Chapter 6. Spotty Bananas and Sticky Goo.

“I'm fed up with eating spotty bananas,” grumbled Captain Boxer Shorts, as he looked at the fruit that the Admiral handed to him.

You have to eat the spotty ones first!

“You have to eat the spotty ones first,” she argued. Captain B.S. pulled a face and muttered something rude under his breath. “There's always too many spotty bananas, I never get to eat the good ones!”

It was time to pump up the dinghy so that the Admiral and Captain B.S. Could go ashore. It was tied up with rope in a huge parcel in the front cabin of the Good Ship Mithril. It was very heavy.

It was very heavy

Captain Boxer Shorts managed to get it to the ladder, but it was too heavy to lift on deck.

“Shiver me timbers,” he cried, “I'm not as strong as I used to be!”

“We need a long rope,” suggested the Admiral. She tied a rope to the dinghy. With Captain B.S. pulling, and the Admiral pushing, they managed to get the rubber boat onto the deck.

Captain B.S. Connected up the footpump and began pumping. His foot was very tired when he had finished.

Captain Boxer Shorts works the foot pump

They lowered the dinghy into the water with a splash. Captain Boxer Shorts sat in the dinghy whilst the Admiral passed down the wooden pieces of the floor. With much heaving and struggling he managed to fit it in place.

The dinghy in the water

“Hooray!” shouted the Admiral, “Now we can go ashore and buy some fresh bread. You can't have too much fresh bread!”

Captain Boxer Shorts was sitting in the cockpit looking at the scenery. “I think we will move the Good Ship Mithril closer to the shore,” he said. He started the engine and pulled up the anchor. It was covered in a thick, sticky goo. “Yuk!” he shouted as dollops of sticky goo sprayed all over his feet.

The Admiral steered the Good Ship Mithril round in a circle.... then round in another circle... and round again.... and again, until Captain Boxer Shorts was happy with the new spot for anchoring.

“This will do!” he bellowed. The Admiral stopped the boat as Captain Boxer Shorts began to lower the sticky anchor back into the water. He let out lots of chain to make sure the anchor held firm.

The anchor on the bottom of the sea

“Reverse!” he shouted to the Admiral. The Admiral reversed the Good Ship Mithril so that the anchor was pulled down into the sandy mud at the bottom of the sea. The boat stopped going backwards with a jerk and Captain B.S. fell over on his bottom.

“You can't have too much reversing!” laughed the Admiral.