Racundra's Third Cruise E-Book

Arthur Ransome

• Herausgeber: Fernhurst Books Limited
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2018

Beschreibung

Most people know of Arthur Ransome, the author of the classic children's sailing tale, Swallows & Amazons, and many other books in the same series. But besides his exciting tales of children on the water there is much more to the man. Before he wrote Swallows & Amazons, Ransome was a journalist for the Daily News, based in Russia. He is reputed to have played chess against Lenin and he married Trotsky's secretary. He cruised extensively in the Baltic in the 1920s on board his beloved Racundra. His account of his first cruise on that boat was his first commercially successful book, Racundra's First Cruise (also available from Fernhurst Books). The second cruise was spoilt by bad weather, but the third cruise was special – it was his honeymoon having married Evgenia Shelepina. Ransome clearly intended to publish the account of this cruise, but never finished it. Ransome enthusiast, Brian Hammett, got hold of the unpublished manuscript and found Ransome's hand-written notes, diaries, logbooks and photographs in the Ransome archive at Leeds University. Brian compiled this book, adding his own notes from his cruises in the same area. The result is a glorious volume which has delighted Ransome enthusiasts, sailors and landlubbers equally. This new paperback edition and eBook will be published on 8th May – the very day that Ransome and Shelepina got married in 1924 before their honeymoon cruise which is recounted in this book.

Leseprobe

RACUNDRA’STHIRDCRUISE

Arthur Ransome Societies

The Arthur Ransome Society was founded in 1990 with the aim of promoting interest in Arthur Ransome and his books. For more information on the Society visit their website at www.arthur-ransome.org.uk

In 1997 members of the Society formed The Nancy Blackett Trust with the intention of purchasing and restoring one of Ransome’s own yachts, the Nancy Blackett, and using her to inspire interest in the books and to encourage young people to take up sailing. She now visits many classic boat shows around the country.

To find out more about the trust, or to contribute to the upkeep of the Nancy Blackett please visit their website at www.nancyblackett.org

The Arthur Ransome Trust was formed in 2010, and is dedicated to helping people discover more about Arthur Ransome’s life and writing, primarily through the development of a dedicated Ransome Centre in the southern Lake District. For more information on the Trust please visit their website at www.arthur-ransome-trust.org.uk

RACUNDRA’STHIRDCRUISE

by Arthur Ransome

Including many original photographs and sketches by the author

Edited and compiledby Brian Hammett

This edition first published in 2018 by Fernhurst Books Limited

The Windmill, Mill Lane, Harbury, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, CV33 9HP. UK

Tel: [phone] | www.fernhurstbooks.com

Text and pictures © The Arthur Ransome Literary Estate

Introduction © Brian Hammett

First published in 2002 by Fernhurst Books.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except under the terms of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 or under the terms of a license issued by The Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd, Saffron House, 6-10 Kirby Street, London, EC1N 8TS, UK, without the permission in writing of the Publisher.

Designations used by companies to distinguish their products are often claimed as trademarks. All brand names and product names used in this book are trade names, service marks, trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. The Publisher is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Paperback ISBN: 9781912177110

eBook - EPub ISBN: 9781912177837

Mobi ISBN: 9781912177844

pdf ISBN: 9781912177851

Artwork by Creative Byte

Cover design by Simon Balley

Contents

Introduction

Racundra’s Third Cruise(Racundra Goes Inland)

Prelude to Racundra’s Third Cruise:

The Dream

The First Cruise

The Second Cruise

The Cruising Association

Getting Married

Racundra Returns to Riga

Postscript

Acknowledgements

Introduction

by Brian Hammett

This account of the third cruise of Arthur Ransome’s famous yacht Racundra, from Riga to Mitau via the River Aa, was written by Ransome himself but has not hitherto been published - even though the cruise took place between August 1st and September 10th 1924 - now nearly 80 years ago. Ransome himself clearly intended to publish it but did not complete his 80-page typescript beyond the story of the first 23 days. There follows a gap in his typed account of eleven days, two days in which he types up his notes of the sad episode during which his wife abandons ship and a further gap of five days during which he returned Racundra to her home berth leaving only his deck-log. Full acknowledgements of the relevant Ransome sources are given at the end of the book.

