Baby born on ferry celebrates first birthday on the Samish

“Baby boy born!” came the announcement over the intercom on the Washington State Ferry, Samish, on Aug. 6, 2024. Cars honked their horns, cheers rung out, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief that the calls for medical personnel and 45-minute delay at the Lopez ferry landing was good news.

Aug. 6 of this year was party-time and no stress as Baby Arlo Mack and his family returned to the Samish to celebrate his first birthday. Dressed in a sailor suit that matched his older sister, Norah, Arlo was all smiles as he munched a cupcake surrounded by balloons and gifts, as his dad told his birth story to the passengers gathered around.

“Your wife is having this baby right now, you guys aren’t gonna make it!” he remembers being told, as the reality of their situation set in.

Candice, who was raised in Friday Harbor, and her husband, Justice, thought that their second baby may come a little early since their first, Norah, was born at 38 weeks five years before. Always the concern for on-island moms, due to a lack of maternity care in Friday Harbor, the timing of when to go off island was a struggle.

“I didn’t want to get stuck off island and have to keep going back and forth,” she said. It was still 2.5 weeks before Arlo’s due date. “But as I was tracking my contractions, I knew we needed to get to the hospital.”

On the ferry, Justice helped Candice get to the bathroom, where labor started to progress. A woman in the stall next to her knew immediately what was happening – she had heard those sounds regularly during her career as a maternity ward nurse. She immediately snapped into action, took care of Candice, and let Justice know that he needed to get help. The ferry workers were notified and the medical room on board set up for labor and delivery.

“We didn’t know how the baby was doing inside of me since we couldn’t monitor him,” Candice remembers, “but I knew he needed to come out so he could be okay.”

And come out, he did, thanks to the calm expertise of the retired maternity ward nurse who delivered the baby, took care of Candice, and then slipped away without even sharing her name.

“She was literally an angel. Such a soothing presence. She knew exactly what was going on – she sniffed it out like a truffle pig,” Justice laughed. “I wish we could find her. She was just passing through, I guess. Not an islander. Nobody knows who she was. Without her, I don’t know how it would’ve gone.”

The mystery woman is pictured in gray in these photos — if anyone has any information on her, the Macks would really appreciate being able to say thank you for her influence on what could have been a terrifying ordeal.

“I was so scared,” Candice said. “I always told people my worst fear was having a baby on the ferry! But it did make me feel powerful.”

When asked if she remembers her thoughts right after it happened, she said, “I just asked…can I please have some Tylenol and some water?”

Justice called Candice’s mom – who didn’t believe him initially when he told her what happened. She thought he was joking.

“My uncle was born on the ferry in 1940,” said Virginia Kane, Candice’s mother. “It’s a family affair!”

Richard “Dick” Pickering, of Lopez island was indeed born on the Klickitat ferry. Back then it was the Black Ball line, before WSF existed. He lived his whole life on Lopez and passed in 2018. Dick is Arlo’s great great uncle. 84 years passed between their shared experience of being born on a ferry in the Salish Sea.

Arlo is up for Baby of the Year currently, and votes can be cast at babyoftheyear.org for this special island boy who will always have a great story to tell.

“It all ended up amazing, all things considered,” Candice said. “Thank you for celebrating with us!”