A Brides Passage: Susan Hathorn's Year Under Sail by Catherine Petroski
Northeastern University Press June 1997
A honeymoon on the high seas aboard a merchant vessel may not sound like an idyllic, romantic escape. It particularly wasn't in 1855 when conditions made survival -- much less comfort - a serious consideration.
A Day on the Boat with Captain Betty by Diane Murez
Copyright 1993 Macmillan Publishing Co.
A children's picture book takes two young boys on an excursion around Florida's Sannibel and Captive Islands.
A Voyage in the Sunbeam by Lady Brassey Hippocrene Books, Inc.
A journal of a family's sea voyage, beginning in July 1876.(out of print)
Ahab's Wife: The Star-Gazer by Sena Jeter Naslund/Fiction
October 2000
An excellent fictitious account of the young women Herman Melville mentioned as Ahab's young wife in Moby Dick. A fabulously well written story. Highly recommended.
Alaska Sea Escapes by Wilma Williams
Copyright 1988 Wizard Works Publishing ISBN 1890692004
True harrowing tales of disasters and escapes in the wild waters of Alaska's fishing industry.
Almost Too Late by Elmo Wortman
Published in 1981 by Random House Inc., New York
The true story of a father and three teenagers (two girls and a boy) who survive a shipwreck in Alaska in February of 1979. Exposed to the bitter cold, with almost no food or clothing, the family struggled for almost a month to make their way to safety. I found that once I started reading, I could not put this book down. And I will never complain about being cold or hungry again. KRH posted 1/30/05.
Alone Around the World - The First Woman to Sail Singlehandedly Around the World by Naomi James
Soward McCann & Geoghegan, Inc. Non-Fiction.
America 3, the Women's Team by Paul Larsen
Published in 1997
Detailed depiction of how an all woman team of sailors lead by Dawn Riley compete for the America's Cup 1995.
Non-Fiction
An Unconditional Love Story - Meeting the People of the Sea by Karen M. Lai
Mall Publishing, 1471 Woodbury Circle, Gurnee, IL 60031 (847)791-7610
She lives and proclaims the gospel of Christ in the workplace of the seafarers. Weaving her personal experiences in serving the seafarers with the commitment to carry out the mission of faith, caring and justice.
An Ocean to Cross - Daring the Atlantic Claiming a New Life by Liz Fordred C 2001 ISBN 0071355049
A Disabled couple crossing the Atlantic by boat. Non-Fiction
An Unreasonable Woman: a true story of shrimpers, politicos, polluters and the fight for Seadrift, Texas by Diane Wilson
Published in 2005 by Chelsea Green Publishing P.O. Box 428 White River Junction, VT 05001 www.chelseagreen.com.
An Unreasonable Woman is a novelistic tale of heroism and skulduggery that plays out against a backdrop of colorful outlaw shrimpers and crooked politicians, enviro-activists, and informants, grudges and murder, betrayal and redemption. It has received glowing reviews from respected commentators as Molly Ivans and Jim Hightower, and many others. I found it to be very engaging and inspiring. For more information on Diane and her work, check out her web site at www.unreasonablewoman.com. KRH 12/19/05
At Home Afloat: Women on the Waters of the Pacific Northwest
by Nancy Pagh
Publisher: University of Idaho Press, Moscow, ID, U.S.A. Date Published: 2001, ISBN: 089301253XWomen were considered bad luck on boats at sea until far into the nineteenth century. Nancy Pagh studies women travelers on the Pacific maritime as these traditional prohibitions broke down. (The above information was taken from a web site- this book has not yet been reviewed by WMA. Posted 2/7/05)
Back Under Sail: Recovering the Spirit of Adventure by Migael Scherer
Milkweed Press, $22
We don't know much about this book, but we would encourage WMA members to read it and let us know what you think.
According to the brief blurb I read, Migael was brutally attacked and raped several years ago, and has written this account of her efforts to recover her sense of confidence and adventure.
She participated in the Around Admiralty Island sailboat race in Alaska, a 200 mile journey in which she was the only woman in the crew.
Bold in Her Breeches - Woman Pirates Across the Ages edited by Jo Stanley Published C1995
"This book takes a wholly fresh look at these mythical figures and places them in their true historical and cultural contexts.
From Artemisia to the contemporary women pirates of today, via eighteenth-century Grace O'Malley
and nineteenth-century Cheng I Sao, we learn why women took to piracy, what it was actually like, how they
were regarded by people of their own time and what history has done to their stories."
Branshee's Women - Capsized in the Coral Sea by Jeannine Tully
Copyright 1992 Mother Courage Press ISBN 0941300242
Breaking into the current: Boatwomen of the Grand Canyon by Louise Teal
Published in 1994
By the Grace of the Sea by Pat Henry
A womans solo odyssey around the world.
