“America’s Women Seafarers Tell Their Stories”
Women have been going to sea since the early days of our nation. Some got jobs by pretending they were men; others sailed as captains’ wives and took command of ships when their husbands were unable. But until the second half of the twentieth century, few women were hired in their own right. Times have changed. Women now make up more than 10 percent of the maritime workforce, serving in the engine room, on deck, and in the wheelhouse.
Sponsored by the Working Harbor Committee in honor of Women’s History Month, this special Women at Sea program features a screening of the Waterfront Soundings Productions’ PBS documentary “Shipping Out—The Story of America’s Seafaring Women” followed by a conversation with seven women mariners who work as mates aboard cargo ships, tug captains, marine engineers, pilots, port officials and more.
Reception with food, wine, beer and soft drinks to follow
- Jessica DuLong, chief engineer on retired NYC fireboat John J. Harvey
- Captain Linda L. Fagan, U.S. Coast Guard Sector Commander & Captain, Port of NY
- Commander Linda A. Sturgis, USCG, head of Prevention Dept. at Coast Guard Sector NY
- Captain Ann Loeding, tug captain who’s worked in NY Harbor, Erie Canal, Great Lakes, Alaska
- Captain Coleen Quinn, Sandy Hook Pilot
- Marissa Strawbridge, second mate for American Marine Officers
- Debra Tischler, commercial operator for Overseas Shipholding Group Inc. and former second mate on tankers, car carriers and bulk carriers
Watch the trailer
