Chapter 4
Their seasickness started amid the grey-green waters of the Nore. As Alf stood on the main deck and watched the coastal scenery unfold, he saw people’s smiles lose their shape, a whiteness coming into their cheeks. The morning’s chatter faded into an uneasy silence.
Young Bridie was one of the first to take sick. She crawled into her bunk before Lady Sophia had threaded her way through the sandy banks at the mouth of the Thames. Mary followed soon after, along with Pam Griggs who, in between gut-wrenching heaves, held first Billy, then Lucy, as they spewed onto the deck.
‘It’s mind over matter,’ Tom Griggs said, holding out a hawse bucket. ‘As you can see, Pam, I’ve got a cast iron constitution.’
Pam glanced up, scowling, and wiped the spittle from Billy’s lips. ‘More like ho