Cape Horn: One Man's Dream, One Woman's Nightmare by Reanne Hemingway C 1994 ISBN 0-938-665-29-4
Captain Ahab Had a Wife: New England Women and the Whalefishery, 1720-1870 by Lisa Norling
October 2000
Captain Mary, Buccaneer by Jacqueline Church Simonds
This adventure of greed and romance will carry you to a distant time when violence was the norm, and the difference between the good and the bad was the flag they flew from the masthead. Captain Mary is more than
an ordinary pirate; she is both principled and ruthless, a robber baroness and a generous patron.
Captain, My Captain by Deborah Meroff.
Publisher: Inheritance, Neerlandia, Alberta, Canada, Date Published: 1997, ISBN: 0921100795
Captain, My Captain is a romantic novel based on a true life account set in the days of the California Gold Rush and the New England shipping boom. Based on the life of Mary Ann Patten, the first women in history to take full command of a merchant ship. (The above information was taken from a web site- this book has not yet been reviewed by WMA. Posted 2/7/05)
The Captain's a Woman - Tales of a Merchant Mariner by Captain Deborah Dempsey & Joanne Foster
Copyright 1998 Naval Institute Press ISBN 1-55750-164-5
An account of some of the seagoing experiences of one of the most successful seafaring women in the industry today.
Written in conjunction with a "landlubber" who took a voyage with Captain Dempsey and provides an
outsides viewpoint of the experience. Capt. Dempsey is a WMA member and currently a Columbia River Bar Pilot.
The Captain's Wife by Douglas Kelley
Publisher: Dutton Books, Date Published: 08/2001, ISBN: 0525946195
In 1856, Mary Patten is accompanying her husband, a ship's captain, on a voyage around Cape Horn when, at the equator, he becomes ill and unable to command. Forced to take over the running of the ship, Mary must also earn the respect of the crew and care for her sick husband. (The above information was taken from a web site- this book has not yet been reviewed by WMA. Posted 2/7/05)
Changing Course by Debra Ann Cantrell
Copyright 2001 ISBN 0-07-136087-5
A womans guide to the cruising life.
Changing Course: One Woman's True-Life Adventures as a Merchant Marine by Jeanne Marie Lutz
Published 2003 by New Horizon Press, Far Hills NJ. ISBN: 0-88282-232-2
(from book jacket) "Despite having no seafaring experience and against the advice of friends and family, Jeanne joins the Merchant Marines. After a tense wait, she is finally assigned to the O/S Illinois- an oil tanker- as a Steward Assistant and the only woman on board with a crew of twenty-nine men. Nervous and excited, she joins the ship in Port Angeles, Washington. Soon she finds that tough the sea is mysterious and wondrous, the work is brutally taxing." Posted 1/30/05-Look for a review of this book in the Spring 2005 newsletter
Children of Cape Horn, An Extraordinary Family's Incredible Voyage by Rosie Swale
Walker and Company
First to sail around Cape Horn (from Gilbraltar to Australia via the Panama Canal) in a catamaran with two babies.
Come Hell or High Water & Come Wind or Weather by Claire Frances
Sphere Books London
Singlehanded racing cross the Atlantic and around the world.
Coming About - A Family Passage at Sea by Susan Tyler Kitchcock
1998 ISBN 1-57409135-2
Courage at Sea by Naomi James
Salem House
Tales of heroic voyages.
The Cruising Woman's Advisor - How to Prepare for the Voyaging Life by Diana Jessie
1997 International Marine
The Curve of Time by Wylie Blanchet Gray's Publishing Ltd. Canada
Five Children and their mother explore British Columbia's coast on a 25' boat.
Dead Men Tapping: The End of the Heather Lynne II by Kate Yeomans
Publisher: McGraw-Hill, 2004.
"In Dead Men Tapping, Kate Yeomans... recounts the collision and the ensuing federal trial with a sure sense of drama... Her powerful account will remind readers of Sebastian Junger's The Perfect Storm." --The Boston Globe
Kate is a WMA member. Find out more about her and her writing at www.deadmentapping.com
(reviewed in WMA Fall 2007 newsletter)
Deep Water by Moya Crawford Thomas Reed Publications Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire, UK, 1999
The Emerald Highway by Leah Newbold
Publisher: Reed, Auckland, Date Published: 1999, ISBN: 0790006979
One of the fulltime few professional woman sailors in new Zealand. This book is an inspiration to those who share Leah's passion for the ocean or anyone who has ever wanted to achieve a dream. Leah has participated in the 1993-94 Whitbread (US Women's Challenge) and 1997-98 Whitbread (EF Education).
The Entangling Net - Alaska's Commercial Fishing Women Tell Their Lives by Leslie Leyland Fields
Copyright 1997 University of Illinois Press
Little known tales of women working in Alaska's commercial fishing industry. A moving report of how fish attected the lives and families of the author and numerous other women.
