The Race, Episode 7"

Phil Hello again. It’s day 45. Passepartout and I were sleeping like babies when we suddenly heard a loud creaking and cracking sound. What could it be? We’re in the middle of the Indian Ocean so we can’t have hit any rocks. Sophia is up on deck steering the yacht - I need to find out what’s going on.

PP Err… what’s all that noise? I was having a wonderful dream - I was saving the Titanic from hitting an iceberg…

Phil Passepartout, something’s happened.

PP What? Err, where’s this water coming from?

Phil I’m going up to the deck… Sophia, Sophia, what was that noise? Sophia? Where’s Sophia?! She’s not here!

PP Out of the way, let me have a look… No, she’s definitely gone… but hold on, look, we’ve been swept onto a beach.

Phil We’re shipwrecked!

Phil We’ve landed on a huge, yellow, sandy beach. And beyond the beach there’s a line of palm trees - with coconuts growing on them. It looks like some kind of tropical island. Our satnav says we are at 11 degrees south, 100 degrees east - but according to the map there shouldn’t be any land at this location. Why are we here, and where is Sophia?

PP Phil look, there’s a hole in the yacht - that’s why the water’s coming in.

Phil Oh no - what are we going to do? We’re castaways, stuck here forever.

PP Of course we’re not. Just go and collect some palm leaves and a few bits of driftwood. Luckily I learnt some yacht repair skills from a TV programme I watched. I should be able to patch her up.

Phil Aye-aye captain. We need to get back to sea as soon as possible to look for Sophia.

PP Hmm, I don’t think we’ll see her again. The ocean is huge: it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Phil But, we must try.

Phil We can’t give up on Sophia now. I’ve collected all the bits that Passepartout needs for the repairs. I’ve made a small fire so I can boil some water and make some much-needed tea. Whilst I was beachcombing I found a beautiful shell. According to my encyclopaedia, it is a rare type of conch shell. That’s lucky - it is one of the things I need to collect as part of my challenge. Hmm, that’s one bit of good news in a sea of bad news. Right, I just need to take a few photos before we go to put on my travel blog…

PP OK, the yacht is fixed, well sort of - give me a hand to scoop out the water that got inside. We’ll need to head for somewhere where we can get some proper repairs done. But I think we can be on our way. You just need to help me push her out to sea. Here goes…

PP …. Jump on Phil. I’ll get the sails up and we’ll be on our way.

Phil Hey look Passepartout - we’ve picked up a stowaway. A parrot!

PP Hmm, wonderful, now I’ve got someone I can have a proper conversation with!

Phil I think we should keep it - it might bring us some good luck.

PP If you say so. Now look, according to our map, I think we’ll miss Indonesia and head for Papua New Guinea. With a good tail-wind we should be there… mmm… tomorrow - yes?

Phil No Passepartout! We need to sail around here first to search for Sophia. She can’t be far away - maybe she fell off when we hit the beach ?Hey, I think it’s seen something. Quick - where are the binoculars? There! I can see something.

Phil Sure enough - the parrot has seen something. We’ve got closer and yes! It is Sophia - she’s floating on some kind of shipping container. I thought she was gone forever, but she’s back - and I’m so happy.

Sophia Phil, Passepartout, over here. Throw me a rope. Oh I’m so pleased to see you again.Oh I’m so hungry and thirsty. I’m so sorry. I fell asleep and a big wave threw me overboard. I tried to call out … but you didn ‘t hear me. I saw that old container and swam towards it. I was drifting about on it - I thought I would never see you again - I thought I was going to die - but Phil, you saved me .

Phil Well… I did, didn’t I? But Passepartout helped me too, I think. He fixed the boat .

Sophia Oh yes, well done - and who is your new friend?

PP Just some parrot. It decided to perch on our yacht. It hasn’t got a name yet but I suppose it can join us for this trip.

Sophia Ah, he’s cute… I’ll try and think of a name. In the meantime, how about some of that wonderful tea Phil? Come on Passepartout, we’ve no time to waste, we’ve got to get moving if we’re going to win this race.

PP Yes, yes, I know that.

Phil The team is back together. I’m so pleased we found Sophia - although I’m not so sure Passepartout is. We were making very good progress until we got shipwrecked. That cost us a lot of time and now, only hard work and good luck will get us back to London in 80 days. Our next stop is Papua New Guinea, where we can finish repairing The Mermaid. But how long will that take? Time is running out.