I have been following DeeDee’s presence in Bequia’s water taxi fleet for years, curious from the the first day I noticed her, wondering what it would be like to be the only woman working the bay. I’m particularly drawn to the water taxis with their characterful drivers, the fine names of the boats (DeeDee’s is called Blessing) and all the services they provide in the bay, ferrying passengers, assisting with moorings, sometimes even serving as mobile bakeries.   

My first actual in person encounter with DeeDee was about 11 years ago when I was staying on shore in Bequia, in a house up the cliff above Princess Margaret Beach. I had made the long trek into the town of Port Elizabeth, walking up and down the cliffs ringing the bay, similar to a walk my heroine Maggie makes early in A Turquoise Grave when she needs to clear her head. I had done some provisioning at the various markets of Port Elizabeth and made my way out onto the city dock to hail a water taxi. I was delighted when DeeDee noticed me waving for a ride as I had been admiring her from afar for a couple of years. She ferried me back across the bay to the dock at Princess Margaret Beach, saving me the long return walk with all my parcels.

That was my introduction to DeeDee’s spirit, her dignity, her confidence as a sailor and a person of the sea, the pride she took in her work.

Since then, I have been aboard sailboats several times when DeeDee provided us with mooring assistance. Recently, February 13, 2023, I had the pleasure of interviewing her for this blog post.

Before the interview, I watched the afternoon unfold as sailboats began to pour into Admiralty Bay, and DeeDee led one after another to a mooring. Typically taxi drivers fan out to catch the boats entering the bay, leading them to moorings that they represent. Sometimes the competition can be fierce about which taxi gets to a sailboat first. DeeDee told me that not only does she have a following of regulars who seek her out but she is also recommended highly by well known sailing guide writers like Chris Doyle. Much of her custom comes from captains who call or radio ahead requesting her assistance, helping her to avoid having to compete for jobs.

Securing a boat to a mooring is often a routine activity, especially with a skilled captain and calm conditions. But things can go wrong quickly, seriously wrong. I really came admire her skill as I watched her handle three near disasters in quick succession. In each instance Deedee, quietly, calmly, saved the day. In one case, the helms person approached the mooring too fast, overshooting it. Dede’s role, from her perch in her own boat well below the sailboat towering above her, was to take a line from a crew member on the sailboat, pass it through the top of the mooring, and then back to the waiting crew person on the bow of the boat. That became almost impossible as the sailboat sped past jerking her along. She had trouble returning the line to the boat and the captain almost hit another boat. In another case, the helms person ran over the line and got it tangled in the propeller. In a third, a captain disregarded her advice about the appropriate mooring to pick up, went to pick up another too close to other boats, and then lacked the maneuvering skills to make the tight turns necessary to extricate his boat without hitting one of the others nearby.

In each case, DeeDee projected a confident calm presence, gave expert and clear advice, and helped preserve the captain’s pride in front of his crew. She diffused tense situations and stayed with each boat until it was well situated on its mooring.

DeeDee has lived all her life on Bequia and comes from a sailing and boat building family. Her father was a naval architect by profession. When we chatted, I could hear the pride in her voice as she told me about him. Among his projects was the conversion to power of the historic schooner, the Friendship Rose. This treasured beauty, built in 1969, was one of the last of the old schooners to be built in the traditional way, out in the open on the beaches of Bequia.

Deedee’s own career on the water began as a dive instructor, working for 11 years at Dive Bequia, a dive shop located on the walkway flanking Admiralty Bay. She instructed visiting divers who came to the bay from all over the world until her lungs had had enough. Still committed to a life on the water, she joined the crew of a catamaran, serving as first mate for many years. Her switch to water taxi driver was supposed to be temporary, joining a friend to share a boat. Thirteen years later, she’s still at it, but now, she told me, at long last she works for herself.