Female Tars: Women Aboard Ship in the Age of Sail by Suzanne J. Stark
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Fishing with John by Edith Iglauer
Farrar Straus Giroux
Four years of trolling off the coast of western Canada. Made into a motion picture!
Fishcamp - Life on the Alaskan Shore by Nancy Lord
Copyright 1997 Shearwater Books Island Press
718 Connecticut Ave NW Suite 300, Washiungton D.C. 20009
"Nancy Lord is a 21st Century Thoreau only with more common sense and estrogen. Her Walden Pond is a fishcamp in a far north finger of the great pacific food chain. Her ideas are her own." Tom Bodett - Author, Radio Host.
The Fisherman's Quilt by Margaret Doyle ISBN # 0976 109 905
copyright 2004, Port Gamble Publishing
P.O. Box 582
Eastsound, WA 98245
360-376-2827. www.fishermansquilt.com
In The Fisherman's Quilt, young Nora Hunter arrives in Alaska with her fisherman husband and new baby. She brings her first, fancy quilt to Alaska, along with an idealistic vision of life on America's last frontier. Nora's fresh, impassioned voice brilliantly tells her story, recalled in vivid details and lyrical introspection. Nora struggles with the danger, loneliness, and ambition of her life; making quilts celebrating weddings and births, fresh starts and reconciliation, and finally her own strength. The Fisherman's Quilt describes the everyday challenges of a town where the women make their home and raise their children and contribute to their community, while their husbands are away for extended periods of time working in the most dangerous occupation in America. It addresses Nora's self-exploration and discovery that courage has an everyday currency. At once an adventure, love story, and a portrait of late twentieth century American marriage, The Fisherman's Quilt is an epic saga brimming with longing, questioning, and life's celebration. (posted 12/3/05)
Flying Cloud: The True Story of America's Most Famous Clipper Ship and the Woman Who Guided Her by David W. Shaw
William Morrow & Co.
In the early days of the California gold rush, it took more than 200 days for a ship to travel from New York to San Francisco, a voyage of more than 16,000 miles. In 1851, however, a clipper called the Flying Cloudmade the same journey in only 89 days, a headline-grabbing world record.
Following Seas, Sailing the Globe, Sounding a Life by Beth Leonard ISBN 1559493704 1999
Following the Alaskan Dream by Marilyn Fink Jordan George
The author's memoir tells of her Alaskan fishing family from 1946-1986. Her story describes the history, wildlife, friendships and hardships on the frontier.
Forever Wandering by Ellen Roberts
Copyright 1997 Shearwater Books Island Press
Ellen was a deckhand on tramps ship in the 1930's.(I don't have any more information on this if someone out there does please let me know).
Freighter Days: Recollections of a Sea Captains Wife by Betty Goezinne Aries Voyages around the world.
From Udders to Rudders & Back Again by Jane Taylor Queens View.
A mother of five recounts her long association with the sea and much more. She was the first ever woman ferry skipper in New Zealand's Bay of Islands.
Going Overboard by Lucy Gwin Viking Press.
Cook then deckhand on the Gulf Coast offshore oil rig supply boats. A very real look at the experiences of one woman as she entered the industry during the oil boom.
Grace Hopper: Navy Admiral and Computer Pioneer by Charlene Billings
Enslow scientist and Officer.
Granuaile: The Life and Times of Grace O'Malley: C. 1530-1603 by Anne Chambers
Irish Amber Book Co. September 1998.
Granuaile "broke the mold" for women of Western Europe in the 16th century. For all achievements and acclaim accorded to Elizabeth Tudor.
Hair of the Dog - Tales From Aboard a Russian Trawler by Barbara A. Oakley
Copyright 1996 Washington State University press
Pullman WA 800-354-7360 or fax 509-335-8568
Oakley served as a translator aboard the processing ships of a joint Russian/American fishing venture in the 1980's. Lots of vodka and modern day sea stories.
Happy in the Service: An Illustrated history of the Women's Royal New Zealand Naval Service 1942-1977 by Grant Howard
Published by New Zealand Ex Wrens Association, Auckland 1985
A summary of the service of the WRNZNS from it's formation in 1942 until final disbandment and absorption of women into the RNZN in 1977. The book is based largely on personal knowledge of various ex Wrens and gives a good insight into the experiences of those who served.
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Hen Frigates - Passion and Peril, Nineteenth - Century Women at Sea by Joan Druett
Copyright 1998 Simon & Schuster ISBN 0-684-83968-7
From the back cover-
A 'hen frigate' traditionally, was any ship with the captain's wife on board. Hen frigates were miniature worlds - wildly colorful, romantic, and dangerous. Here are dramatic, true stories of what the remarkable women on board these vessels encountered on their often amazing voyages; romantic moonlit nights on deck, debilitating seasickness, terrifying skirmishes with pirates, disease-bearing rats, and cockroaches as big as a man's slipper. And all of that while living with the constant fear of gales, hurricanes, typhoons, collisions, and fires at sea.
