Tales From The Seven Seas [SA] xxxxxx xxxx The Bright Red Spinacke

Summary

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Podcast Summary: Tales From The Seven Seas – "The Bright Red Spinnaker"

Podcast: Harold’s Old Time Radio
Episode Date: January 5, 2026
Writers: Annette McKenzie and Jack Mullen
Introduction: Hamish McLeod

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Episode Overview

This episode presents a suspenseful tale set in a quaint Cornish fishing village. Don and Judy Barrett, seeking tranquility and community away from noisy city life, are ensnared in a mysterious series of events involving a strange yacht with a bright red spinnaker and its enigmatic skipper. As village life unfolds around them with gentle humor, an undercurrent of unease builds, culminating in a chilling twist tied to intuition, fate, and foreboding omens at sea.

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Key Discussion Points & Plot Breakdown

1. Setting the Scene (~01:05–03:56)

• Hamish McLeod introduces the setting: Don and Judy Barrett, a young couple, move to the peaceful village of Parsworth overlooking St. Austell Bay, Cornwall. Don is a crime writer and yachting enthusiast. The couple enjoys village life and its gentle pace.
• Quote:
  "Progress is a fine thing in its way... But where man has paid rather heavily, in my personal opinion, is in respect of silence, peace and quiet." – [01:12], Hamish McLeod

2. Village Life and Light-Hearted Banter (~04:02–08:35)

• Don struggles with writer’s block while Judy returns from shopping; their witty, loving exchanges reveal their personalities.
• Village gossip is shared, providing comedic relief (Mrs. Gouge is dieting; Mr. Molesworth's rabbits have vanished).
• Notable Quote:
  "Lemon wafers are to me what blood is to Dracula." – [04:49], Don
  "The news is always so delightfully inconsequential." – [06:16], Don

3. The Mysterious Yacht Appears (~08:36–13:36)

• Judy describes seeing a strange, large yacht with a “bright red spinnaker” and a man in a yellow oilskin jacket who beckons to her in an unsettling way.
• She feels disturbed by the incident, which Don downplays as harmless.
• Don inquires at the local pub—neither George, the barman, nor Martin Fordham, the regatta secretary, knows of such a yacht in the vicinity.
• Notable Quotes:
  "The slow, beckoning movement of his arm and the grin... was sort of insolent somehow." – [08:28], Judy
  "I wonder who he is. You recognize him again, I suppose." – [08:45], Don

4. Second Sighting and Growing Unease (~13:38–16:18)

• The yacht reappears for Judy—again, the man beckons her.
• Her unease intensifies; Don still thinks it’s coincidence or perhaps an itinerant yachtsman.
• Judy is convinced something is wrong; Don teases her superstition.
• Notable Quotes:
  "Maybe you've seen the Flying Dutchman, only he's a little off course. By about 6,000 miles, in fact." – [14:45], Don

5. Community Integration and The Regatta (~16:19–18:42)

• Time passes; Don and Judy become a fixture in village life.
• As Parsworth’s annual regatta nears, the village fills with visiting yachtsmen. Don is offered a dream opportunity: to crew on the Kittiwake, a visiting 34-foot yacht.
• On seeing the yacht, Judy’s intuition strikes hard—it’s the same boat, and the beckoning skipper is aboard.
• Notable Quotes:
  "It's him beckoning. And now I know." – [18:26], Judy
  "Lots of yachts have bright red spinnakers, you know, and yellow oilskins are quite common. In any case, there's nothing sinister about it at all. So stop being morbid and leave the imaginative fiction to me." – [19:33], Don

6. A Preempted Tragedy and Supernatural Premonition (~19:43–21:14)

• Judy, desperate, sets the cottage clocks back, ensuring Don misses boarding the Kittiwake.
• An angry Don confronts her, accusing her of childish sabotage.
• The horrifying news breaks: the Kittiwake has capsized in heavy seas with no survivors.
• Notable Quotes:
  *"I very much wanted to crew on the Kittiwake. It was important to me. And just because you had some ridiculous bee in your bonnet, you make me miss the chance... " – [20:05], Don
  "It was on the news. Capsized in very heavy seas. And there were no survivors." – [20:38], Judy

7. Aftermath & Reflection (~21:14–End)

• The story ends with Hamish McLeod leaving listeners to ponder whether Judy’s intuition was mere chance or a supernatural warning—her unease and action saved Don’s life.
• Memorable Closing:
  "Although it's not quite true to say there were no survivors. For Don Barrett survived, thanks to his wife having heeded what? Her intuition? Or was it more than that?...I, for one, don't know the answer. But I'll leave you to ponder it for yourselves." – [21:14], Hamish McLeod

