Other Vessels in Peter Duck

Arrow of Norwich

A fictional Norfolk Wherry, owned and sailed by Peter Duck following his retirement from the sea. Arrow of Norwich is only ever referred to, and never physically appears in the story.

In his first draft for Peter Duck, Ransome makes it clear that the Swallows, Amazons and Captain Flint invent the story whilst spending the winter holiday on a wherry in the Norfolk Broads. In this first draft, the wherry is called the Polly Ann. None of this background makes it into the finished novel, apart from an author's comment that Peter Duck is "based on information supplied by the Swallows and Amazons". However, references are made to the wherry holiday in Swallowdale. The wherry is not named, but does appear to lend the name Polly Ann to a racing yacht moored on the Lake.

Wherries reappear in Ransome's two Broads novels, Coot Club and The Big Six. See Sir Garnet for more information.  

Mary Cahoun

A fictional brig (a two masted square-rigged sailing vessel) that rescues Peter Duck from Crab Island. She was wrecked off Ushant with all hands except for Peter Duck, who was rescued by French fishermen.

Louisiana Belle

Peter Duck describes the Louisiana Belle as a "Yankee Clipper" capable of carrying skysails above her royals - in other words, she was a racing thoroughbred in the same stable as the Cutty Sark and Thermopylae. According to Peter Duck, the French fishermen who rescued him off Ushant sold him to the Captain of the Louisiana Belle in exchange for tobacco. 

Prooshian

When sailing past Dover, Peter Duck mentions that he once saw the Prooshian, a five masted German barque, wrecked on the shore.

This is almost certainly "a reference to the Preussen, or more correctly Preußen a five masted full rigged ship with a displacement of 5031 Tons and  length of 136m.  In fact she was the only 5 masted full rigged ship ever to be built. She foundered of Dover in 1910," as described by Peter Matthews on the TARS Forum, here. 

Liners

Several liners are mentioned. Between the wars, a liner usually meant a passenger vessel on a scheduled, long-distance passage between pre-planned ports. The word could also apply to cargo vessels on scheduled routes. 

The 1930s was, in many ways, the golden age of the passenger liner, with several countries competing to build ever larger and faster vessels for the trans-atlantic trade. The highest status liners, such as the Queen Mary, displaced over 80,000 tons, were over 1,000' long and were capable of sustained speeds close to 30 knots. Many smaller and older liners operated on routes to the Mediterranian and Far East.

It is noticeable in Peter Duck (Chapter 9) that a liner coming out of Southampton is "too proud" to notice the Wild Cat's salute.

Tramps

These ocean-going cargo vessels were the mercantile opposite to the plush, fast and scheduled liners. A typical tramp steamer went wherever its owners could find cargo for it.

Destroyers

It is noticeable that despite being in "the usual dreadful hurry" a destroyer does return the Wild Cat's salute, thus observing the proper etiquette of the sea.

In the 1930s the Royal Navy was still the largest in the world, despite major cut backs following the First World War. Some 433 destroyers were scrapped between 1918 and 1939, whilst 131 were built. In the early 1930s the newest destroyer designs displaced around 1,350 tons, were capable of 35 knots and had a crew of around 140 men. They were typically armed with four single 4.7" guns and eight torpedo tubes.

Fishing Boats

In the 1930s Lowestoft was a major fishing port. Ransome mentions steam trawlers, a fishing ketch and a government fishery vessel, with reindeer horns from Lapland fixed on her bridge.  

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