Interweaving first person accounts from the letters and journals in and around the lyrical narrative of sea journey, maritime historian Joan Druett brings life to these stories. We can almost feel for ourselves the fear, pain, anger, love, and heartbreak of the courageous women. Lavishly illustrated this breathtaking book transports us to the golden age of sail.
Heroines & Harlots: Women at Sea in the Great Age of Sail by David Cordingly
Publisher: Macmillan Date Published: 2001 ISBN: 0333763734
Concentrating on the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, David Cordingly separates the myth from the reality and reveals some extraordinary sea-faring women. With tales of voyages and battles, press gangs, foreign ports and the return home, the author has written an exciting and absorbing history of two cent uries of women and the sea. (The above information was taken from a web site- this book has not yet been reviewed by WMA. Posted 2/7/05)
The Hungry Ocean by Linda Greenlaw Hyperion
This book is simply a matter of fact look at everyday aboard a 100 ft. swordfish boat, from the intricacies of Doppler radar in the wheelhouse to the frictions between captained crew on deck.
Greenlaw was made famous in Sebastion Junger's 1997 best seller "The Perfect Storm".
Ida Lewis, Heroine of the Lima Rock Light by Suzanne S. Morse
Lighthouse Depot PO Box 427, Wells, Maine 04090
Ida Lewis, born 1841, was one of the US's most famous lighthouse heroines. Like many, she took over the job from her sick father, in 1887. Her bravery earned her the title 'The Grace Darling of America.' 10,000 people went to see her in 1870 including civil war hero President Ulysses S. Grant, suffrage campaigner Susan B. Anthony and Mrs. William Astor.
If the Shoe Fits: The Adventures of a Reluctant Boatfrau by Rae Ellen Lee
Copyright 2001 ISBN 157409-118-2
The adventures of a reluctant boatfrau
Iron Men, Wooden Women: Gender and Seafaring in the Atlantic World, 1700-1920 by Margaret S. Creighton (editor) and Lisa Norling (editor)
Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press, Date Published: 3/1/1996, ISBN: 8018516022
From the voyage of the Argonauts to the Tailhook scandal, seafaring has long been one of the most glaringly male-dominated occupations. In this groundbreaking interdisciplinary study, Margaret Creighton, Lisa Norling, and their co-authors explore the relationship of gender and seafaring in the Anglo-American age of sail. Drawing on a wide range of American and British sources--from diaries, logbooks, and account ledgers to songs, poetry, fiction, and a range of public sources--the authors show how popular fascination with seafaring and the sailors' rigorous, male-only life led to models of gender behavior based on "iron men" aboard ship and "stoic women" ashore.Yet Iron Men, Wooden Women also offers new material that defies conventional views. The authors investigate such topics as women in the American whaling industry and the role of the captain's wife aboard ship. They explore the careers of the female pirates Anne Bonny and Mary Read, as well as those of other women--"transvestite heroines"--who dressed as men to serve on the crews of sailing ships. And they explore the importance of gender and its connection to race for African American and other seamen in both the American and the British merchant marine. Contributors include both social historians and literary critics: Marcus Rediker, Dianne Dugaw, Ruth Wallis Herndon, Haskell Springer, W. Jeffrey Bolster, Laura Tabili, Lillian Nayder, and Melody Graulich, in addition to Margaret Creighton and Lisa Norling."This collection not only sketches life at sea in all its detail and diversity but also expands our understanding of the connections of gender, occupation, class, colonization, and race at sea and on land in the nineteenth century. The book combines first-rate scholarship with lively, accessible writing--no small accomplishment!"--Jeanne Boydston, University of Wisconsin-Madison (posted on 2/7/05)
Jella- A Woman at Sea by Dea Birkett
copyright 1992, Victor Gollancz, Ltd. UK
The author gives an account of her trip on a ship from West Africa to Britain. She had signed on as a crew member with no previous sailing experience. (posted 4/8/06)
Just Cut the Lines and Go by Janet E. Davis
Keeper of the Light by Patricia Curtis Pfitsch
1997 ISBN 0689814925 Simon & Schuster Publishing
Recommended for young readers.
The Lady and the Deep Blue Sea by Garland Roark
Copyright 1958 Doubleday & Company.
Fictional account of a woman who takes over command of a clipper ship when her husband, the captain, falls ill during the voyage. Set during 1856.
Lady Mariner by John Mahon
Basement Press, Dublin 1995 ML 994.6717
This is the story of the extraordinary woman who sailed the Denbighshire Lass.
Last Voyage by Ann Davidson
1951 ISBN 024613291-4 Great Britain McKays of Chatham Ltd
Tragic boating stories.
Legacy and Testament - The Story of Columbia River Gillnetters by Irene Martin
Copyright 1994 WSU Press
PO Box 645910 Pullman, WA 99164-5910
Irene is a commercial fisherman, freelance writer and librarian.
