I was either in or on the water since as long as I can remember from my days of growing up on Resurrection Bay in Seward, Alaska. I was the youngest of 5 siblings; with two older brothers for playmates I wanted to do everything they did, and most of the time I succeeded. I come from a commercial fishing family and also from a time when girls weren’t supposed to crew on boats or go hunting with dad or even wear pants for dress-up occasions. But I ended up doing all of that and more because I believed I could and I should.
I started on row boats and dories at fish camp in the summers with my grandparents. I loved taking beach walks, looking for rocks and shells on the shores of Cook Inlet or helping grandpa pull sockeye and king salmon from the beach nets. My brothers were the first to take me salmon seining when I was 22 years old and it was instant love. I was one of the first women to break the long-standing rule of “no women on the boat” back in the early ‘80s. Many of those same fishermen tell me now that seeing me out there got them thinking about inviting their girlfriends, sisters, or wives along to help aboard their boats the next season. It is now very common to see crews with capable and adventurous women working alongside their male counterparts.
The sometimes 20-hour days, fish scales and slime were nothing compared to the beauty and freedom I experienced traveling throughout Prince William Sound, AK. The money wasn’t bad either if it was a good year, but they weren’t all good years. After taking time out to raise a family, build a cabin, go through 3 pleasure boats and see my two daughters safely off to college, the pull of the commercial fishing boat was too strong to resist and I went back to dipping dollars out of the water, as we called it.
When there’s a down year, the winters can be hard and unpredictable. With thoughts of financial security looming large in my mind, I began to look toward options that would keep my love of the ocean satisfied while keeping my bank account full. The last year I was commercial fishing I was in a lineup of 20-plus boats waiting for a turn at the point set when I saw a bright yellow tugboat cruise by. It was a beautiful sight on that sunny day, powering past us all shiny and bright, and my thought was, “I wonder what that would be like?”
As fate would have it, I was looking into getting my MMC and had an eye on the Alaska State Ferry system when I was encouraged to apply to the very same program that ran those pretty yellow boats, and the rest is history. I was hired on tanker escort tugs as an OS, and with my sea time from fishing, easily made my AB ticket, which brings me to where I am today. The lifestyle of a commercial fisher is magical and free but the stability and security of life as a tug boater has convinced me that this is where I can both satisfy my hunger for the sea and have the freedom to do what I want in my off time. The crews I have found in the industry are every bit as entertaining and friendly as the fishing community. Some can be offbeat but for the most part we are all shipmates first, and we look out for one another like family.
The message I leave you with is to follow the dreams and desires you nurture; your passion will guide you. Keep pulling on those pants and throwing those lines! No matter what kind of boat you’re on, we are all sea sisters!