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

by Deborah Doane Dempsey, Joanne Reckler Foster

The biography mostly diary entries of a decorated merchant marine captain. The author (with her co-author) recounts her experiences as the first woman to graduate from a US maritime or military academy, her rescue of a drifting freighter that earned her every major American maritime award, and her current work as a pilot on the Columbia River Bar. Includes a glossary of naval terms to keep you from calling a ship a boat. No index. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

Hardcover

First published February 1, 1998

Reviews

[Nick Schmalenberger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great sea stories and explanations.

[Pamela Beason · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had the recent pleasure of meeting Deb Dempsey and hearing her history, so I had to read this book. The average American rarely hears about the merchant marine business, and this book taught me a lot about how it all works and (sadly) about how the U.S. is ceding the shipping business to other countries. Captain Dempsey is one of those brave women who paved the way into an all-male field for all women who came afterward. Now she needs to write a new book about her years as a bar pilot on the treacherous Columbia River!

[Kimberley Shaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

Borrowed it from the library; didn't want to give it back to the library, am now getting my own copy!
Reading about trailblazers is always great, and this one's no exception. I stumbled across it while researching the merchant marine for a book I'm writing; ended up reading it for enjoyment.