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Let Me Survive - A True Story of Tragic Loss of Life at Sea by Louise Longo
Copyright 1996 Sheridan House ISBN 1-57409006-2
In 1994 Louise Longo, her husband and 5 year old daughter left France on a 3 week cruise. Louise is the only survivor after 2 weeks in a liferaft. Longo's words reflect the agony, guilt and rage of the lone survivor who stands accused of her ordeal.
The Lobster Chronicles by Linda Greenlaw
The Log of the Skippers Wife by James W. Balano
Down East Books
Diary of two decades on a Maine windjammer.
Maiden Voyage by Tanya Aebi Ballantine
Round the world sail trip at age 18, after her father decided the oceans were safer than New York City at night.
Making Waves: The Inside Story of Managing and Motivating the First Women's Team to Compete for the America's Cup by Anna Seaton Huntington
Story of the first all-woman team to compete in the America's Cup, and its author writes from the catbird seat: she was a member of this historic crew.
Marty Runs Away to Sea by Elizabeth Ladd
Copyright 1968 William Morrow and Company
A fictional account of a young girl in Maine that runs away and finds a haven on a schooner that takes tourists on weekend voyages. A nice book for young adult readers.
Masters Handbook on Ships Business - Third Edition by Captain Tuuli Messer
Cornell maritime Press 2001
Captain Messer is the author of the third edition of Master's Handbook on Ship's Business. Previous editions have been invaluable aids to ship's masters for over 30 years. The handbook serves as a guide for the newly appointed master, and is also useful for
experienced masters as a checklist for business aboard. New topics in this edition include vessel security, communication, GMDSS, and immigration, along with conversion factors.
My Ship is so Small by Ann Davidson c1956
Ann Davison crossed the Atlantic from Plymouth, England to Antigua, in the west Indies.
My Year Before the Mast by Annette Brock Davis
Hounslow Press 1st edition April 15, 1999
Neptune's Apprentice - Adventures of a Commercial Fisherwoman by Marie De Santis
Presidio Troller Captain for eight years off the California coast.
No Place for a Nervous Lady by Lucy Frost England
Writings about being a passenger.
Ocean Commotion: Sea Turtles by Janeen Mason
Published 2007 by Pelican
Winner of the 2007 U.S. Maritime Literature Award, Juvenile Division
Paddling My Own Canoe by Audrey Sutherland
U of Hawaii Press
Journal of inward and outward exploring, along the shoreline of Moloka'i, Hawaii.
Petticoat Whalers: Whaling Wives at Sea, 1820 - 1920 by Joan Druett
The Pirate Queen: In Search of Grace O¹Malley and Other Legendary Women of the Sea
by Barbara Sjoholm
Published by Seal Press 2004 (reviewed in WMA Fall 2004 newsletter)
The Plimsoll Sensation: The Great Campaign to Save Lives at Sea by Nicolette Jones
Published 2007 by Little, Brown & Co.<,br>
Winner of the 2007 U.S. Maritime Literature Award, International Division, and the Mountbatten Maritime Prize.
"Jones clearly loves her subject. Her set-pieces mix sensitivity and narrative gusto. Dickens would have delighted in this story's cocktail of cut-throat capitalism, bleed-heart politics, evangelical piety and simple common sense." Jonathan Keates, Critic's Choice, First Post online magazine.
Powerboating: A Woman's Guide by Sandy Lindsey Copyright 2000 ISBN 0-07-135702-5
Red Sea Peril by Shirley Billing
ISBN 1-57-409-137-9
A pirate boarding in the Red Sea. Non Fiction.
Red Sky at Night by Marjorie Peterson
Copyright 1994 Paxi Press ISBN 0964394-1-8
Red Sky in Mourning by Tami Oldham Ashcroft with Susea McGearhart
Copyright 1998 by Bright Works Publishing
PO Box 2154 Friday Harbor, WA 98250 (360) 378-6776 email ashcraft@rockisland.com
The true story of a woman's courage and survival at sea.
The Remarkable World of Francis Barkly: 1769-1845 by Beth Hill
Grays publishing Ltd Canada
At 18, first European woman to sail to British Columbia.
Riding With Whales by Heather Hebereley
Cape Catley/Harper Collins
This book is about 13 women who lived in the Marlborough Sounds of New Zealand in the early part of this century when isolation, danger, deprivation and hard work were the order of the day.
