did seem rather impressed however, when ‘Misty Magic’ emerged from the fog and he was told that they’d just travelled about a hundred miles in half a minute or so. He also found the need for tacking against the wind very inefficient and continued making notes at intervals.

The lugger sailed over to Barnacle Bill’s harbour but he wasn’t at home. Jennifer Jane pointed out the landmarks on the riverbanks as they were passed and told Peter the story about the pirates.

This passed the time until they arrived at the goblin boatyard, but by then she’d formed the opinion that Peter didn’t think very much of sailing as a means of getting about.

Norman came to meet them and was introduced. The new brigs had been put in the water and a very complicated contraption of ropes and poles was being used to lift the masts from the quayside, turn them upright and lower them into the boat. Peter looked on with a horrified expression on his face, scribbling furiously in his notebook.

“I don’t want to be rude,” he said, “but it’s all terribly old fashioned and labour intensive.”

Jennifer Jane explained that the fairy folk were not allowed to use modern machinery but she could see that he was not at all impressed by what he’d seen. Fortunately Barnacle Bill’s paddle steamer was moored at one end of the quay so she led Peter over there. He was soon deep in conversation with Barnacle Bill and being given the guided tour of his ‘steam vessel’.