The USMMA Sailing Foundation, Inc. is a 501(c)3 public foundation. Its mission is to actively solicit the donation of vessels to be used in various maritime programs for education and training.
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Let’s not stop with GenderOn Tuesday evening, March 19, the Nautical Advisory Council (NAC) of the Port Washington Public Library (PWPL) hosted a program called Kings Point Women: Breaking the Gender Barrier. Jennifer McCabe, the curator of the exhibit of the same name, presented the excitement and challenges of being the first Federal academy to accept women among its ranks.
Professor Joshua Smith, Professor, Department of Humanities and Interim Director, American Merchant Marine Museum, who worked with Jennifer over many months to bring their creative product to fruition, introduced Jennifer.
Jennifer has worked with several museums including the Fairfield Museum and History Center, the Camp Nelson Heritage Site, and the University of Kentucky Special Collections where she created the exhibit "UK Women: Leaders in Time," celebrating the alumna of the university throughout the twentieth century. Jennifer has also taught as an adjunct professor at the USMMA and Univ. of Kentucky.
One might wonder why KP accepted women in 1974 as opposed to another time. Well, in 1972 Congress passed Title IX of the Equal Education Amendments Act, which states "no person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance."
The government gave KP about 6 months to prepare for the arrival of the women. And, as you can imagine, that was very little time to figure out how to assimilate the women into an all-male community.
Ms. McCabe, with many facts, photos, midshipmen's quotes and a wonderful sense of humor, highlighted the "challenges" facing KP, the only service academy in the US that accepted women. She spoke of the difficulty in establishing guidelines regarding the treatment of women. The faculty decided that all midshipmen would be treated the same as much as possible. Thus, "equality equals sameness" was applied when it came to uniforms, buzz cuts, curriculum, etc.
The Academy decided that the title "midshipmen" would be used for both men and women.
What about athletics? Could and should women play all sports - and what about safety? Some sports were denied the women but one midshipman commented on her experience with rugby, "The boys mostly went easier on us when it came to tackling, but I still took some hits. In fact, the hardest I was ever hit was by a woman."
Sailing was popular with the ladies. "The waterfront was a place to escape Academy life stress. I not only loved sailing with my team but also was relieved looking at the Academy from the water. Sailing was my savior." -Nancy Wagner '78.
Consider for a moment KP Sea Year, which is part of the fabric of Kings Point and "a cornerstone of the Kings Point curriculum." What about the uniques dangers for women assigned to a ship for a year? Should they be trained for Sea Year differently than the men? And what about ship Captains who didn't want "any women" on HIS ship?
As you can see, rules and guidelines were a definite challenge, and remember, the Faculty only had 6 months to prepare!
These and other stories and experiences are all outlined in KP Women: Breaking the Gender Barrier. There is also a terrific exhibit, located near the cafeteria. Why not stop by and see what it was like for these courageous women who managed to thrive at KP and have very successful careers?
Many thanks to Prof. Joshua Smith for bringing Jennifer McCabe to KP to curate this exhibit. We all know USMMA leads in many ways, but many may not know that KP stood out, front and center, for accepting women when no other service academy did - and for figuring out how to make their years at KP positive.
For more information:
www.usmma.edu/museum
www.usmma.edu/museum
We needed to create a better workspace so Dave Culver
went to work on an empty Container we got Donated.
Most of what you see came out of other containers and it is amazing what paint can do.
Thanks Dave great work.
U.S.M.M.A. Sailing Foundation supporting the collegiate regatta hosted by College of Charleston Sailing. The c&c 30 was donated to the foundation, and will support college sailors through the weekend. Good luck to the Cal Maritime Sailing team as they take to the water in the southern collegiate offshore regatta being sailed out of Carolina yacht club in Charleston, sc. Great teamwork to put the boat together and have it available to help the development of sailing in the us.
The boat is ready for Charleston Race Week , but still looking for a sponsor to take her out and race. Contact ben@warriorsailing if you want to learn more about racing the cc30 in April. Your sponsorship supports a great cause and it is literally a ‘turn key’ race boat.
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"Corey Kapes with Warrior Sailing asked me to take a few photos during the Warrior Certification Camp recently in Charleston, SC," reports Priscilla Parker. "Ben Poucher was the class room instructor and there were certified coaches on each of the five J/22s that were out on the water with about 15 Veterans. Some of these new sailors will be returning to race in Sperry Charleston Race Week."
15 wounded, ill and injured military service members and veterans earned their ASA Basic Keelboat Certification this week. Nice work Warrior Sailors! Thanks to Priscilla Parker for sharing her awesome photography skills this week! at College of Charleston Sailing, #WarriorSailing
A lot of sun and a lot of breeze makes for a lot of smiles! It is a great day to be training in Charleston!
Enjoying an evening with Warrior Sailors, friends and supporters. Mex 1 Coastal Cantina - Sullivan's Island, College of Charleston Sailing
