Summary

Chapter 1: On the River

The Walkers arrive in Pin Mill the day before. They are here to meet their father, Commander Walker who is coming back from China.

 

John Walker and his other siblings Susan, Titty, and Roger are rowing a rowboat when they meet Jim Brading. John helps Jim to tie the rope of his yacht to the buoy.

 

To thank John, Jim then invites the children to his yacht. His yacht is named ‘Goblin’. When Mrs. Walker sees Jim, she invites him over for supper at Alma Cottage. The next day Jim asks Mrs. Walker again to take the children in his yacht on a river cruise. Mrs. Walker is a little reluctant but Jim promises that they will not sail past the Beach End Bouy. Mrs. Walker says okay.

 

Chapter 2: In Harbour

 

John and Susan take turn to steer the Goblin. Jim suggests they anchor off Shotley Pier and go ashore to call Mrs. Walker. After the Goblin is stopped, Jim tells the children that there are many shoals outside and it is easy to run aground. At night, the Goblin suddenly rolls violently. Jim tells them that it is because of the big ship that goes from England to Holland everyday.

 

The next morning, they hear a warning from the Cork Lightship telling them about a fog out at sea. They then hear a sound like a deep bell from the Beach End Bouy. They should not go past the bouy so they have to turn back. But, there is no wind to sail the yacht so they have to use the engine. Then, the engine stops because there is no petrol. Jim anchors the boat and decided to go ashore to get some petrol. He leaves the children in the yacht and gets John to take charge.

 

After that, a fog comes. The children cannot see the end of the land and the sea is near by. After six hours, Jim has not returned. They become worried. Suddenly, the ship starts moving because the anchor has come off from the bottom of the sea.

 

Chapter 3: Drifting out to Sea

 

John tries to check but he cannot see anything because of the fog. John realizes the anchor is too short to reach the bottom of the sea because it is high tide now. After trying hard to pull more chain out, the whole chain disappears in the sea. They try to work with a second chain but there are two parts and they do not know how to put them together.

 

The tide pulls them past the Beach End buoy. John tries to think back what Jim has told him about being careful with the shoals. They almost hit a buoy so they put up the sails and steer the yacht. To stay safe, they are now out at the sea! Susan is worried because they have promised their mother not to go out to the sea.

 

 

However, John decides to go on out to the sea to get away from the shoals. They cannot turn back due to the fog. At the same time, Titty and Susan become seasick. John feels bad for them.

Chapter 4: A Stormy Night

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The Goblin is now out at sea. Two hours later, the fog starts to go way but the rain comes with strong winds. A lot of water runs off the cabin roof into the cockpit. Susan and John decide to turn back but something bad happens. The wind and waves crash over the bows and splash on the cabin roof and the children.

John tries to steer but the wind is too strong. When he finally turns the yacht away from the wind, they are forced to sail back to the open sea. There is a lot of water in the yacht, they have to use a pump to pump the water out. Then, John makes the sail smaller so that it moves slower.

The children feel safer now. John orders Roger to sound the foghorn so that the ferry will not hit them.

That day, Mrs. Walkers receives a telegram from Commander Walker that he will arrive in England soon. She wonders if the children will come back in time.

 

Chapter 5: Sinbad and the Pilot

 

The wind is now calm. The children are safe. Susan helps John to steer the yacht. In the morning, Susan suggests turning back to Harwich (near to Pin Mill), but John disagrees. He wants to go to the harbour in Holland and send a telegram to Mother and Jim to tell them where they are. On the way to the harbour , they see a cat on a box and rescue it. They name it ‘Sinbad’ Then, they see a pilot ship. They use a blue and white flag to get the pilot ship to help them. Because there is no adult in the yacht, John comes up with a plan. He asks his other siblings to pretend as adults and act like there is a party down in the cabin. The pilot guides the Goblin to Flushing (a port in Holland). There, John sees his father and calls out to him from the ferry. The pilot then helps the Goblin to stop at a buoy safely.

 

Chapter 6: Arriving in Holland

 

The pilot is surprised to find that there is no adult in the yacht. Then, they father comes to meet them. The pilot gives them charts for the North Sea so that they can sail back home. The children tell their father that Mother and Jim do not know about what has happened to them. Father sends a telegram to his friend to Shotley and asks his friend to send a telegram to Mother so that Mother will think that the children have sent a telegram from Shotley.

 

They buy some supplies for their journey and five pairs of Dutch wooden shoes to bring back home. The children are happy that their Father is with them.

