Section I - Preparations Summary

In the opening chapter of the novel, an unnamed narrator laments a love for how the sea calls them. The sea is called a dangerous temptress, and the narrator dreams a terrible dream of a wall of towering black water creeping up behind them, but the narrator wakes before the water can consume them.

In the second chapter, the reader learns that the narrator is Sophie, a thirteen-year-old girl who loves the sea and is preparing for a sea voyage with her uncles and male cousins to visit her Bompie, grandfather. Sophie's mother is not very excited about Sophie taking part in the dangerous mission, but Sophie is steadfast. Her uncles, also, don't really want Sophie aboard, but Uncle Dock convinces them that she will be fine. The crew hopes to set sail in the first week...