We do not know why he failed to complete to actual publication or, indeed, when he prepared the manuscript to the stage that he did. We know that at this time he was commissioned to write a series of articles, which took priority. Perhaps he was not satisfied with it, although there is no evidence for this. Ransome spent much time on the cruise itself in writing his articles for the Manchester Guardian and indulging in his passion for fishing but it seems likely that he had publication in mind from the start since in addition to his diary and the brief ‘real-time’ deck-log that he kept, as all cruising sailors must, he kept a separate daily summary and amplifying details. These three sources together with some handwritten notes and drafts of his typescript provide a detailed full account of the cruise.

The narrative contains a blow by blow and fish by fish daily account of the trip with much to interest the sailor, fisherman and traveller alike. The handwritten essay on The Apothecary of Wolgund is a forerunner of Ransome’s later style of writing and of particular interest. The account of Racundra’s Third Cruise (Racundra Goes Inland) is reproduced exactly as originally written, apart from a few very minor corrections of typographical errors. The following fonts are used throughout: Ransome’s typescript in American Typewriter, his handwriting in Baskerville Semi Bold Italic, and extracts form published material in Times New Roman. In the 1920s many of the locations mentioned had different names.

The interest in preparing this publication came from an article in Mixed Moss, the journal of the Arthur Ransome Society, in which Alan Lawrence describes retracing Ransome’s cruise up the river Lieupe (Aa) from Riga to Jelgrava (Mitau) a distance of some 45 miles.

The major part of the narrative comes from the typescript ‘Racundra Goes Inland’.

The relevant passages from Ransome’s diary, deck log and notes have been included at the start of each day’s writing. Some of the typescript comes from what Ransome refers to as his ‘small book’. Where this occurs it is labelled as such.

The voyage took place within a few years of the end of hostilities in the Baltic at a time when place names were still mainly in German. Nowadays they have reverted to the original local language:

Formerly

Currently

Aa

Lieupe

Bilderllngshof

Jurmala

Bolderaa

Buijupe

Bruwer

Bruver

Dlrbe

Kalnciems

Dubbeln

Dubulti

Dvina

Daugava

Frankendorf

Likumciems

Grasche

Gulbjuciems

Helsingfors

Helsinki

Kaling

Gate

Kalnzeem

Tirji

Kesa

Slokas

Mitau

Jelgrava

New Dubbeln

Jaindubulti

Pawassern

Pavasan

Plerren

Planciem

Ratneek

Rutas

Reval

Tallin

St. Joanna

Spunnciems

Schaggern

Sipolciems

Scholk

Sloka

Selme Oding

Upmaji

Umul

Pavieda

Waltershof.

Valteri

Wolgund

Valgrunde

Racundra, of course, could not have her third cruise without earlier having her second, and before that her first. Before that, Ransome had to have the dream, she had to be designed, and she had to be built. Details of this period prior to the writing of Racundra’s Third Cruise, together with more of Ransome’s unpublished work relating to the period, are included at the end of this volume.

Arthur Ransome.

Evgenia Shelepina.

Racundra’s Third Cruise

(Racunda Goes Inland)

By Arthur Ransome

Aug. 1

Sailed to Bolderaa.

2

Bilderlingshof.

3

Dubbeln. St. Johanna.

4

-Ditto-

5

-Ditto-

6

-Ditto-

7

N. Entrance of Babit.

8

-Ditto-

9

-Ditto-

10

Schlok.

11

-Ditto-

12

S.W. Entrance of Babit.

13

Kalnzeem under motor.

14

Wolgund.

15

Ekau River & Mitau ditch.

16

Mitau.

17

-Ditto-

18

Kalnzeem.

19

-Ditto-

20

Babit. S. W. Entrance.

21

-Ditto-

22

-Ditto-

23

Schlok.

24

-Ditto-

25

-Ditto-

26

Babit. S. W. Entrance.

27

-Ditto-

28

-Ditto-

29

-Ditto-

30

Schlok & ferry

31

Babit. S. W.

Sept. 1

-Ditto-

2

-Ditto-

3

-Ditto-

4

Exit of Cook. New Dubbeln.

5

New Dubbeln - Bilderlingshof.

6

Bullen - Bilderlingshof.

