A very busy Memorial Day Weekend despite the cool temps and cloudy skies. Many Veterans and families took advantage of our special holiday cruise fares. We certainly weren’t the only choice of things to do and we are thankful to those who chose to spend some time with us.
I couldn’t help but notice the news of the christening of the USS Manchester this weekend, under the command of Commander Emily Basset. A first for the US Navy. Ironically, on this same weekend, we had our first female pilot in training aboard the M/S Mount Washington. Her name is Patricia Quinn, or I should say Captain Quinn to respect her rank in the US Coast Guard.
Pat, as she is known to us, joined the crew in 2014 and has been piloting our smaller vessels the Doris E. and Sophie C. during this time. As the company’s first female small boat Skipper, she exhibited the skills needed to handle a good size vessel and so we asked her to begin training this year on the “Mount”. It is a club that no woman, as far as I know, has been inducted into so far. If her performance continues to be as good as her first weekend on the “big girl” then I expect it won’t be long before she will be signed off as a Pilot of the “Mount”, putting her on a path to become the first female Captain in the history of the Company and that is a day I very much look forward to.
