Thames Training Ships
My wicked parents have sent me to this huge and frightening ship, the Exmouth. All I can see are hundreds of naughty boys, all of us crowded together. I am speechless, and angry at them for sending me to this awful place. What if I fall off and drown? I can't swim.
All the time it is learn, learn, learn - I am so bored. Even when we finally learn about how to be sailors, that isn't fun either. The food is horrible. Then it is time for bed. We sleep in bunks in a room that smells awful. I hear the sounds of the waves as the ship rocks, reminding me of the terrifying water. But one boy has sneaked some homefood aboard and shared it around. Perhaps I will make friends here after all.
The person training us is so strict. When it is time for a break, you can only take it if you don't flinch when he throws a medicine ball at you. Of course, I flinch almost every time - they are really heavy! I am afraid it will knock me into the river.
One time I don't flinch, we take a break on Grays beach. We play in the pool. My new friends teach me to swim. When we return to the boat, the sea is roaring in anger as the sun begins to fade, but I am not afraid of it any more. The stars shine bright in the darkness.
From stories told by members of Grays Yacht club, and writing by writing by students of Thameside Primary, St Clere's and Arthur Bugler Primary Schools
All the time it is learn, learn, learn - I am so bored. Even when we finally learn about how to be sailors, that isn't fun either. The food is horrible. Then it is time for bed. We sleep in bunks in a room that smells awful. I hear the sounds of the waves as the ship rocks, reminding me of the terrifying water. But one boy has sneaked some homefood aboard and shared it around. Perhaps I will make friends here after all.
The person training us is so strict. When it is time for a break, you can only take it if you don't flinch when he throws a medicine ball at you. Of course, I flinch almost every time - they are really heavy! I am afraid it will knock me into the river.
One time I don't flinch, we take a break on Grays beach. We play in the pool. My new friends teach me to swim. When we return to the boat, the sea is roaring in anger as the sun begins to fade, but I am not afraid of it any more. The stars shine bright in the darkness.
From stories told by members of Grays Yacht club, and writing by writing by students of Thameside Primary, St Clere's and Arthur Bugler Primary Schools