Learning English Stories

Phil Day 73 – we were sailing through a huge hurricane when a massive wave hit us. Oh why did I try to sail through this storm? I was hoping to get back home in 80 days but that seems impossible now. I must make sure my crew is ok – I need them now more than ever…

Phil It's day 61 – and it's a miracle! I didn't hit any rocks and we're safe in the harbour at Papeete on the island of Tahiti. It’s just a quick stop to clean up the yacht and take on fresh water. I'm going to find one more souvenir to take home as part of my challenge – some type of musical instrument – hmmm. And how are my travelling companions? Well, they're not under the weather anymore – I mean, they aren't feeling ill – they've recovered from the food poisoning that I unfortunately gave them – but strangely, they still seem very pleased with me.

Phil It's day 50. We've made it to Papua New Guinea and the capital city of Port Moresby. People here seem to be wearing masks – I think there's some kind of festival going on. Anyway, this is where we're getting out yacht properly fixed. It needs to be good enough for the next part of our journey. We've decided to sail in a straight line across the Pacific Ocean and then, well, we're taking a short cut through the Panama Canal. It's a long, long way so we need plenty of supplies … but there's a problem…

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.

Phil Day 38 – Disaster! Our yacht has been stolen. We were on Reunion Island when someone cut the ropes and took it. Where is it – and how are we going to find it? Does this mean we're going to lose the race?