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!


At Sea But Not "All At Sea"...   February 16, 2000
 15 out of 17 found this review helpful

Of all the "Swallows & Amazons" books, this is the most compelling read -- it doesn't share the laid-back mood of most of the others, and the Walker children are in real danger, which is unusual for the series (the nearest to such would be the "Israelites" sequence {in "Secret Water"} or in "Pigeon Post" {in the "Moles" or the fire sequence} all of which are important but limited parts of the books).

Visiting aboard the "Goblin", the yacht of a young man they had recently met, they find themselves adrift in a fog, swept helplessly out into the North Sea as they drag (and lose) anchor, and then running before a full North Sea gale, with no idea where they are or where they are headed, and no certainty that they will not find themselves sinking on shoals or run down by much larger ships (In a particularly tense and thrilling sequence, just that almost happens, averted at the last instant by ingenuity and level-headedness on the part of Captain John.).

Facing the dangers they discover, drawing on their experience in sailing much smaller boats and on their own courage and common sense, they succeed in keeping themselves and the "Goblin" from harm, and even succeed in a mid-sea "rescue".

And, in the course of the adventure, John Walker (somewhere in his late teens, if i calculate aright) makes a major part of the step from boy to young man, learning valuable lessons about himself and what he is capable of, and keeping himself and his sisters and brother safe through the long, stormy night.

This is children's adventure at its best, with action, comedy, thrills and danger enough to satisfy almost any taste, but no violence, gratutitous or otherwise.


The best of the S&A books, I think   August 7, 1998
 13 out of 14 found this review helpful

The "Swallows and Amazons" books are a variable bunch. They range from "The games we played on our holidays" (Swallows and Amazons, Swallowdale, etc.) to "The stories we made up about ourselves" (Peter Duck, Missee Lee). Even in the straightforward sailing stories the children's imaginations turn Lakeland fells into Darien Peak, casting an air of unreality and whimsy over the narrative that some readers like and others find irritating.

We Didn't Mean To Go To Sea is different. The Walker children find themselves in real danger when, through a mixture of bad luck and a crucial mistake, they are swept out into the hostile North Sea in a small cutter, the Goblin, which they have hardly sailed before. There's fog and a storm-force gale building up. Can they save the ship, and themselves, purely on their own experience of dinghy sailing and their own guts and determination?

Of course they can. But it isn't easy. The core of this exciting story is the overnight transformation of John Walker from boy to adult. He takes responsibility for the ship and his brothers and sisters, takes difficult decisions and sticks with them through an extremely hairy night at sea.

There is little artificiality to most of the narrative. Everything that happens - until they reach Holland, that is - springs naturally from the situation the children find themselves in. The story's only flaw - and it's a serious one - is the deus ex machina springing of Commander Walker, their father, out of practically nowhere to take them home again. From the moment he jumps from the Flushing-Harwich ferry, the gripping realism of the story evaporates.

If you love the sea and sailing, if a tale of courage winning through appeals to you, then read this book. It's a classic and, in this reader's opinion, the best of the Swallows and Amazons series; an opinion I formed 34 years ago and see no reason to alter now.


THE ABSOLUTE BEST   July 1, 1999
 9 out of 10 found this review helpful

I have read all the SWALLOWS AND AMAZONS books several times since I was ten. Now I'm fifteen and they are still among my favorite books. I DIDN'T MEAN TO GO TO SEA is my favorite of them all. The Swallows are all of a sudden in a very precarious situation - How do we survive this? They are in a small schooner in a big storm at night on the North Sea. John must use all his seamanship to get them across to Holland. It is an awesome adventure against the sea and all the problems that arise every two seconds. Its not a book you can put down easily. I guarentee you'll love it.


an excellant adventure story for people young and old.   July 30, 1998
 2 out of 4 found this review helpful

"We Didn't Mean To Go To Sea" is the story of four children who spend the holidays on board a boat, on the condition that they do no sailing except around the harbour. When a storm blows up, and the owner of the boat has disappeared, the children do their best to sail the boat. Then, disaster strikes, and the children are left to go wherever the sea wills them.