Newport News’ harbormaster proves she’s got what it takes

According to a long-held nautical superstition, it is bad luck to have bananas or women on a boat. If that were true, Doreen Kopacz probably would have sunk a ship by now. Kopacz, Newport News’ harbormaster, has worked on boats since she was 8 years old and hardly took time to stop. In what is a largely male-dominated industry, Kopacz worked her way up from boat scrubber to boat captain and, now, harbormaster. She is the first woman since about 1913 to work as Newport News’ harbormaster — the person who patrols the docks and makes sure commercial fisherman are paying their city bills. She’s also expected to review design plans for construction that might happen at the dock, such as a recent mooring system replacement. click here to read the story 18:00

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