The Maiden movie and her visit to Seattle have been over-the-top successes, bringing light to that groundbreaking effort in the 80s and putting a spotlight on the fact that sailing is for women as much as it is for men. We even found a solid PNW connection to the original crew.
The whole phenomenon has been a great message that has been too long in the shadows. As a journalist it’s been fun and a little surprising to watch. As a sailor it’s been thrilling.
The story continues as the boat heads to Antigua via the Panama Canal, and then the US East Coast and Europe. It turns out there are PNW connections to Maiden‘s current voyage with Seattle liveaboard Cary Kaczowka and Julia Briggs who apprenticed with Brian Toss in Port Townsend onboard as “mile builders” crew.
I’m hoping to have more insights and info from Cary in the weeks to come. So far, she says “We have a few New Englanders aboard, a new Skipper Liz Wardley (her blog is up on themaidenfactor.org website and it’s really great). I’m really getting used to a boat this size, a watch system and flying a staysail for the first time. I’ve never been on one tack for multiple days either! Mind is blown.
I’m looking forward to relaying Cary’s experiences with Sailish readers. This is a lot more than a boat, a crew or a passage.
A little more about Cary from the Maiden web site:
Cary, 28, is originally from Seekonk, Massachussetts, USA and attended Bishop Feehan High School. She graduated with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and Design Innovation & Society from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 2013, and holds a M.S. in Materials Engineering from the University of Southern California. Cary has worked as an engineer with The Boeing
Company in Seattle, Washington for six years. She is active in the Society of Women Engineers, where she volunteers as a leadership coach. Sailing has been a part of her life since age 13 when she learned to sail on Yarmouth
Recreation’s wooden knockabouts in Cape Cod, MA, USA. During summer internships she was able to race weeknights in both Newport, RI and Charleston, SC – always the highlight of the week. Upon making her way out to Seattle, WA she began volunteering as an instructor at the Centre for Wooden Boats. She began racing locally, and she eventually bought her first home: a 34’ sailboat, a Catalina 34, S/V Sea Haven. Much of her free time is spent racing on local boats, maintaining her sailboat, cruising the Puget Sound and Salish Sea, and racing Sea Haven in local events such as Sloop Tavern Yacht Club’s Race Your House annual regatta. Owning her first big boat has been empowering and certainly changed the course of her life, and has helped reinforce her confidence as an engineer. She finds fulfilment sharing and teaching sailing, especially with women who are looking to refine their skills and get comfortable on the water.
Cary was eager to sail with the Maiden crew in order to gain offshore experience, improve her racing skills and learn from a talented crew of sailors, and looks forward to sharing her experiences with the local racing and sailing community.
Kurt grew up racing and cruising in the Midwest, and has raced Lasers since the late 1970s. Currently he is a broker at Swiftsure Yachts. He has been Assistant Editor at Sailing Magazine and a short stint as Editor of Northwest Yachting. Through Meadow Point Publishing he handles various marketing duties for smaller local companies. He currently is partners on a C&C 36 which he cruises throughout the Northwest. He’s married to the amazing Abby and is father to Ian and Gabe.