By Vanessa Simmons
I have many snatches of memories from when I was little, but my first very clear memory is of the Friendship Rose. Going to town was not something people did very often, they went only to get things that could not be found on Bequia.
I don’t know if my sister was with us, I was no older than four. The Friendship Rose was not terribly comfortable, and I was lifted up on top of the tarp covering the cargo hold to sit. I took ferry boats quite a bit when growing up, and my favourite part was when we left the harbour and rounded the corner. The sun would appea,r and the sea was always the most beautiful first thing in the morning. The sea would either be beautifully calm and the ride lovely, or the channel would kick up and the ride would be less than enjoyable. This time was the latter.
I was of course wearing my pretty clothes. Pretty clothes are clothes one wears when going somewhere special. This included church, formal community events and town. I was seated next to a nice lady who knew my grandparents (both sets probably, but here I refer to grandma and grandpa Armstrong), and she had a wonderful smile. The lady had a new baby; mummy encouraged me to see the child, so I sat next to this nice lady for the whole trip. I remember she smiled a lot and engaged me in play with the baby in her arms. The baby was also in pretty clothes, with a white bonnet, socks with frills and white shoes. Once the boat rounded the corner the waves kicked up and the boat started to roll. I was too scared to speak. I was probably also too scared to be sea sick, a trait I inherited from my mother. Probably for the best in my pretty clothes!
Sitting on the tarp in the middle of the boat meant I had nothing to hold on to. Adults had their feet squarely on deck, but mine did not reach far enough, so I had to hang on the tarp itself. One particularly large wave rolled us so far to one side that I felt myself flying off. I grabbed on to the closest thing I could, the baby’s leg.
To this day I am mortified that I grabbed a baby’s leg and almost pulled her out of her mother’s arms onto the deck of the boat. I don’t know if someone caught me and righted me before that could happen, or if I righted myself, but I do know that the baby’s white shoe went flying and I could never look that nice lady in the face again!