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Memorable Moments & Quotes

• Judy’s chilling description of the skipper:
  "The slow, beckoning movement of his arm and the grin...Was sort of insolent somehow." – [08:28]
• Don’s frustration after missing the race due to Judy’s intervention:
  "Just because you got some ridiculous bee in your bonnet, you make me miss the chance." – [20:05]
• Judy’s calmly justified act:
  "I did it deliberately." – [20:31]

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Key Timestamps

• 01:05 – Story introduction and village backdrop
• 04:15 – Light-hearted banter and village gossip
• 08:00 – First mention of the bright red spinnaker
• 13:38 – Yacht sighted a second time
• 16:19 – The Barretts settled, regatta approaches
• 18:26 – Judy’s warning upon seeing the yacht’s skipper
• 19:47 – Don leaves (late), believing it’s early
• 20:13 – Confrontation over the clocks, tragic news breaks
• 21:14 – Epilogue: the nature of premonition

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Episode Takeaway

A suspenseful blend of village warmth and supernatural tension. At its core, “The Bright Red Spinnaker” is a story about intuition, love, and the inexplicable—where an eerie warning manifests as salvation, and the ordinary is subtly laced with the extraordinary. The episode’s gentle wit disguises the growing unease, building to a conclusion that lingers and invites listeners to trust the mysterious, too-often-dismissed inner voice.

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Transcript

[A]

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[B]

Springbok Radio proudly presents tales from the Seven Seas stories, specially written for this series by Annette McKenzie and Jack Mullen and introduced by Hamish McLeod. You know, progress is a fine thing in its way, and the various advances over the years have enabled the quality of life to improve in many respects. But of course, there's a price to be paid. And where man has paid rather heavily, in my personal opinion, is in respect of silence, peace and quiet. With cities everywhere becoming more congested, it grows increasingly difficult to find areas where noise doesn't intrude. And it was in order to find a haven of quiet that Don and Judy Barrett, the principal characters in my story tonight, bought themselves a neat little cottage in the tiny fishing village of Parsworth, on the edge of Saint Austell Bay, Cornwall. Don Barrett was a moderately successful writer of crime stories and a keen yachtsman in his spare time. Within a matter of weeks, the young couple had a nodding acquaintance with most of the people in the village. I It was a pleasant wee place, nothing extraordinary about it. And the curious incident didn't seem extraordinary either. At first, I called the story the Bright Red Spinnaker. The point is, if the inspector knew about the footprints underneath the library window, why didn't he arrest the nephew then and there? Now, why? Because. Because he didn't have enough to go on. That alone wouldn't be sufficient to suppose he didn't see the footprints. No, no, he's Got to see them. That ties in with the story about the broken window.

[C]

Hey, darling.

[B]

My arms are broken.

[C]

Hello.

[B]

Oh, hi, darling.

[C]

That's better. Kiss, please. Thank you. What are you doing out here, by the way? Aren't you slaving over a hot typewriter?

[B]

Oh, plots come unstuck. I was going way off on the wrong tackle. Thought I'd just sit here and watch the sea for a bit, wait for some kind of miracle.

[C]

She hasn't arrived yet, I gather.

[B]

No. As a matter of fact, I think I'll just leave it for an hour or so. It's time my subconscious did some work. What lovely goodies did you get?

[C]

Nothing very lovely, I'm afraid. It was bread and butter shopping.

[B]

Oh, what's this?

[C]

Put that down.

[B]

Aha. With deadly accuracy. My insurer fingers are fastened on the piece de resistance. Lemon wafers.

[C]

Don't start eating them now. You'll spoil your lunch. Honesty, you're worth no child.

[B]

Lemon wafers are to me what blood is to Dracula.

[C]

What a revolting analogy.

[B]

Intended to put you off lemon wafers for the rest of your life. Or at least for the duration of this packet, thereby ensuring I get to scoff the lot.

[C]

Greedy thing.

[B]

What else have you got?

[C]

Stop rummaging. Go back and write thousands of salable words.

[B]

I will, I will. Eventually.

[C]

I was going to get some lettuce, but I only had a few limp specimens and they were 14p.

[B]

Why not? No. Silly, evil, very newsome part.

[C]

Don't eat your lunch.

[B]

You know one of that?

[C]

No. You never pay up when you lose.

[B]

Never lose. That's why any village news, he repeated, his voice raised several decibels in irritation.

[C]

Lot, she replied cryptically.

[B]

So give, doll, give.

