The Captain's a Woman: Tales of a Merchant Mariner

Minerva: Quarterly Report on Women and the Military, Spring, 2001 by Darlene Iskra

Capt. Deborah Dempsey and Joanne Reckler Foster. The Captain's a Woman: Tales of a Merchant Mariner. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1998.

It has been seven years since I have been to sea, but I still enjoy reading about the adventures of other women who have been fortunate enough to have worked through the ranks and earned the title of captain. Two such books are on the market now, and are highly interesting and entertaining reading.

The Hungry Ocean by Linda Greenlaw, the first, and probably only, woman commercial sea captain, is about a commercial swordfish boat's journey to the Grand Banks of Newfoundland and the search for, fishing of, and hauling in, the swordfish that they depend on for their livelihood.

The Captain's a Woman, Tales of a Merchant Mariner by Capt. Deborah Dempsey and Joanne Foster, is the story of the first woman to be licensed as and serve as the Master of an internationally traveling cargo ship.

The two books are quite different in format and tone. Linda Greenlaw is obviously a very dedicated fisherman (called that at her insistence) whose only comment about the difference between her and her male crew members was that she was the captain and, like in all other boats or ships, had to be the one to make those hard decisions. She states: "Being a woman hasn't been a big deal. I never anticipated problems stemming from being female, and never encountered any. I have been surprised, even embarrassed, by the number of people who are genuinely amazed that a woman might be capable of running a fishing boat. Frankly, I'm amazed that they're amazed. People, women in particular, are generally disappointed when they learn that I have not suffered unduly from being the only woman in what they perceive to be a man's world. I might be thick-skinned, or just too damn busy working to worry about what others might think of me."

The book was fairly technical about the equipment used for the type of fishing they did, the type of rigging required, how they set the lines, how she figured out where to fish, using whatever electronic gear available, including Doppler to determine temperature gradients. But it was also a story about working with people, getting the job done, dealing with crew problems, dealing with the inevitability of not finding any fish, hauling up rigging when the weather is deteriorating, determining when and how to maneuver and handle the boat when faced with 70 knot winds and 20 foot seas, dealing with the choice between a crew member's health, and staying on with the fishing until the hold is full of fish. She also manages to get a plug in for the fishing industry, saying "Consumers and seafood lovers should enjoy the fruits of the labor of law-abiding and conservation-minded fishermen without being made to feel guilty. Eat U.S.-caught swordfish! It's legal!"

In contrast, Captain Dempsey's book is laid out in a more historical context, starting with the most recent adventures of her time as a merchant marine Master with the Lykes Line, and eventually recounting her professional history, from her days at the Maine Maritime Academy as the first woman cadet, through her experiences in hauling combat gear to the Persian Gulf for our troops during the Gulf War. Ms. Foster's contribution was alternating chapters (Landlubber's Log) as a passenger on a voyage to the Mediterranean. Her initial chapters were full of interesting insights on life at sea that Captain Dempsey didn't mention, perhaps because they were old hat to her. But the landlubber's diary quickly became routine as she wrote about whether she or the captain won at cribbage, what types of cookies they had on the bridge at night, and the daily "cocktail hour."

I found Captain's Dempsey's chapters more and more interesting as the book progressed as she also spoke of her unpopular decisions, how she dealt with trouble within the crew, and with her relationship with her superiors. The preparations for sea, daily at-sea routine, port call cargo handling and liberty activities (i.e. finding the nearest phone booth, then nearest tavern) would be very familiar to any Navy sailor.

Captain Dempsey was a bit more up front about some of the problems she encountered with her male peers as a result of her "Firsts." At the Academy she dealt with jealousy because of her notoriety; as a Master, with the sometimes snide comments about how she got there. She dealt with them all professionally, primarily by setting the example for excellence.

Although the circumstances are different, the lack of a normal lifestyle, the awesome power of the sea that is brought home so clearly in Linda Greenlaw's book, the inherent danger of being at sea and the need to pay attention to detail on the bridge, on the deck, anywhere on the ship, and the realization that the at sea life is not for sissies, is clear in both these books. I would recommend both to any person who is interested in going to sea or who will soon be reporting aboard that first Navy ship.

Reviewed for H-Minerva by CDR Darlene Iskra