Female Heroes of the Sea and Sailors

[Redreuben]

Ruth Wharram
Hanneke Boon
Cathy Hawkins

[tamicatana]

I am probably going to regret this post, but at these fora it so very needs to be said. Here goes…

I have observed:
1. Except for the instant post, no females have made comment thus far, (I admit I may have missed).
2. From my feminine perspective, the very fact that it is remarkable to you lot that there are females who not only sail but have command roles is in and of itself hugely chauvinistic. But, that chauvinism is rampant in sailing is my experience for 40 years now (how long I’ve been in sail).

Please stop patronizing women. Really. Y’all want to support us? Here’s how:

—When meeting a couple, if the woman makes a comment that is technically savvy, don’t keep looking and talking to her husband as though she isn’t there.
—I feel like Barb Wire every time someone says ‘the Admiral.’ One day it will happen, and I will be wearing stiletto heels, and one of them will end up lodged in the offender’s forehead. Please.stop.
—Put the gyal on the helm. Why would you relegate the smaller (generally) person as the deck squirrel? You Big Kahuna Manly Man, YOU do the heavy lifting. Besides, if you want to instill confidence, put her on. Here’s another reason: what if you become incapacitated….?

Go ahead, fire away and disappoint me again, but you all may note the dearth of feminine participation in these fora. Maybe look in the mirror to find why.

[double u]

Jutta, who was also on the "Tangaroa" Atlantic trip of J. & R. Wharram

[Redreuben]

tamicatana; Is this your way of fitting in ?
What men respect is competency, which should be self evident from this brilliant thread. As for the rest of your spiel I’m not biting the steely hook is barely covered.

[gamayun]

Here's one who's on top of the world. I hope this opens more doors to young women who want to compete at the top and inspires those who want to take the helm at any level.

CJ PEREZ: ORIGIN STORY

https://youtu.be/gbtYKxFnpI0

[tamicatana]

Originally Posted by Redreuben

tamicatana; Is this your way of fitting in ?
What men respect is competency, which should be self evident from this brilliant thread. As for the rest of your spiel I’m not biting the steely hook is barely covered.

DILLIGAF?

[boatman61]

Zeehag, Gamayun, Littlewings, Tamicatana, Ann Cate...

[pcmm]

Tracy Edwards - (Maiden) Millennials seem to be unaware that SHE "broke the glass ceiling" on long distance yacht racing 30+ years ago!

Lin Pardey -- I think she of all probably did more to get women cruising than any other

Susan Hiscock--- The modern original cruising woman!!

[JPA Cate]

Let me tell about my heroine....

I cannot tell you too much about her, because she is a very private woman, and I would need permission. Her parents were cruisers, and when she grew up, she became an architect. She decided she wanted to go to sea, and had an aluminum boat built in the Netherlands. The boat was built as one would build an expedition boat, and she did the fitout herself. She is a solo sailor who has sailed in the Longue Route, and also circumnavigated Antarctica, long before Lisa Blair, and she is the first woman to sail the Northwest Passage solo.

Although afraid of sharks, she has dived the boat in the Southern Ocean to remove barnacles, in only a lightweight shorty wetsuit. (Took two days of effort.)

Our friend sails because she has an abiding love of it, and is at sea now, as I write this.

Ann

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

Let me tell about my heroine....

I cannot tell you too much about her, because she is a very private woman, and I would need permission. Her parents were cruisers, and when she grew up, she became an architect. She decided she wanted to go to sea, and had an aluminum boat built in the Netherlands. The boat was built as one would build an expedition boat, and she did the fitout herself. She is a solo sailor who has sailed in the Longue Route, and also circumnavigated Antarctica, long before Lisa Blair, and she is the first woman to sail the Northwest Passage solo.

Although afraid of sharks, she has dived the boat in the Southern Ocean to remove barnacles, in only a lightweight shorty wetsuit. (Took two days of effort.)

Our friend sails because she has an abiding love of it, and is at sea now, as I write this.

Ann

Ann, this is like ripping out the last 5 pages of a good novel..

[Adelie]

Clare Francis
Janet Stevenson

[JPA Cate]

I'm amazed at the Janet Stevenson reference. She and Phil lived next door to a girlfriend of mine when I was 12-13. Both families were friends of my parents.

Adelie, why don't you tell people about Janet?

Ann

[JPA Cate]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Ann, this is like ripping out the last 5 pages of a good novel..

Yup, it's rough, all right. I understand you need visibility, and that's different. Our friend likes to be low key.

Ann

[Adelie]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

I'm amazed at the Janet Stevenson reference. She and Phil lived next door to a girlfriend of mine when I was 12-13. Both families were friends of my parents.

Adelie, why don't you tell people about Janet?

Ann

Why are you amazed? We’ve discussed her before.

In the late ‘50s early ‘60s she and her husband crewed on a boat from LA(I think) to one of the Polynesian islands. Her and 3 men, she didn’t allow herself to get pigeonholed into just galley work. She stood watches, changed sails and if I recall correctly learned celestial.

The rest of her life was eventful but not pertinent to the topic of this thread. If I’d realized she’d settled in Warrenton, I would have tried to visit her in the early 2000s.

Clare Francis singlehanded an OSTAR in the mid 1970s. Which led to her skippering a Swan-65 in the Whitbread, 1977-8, with the better part of 20 crew. Either feat would be impressive. She did both and wrote well enough to not need a ghost writer.

Beryl Smeeton comes to mind too but I haven’t read much about her.

[Jim Cate]

Beryl Smeeton comes to mind too but I haven’t read much about her.

Not many women (or men either for that matter) have survived two separate pitch-pole events near Cape Horn. Definitely in the hero model.

Jim