[C]

You know what your trouble is, don't you? You're trying to stave off the evil moment. You're even prepared to listen to vacuous village gossip.

[B]

Anything.

[C]

Rather than do what you should be.

[B]

Doing, which is getting back to the typewriter. Yes.

[C]

Yes, yes, yes.

[B]

No, not yet. Well, what news?

[C]

Well, Mrs. Gouge, you know, Mrs. Gows.

[B]

Gouge. Gouge.

[C]

Enormously fat lady with a National Health glass is precariously teaching on the tip of her nose. I don't know why she wears them. She only ever seems to look over the top of them.

[B]

Right. We've established her identity and her appearance. Now, what about her?

[C]

She's been on a diet and she's lost seven pounds. Isn't that fascinating?

[B]

Absolutely. You know, it's one of the most endearing things about Parsworth. The news is always so delightfully inconsequential.

[C]

And Mr. Molesworth, the chemist? What about him, then?

[B]

What about him, then?

[C]

Well, he's mislaid four of his rabbits.

[B]

He's done what?

[C]

I heard him telling Mrs. Gouge in the shop he keeps rabbits. Apparently. And yesterday morning, when he went to give them their vitamin pills or dandelion leaves or whatever it was he was going to give them, four of them were missing.

[B]

The nation will never stand for this.

[C]

You know, it sounds lovely when you hear these people discussing things like missing rabbits with the sort of intensity normally reserved for IRA bombings, Middle east crisis and the like. I think it's absolutely fabulous. I can't wait to really belong here. I honestly can't.

[B]

For my money, they've got a much better sense of perspective than us. Well, not us specifically, but city dwellers. I mean, it'll take some time before we're fully accepted here. It'll come, but. Well, it'll take time.

[C]

I'm gonna make some tea. I'm dying for it, Cap, do you want some?

[B]

Oh, I don't think so, darling. I think I'll take a stroll down to the local. I won't be able to get back to the chapter I'm working on till I've sorted my inspector out. Anyway. Needs time to gel a bit in my mind.

[C]

Well, don't be too long, darling. I was planning lunch for one o'.

[B]

Clock. No, no, no, no, no. I'll just walk along by the yacht club and have half a pint at the Mermaid's Rock.

[C]

Well, that reminds me. Funny thing. I was walking past the yacht club and there was this beautiful big yacht there. Big thing.

[B]

What do you mean by big? 21 footer, 30.

[C]

You know, I'm not very good at sizes and crumbly. 30?

[B]

That's pretty. Peak offshore cruiser, sounds like.

[C]

Anyway, it had all its sails up. The wind was sort of flapping them about, including that sail at the front. You know, the balloon?

[B]

Sort of. One balloon. Jib. Spinnaker.

[C]

Spinnaker, that's right. Bright red. And there was this chap on the deck. He saw me and sort of beckoned to me.

[B]

Beckoned to you? Yes.

[C]

Well, at first I thought he must have been calling somebody else, but I was the only one in the vicinity. Sort of stopped me in my tracks and I just looked. He waved me over again. I could see his face and he was grinning.

[B]

Cheeky devil.

[C]

Actually, it wasn't very nice.

[B]

How do you mean, not very nice?

[C]

Oh, the slow, beckoning movement of his arm and the grin. I don't know. Was sort of insolent somehow.

[B]

Sort of mocking. Was he a local?

[C]

I don't know. I don't think so. Never seen him before. I don't particularly want to see him again either.

[B]

I wonder who he is. You recognize him again, I suppose.

[C]

Yes, if I had to. Rather not. As I said, he was fairly tall. Age about, oh, anywhere between 20 and 40. Odd. He's wearing a yellow oilskin jacket and a yachting cap.

[B]

No trousers, idiot.

[C]

Denims, I think. And he was barefoot.

[B]