Row To Alaska by Wind and Oar by Pete and Nancy Ashenfelter
Published 1994 by Anderson Publishing Inc. ISBN 0-945989-22-9
With their 8 children raised, recently retired couple Pete and Nancy Ashenfelter embarked on the biggest adventure of their lives so far: rowing a boat from Lopez Island, Washington to Ketchikan, Alaska. Although they had previously cruised parts of the Inside Passage by yacht, neither of them was an experienced rower, which did not slow them down. They set out in the summer of 1983, which turned out to be one of the rainiest summers on record. Even though during the 2 1/2 months it took them to complete their journey they only had 7 days without rain, they write mostly about the positive aspects of the trip. Encounters with people and wildlife they meet along the way make for an intriguing story. KRH Posted 1/30/05
Running with the Tide by Marlene B. Allen
C1998 ISBN 096568307
Sail Away Ladies: Stories of Cape Cod Women in the Age of Sail
by Jim Coogan
Published October 2003 by Harvest Home Books East Dennis, MA
Former teacher and historian Jim Coogan has compiled a thoughtful and entertaining collection of stories about 12 women who spent time at sea in the early 19th and 20th centuries. This book won the 2004 Maritime Literature Award. For more information on this award, see our Resources page. (Reviewed in WMA Spring 2005 newsletter)
Sailing Promise: Around the World on a Catamaran by Alayne Main
ISBN 0968454402
Saltwater in Her Hair by Dee Pigneguy
ISBN 0-9582277-0-5 mikedee@clear.net.nz
Collection of stories spanning more than one hundred years of history about adventurous New Zealand Women who have contributed to our maritime industry.
Saltwater Women at Work by Vickie Jensen
Copyright 1995 Douglas & Mcintyre Ltd.
1615 Venables St. Vancouver BC Canada V5L 2H1
True life accounts from over 110 women mariners rnaging in age from 8 to 97. Experiences from women in many different aspects of the maritime industry, Vicki Jensen is a former editor of Westcoast Mariner.
The Sea Bird by Roselle Raynes Springwood books
Adventures of an English Sailor.
Sea Fire: Tales of Jesus and Fishing by Irene Martin
Crossroad Publishing, paperback $19.95
Following the wisdom of great fishers, Episcopal priest Irene Martin goes fishing for Jesus. More than two decades of
commercial fishing experience and years of meticulous historical and biblical research combine in this unique set of reflections on fishing in the New Testament, the lives of the disciples, and their relationships with Jesus in the maritime world of the first century. Irene martin is a fisher, writer and Episcopal priest. She and her husband Kent have fished for salmon in the Pacific Northwest for more than two decades.
For her work in preserving local and regional history, she was awarded the Washington Governor's Heritage Award in 2000.
Seafaring Women by Linda Grant De Pauw
Houghton Mifflin Company
Pirates, whalers, and contemporary maritime workers.
Sea Star by Pamela Jekel
Harmony Books
A wonderful steamy romance novel based loosely on the real life character Anne Booney. One of the few known women pirates.
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The Sea Tug Elegies - of Angels and Women, Mostly by Antonia de Nicholas
Paragon House
Separate Spheres, Womens Worlds in the 19th Century Maritimes by Janet Guildford
Suzanne Morton (editor) copyright
Seven Knot Summers by Beth Hill
c1994 Horsdal & Schubart ISBN 0920663273
She Captains: Heroines and Hellions of the Sea by Joan Druett
Simon & Schuster, New York 2000 ISBN 0-684-85690-5
Spirited Waters by Jennifer Hahn
c2001 ISBN 089-866-7444
Solo kayaking trip from Ketchikan Alaska to Bellingham Washington.
The Splicing Handbook - Techniques for Modern and Traditional Ropes by Barbara Merry with John Darwin
Copyright 1987 International Marine, Camden Maine
Excellent practical manual for splicing rope.
Steady as She Goes: Women's Adventures at Sea edited by Barbara Sjoholm
Seal Press, $15.95
This book is a collection of work by 20 women writers on their experiences at sea, including Linda Greenlaw, Moe Bowstern, Jennifer Hahn, Holly Hughes and others. (reviewed in WMA Fall 2004 newsletter)
Studies in Maritime Literary History by Gwendolyn Davies<
The Sweet Trade by Elizabeth Garret
C2201 ISBN j0312875185
Historical Fiction based very loosely on the life of the Pirate Anne Bonney.
Taking the Helm by Dawn Riley with Cynthia Flanagan
Published by Little Brown & Co. ISBN 0-316-74550-2
About the '93-'94 Whitbread around the world race.
There Was a Ship by Patsy Adam
Smith c1995
Tales of her years at sea.
This is Coffee point - Go Ahead by Wilma Williams
Copyright 1995 A.T. Publishing Anchorage Alaska
A mothers story of fishing and survival in Alaska's Bristol Bay.
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Three's a Crew by Kathrene Pinkerton
1940 ISBN 02920663-11-7
Two Crows Came by Jonni Dolan
Pacific Search Press
Family fishing in Southeast Alaska.
Uncommon Waters: Women Write About Fishing by Tess Gallagher, Carletta Wilson and Lorian Hemingway
Seal Press
Up Coast Summers by Beth Hill
1985 Horsdal & Schubart ISBN 092066301X
The Voyagers Handbook: The Essential Guide to Blue Water Cruising by Beth Leonard
Copyright 1998 ISBN 007 038 1437
Voyages at Sea with Strangers by Joan Skogan
Copyright 1992 Harper Collins Publishers Ltd.
