Publisher's Synopsis
An Introduction to the "Tales of Walcombe Bay" Series for children and the forever young at heart! Walcombe Bay is a very special seaside resort on the South Coast of England, encompassing Walcombe town with its lovely harbour full of boats and thriving high street, and best of all, the safe, sun-kissed sandy shores of Sandy Bay, just a short distance away. We've always loved going to Walcombe Bay for our annual family summer holiday! Seymour is the ferryboat who takes families from the town harbour to the delights of the Sandy Bay beach and the delicious food of its beachside café - The Winking Winkle. He is crewed by Skipper Salt and his son Jack who work together building a flourishing business and service for the visiting holidaymakers. Seymour is so much more than an ordinary ferryboat, though, as he has feelings and a personality all of his own! However, Seymour cannot work without the aid of his buddy, Tooting Ted, the sea-paddling tractor. Once Seymour the ferryboat has brought the beachgoers as close to the shore as he can get, it's Tooting Ted who then takes over and transports them to the beach, ensuring they get there without even getting their feet wet! Why doesn't Seymour take them all the way, you might ask? Well, Seymour himself can't get close to the beach, or he would get his bottom scraped and might even end up tipping over in the shallow water. Those passengers would end up getting more than just their feet wet! Seymour and Tooting Ted work as a team to give people on holiday a wonderful day: a boat trip combined with a short ride on a sea tractor through the surf; followed by a day on the beach complete with swimming in the sea, a picnic or lunch at The Winking Winkle; before being escorted back home on a sea tractor and ferryboat ride, courtesy of Tooting Ted and Seymour! Around the Walcombe harbour are the other boats, some being more self- important than others, starting of course with Rufus the Offshore Lifeboat, Izzy the Inshore Lifeboat, Max the Mackerel-fishing boat and Peter Potter, the lobster-catching boat. Other characters that interact with Seymour and Tooting Ted are the sea creatures: Oskar Whiskers the seal with halitosis, and Danny and Daisy the loveable exhibitionist dolphins. This series of stories has been written to entertain and educate the "apprentice reader" and hopefully to amuse those reading the stories aloud to children.
