That mud-bank saved us (эта илистая отмель спасла нас; mud-bank — илистая банка). The boat ploughed its way into the middle of it and then stuck (лодка врезалась в нее до половины и застряла; to plough — пахать, бороздить; прокладывать путь; врезаться; to stick). Finding that we were once more able to move according to our ideas (обнаружив, что мы снова можем двигаться согласно нашим мыслям = по нашей воле), instead of being pitched and thrown about like peas in a bladder (и нас не бросает и не трясет, словно горошины в мешке; to pitch — падать; подвергаться килевой качке; бросать; to throw about — разбрасывать, трясти; bladder — камера, пузырь, полость), we crept forward, and cut down the sail (мы подползли и срезали парус; to creep).

gunwale [nl] plough [plau]

As my advice was by far the easiest to follow, we ended by adopting it, and contrived to embrace the gunwale and give her her head.

The boat travelled up stream for about a mile at a pace I have never sailed at since, and don't want to again. Then, at a bend, she heeled over till half her sail was under water. Then she righted herself by a miracle and flew for a long low bank of soft mud.

That mud-bank saved us. The boat ploughed its way into the middle of it and then stuck. Finding that we were once more able to move according to our ideas, instead of being pitched and thrown about like peas in a bladder, we crept forward, and cut down the sail.

We had had enough sailing (мы довольно поплавали под парусом). We did not want to overdo the thing and get a surfeit of it (не хотели переборщить с этим и пресытиться им; surfeit — излишество, избыток; пресыщение). We had had a sail — a good all-round exciting, interesting sail (у нас был парус = мы совершили поездку под парусом — приятную, разностороннюю, захватывающую, интересную поездку) — and now we thought we would have a row, just for a change like (и теперь мы решили погрести, просто для разнообразия).

We took the sculls and tried to push the boat off the mud (мы взяли весла и попытались столкнуть лодку с ила = с отмели), and, in doing so, we broke one of the sculls (и при этом: «делая так» сломали одно из весел; to break). After that we proceeded with great caution, but they were a wretched old pair (затем мы продолжили с большой осторожностью, но они /весла/ были жалкой старой парой), and the second one cracked almost easier than the first, and left us helpless (и второе весло раскололось едва ли не легче, чем первое, и оставило нас беспомощными).

The mud stretched out for about a hundred yards in front of us, and behind us was the water (отмель тянулась примерно на сотню ярдов перед нами, а позади нас была вода). The only thing to be done was to sit and wait until someone came by (единственное, что оставалось делать — сидеть и ждать, пока кто-нибудь не проплывет мимо).

surfeit ['s:ft] caution ['k:n] wretched ['red]

We had had enough sailing. We did not want to overdo the thing and get a surfeit of it. We had had a sail — a good all-round exciting, interesting sail — and now we thought we would have a row, just for a change like.

We took the sculls and tried to push the boat off the mud, and, in doing so, we broke one of the sculls. After that we proceeded with great caution, but they were a wretched old pair, and the second one cracked almost easier than the first, and left us helpless.

The mud stretched out for about a hundred yards in front of us, and behind us was the water. The only thing to be done was to sit and wait until someone came by.