Women of New Bedford’s Waterfront

Captain Jessica Walker, 34, first stepped foot on a commercial fishing vessel, which happened to be the Legacy, when she was 19. The college history major was looking for a summer job and this one was far from “potato country”, the place in Northern Maine she called home. She started with summer trips that eventually became full-time work. She worked her way up to mate and learned everything from the boat owner and previous captain, David Wilhelmsen. When he stepped down, Walker assumed the role of captain in the summer of 2013. Further up in the harbor, fishing vessel Reliance was docked earlier in the week for maintenance before departing for the next scalloping trip. Two men with welding helmets sat on the deck repairing the metal gear while Crystal Vaughan stood up in the wheelhouse attending to inventory. 21 photos, >click to read< 10:20

2 Responses to Women of New Bedford’s Waterfront

  1. Sam Parisi says:

    That is unreliable story and I give her a lot of credit ,I knew a lot of women who serve on boards to help the industry ,Harriet Dickronson and Angela Sanfillpo ,Robin Allan ,Lucy Sloan ,who did not fish but helped those in the fishing industry ,Hats to all of them .

  2. Albert W. Koers says:

    Dear Sam Parisi,

    Your message came up in a Google search for “Lucy Sloan fishermen”. I am Dutch, I live there, but in 1970-1972 I studied and taught at the University of Rhode Island under the guidance of Professor Lew Alexander. In that period I also worked with Jacob Dykstra, fisherman from Narragansett, and Lucy Sloan, free lance marine affairs journalist, on a book about the international law of marine fisheries. I am 78 now and it may be a sign of age that once in a while I wonder what happened with people I worked with for some time, to somehow lose contact later on. A Google search on Jacob Dykstra quickly made clear that Jacob had died in 2009 at the age of 88 and his orbituary told me what he had done since we lost contact. However, so far I did not find any real information on Lucy Sloan, except that she may be the Lucy Sloan who for a while was the Executive Director of the National Association of Fishermen. So, yes, she also may be the Lucy Sloan to which you refer in the above message, If this is the case, I would indeed be most grateful if you could provide me with any information on her career and life. I do not seek ways to get in touch – I just am interested to know what life gave her (or, hope not, withheld from her). I do thank you for giving this matter your attention. Albert W. Koers. Email address: [email protected]. Phone/Whatsapp: +31 622 371 933 .

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