 

Chapter 7: Coming Home

 

The next morning, they pass the Sunk Lightship and see the Beach End Buoy. The children are happy that they are near home.

 

Jim wakes up in the hospital. He had an accident. He is worried about the children, as he has promised Mrs. Walker. He hurries to the harbour and the Goblin is no longer there. He is more worried now and decides to tell Mrs. Walker about it. Suddenly, someone tells him that the Goblin is coming in from the Cork lightship. He rows out to see the yacht. They children are happy to see Jim. They go back to the Harwich Harbour to get customs check.

 

Susan prepares dinner for the whole family as the Goblin is reaching Pin Mill. Then, they see Mother and Bridget come to meet them in a dinghy. When Mother goes on board, she starts to question them about their promise to come back earlier and the bandages on Jim’s head. Then, Father appears from the cabin and Mother thinks that they have met him in Harwich. When she finds out that they have come back from the sea, Mother gets upset with Jim because he breaks his promise. Father tells Mother that it is not Jim’s fault, he then leaves with her and explain to her about everything that has happened. He wants her to know that the children did not mean to go to sea.

 

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Character Traits/Moral Values/Messages/Themes

 

Examples	Evidence/Evidences
1. Jim teaches John and the siblings about the yacht and the sea.	·      Jim is knowledgeable about the yacht and the sea. He shows the children how to steer the yacht. He tells them the shoal can be dangerous for them as they could run ashore. He also shows them the shoals using charts.   ·      At night, the Goblin rolls violently. The children are worried but Jim assures them it is the big ship that goes from England to Holland everyday.	Character Traits -Knowledgeable/ brave/responsible   Moral Values –       We should share our knowledge with others. –       We should take care of people who are younger than us.   Themes -value of knowledge/ bravery/responsibility
2. John fights against the storm.	·      When the children are out at the sea, the rain starts to fall. Big winds and waves crash over the bows and splash on the cabin roof and the children. Although John feels tired and the weather is not helping him, he does not stop fighting against the storm. He tries his hardest to steer the yacht to the right direction. He wants to keep his siblings safe.	Character Traits – brave/responsible / loving   Moral Values –       We should be responsible when we are put in charge of something. –       We should not panic when we are facing difficulties. –       We should do our best to protect the people we love.   Themes – love for family/ bravery/responsibility
3. Commander Walker brings the children back to Harwich.	After finding his children at Flushing in Holland, Commander Walker takes responsibility to send telegram to Mrs. Walker, bring the children to eat at a café and buy supplies for their journey back home.   Commander Walker takes over to sail to Goblin. He steers the yacht because he knows John is tired. He is also not mad at the children for what happens.	Character Traits – responsible /loving/ considerate   Moral Values –       We should be responsible for our children’s safety. –       We should love our family members. –       We should be considerate and try to understand when something wrong happened to our children.   Themes – love for family/ responsibility for family
4. Jim Brading worries about the children and keeps his promise to take care of them.	·      Jim has an accident when he leaves the children and goes to get petrol. When he wakes up he is very worried about the children. He leaves the hospital to go find them even though his head is still in pain. He feels sorry to about what happens and he intends to apologise to Mrs. Walker.	Character Traits – responsible   Moral Values –       We should be responsible for the things we do. –       We should keep our promise.   Themes – love for family/ bravery/responsibility
5. John makes the decision to to go sea.	·      After the tide pulls them out of the Beach End Buoy, they are forced to put on sails to avoid hitting the buoys. After that, John decides to go out to sea so that they can get away from the shoals.	Character Traits – Brave/responsible   Moral Values –       We should be responsible when we are put in charge of something. –       We should not panic when we are facing difficulties.   Themes – Bravery/responsibility
6. Susan is worried about their Mother	·      When the Goblin is out at sea. Susan is worried. She is worried that Mother will think they did not keep their promise.   ·      After they meet Father, Susan reminds her dad to send the telegram to Mother and she also makes sure that the telegram is sent.	Character Traits – Responsible/loving   Moral Values –       We should be responsible to keep our promise. –       We should not make our parents worried about us.   Themes – love for family/ responsibility
7. John is worried about his siblings.	·      When the children have to go out to sea to avoid the shoals, Susan and Titty get seasick. John feel bad for them and is worried about them.	Character Traits – caring/loving   Moral Values –       We should love our family. –       We should do our best to protect the people we love.   Themes – love for family/responsibility