Does Kit like the ride on The Dolphin?

On one April morning in 1687, Kit arrives in Saybrook Harbor aboard the Dolphin. She has sailed all the way from Barbados to Connecticut in order to live with her mother's sister.

When the ship's first mate, Nathaniel Eaten, asks Kit whether she thinks that they have had a good journey, she answers in the affirmative. She is happy that the journey is almost over, and she can look forward to settling in to her new home soon. This conversation transpires in Chapter 1; however, in Chapter 2, Kit's thoughts about her subsequent sailing experience on the Dolphin is less than positive. This involves the second leg of her journey from Saybrook Harbor to Wethersfield, where her aunt lives.

It takes nine days to sail from Saybrook Harbor to Wethersfield. Kit is frustrated at the length of time it takes to sail the forty three miles to her destination. From her point of view, the main problem is the lack of strong winds to propel the ship forward. When she complains to one of the sailors, he tells her that he is used to such uncertainty on the waters. At this point, Kit is impatient to disembark, also because she finds the atmosphere on the Dolphin even less friendly than before. After her rendezvous in the waters to retrieve Prudence's doll, Goodwife Cruff has classified her a witch.

The kind John Holbrook is the only one who makes the journey bearable for Kit. Although they hold opposing views in regards to theology and politics, John's kindness manages to disarm our young protagonist.

The last leg of the journey is the most agonizing for Kit. She watches with great impatience as the ship prepares to 'wall' the river. This is the process of dropping a roped anchor as close to land as possible, after which sailors on board must, with the help of the rope, pull the ship towards the direction of the anchor (and land). The process is slow and laborious, and this frustrates Kit. So, Kit doesn't really enjoy the second leg of her journey on the Dolphin very much: she has to contend with unfriendly and judgmental Puritans, the stench of horses from the hold, and the laborious process of sailing.