I recommend all ages will enjoy reading.
Zubbadoo and the boat with no name - A book for little sailors
Zubbadoo lived by the sea, her father was a sailor.
She watched him leave every day, launching from his trailer.
“Weigh anchor Zubs!” He’d shout to her as he sailed away.
“Aye Aye, Skipper!” she’d yell back “Have a windy day!”
It was Zubbadoo’s greatest wish to Captain her own boat.
She’d try to make one many times, but none of them did float.
Then one day, out of the blue, it rose up from the water.
A little boat beached on the sand, like it was mail order.
Painted like a coral reef with fish along the sides.
It looked a little worse for wear, had ridden many tides.
But it was hers. She didn’t care. She loved it just the same.
Everything was perfect except… it didn’t have a name.
“Oh dear”, she cried. “It cannot be. Whatever can I do?”
“A boat has only one true name, and it cannot have two.
” For she had heard the tales and knew it was bad luck.
Renaming a boat could make the ocean run amuck.
She knew what was required, only one thing left to do.
“We’ll find out where you came from and that will be our clue.”
She fastened up her safety vest, and tied on the burgee.
“Now we just need a Captain… Well… I guess that could be me.”
She opened up the sea charts, and listened to the wind.
Inspected all the clouds, to check if they’re rolling in.
She hoisted up the sails, and tied off to the boom.
And leaned over port side, to ensure she had the room.
Meanwhile, off the shore, a ray was coming in,
He’d been out in the bay, looking for his dins.
“Nauton!” she called to him. He was an old sea friend.
He lived at the yacht club, by the jetty’s end.
“Please won’t you join us, this boat has lost its name”
“And if we don’t help her find it, she’ll never be the same.”
Nauton was still chewing, on his final bite,
“Sounds like a great adventure, I won’t put up a fight.”
The sails filled with gusts of wind, high up in the sky.
As they shot out from the dock, faster than the eye.
As to which direction, they didn’t really know.
But luckily the unnamed boat remembered where to go.
Out they left from Schnapper Point, right across the bay.
Tacking and jibing, they trimmed the sails the whole way.
Sea gulls danced around the mast, chirping old sea songs.
“Hey-har, we’re going back, to where this boat belongs.”
They pulled up to a halt, “Quick drop the anchor.”
“Phew! That was close.” Big rocks had almost sank her.
Off they jumped from the deck, but something was amiss.
The ground felt kind of funny, they landed with a squish.
“Is anybody out there?” Zub yelled into the distance.
And a voice sounded back, “I’m in need of some assistance.”
They spun in a circle, but couldn’t find a trace.
“I’m over here! I’m stuck you see! In this peculiar place.”
Sure enough, a boy was there, bogged knee-deep in the mud.
They heaved and they hoed, and set him free with a thud.
“I’m so grateful that you found me, my boat and I got wrecked.”
She sailed off to find me help, and save me from neglect.
It was then that Zubba realised, the boat that she had found,
Belonged to someone else, and it was homeward bound.
“Never mind.” She reassured. “For that is not a worry.”
I was Captain of a voyage and for that I can’t feel sorry.
“May I introduce myself, my name is Captain Jerry.”
“My boat and I together, we’re the Mud Islands ferry.”
But Zubbadoo had something else weighing on her mind,
“I still don’t know her name. Would you be so kind?”
Certainly. For saving me, that hardly seems enough.
appointed her myself, she’s called Tiny but Tough.
“Indeed she is”, they laughed and laughed and all sailed off together.
For the best kind of friends, are still friends through stormy weather
THE GLOSSARY Things to know before you’re on the open sea!
You can practice these terms by using your bed as a sailing boat.
Anchor – An anchor is used to stop the boat from moving when you want it to stay put. It is a heavy object attached to a long chain that is dropped into the water and sits on the sea bottom.
Aye Aye – This means ‘yes’ or ‘I understand’. You can say this when the Captain gives you an order. Boom – A big, thick bar that helps the sails change direction. It moves across the boat quite low so WATCH YOUR HEAD!
Burgee – A flag that shows you belong to a particular Yacht Club. This is similar to you wearing a football scarf to support your team.
Deck – The floor of the boat. What you stand on.
Dock - An enclosed area of water where boats go to have their tea break, get repaired and pick up or drop off supplies or cargo.
Safety vest – This is very important and you can’t sail without it. This helps you float if you fall into the water. It is usually a bright colour so that you can be seen by rescuers.
Sea charts – These are like road maps for the water, they help you work out where you are going otherwise called ‘navigating’.
Skipper – The Captain of the boat can also be called a Skipper.
Sails – The big sheets of fabric that catch the wind. These are where all the power for the boat comes from.
Weigh anchor – This means lift the anchor off the bottom of the ocean so you can get sailing again. Don’t forget to do this or you won’t go very fast.
Port side - When facing the bow (the front of a ship), port side means the left side of the boat. Starboard means the right side of the boat.
Tacking – This means to change course by turning a boat into the wind.
Jibing - This means to change course by turning a boat into the wind.
Trimming – This means adjusting the tension in the sails so that they can
Mast - A tall upright post that stands in the middle of the boat and holds the sails. It’s the tallest part on a boat. It’s like a bit like flagpole.