The Wild Cat (boat)
Encyclopedia
The Wild Cat is a green two-masted schooner
that Captain Flint
, the Swallows and Amazons and Peter Duck sail in Arthur Ransome
's Swallows and Amazons book Peter Duck
. She also appears in the opening chapters of Missee Lee
.
The ship would have been about 50 ft (15 m) long. In the book and the illustrations there is no mention of a head
. This is typical of Arthur Ransome's reticence on the issue.
The name is taken from Wild Cat Island which features in all the books set in the Lake District
. She was converted from a Baltic
trading schooner
by decking over the hold to make a saloon with a long skylight and four double cabins opening into it. The deckhouse has a couple of bunks for Captain Flint and Peter Duck .
In Ransome's book Missee Lee
, the ship was burned to the waterline and sinks when Gibber, Roger's monkey, put a lighted cigar in the fuel (petrol) holding tank. In Peter Duck, the Swallow is aboard and is used as one of the ship's boats. In Missee Lee, both the Swallow and Amazon are aboard and used as lifeboats when she sinks.
Schooner
A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....
that Captain Flint
Captain Flint
Captain J. Flint was the fictional captain of a pirate ship, the Walrus, in the novel Treasure Island of the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson...
, the Swallows and Amazons and Peter Duck sail in Arthur Ransome
Arthur Ransome
Arthur Michell Ransome was an English author and journalist, best known for writing the Swallows and Amazons series of children's books. These tell of school-holiday adventures of children, mostly in the Lake District and the Norfolk Broads. Many of the books involve sailing; other common subjects...
's Swallows and Amazons book Peter Duck
Peter Duck
Peter Duck is the third book in the Swallows and Amazons series by Arthur Ransome. The Swallows and Amazons sail to Crab Island with Captain Flint and Peter Duck an old sailor to recover buried treasure...
. She also appears in the opening chapters of Missee Lee
Missee Lee
Missee Lee is the tenth book of Arthur Ransome's Swallows and Amazons series of children's books, set in 1930s China. The Swallows and Amazons are on a round the world trip with Captain Flint aboard the schooner Wild Cat. After the Wild Cat sinks, they escape in the Swallow and Amazon but are...
.
The ship would have been about 50 ft (15 m) long. In the book and the illustrations there is no mention of a head
Head (watercraft)
The head is a ship's toilet. The name derives from sailing ships in which the toilet area for the regular sailors was placed at the head or bow of the ship.-Design:In sailing ships the toilet was placed in the bow for two reasons...
. This is typical of Arthur Ransome's reticence on the issue.
The name is taken from Wild Cat Island which features in all the books set in the Lake District
Lake District
The Lake District, also commonly known as The Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous not only for its lakes and its mountains but also for its associations with the early 19th century poetry and writings of William Wordsworth...
. She was converted from a Baltic
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
trading schooner
Schooner
A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....
by decking over the hold to make a saloon with a long skylight and four double cabins opening into it. The deckhouse has a couple of bunks for Captain Flint and Peter Duck .
In Ransome's book Missee Lee
Missee Lee
Missee Lee is the tenth book of Arthur Ransome's Swallows and Amazons series of children's books, set in 1930s China. The Swallows and Amazons are on a round the world trip with Captain Flint aboard the schooner Wild Cat. After the Wild Cat sinks, they escape in the Swallow and Amazon but are...
, the ship was burned to the waterline and sinks when Gibber, Roger's monkey, put a lighted cigar in the fuel (petrol) holding tank. In Peter Duck, the Swallow is aboard and is used as one of the ship's boats. In Missee Lee, both the Swallow and Amazon are aboard and used as lifeboats when she sinks.