Suite 2900 55 Ave Road Toronto, Canada M5R 3L2
One of a very foreign fisheries observes working off the West Coast of North American on Russian and Polish processors.
The Voyage of the Narwhal by Andrea Barrett
Published by W.W. Norton & Co. Copyright 1998 ISBN 0-393-04632-X
From the jacket - "Combining fact and fiction Andrea Barrett creates a part adventure narrative, part love story that is an extraordinary chronicle capturing a crucial moment in the history of exploration, the mid-ninteenth-century romance with the mystery of the arctic.
Waitemata Ferry Tales by Sally Fodie
This book is available from Sally who is a member in the New Zealand WMA. We hope to have more specifics in the future.
Water's Edge: Women Who Push the Limits in Rowing, Kayaking and Canoeing by Linda Lewis
Seal Press
Waterwomen by Lila Line
The Queen Anne Press
Five commercial fishers of Chesapeake Bay.
When God was an Atheist Sailor: Memories of a Childhood at Sea 1902-1910 by Burgess Coghell
WW Norton and Co.
Born at Sea on a five-masted schooner, account of life on an ocean going cargo vessel, from Puget Sound to Chile.
Winds of Change - Women in the Northwest Commercial Fishing Industry by Charlene Allison, Sue Ellen Jacobs and Mary Porter
University of Washington Press Copyright 1990
Windswept by Magdalena Zschokke
Publisher: New Victoria Publishers, Date Published: 1996, ISBN: 0934678731
Mara, Olivia and Zoe are all women committed to a life of sailing, and share the struggle to find their place in a world dominated by wealthy and powerful men. Each of these three women brings a personal quest to her voyages. Mara's dream of becoming a captain has come true; now she wants to understand her recently discovered love for women. Zoe tries to balance her need for intimate connection with other women, with her love life of casual affairs. Olivia struggles to heal from an abusive childhood. Olivia, Zoe and Mara meet the challenge of isolation and the tests of strength that come with weeks spent on the open ocean. But it is their letters, dreams and connection to the stars that keep them going, moving toward their goal of an all female crew. (The above information was taken from a web site- this book has not yet been reviewed by WMA. Posted 2/7/05)
Women Aboard by Janet Steveson
Chandler & Sharp Inc.
Sailing 10,000 miles to South Seas and back.
Women at Sea in the Age of Sail by Donal Baird
In late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries Cora Hilton and other maritime women like her experienced firsthand perils and pleasures of life at sea. These women recount, in their own words, their impressions of the exotic places they visited, the homes they made and the children they raised afloat on the sea, and how they survived it all, oftentimes as the only woman in a society of men.
Women at Sea: Travel Writing and the margins of Caribbean Discourse by Lizabeth Paravisini-Gebert
Women at the Helm by Jeannine Tully
Women in the Wheelhouse by Nancy Taylor Robson
Tidewater Publishers
Six years as a cook and deckhand, then a licensed mate of ocean going tugs.
Women Sailors and Sailors' Women: An Untold Maritime History by David Cordingly
Publisher: Thorndike Pr, Farmington Hills, Michigan, U.S.A. Date Published: 2001, ISBN: 0786235241
The maritime histories culled here are united by the unique presence of women central to the action. Mistresses cross-dressed as cabin boys, female lighthouse keepers who rescue shipwrecked sailors, and other women above and below deck add a dimension to seafaring history that is often overlooked. (The above information was taken from a web site- this book has not yet been reviewed by WMA. Posted 2/7/05)
Women under sail; letters and journals concerning eight women travelling or working in sailing vessels between 1829 and 1949 by Basil Greenhill (Compiled by), and Ann Giffard
Publisher: Great Albion Books, South Brunsick and New York, Date Published: 1972, ISBN: 084531145X
"Here is a collection of accounts of voyages made by women in sailing ships between 1829 and 1949. Written by the women themselves or by their close relations, the narratives give a wealth of detail about food, recreations, sanitation and discipline on board. Sharp contrasts in personalities and social positions merge: the lady passenger travelling alone, the mother with children emigrating to a new world, the captain's wife on her honeymoon all had essentially different views of life in sailing ships and their accounts show the wide variety of conditions among passengers at sea. The first part of the book is a general study of travel at sea from a woman's point of view and an account of different types of vessel in which the voyages were made, while each of the narratives has a separate introduction in whwich family background and the circumstances of the particular voyage are examined. The book is illustrated with pictures of most of the women and their families, the vessels and scenes on board, and with contemporary advertisements." (The above information was taken from a web site- this book has not yet been reviewed by WMA. Posted 2/7/05)
Women Who Kept the Lights: An Illustrated history of Female Lighthouse Keepers by Mary Louise Clifford and J. Candace Clifford
Cypress Communications
PO Box 791 Williamsburg, VA 23187-0791
Histories of 21 women who kept the lights from 1776-1947.