7

Bilderlingshof - Babit. S. W.

8

Babit. S. W. - Mitau.

9

Mitau - Bilderlingshof.

10

Bilderlingshof to Bolderaa & Dvina to Stint Sea.

RACUNDRA GOES INLAND

Friday August 1st Sailed to Bolderaa.

(Diary)

Sailed. Anchored in Bolderaa.Under power

(Log)

Friday. Anchored at Bolderaa.Morning fishing with rain under pier.Old man catching ersh.

Got away under motor from the Little Harbour, the Ancient insisting on being on board at the start. His little double-ended dinghy towed from the mizzen shrouds and he, proud pilot of his tiny port, conned us out, stowed the anchor chain for the last time, and, when we were fairly out into the lake, shook hands, wished us a good trip, and dropped over the side. His dinghy was scarcely a cable’s length astern when the engine hesitated a little in its panting run, coughed once or twice, seemed to have swallowed a plum stone, and stopped. I could feel the old man, as he rested on his oars, thinking to himself that without him on board we should be in trouble at once. I think he had never quite forgiven us our voyage from Reval to Riga in the early spring. I lashed the tiller amidships and dropped down the companion to see what I could do to help the little donkey. You see by now I had lost all my hate for him, and was sure that he was doing his best. I did him no injustice. The fault was mine. I had forgotten to open the cock of the lubricator, and the poor little creature was over hot. It was lucky that he had had the sense to stop when he did. I opened the cock and further moved the regulator to allow a much larger than usual quantity of oil to go through, and then, while he was still hot, started him again. He made no show of resistance but went off again as well as he could, protesting only gently that if I ran him at full speed before the oil had got properly into his circulation he would be in trouble again. So I set him to go very slow, and went on deck again. The Cook was still stowing provisions in the cabin. The Ancient was still resting on his oars watching us, waiting, I knew, for a hail of distress. When he saw us again on our course, be laid to his oars, though softly, and had not disappeared into his little harbour before we were more than half way down the lake, and were turning the promontory of tall reeds that hid him from us.

The couple of sticks that mark the channel through the shallows into the Mühlgraben were gone, but that did not trouble us so much as a tug coming out with four barges tandem that were bound to swing at the sharp turn in the channel. However, though they did swing, we got past with a few yards to spare, and were presently passing two Norwegians coaling in the Mühlgraben, and a German, loading timber. At the corner where the Red Dvina leads to the island where Racundra was built, opposite the little pier to which we had tied up while waiting in vain for the Customs officials in the spring, were four sailing vessels, three schooners and a cutter, making a fine picture, but unfortunately with the sun behind then an impossible one for the camera. We passed on down the Mühlgraben, avoiding fishing nets and little fishing boats, and so out into the great Dvina River, as if we were once more bound for the sea. A big Swede passed us going down the river and I wished his course were ours, and that we were taking Racundra out again to her proper home, to the big seas that she rides so easily, to the big winds that she was built for, and days and nights of steady sailing out of the smell of the land. But we turned for the first time to the left bank of the river and, near the mouth of it, round a conical beacon and into what is known as the Bolderaa which joins the Dvina and the Courland Aa. The Aa has its own outlet into the sea at Bullen, but the channel is shifting and unmarked, and steamers invariably come into the Aa from the Dvina.

A big Swede passed us and I wished his course were ours.

An opening railway bridge crosses the Bolderaa, and as we approached it I dropped down the companion, reduced the engine to slowest speed and jumped on deck again. A passenger steamer passed us. A green painted cargo steamship was coming up astern. The bridge was closed. The passenger steamer hooted for all of us, and just as she reached the bridge it swung open and she passed through. I jumped down again and asked the little donkey for all he could give us, and, making an important little fuss with his full eight hundred revolutions we slipped through the bridge just ahead of the green steamer and, with the respect of little for big, got out of her way on the other side, knowing well that the steamers in the Aa do not love yachts and given any excuse to put them in the wrong enjoy making the most of it. So, though Racundra was the overtaken vessel, she gathered her skirts and got onto the pavement, or into the shallow water, while the big green cargo steamer wallowed past her with a wave that sent things rattling in the galley, and brought a protest from the Cook, who thought I was throwing her about in play.