FILM EVENT: America’s Women Seafarers Tell Their Stories

Wednesday, March 30 at 6.p.m., Community Church of New York, 40 East 35th Street,Manhattan

Tickets are $20 and can be purchased at www. workingharbor.org. This special Women at Sea program features a screening of the 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.

New York, NY, March 13: 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. The master of the Cunard Line’s Queen Victoria is a woman, as is the Captain of the Port of New York, U.S. Coast Guard Captain Linda L. Fagan. Captain Fagan will participate in this event.

In honor of Women’s History Month, the Working Harbor Committee, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to educating the public about the history and present-day importance of the Port of New York and New Jersey, will host “Women at Sea,” a special program created to highlight the important contributions women make to the maritime industry.

The evening will begin with Shipping Out: The Story of America’s Seafaring Women, a 60-minute documentary by filmmaker Maria Brooks that appeared on many PBS stations. This unusual documentary tells the history of seafaring women in America. We meet modern women working on container ships, tankers, tugs and other vessels, as pilots, engineers, mates and ordinary 'seamen'. "Shipping Out" explores the history, mythologies and attitudes which limited women's participation in seafaring roles until recent times

Immediately following the film, seven women mariners will describe their experiences working at sea and answer questions from the audience. A reception with food, wine, beer and soft drinks will follow. Participants will be:

--Jessica DuLong, chief engineer on the retired New York City Fireboat John J. Harvey.

--Captain Linda L. Fagan, U.S. Coast Guard Sector Commander and Captain of the Port of New York.

--Commander Linda A. Sturgis, USCG, head of the Prevention Department at Coast Guard Sector New York.

--Captain Ann Loeding, tug captain who has worked in New York Harbor, the Erie Canal, the Great Lakes and Alaska.

--Captain Coleen Quinn, Sandy Hook Pilot

--Marissa Strawbridge, second mate for American Marine Officers.

--Debra Tischler, commercial operator for Overseas Shipholding Group Inc. andformer second mate on tankers, car carriers and bulk carriers.

The event will begin promptly at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, March 30, at the Community Church of New York, 40 East 35th Street, Manhattan. Tickets are $20 and are fully tax deductible. They can be purchased at www.workingharbor.org. Advance purchase strongly recommended. For additional information or telephone purchases, contact 212-757-1600.

Source: www.workingharbor.org