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We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea [Paperback]

Arthur Ransome
4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Paperback
  • Publisher: Puffin Books; Reprint edition (1986)
  • ASIN: B003GMDPUQ
  • Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 4,274,198 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

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4.9 out of 5 stars
4.9 out of 5 stars
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars The best of all the Swallows and Amazons books 26 Aug 2000
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
I love this book most out of the whole series. The four Swallows spend a few days with an adult friend on board a real sea-going ship. However, while the owner is ashore the ship drifts out to sea in the fog. There is the same loving attention to detail as usual, but this is the first book in which the children face real danger. From the moment the Swallows realise they have drifted out to sea, it's non-stop action until the end.
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36 of 37 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A sailing classic 17 April 2002
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
This is my favourite S & A book. The Walkers (no Amazons) are on board a yacht but aren't allowed to sail past the 'Beach End Buoy'. Set in the River Stour in East Anglia, events transpire which see the four children accidentally cross the North Sea in a gale. It is an exciting book which has the most 'sailing' content of all the S & A books.
It is inspirational in that the children triumph over the adversity of crossing to Holland in a small boat in shocking weather.
I have read this book countless times since receiving it as a child. It inspired me to sail and I could practically sail a boat for the first time, aged 12 years, having read this book.
Drag your children away from mind numbing computer games and role models who only want to look good - thrust this in their mitts and hopefully their imaginations will be inspired. If not, read it yourself and you never know, the magic of sailing will become a part of your live.
Jib-booms and bobstays, that was profound !
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26 of 27 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
No plain sailing but a great read nevertheless! Arthur Ransome's seventh "Swallows and Amazons" adventure is set not long after the action of "Pigeon Post". The action occurs, this time, in the south of England, rather than in the Lake District, and with just the Swallows alone. They are passing the time on the Rivers Orwell and Stour, while waiting to meet up with their father - due, at any time, on leave from his overseas posting with the Royal Navy.

What starts out as a few days quiet sailing, though, quickly turns into something rather more frightening, with the children suddenly drawn into a terrifying and completely unexpected adventure, when they find themselves and their (borrowed) boat being swept out to sea by a fierce tide. For once, the Swallows face a very real and serious danger that is to test their combined courage, fortitude and seamanship to the utmost. It is fascinating (for grown-up readers, at least) to see each of the children's highly individual (and completely characteristic) reactions to their predicament. Younger readers, of course, are more likely just to be carried away by the pure nail-biting suspense of it all!

While this is a gripping and enthralling tale throughout, the tensions (arising from the danger and the worries of the older children) are lightened for the reader by the pure infectious glee of the younger pair. They, of course, are less aware of the seriousness of their predicament - especially Roger, who, as usual, is perfectly content so long as there is plenty of food around - and rather enjoy themselves!

As in all of the "Swallows and Amazons" books, Ransome's story-telling abilities are second to none, here. The narrative is at all times feasible and this book is a completely absorbing read for young and old alike. This is an inspired and an inspiring tale. Readers who have worked their way through the earlier volumes will also not be disappointed when they finally do get to meet Daddy in this volume!

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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Nice to revisit.
Re-reading this book as an adult nearly 50 years after the first time, I got so much more out of it. Read more
Published 7 days ago by Tough Chops
5.0 out of 5 stars His finest book
This is Ransomes finest book ; not for me perhaps his most enjoyable, that is Winter Holiday, but still the finest book he wrote. Ransome is well known as a sailor. Read more
Published 16 days ago by K E Pearce
5.0 out of 5 stars we did't mean to goto sea
A great read so far, takes me back to sailing on the river when i was a child with my family,
Published 19 days ago by carol jellings
4.0 out of 5 stars Arthur Ransome.
A lovely book for children from the Swallows And Amazons author. Something for all children to read, even Mum and Dad.
Published 21 days ago by Patricia
5.0 out of 5 stars Another great book in the Swallows and Amazons series
If you like sailing, you will enjoy this tale of the Walker children's adventure in an accidentally-borrowed boat. We did!
Published 26 days ago by Jackie Brown
5.0 out of 5 stars A great novel with all the important tips
A great adventure, writen by someone who knows about sailing and sea.
Has all the important tips for those who mean to go to sea, in a novel that stucks us from the... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Luis Castro
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best
I was never a huge fan of Arthur Ransome's other books, but I remember enjoying this one and had a real need to reread it recently. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Kate
5.0 out of 5 stars Children can do far more than they think
Sometime in Britain of the 1930's it is a different generation, the language shows that time has passed. Sea and boats do not change that much, and I enjoyed this adventure hugely. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Julian Brown
4.0 out of 5 stars Arthur Ransome in a challenging mode
When I first read this, perhaps 50 or so years ago, I felt it to be the weakest of the Ransomes. Indeed a friend who took it out of the school library described it as... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Mr. Robert G. Hughes
5.0 out of 5 stars not to be missed
In the previous books of the series the The children sail a small boat in the safe waters of the Norfolk Broads or Lake District. Read more
Published 16 months ago by brianthegent
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