Not bad. Not bad. A reasonable witness. Perhaps we'll know who he is at the Mermaid's Rock. I find out, shall I? Morning, Mr. Barrett, sir. Morning, George. Morning. Morning. Pine of keg, is it? Just a half, thanks. Right you are, sir. Fine today, though. We'll have rain by nightfall, shouldn't wonder. Yeah, it's quite a fair breeze coming off the sea southwester. That'd be rain not far behind. It never fails. There you are. Nice light laugh, that is. Thanks, George. Have one yourself. Oh, very kind to you, sir. Don't mind if I do. Take for half one. Same as yours, if I may. Have whatever you like. And 26ft change. Thank you very much, Mr. Bow. My pleasure. Cheers. Cheers. Lovely. Cigarettes? Oh, no, not for me, thanks, Mr. Barrett. Been off three years now. Don't you miss them at all? Don't I? After. And how's Mrs. Barrett, then? Oh, she's fine. She's fine, thanks. Oh, yes, that reminds me. Perhaps you can help solve a little mystery. If I can, sir. Well, actually, mystery's too strong a word for it. More a question of satisfying my curiosity than anything. A yacht down near the basin. 30 footer or thereabouts. Bright red spinnaker. Do you happen to know who owns her? 30 footer down near the basin, sir? My wife's sort certainly don't belong to no year about. Sir. Martin, you know anything about a 30 foot yacht in the basin? Bright red spin. A car? What do you mean? Now, Josh? That's right, now. Won't be no yachts of that size here, not till they were gathered. And that's two or five months away. My wife saw this yacht just off the basin about an hour ago. Oh, you're Mr. Barrett in years. Took over Buttermilk Cottage in the bluff. That's right. Don Bard. Oh, I. I'm sorry, Ms. Barrett. Ain't you met Martin Fordham? Well, I have now, George. How'd you do, Mr. Fordham? Martin? I do nicely, thank you. You see, your wife saw this yacht. That's right. I was Just curious as to who owned her. I can't say as how I know any yacht hereabouts like you describe. And I don't know of any visiting ones neither. It's not very likely this time of year. My wife saw it all the same, actually. There was a chap on deck and he waved at her. Tall chap wearing an oilskin jacket, Yachting cap. Ringing the bells? No, not with me. Don't you, Josh? No, me neither. Ms. Bird. My curiosity would have to go unsatisfied. I take it the yacht weren't still there when you come along just now? No. And I was looking out for. Well, it doesn't really matter. Probably just our unsailing part. Could be. I suppose more likely that's the answer. Yes. You said something about a regatta in five months time. Or did I hear incorrectly? Oh, you heard right. That's when we have our annual regatta. There are quite a few big yachts down here then for the Isle of Wight Perpetual Cup. Perhaps I should enter the Aphrodite for that. Oh, that's your boat? Yes. Gunterig dinghy. Oh, I don't think a dinghy would be much use in the Isle of white cop, Mr. Burris. Oh, that's a race with a biggins. Offshore cruisers and the like. Such as the one your wife saw today. The one with the bright red spinnaker. Satan, there be ye resident wench. Ah, there she be, A sitting afore ye window, a watching of ye waves. Hi. I know. I'll go out and come in again, shall I?

[C]

You're back. Sorry, darling, I didn't hear you come in.

[B]

Don't apologize. Obviously it was a very crummy entrance. Which I shall now endeavor to eradicate completely from your memory. By trying a different one.

[C]

Idiot.

[B]

Nicest thing anyone's ever said to me. Hello. Well, it's one o' clock and I'm back. So where's me lunch?

[C]

Oh, just about ready. I saw that yacht again.

[B]

The one you told me about.

[C]

Yes, I saw it again from the window.

[B]

Did you? When?

[C]

About 20 minutes after you'd left. I just happened to glance out through the window and there it was, just down below, quite close to shore.

[B]

Sailing towards Parsworth. Or away from it.

[C]

Away. Went outside and had a look at. Was even closer than it seemed from the window.

[B]

Did you see your friend in the yellow oilskins?

[C]

He was on deck and he beckoned again, just the same as before. I couldn't see his face, of course, but I'm willing to bet he was grinning like before.

[B]

Too I don't think I like this.

[C]

I didn't like it. I told you something creepy about it.

[B]

Maybe you've seen the Flying Dutchman, Only he's a little off course. By about 6,000 miles, in fact.

[C]

Time he got back on course again. Who is he? Did you ask down at Mermaids Rock?

[B]

Yes. I asked George, who inquired after you, by the way.

[C]

Oh, that was nice of him.

[B]

And I said you were fine.

[C]

No Josh. What did he say about the man on the yacht?

[B]

Oh, he knew nothing about either the yacht or the man. Definitely not local.

[C]

He hadn't seen it?

[B]

No. Now that a chap called Fordham, Martin Fordham. And he's somebody you'd think would know. Apparently his regatta secretary for the Parsworth Annual Regatta.

[C]

And he knew nothing about this yacht?

[B]

Nope.

[C]

Somebody must have seen it, surely.

[B]

Yes, you did, darling.

[C]

I mean, apart from me. What's a big yacht?

[B]

The English Channel is a big stretch of water. So? So, he's a yachtsman who touched in St. Austell Bay for a few hours and pushed on, saw a very pretty girl and waved to her.

