The maiden voyage of the Mary Belle 4/13

She showed Jennifer Jane how to climb up onto the rail and into the shrouds, following up the rigging immediately behind her, to make sure there’d be no trouble if she slipped. It was rather frightening at first, it seemed very high above the deck, but Fern made her feel safe and her confidence grew when she was told how to hold on to the shrouds with her hands and only use the ratlines for her feet. ‘Then if a ratline breaks you won’t fall.’

When they reached the lower topsail yard, Fern said it was quite high enough for her first attempt, so she was able to relax and look around.

She could see for miles compared with the view from the deck. The brig appeared to be becalmed in the centre of a circle of empty ocean; with nothing to be seen in any direction.

Jennifer Jane began to understand how the captain felt. After all, she’d never been out of sight of land during any of her sailing trips and how anyone was supposed to find out where they were, let alone know how to find their way home, was beyond her.

She looked slowly round the ocean again. There weren’t even any waves or white horses to break the monotony. The brig was rolling gently, alone in the oily swell and that was it! She was just about to ask Fern if she could go back on deck, when a sparkle of light caught her eye. Just a little to one side of the bow, a light twinkled on the water every now and again.

She pointed it out to Fern. “Do you know what that is? It surely can’t be a lighted buoy out here.”

“I’ve no idea, I tell you what, you hang on up here by yourself for a moment. Keep your eye on it, while I go down and ask the captain if we can take one of the boats to row over and investigate. We certainly won’t be going anywhere until the wind gets up and it shouldn’t do any harm to go and have a look.”

Fern swung herself off the yardarm, caught hold of a rope and climbed down it to the deck. Jennifer Jane watched her run aft to the captain and then point towards the mystery light.

Rather guiltily she looked across the water, but fortunately the light still twinkled occasionally, as whatever it was moved in the swell. Fern climbed swiftly back up the rigging and sat beside Jennifer Jane to have another look for herself.

“The skipper says its fine by him, I’ll help you safely down to the deck and then come back up here. You go in the boat with the crew that the skipper’s organising, keep your eye on me and I’ll point you in the right direction.”

Jennifer Jane and four of the goblin crew climbed into one of the ship’s boats and were lowered to the water. She stood in the sternsheets holding on to a long steering oar, while the goblins rowed her in the direction that Fern was pointing.

Every now and again she looked over her shoulder to make sure that she was heading the right way. Occasionally Fern would wave to her to steer to one side or the other. While the brig rapidly became smaller, the hull at times was disappearing behind the long swells, until at last she spotted the little light for herself.

She waved to Fern to let her know that she’d seen it and steered directly for it. As she was beginning to expect, the light turned out to be the reflection from a glass bottle bobbing up and down in the water.

“Easy all,” she called and then leaned on her steering oar to bring them alongside. The boat carried its way past the bottle, but she’d got close enough to be able to reach over the side and pick it up.

“Give way,” then once more leaning on her oar, she turned the boat and headed back to the brig. She examined the bottle while the crew was rowing back.

In the best tradition of adventure at sea, there was a folded piece of paper inside. The bottle had been made watertight using a cork rammed well home, until it was flush with the end of the neck.