Women Sailors And Sailors Women

For centuries, the sea has been regarded as a male domain, but in this illuminating historical narrative, maritime scholar David Cordingly shows that an astonishing number of women went to sea in the great age of sail. Some traveled as the wives or mistresses of captains; others were smuggled aboard by officers or seamen. And Cordingly has unearthed stories of a number of young women who dressed in men’s clothes and worked alongside sailors for months, sometimes years, without ever revealing their gender. His tremendous research shows that there was indeed a thriving female population—from pirates to the sirens of myth and legend—on and around the high seas. A landmark work of women’s history disguised as a spectacularly entertaining yarn, Women Sailors and Sailor’s Women will surprise and delight.

For centuries the sea has been regarded as a male domain. Fisherman, navy officers, pirates, and explorers roamed the high seas while their wives and daughters stayed on shore. Oceangoing adventurers and the crews of their ships were part of an all-male world — or were they? In this illuminating historical narrative, maritime scholar David Cordingly shows that in fact an astonishing number of women went to sea in the great age of sail. Some traveled as the wives or mistresses of captains. A few were smuggled aboard by officers or seaman. A number of cases have come to light of young women dressing in men’s clothes and working alongside the sailors for months, and sometimes years. In the U.S. and Britsh navies, it was not uncommon for the wives of bosuns, carpenters, and cooks to go to sea on warships. Cordingly’s tremendous research shows that there was indeed a thriving female population — from female pirates to the sirens of legend — on and around the high seas. A landmark work of women’s history disguised as a spectacularly entertaining yarn, Women’s Sailors and Sailor’s Women will surprise and delight readers.

The wives and female guests of commissioned officers often went to sea in the sailing ships of Britain’s Royal Navy in the 18th and 19th centuries, but there were other women on board as well, rarely mentioned in print. Suzanne Stark thoroughly investigates the custom of allowing prostitutes to live with the crews of warships in port. She provides some judicious answers to questions about what led so many women to such an appalling fate and why the Royal Navy unofficially condoned the practice. She also offers some revealing firsthand accounts of the wives of warrant officers and seamen who spent years at sea living—and fighting—beside their men without pay or even food rations, and of the women in male disguise who served as seamen or marines. This lively history draws on primary sources and so gives an authentic view of life on board the ships of Britain’s old sailing navy and the social context of the period that served to limit roles open to lower-class women.

This book is for the young and young at heart who yearn for adventure. It is written for those women considering a life-changing direction and those seeking a career at sea. It is not an instruction book, but you will learn from the experience of other blue water women what you need to know to have your own adventures. Interviewed within are other blue water sailing women. Shared advice and experiences show you how to make the most of your adventure This book will see you safely and confidently make that leap of faith to experience the joys of a life lived at sea.

In May 1946 John Caldwell set out to sail from Panama to Sydney to reunite with his wife who he hadn't seen for more than a year. Eager to reach his destination and unable to secure any other form of transport, he had to resort to singlehanded seamanship. After an ignominious scene in the harbor, where a tangled anchor led him to take an early dip, he spent ten days learning the rudiments of navigation and sailing from a book, before embarking on the 9,000 mile journey aboard the 20-foot Pagan. Ahead lay a mission that was to reveal in him elements not only of astounding courage and determination, but also of incredible foolhardiness. Within 500 miles of Panama John Caldwell had already been shipwrecked once and had his boat's engine and cockpit destroyed by an angry shark. Indefatigable, he decided to press on towards his goal.He endured the terrors and discomforts of life on the high seas and enjoyed the triumphs of fighting and winning against the elements. This is more than an exciting tale of sea-adventure. It is as compelling and unpredictable as a thriller. It is the story, witty and moving, of a man, motivated initially by love, and ultimately by his own fierce determination to survive.

What begins as the sheer desire for adventure turns into a spiritual quest as a young woman comes to terms with her family, her dreams, and her first love. Tania Aebi was an unambitious eighteen-year-old, a bicycle messenger in New York City by day, a Lower East Side barfly at night. In short, she was going nowhere—until her father offered her a challenge: Tania could choose either a college education or a twenty-six-foot sloop. The only catch was that if she chose the sailboat, she’d have to sail around the world—alone. She chose the boat, and for the next two and a half years and 27,000 miles, it was her home. With only her cat as companion, she discovered the wondrous beauties of the Great Barrier Reef and the death-dealing horrors of the Red Sea. She suffered through a terrifying collision with a tanker in the Mediterranean and a lightning storm off the coast of Gibraltar. And, ultimately, what began with the sheer desire for adventure turned into a spiritual quest as Tania came to terms with her troubled family life, fell in love for the first time, and—most of all—confronted her own needs, desires, dreams, and goals…

"Doris Colgate knows what women want. Well-known as a sailing role model and a confident yet gentle teacher, she writes with clarity on even the most complex sailing concepts, as well as answering often-asked questions on the safety, comfort, and social sides of sailing. Sailing: A Woman's Guide pulls it all together for the beginning sailor. Finally, an excellent book for women that both teaches and motivates. Bravo, Doris. You've opened up the sport." --Bernadette Peters, editorial director, Cruising World "It took a person with her fingers on the pulse of women aspiring to sail to write this book, and that person is clearly Doris Colgate. Sailing: A Woman's Guide is as much a source book as empowerment to women the world over desiring to become sailors." --Micca Leffingwell Hutchins, editor of SailNet "An excellent introduction to the sport of sailing. It will undoubtedly encourage many women to try this challenging, noncontact activity while enjoying the great outdoors."--Betsy Alison, Four-time Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year "This new series is designed to teach outdoor skills to women in the way they learn. . . . Women of all ages describe how they overcame obstacles, what they enjoyed most, or just how they felt about undertaking a new activity . . . extremely well done and appealing." --Library Journal (starred review)

The duality of maritime family life, the relationship between reconstruction and discourse and the symbolic status of the seafarer’s wife are at the core of this book, which brings maritime women’s experiences to the fore, widening the perspective of maritime history. Based on the collected life stories of seafarers’ wives from the Åland Islands in Baltic Sea, Hanna Hagmark-Cooper draws attention to the cyclical nature of maritime family life and to the seafarers’ wives’ perception of leading two parallel lives: one when they are on their own and one with their husbands at home. The author considers how discourses change over time and colour narratives, and she investigates the women’s attitudes to the myths surrounding the image of the seafarer’s wife.