[C]

QED Beckoned.

[B]

Not waved beckoned, but trying his luck. What's he got to lose?

[C]

And Inspector Wayman wraps up yet another successful case.

[B]

Oh, why did you have to mention that? I've been trying to avoid getting back to chapter seven and Inspector Wayman. I wish I'd never created the miserable old wretch. Matter of fact, I think I'll kill him off. It will give me great pleasure to have him die horribly humiliated and in disgrace.

[C]

Your readers would never forgive you. And neither would I. Lunch first, then back to your muse.

[B]

The weeks blended into months, and Judy and Don forgot all about the incident of the beckoning yachtsman. More and more, they became part of the village community. Judy, a good organizer, found herself being roped in for church bazaars, quest drives and various fundraising activities. The congenial atmosphere, the peace and quiet, enabled Don to increase his creative output considerably and gave him more time to indulge in his hobby of sailing. His nippy little dinghy scudding back and forth across the day became a familiar sight. Summer arrived, and with it, Parsworth's annual regatta and the Isle of Wight Perpetual cup offshore race. The wee village was brim full of visiting yachtsmen, and dawn and Judy found themselves looking askance at the strangers in much the same way as the villagers did. There was another element in Don's appraisal of the visitors. A tinge of envy. He would dearly have loved to have taken part in the big race. Imagine his delight when Martin Fordham, the regatta secretary, asked him to do just that. One of the visiting yachts was short of a crew member and the secretary had been asked if one of the locals would stand in. Dawn accepted with undisguised impression? Enthusiasm. There she is. Judy. The Kittiwake. Isn't she an absolute beauty? 34ft of racing symmetry. And this time tomorrow, yours truly will be aboard her and feeling her trim line cleave the water sharp as a knife. Isn't she a beaut?

[C]

Darling. Darling, that.

[B]

What, love?

[C]

I know this yacht.

[B]

I know it the kitty way to you. But I shouldn't think so, darling. It's not a local. Ah, there's a skipper just come on deck. Hello there.

[C]

It's him. It's him beckoning. And now I know.

[B]

What are you on about? Darling? No one's beckoning. That's her skipper. And he was waving at me, not you.

[C]

John, you mightn't go on that yacht tomorrow.

[B]

What? Why ever not?

[C]

It's the yacht I saw before. I can't explain it to you, but I just know that you mustn't know.

[B]

What'S got into you. Look, I'm sorry, darling, but it's all arranged. Race starts at 9:15 and I'll be aboard by 8:15 at the latest. There we are. That's it. I've got everything. 5 to 8. 20 minutes to get down there. Give us a kiss and wish me luck. Your husband may well be a member of the winning crew. You're strangely silent. You're not seriously annoyed about my crewing on this yacht, are you?

[C]

No.

[B]

Lots of yachts have bright red spinnakers, you know, and yellow oilskins are quite common. In any case, there's nothing sinister about it at all. So stop being morbid and leave the imaginative fiction to me.

[C]

I haven't said a thing. All right.

[B]

I wish you'd cheer up. See you later, then, darling. You might wish me luck, you know.

[C]

Good luck.

[B]

All right, Julie. What the heck do you think you're playing at, huh? John, I mean, for heaven's sake, you think I'm a child. You made me look an absolute idiot. No, you listen. I very much wanted to crew on the Kittiwake. It was important to me. And just because you got some ridiculous bee in your bonnet, you make me miss the chance.

[C]

And for what?

[B]

Some superstitious nonsense that you couldn't even explain. You don't deny putting my watch back, putting the clocks back in the cottage so that I would innocently imagine I was leaving at 5 to 8 in plenty of time when it was really 5 to 11 and the race was half way over. You don't deny it, do you? No.

[C]

I did it deliberately.

[B]

I know you did. I know you did. John.

[C]

Listen. It was on the news.

[B]

What was?

[C]

The Kittiwake capsized off Prawl Point.

[B]

Capsized?

[C]

It was on the news. Capsized in very heavy seas. And there were no survivors.

[B]

I the racing yacht was lost with all hands. Although it's not quite true to say there were no survivors. For Don Barrett survived, thanks to his wife having heeded what? Her intuition? Or was it more than that? Was the sight of that shot and its skipper months before the tragedy. Was it a portent of danger? A warning? I, for one, don't know the answer. But I'll leave you to ponder it for yourselves. You've been listening to Tales from the Seven Seas, written by Annette McKenzie and Jack Mullen. Listen next week at the same time to another enthralling story of the sea, produced by Andre Botma.

[A]

It.