When Uwe Schiek and Nalia Barkman thought about having a bouncing baby boy, they didn’t imagine that baby would be bouncing around on the briny blue.

That’s what they got though, after the first-time parents had to be medivaced from False Bay on Lasqueti Island when Nalia went into labour last week.

The couple had planned to have a home birth at a friend’s house in French Creek, but the onset of labour came suddenly, and at a bad time for the isolated islanders.

“The due date was coming up,” husband Uwe said “She was due some time around now, and on the evening of Oct. 27 she said I think this is it. Then she started having contractions and the usual baby things.”

Uwe called midwife Zoe Cope and mobilized her to be ready at dockside in French Creek. Then he called the ambulance service, who, in turn, called in the Coast Guard.

“There is no ferry from Lasqueti Tuesday and Wednesday, plus it was evening, too,” Schiek said. “The Coast Guard got to False Bay at about 11 at night and we have a first responder team that met up with us there.

They loaded up on the boat and the crew, along with two paramedics that came over with the boat.”

The crossing to French Creek on the 14.6-metre Coast Guard motor lifeboat Cape Edensaw proved easier than expected.

“They were complaining about how rough it was on the way over, but the waves were going with us on the way back,” Schiek said. “It was rolly-polly, but not too bad. She was having contractions and things were progressing along when we got to French Creek.”

Cam Murray was the officer in charge on the ship, which was temporarily replacing the larger Cape Cockburn, which was being refitted at the time.

“We transported her back to French Creek and I thought it was just going to be a case of put her in the ambulance and off she goes,” he said. “The midwife who met us at the dock went on board to assess and came out and said we can’t go anywhere, that the baby is on the way.”

Cope immediately took charge, getting the little cabin on the boat ready to become a birthing room.

“She checked and said the baby is going to happen right here, right now,” Schiek said. “She was worried it would drop out on the ramp or something.”

The highly-experienced Cope cleared out as many people from the cabin as possible, using a time-honoured technique.

“The told us to boil some water and got some towels,” Murray said.

Schief laughed. “Zoe was just trying to be funny. It was a cliche,” Schiek said. “She used the hot water, but the towels was for a joke.”

With paramedics standing by and an ambulance on the dock waiting to whisk the mother and child to hospital, should it become necessary, five pound, six and a half ounce Ari Edan Shaw Schiek came into the world.

“Everything happened so fast,” Schiek said. “There was no time to process it all. Zoe said let’s grab the gera and she grabbed her baby birthing kit, brought it on the boat and in less than an hour after we got in, he was born. He came out with a nice little yell and he was totally fine.”

It was a first for the Schieks and it was also a first for Murray.

“We probably do 20 or so medivacs a year from lasqueti, for injuries, illness or whatever,” he said. “We’ve never had a baby on board though.”

The happy event will be remembered more than just as a tale for the telling.

“The Coast Guard told us it’s a naval tradition that if a baby is born on board, the name is inscribed on the ship’s bow,” Schiek said. “It’s going to be inscribed on the Cape Edansaw.”

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