I'd be lying if I said Coot Club wasn't one of my least favorites. Why? I would think it's obvious... it's a Swallows and Amazons book which features neither the Swallows nor the Amazons. I do like Dick and Dorothea, but even so this book fell a little flat for me. It is clear that Ransome liked the Norfolk Broads and wanted to write a story set there, but for me this story is uninteresting. The Hullabaloos are a little too archtypical Bad People, but even so Tom setting a large expensive cruiser adrift on a river paints him a criminal, in my mind. That boat could have easily drifted into another boat, or anything, and it's a large boat. Ransome has an odd moral compass for birds, I find. I find all the adults complicity in sheltering Tom odd as well. Surely some of them recognize the dangers in allowing a large motor yacht to drift freely on a moving body of water? Very likely the Hullabaloos would not be the only victims. I almost feel like The Big Six is a bit of an apology for the idea that setting boats adrift is ok.

In any event, love it or not I will analyze it. But I'm not going to add the Coots to the 'main cast' and track their ages, etc. They only feature in at most two books, and other than Tom none of them are well enough fleshed out to even merit discussion.

The Broads themselves are quite interesting though. 300 square kilometers of protected (since 1988) waterway and flood plain. A complex series of tidal rivers and bridges, all of which had to be able to pass boat traffic (either by the bridge lifting, or rotating (swinging), or by the boat lowering its mast(s)). The 'broads', which are the lake-like structures, are now known to be ancient peat excavations that filled with water.

This one would be a bear to map. The Lake map is taking enough work as it is, I'm not sure I have it in me to map out the Broads, especially when I don't much care for the books. I can't even remember what the Big Six is about, that's how little impact these two books made on me. Plus, waiting in the wings is my absolute favorite, Pigeon Post.

This takes place in the Easter holidays after Winter Holiday. First three weeks of April. Given that we don't know when most of the birthdays are, unless known I'm just going to increment them all at summer. So ages here are the same as Winter Holiday. Tom refers to Dick as 'young Dick', and in notes of Ransome is 'P.B. or Principal Boy ... aet. 12 or 13'

• Tom: 12
• Dorothea: 11
• Dick: 10

I always sort of feel like the Callums are adults wearing kid costumes. They are -far- too mature and serious for their ages.

It is necessary, from a narrative perspective, that Dick and Dorothea learn to sail and get 'caught up' with the Swallows and Amazons, and from that perspective I think Coot Club is excellent. They don't learn to sail in a weekend, they spend a lot of time on it, in different boats and under different conditions. This is also the first book where the sailors really have to contend with tides, which will be a major (and very interesting) factor in Secret Water.

Dick and Dorothea spend the whole book sleeping in the Teasel or attached dinghy so there is no point in noting where characters spent the night. Rather, we will note where the Teasel spends each night.

Day	Major events	Teasel at night
1	Dick and Dot arrive Tom sets Margoletta adrift	Downriver from Horning
2	Moving the Teasel Rowing practice	Ranworth Broad
3	Sailing lessons	Ranworth Broad
4	Sailing lessons	Ranworth Broad
5	Rain	Ranworth Broad
6	New battery Margoletta evaded	Ranworth Broad
7	Teasel to Potter Heigham	Horsey Mere
8	Quanting	Potter Heigham
9	Teasel return trip	Horning
10	Teasel sets off Twins on Sir Garnet	Teasel Oulton Twins Somerleyton
11	Reunited	Beccles
12	Homeward bound	Oulton
13	Heading for Norwich	Cantley
14	Heading for Norwich and then returning	Buckenham Ferry
15	Fog on Breydon water The Come Along tows	Acle Bridge
16	Last leg homeward	Horning (crew discharged)

Closing thoughts.

It's a good book, it's just not a Swallows and Amazons book to me. But I enjoyed it more than I thought I would, on this re-read. Dick and Dorothea are now armed for sailing on the lake.