Women on the Water

The first voice came to me as we anchored in the peaceful silence of Squirrel Cove, B. C.   In The Curve of Time, Wylie Blanchet’s classic Northwest boating  story of the remote boating community of British Columbia in the 1930’s, she was telling me of the summers long ago when she took her five children exploring the waters on the inside of Vancouver Island and the West Coast of British Columbia.  She talked to me of the daily common adventures with rough water, difficult anchorages, wild animals, wild children and the ghosts she had seen in this very same spot.

After years of watching from the shore, I had the  opportunity to join the boating community.  Exploring the beautiful waters of our Pacific Northwest naturally has led to exploring the writings of women boaters.  If you’ve ever dreamed of escaping your land locked life for the freedom, adventure and self-discovery of life on the water, these are stories by women who have done just that.  The unique voices blend with bravery, humor and insight to underscore the observation by Cathy Converse in Following the Curve of Time, “Cruising teaches humility, and the elements caution against impatience and flippancy.”   There’s a great many wonderful women on the water choices, so I’ve keep my list of recommendations to those with a Pacific Northwest connection.

Pacific Lady by Sharon Sites Adam (currently living in Portland, OR)  is the facinating tale of the voyage of the first woman to sail alone across the Pacific Ocean.

  Back under Sail: Recovering the Spirit of Adventure by Magael Scherer is the  story of the Seattle author’s experience of a 5-day race in Alaska to heal from a nearly fatal rape three years earlier that stole her sense of freedom and adventure.

If the Shoe Fits: the Adventures of a Reluctant Boatfrau by Rae Ellen Lee is her account of how she and her husband a vacation in the Virgin Islands then leave Montana to become live-aboards in Bellingham, Washington.  With honesty and humor she recounts the shake  down period with both the boat and their relationship.

 Deep Water Passage  by Ann Linnea, current Whidbey Island resident, tells the story of Linnea’s physical and spiritual quest to circumnavigate Lake Superior by kayak at age 43.

 Visions of the Wild by Maria Coffey is the  beautifully illustrated (with photographs by her husband) work that recounts the couple’s circumnavigation of Vancouver Island by kayak.

 Red Sky in Mourning by Tami Oldham Ashcraft, now living in the San Juan Islands, is her true story of surviving 41 days alone at sea after her boat dismasted.  

            ~    Christine F, Central Library