Trips of Discovery

Make the best of your journey, make some memories.

Category: Woman Captains

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6 tips for the Atlantic ICW journey and the story of Makau

Estimated reading time 18 minutes – We recently had a great time talking to Captain George Bentz and his wife, First Mate Lisa Bentz, about the lessons learned from their semi-prepared cruise up the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) from Port Charlotte, Florida, to their homeport in the Chesapeake Bay this past spring. By the way, they definitely don’t suggest anybody do it the way they did it, “semi-prepared” being the operative word.  The 6 tips they shared with TripsOfDiscovery.com readers and anyone contemplating a future trip on the ICW was most compelling.  Excellent communication with your crew at all times is a must Let’s start with Tip Number 1: Excellent communication with your crew at...

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5 ways to love your woman captain at the helm – Part 3

Estimated reading time, 14 minutes – Have you heard of Anne Bonny? How about Mary Read? What about Mary Ann DeGraw? If your answer is “no,” let me introduce them to you. These are the names of three woman captains at the helm having full control. Mary Read was an English woman who led a normal life until her husband died. Then, forsaking everything to fill the void in her heart, she took to the sea. Anne Bonny was a wild, reckless, fascinating woman who was never able to deny her passions. She did whatever she pleased and took whatever she wanted.  Then comes Mary Ann DeGraw. She is another woman captain, but much, much...

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5 ways to love your woman captain at the helm – Part 2

Estimated reading time 15 minutes – For serious pleasure boaters, one of a captain’s most useful habits is to keep a log. On ships, they call it the ship´s log, the logbook, or simply the log. It’s an important document capturing a detailed record of the events related to boat management, operation, and navigation. Now, I want you to imagine that you are looking at your actual notes in the narrative log of your sailboat. “I am heading from Peterhead, Scotland to Eyemouth, England. That is about only 50 miles journey. [Depending on the winds, that is about 6 – 9 hours trip] “For Eyemouth, the cruising guide says ‘A busy fishing harbor, safe in...

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5 Ways to love your woman captain at the helm – Part 1

Estimated reading time 15 minutes – ” This is Captain Kate, but you can call me Captain because it took me 19 years to earn this title. “Those are typically the first words that passengers hear booming over the speakers when they are aboard any cruise ship helmed by Captain Kate McCue. The announcement continues, like the woman who makes it, friendly and lighthearted, but also sharp and direct,” wrote Tariro Mzezewaa, a travel reporter for The New York Times, in her 2019 article. She happens to be one of my favorite travel writers. She continued, explaining that Captain McCue became the first American woman to captain a cruise ship in 2015, and commands the...