To the Editor:
I thoroughly enjoyed your article on the SSA Islander (“Showing some love for the tub,” Nov. 23). For most of my Monday-through-Friday commuting for almost 40 years, we commuters counted on the Islander getting us to work and back to the Island.
Once, during what may have been a hurricane, the crew let some of us go on deck and experience the wind and the waves crashing over the bow. We were soaked! There was the grounding off Nobska Lighthouse, when we just relaxed and continued to play cards throughout the delay. The food service even gave out free coffee and snacks to all.
Through it all, I was joined by Ronnie, Don, Mark, Johnny, Cindy, and others, sitting at the same table at the bottom of the stairs playing cards.
As several commuters retired, I waited for Don to show up with his backgammon board as we continued the daily play. MOST IMPORTANTLY, we could always count on Captain Jardin to bring us home on the Islander.
Ralph Friedman
Vineyard Haven