The World of the Oregon Fishboat: A Study in Maritime Folklife by Janet C. Gilmore
ISBN 0-87422-171-4
Describes commercial fisherman's involvement with their communities. It is also a unique study of the boats Oregon fisherman use.
The Wreckers: A Story of Killing Seas, False Lights and Plundered Ships by Bella Bathurst
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin (USA), April 2005. ISBN: 0-00-717032-7
The Wreckers refers to those denizens of Great Britain's rugged coastlines who salvaged cargo and parts from ships wrecked just off their shores. Which, as it turns out, was perfectly legal to do, and the salvage was often an important part of local economies. It was even rumored that some communities lured ships onto their rocks and rescued cargo before saving seamen. Bella Bathurst goes in search of history about the wreckers in different parts the country as well as try to determine if the practice continues today. Unsurprisingly, few people are willing to admit to the practice and whole communities claim to be slandered by rumors in the past. The Wreckers does provide an interesting insight to maritime history and the way of life along the coast. It's received positive reviews with the Seattle Times saying, "Filled with factual surprises and delivered with raconteurial zest, The Wreckers makes a perfect summer read." This book won the 2006 award for foreign maritime literature. (For more information on the Maritime Literature Awards, see our Resources page). Posted 4/8/06.
You are Under Sail by Suzanne Hawthorne
Northeast University Press
You Can Be A Woman Marine Biologist by Judith Cohen
www.cascadepass.com
Written for elementary school children on different aspects of marine sciences and professions. A very encouraging book. Written with two others: You Can Be a Woman Oceanographer and A Clean Sea.
You Can Be A Woman Oceanographer by Florence McAlary and Judith Cohen
Zuleika, the Pirate Queen, An Extravaganza by Charles A Sherard
F Pinkerton, Ballarat, Australia, 1878
Zines
Second Set Out
Commercial fishing seems to have a way of seizing hold of someone and and not letting go. It gets in your blood,
and next thing you know you're a lifer. That certainly happened to Moe Bowstern, and she's got the stories to prove it.
Blessed with a wonderful gift for storytelling, Moe waxes poetic about the varied experiences she's had over the years of fishing
for Kodiak salmon. This zine is a compilation of stories she's written for other publications, whether they actually made it into print or not.
It's a collection that, despite not being written as a whole, flows seamlessly, perhaps because of the common thread of fishing that runs through most of it, even in the stories where the fishing itself doesn't take center stage.
I was lucky enough to hear Moe reading some of these stories at the Portland Zine Symposium, and I can say for sure that she's got a knack for
bringing them to even larger life through spoken word. Highly recommended! [7" x 8.5", $2 (cash only) to Moe Bowstern, PO Box 6834, Portland, OR 97228]
Xtra Tuf
Xtra Tuf is an amazing zine full of true stories about cooking for the crews on fishing boats. Intense stuff. With stories like,
"Why I Hate Cooking, or, How I Fed Glass to People I Hated and Watched Them Bleed from the Mouth" Xtra Tuf is exciting, interesting and also informative. In addition to descriptions of life on fishing boats there are knot tying instructions, a recipe and a helpful glossary in the back.
$1.00, 2 oz, 1/4 size, 50 pages. By Moe Bowstern. PO Box 6834 Portland, OR 97228.
Xtra Tuf #5 Book
AVAILABLE NOW!! Moe Bowstern has brought us the inside story about being a woman who fishes commercially for years. If that doesn't seem fascinating to you, you have another thing coming. Moe is an amazing storyteller and reveals much about the history of commercial fishing in Alaska through a very descriptive and personable narrative that can be understood by any layperson. She tells great stories of the crews she's been involved with and their dynamics as well being a woman involved in a very male dominated profession. Moe has a passion for fishing and the sea and she shares this with you in her zine. This is her story of being on the job and "how she got xtra tuf" on a few different episodes of labor disagreements that held up work (technically not "strikes") over many years. Fascinating reading as she combines her artistic and DIY sensibilities with labor tactics in order to achieve the fishermen's goals and get everyone back to work! The book sports a fancy letter pressed cover by Third Termite Press with 30 different color schemes! Check out the June 2005 issue of Smithsonian Magazine for an article about Moe and the Fisher Poets! Read the press sheet. Available through www.microcosmpublishing.com
(these zine reviews are reprinted from something I found on the internet- I haven't seen the zine myself- KH)
Moe Bowstern's first boat job was cooking on a salmon tender on Kodiak when she was 18. When her grumpy
crewmates told her she'd never make it on a fishing boat, she swore she'd do it just to prove them wrong. After graduating from college, Moe spent the next 9 springs and summers
working as a deckhand and skiff operator in the salmon, herring halibut and cod fisheries of Kodiak Island, Alaska. Moe reads every year at the Fisher Poets Gathering in Astoria, Oregon.
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