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More weeks passed. Somehow, I managed my loneliness and focused on the only thing that might help – studying as hard as I possibly could, staring at my books out on the wooden veranda. By doing this, I could make my way through each day without breaking down.
This second section of sea wall is expected to take around two years to complete and once finished, this 415 metre section which stretches from Coastguard breakwater east of Dawlish station to Colonnade breakwater, will link up with the already completed first section of sea wall at Marine Parade. Oh dear,” said the counsellor. She was trying to be helpful, but the hint of kindness in her words pushed me over the edge. “And … and … ” I said, tears running down my face, “and worst of all, I don’t want to be spending my time doing any of this. I need to be studying, or I won’t get into university.” Don’t worry, Sue,” he said. “I’ll ring whenever we get to a major port. And our friend Pam will help you if you need it.”The interior was unfinished, but bunks and cupboards were already taking shape, half-formed in the gloom. I’m not sure at what point I realised that Suzanne Heywood’s singular, troubling and remarkable memoir was not, in fact, really only about her childhood spent at sea aboard a boat called Wavewalker. Even though that story in itself is extraordinary. How many people have you ever known whose parents sat them down, aged six (Suzanne), and five (Jonathan) and told them they were leaving their lives in England to spend three years sailing around the world, retracing voyages made by Captain James Cook? He turned to lean over his chart. “It’s not good,” he said. He spoke the words quietly, as if to himself. Wavewalker’s quivering moments at the summit of each wave had become longer, and her plunges forward more extreme. Everything felt wet: my skin, my clothes, my hair, the floor and every surface I touched.
She holds no grudge against the boat. ‘Wavewalker was always a she. She was my home. I loved her. She saved our lives. There is definitely a huge emotional connection to her.’ The family set off from Plymouth in 1976, but did not return, as promised by her father Gordon Cook (no relation to Captain Cook), in three years. They spent more than a decade roaming the world, most of it in the South Pacific, covering 47,000 nautical miles, always moving on, always flat broke; a deeply dysfunctional unit of four. Everyone scribbled on the slips, which went into Dad’s blue felt captain’s hat, a blue boat on a wooden ocean that held our future. I started thinking again about my past when my children were old enough to ask me about it. Did Dad really sail around the world because he wanted to honour Captain Cook? Why didn’t my parents, middle class and well educated themselves, worry about their children’s education or social isolation? Why was my relationship with my mother so difficult, particularly during my teenage years, and why didn’t my father try to help, when he must have seen how miserable I was? Heywood is ‘a bit nervous’ about his reaction to the book. ‘He can be quite aggressive. But I decided long ago that writing a version that didn’t upset them would be so neutered that it would almost not be worth writing.’We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused. An extraordinary story of adventure and self-discovery. Suzanne Heywood’s determination to get an education despite all the obstacles she faced leads her on a path of true freedom” - Minouche Shafik, Director of the LSE When we lived in England my days had a familiar rhythm. Each morning, my mother flung open the curtains in my room, and I tugged my school jumper over my head and pulled on my skirt before tumbling downstairs to eat cereal with my younger brother Jon. After school, we’d play on the swing in our garden, or crouch at the far end of the stream to watch dragonflies hovering above the gold-green surface. Eventually the journey stretched to 17 years, with the children getting their education from a correspondence course based in Brisbane.
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