LCDR Corrine Plummer 2019-10-18 05:13:39
With an indomitable spirit, a disciplined mind, and unwavering commitment, Captain Nancy Wagner became the first female ship pilot in the United States, but her path was not always easy. "It was there. It existed. It just didn't exist for me."
That was how Nancy Wagner viewed the United States Merchant Marine Academy as a child. When she graduated high school in 1973, women were not permitted to attend Kings Point. It didn't matter that her father was a 1945 Kings Point graduate and active merchant mariner, or that she grew up attending Mariner football games on the New York campus. That she had been sailing on her family's boat since she was three months old didn't hold any sway with Kings Point. At that time, women were not admitted into any of the federal service academies.
Just one year later, however, while Nancy was enrolled as a communications major at Syracuse University, she read a news article that the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy was opening its doors to women. So, in the summer of 1974, Nancy Wagner became one of the first 15 women enrolled at Kings Point. Four years later, she was among one of eight women to graduate. Seven years after that, she obtained her masters license and by 1987, she began the rigorous two year training program to become a San Francisco Bar Pilot. In 1990, Captain Nancy Wagner became the first female ship pilot in the United States. The accelerated timeline from midshipman to pilot is misleading, however, because her career was never easy or without hardship. Nancy was a woman in a man's world with skeptical observers and many nay-sayers.
"There were those people who wanted me to succeed and those who were waiting for me to fail," she said.
Although she was a bit ahead of her time when it came to the inclusion of women in the maritime community, timing was optimal for her progression as a professional mariner. She was at the crest of the shipping industry wave when business was booming. Nancy refined her nautical knowledge and navigational skillset by working for intervals of two to three months straight, quickly amassing the sea time necessary to obtain a masters license. She remembers always upgrading her license at the earliest opportunity throughout her career. The breakneck speed at which she obtained her masters license—seven years—was indicative of her sheer will to reach the top of her field.
While still working in the commercial shipping industry, a ship pilot told her about the open applications for the San Francisco Bar Pilots and recommended she submit an application. Bar pilots are tasked with having the local expert knowledge of the area's waterways— everything from tides, currents, and localized shoaling to the location of wrecks or subsurface pipeline crossings— and navigating a variety of vessel types and sizes with crews of different foreign nationalities safely into and out of the port and to/from their docks.
When Nancy questioned the likelihood of her successfully negotiating the candidacy process, the ship pilot emphatically urged her to apply. It turned out to be a well-founded suggestion, as she was selected and began the pilot training program in July 1987 after the rigorous initial testing period.
As an apprentice pilot, Nancy shadowed and learned from the senior pilots while gaining hands-on experience, a process that required equal amounts skill, confidence, and humility. Already established in her career, she found herself at the bottom again. Nevertheless, she was fueled by what can only be described as an indomitable determination to succeed.
Nancy credits much of her confidence to her first mentor, her father. A 1945 graduate of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and a seafaring chief engineer, initially her father was not entirely supportive of his daughter's wishes to attend Kings Point and follow in his wake. He knew the likely hardships his daughter would face while attempting to be among the first of her gender to graduate from a federal service academy. After a time, however, he told her that "if he [any male cadet] can do it, you can do it." This self-reliance has been a trademark of Nancy's throughout her life. So despite starting at the bottom again, Nancy was determined to outperform all of her peers on her way to becoming a San Francisco Bar Pilot.
Not everyone wanted to see her achieve her dream or acknowledge her expertise and authority as a ship captain. While onboard foreign vessels, the male senior pilot would often need to reassure the crews that Captain Wagner had the con and that she was empowered to direct the movement of the ship. Even within the ranks of U.S. professional mariners, Nancy was often the subject of disparaging or discouraging sentiments, sometimes directly to her face. She never let it bother her, though.
"I just did my job," she said coolly.
After two years as an apprentice, completed the training curriculum and, once again, she had to overcome obstacles to achieve her goal. There weren't any pilot vacancies, so she could not obtain work as a pilot. For eight months, two days a week, she kept her skills current by riding along on ships with more senior pilots. After eight long months of stress and uncertainty, a vacancy finally opened. She became a San Francisco Bar Pilot in 1990. Her parents still lived on the East Coast and were unable to travel to San Francisco to see their daughter become the first female ship pilot in the United States.
Nancy described the most rewarding experience in her career as her first night on the job as a solo pilot.
"From about midnight to 3 a.m., I undocked a foreign container ship in Oakland, California, and took them out to sea. By 4 a.m., I was inbound on a U.S.-flagged tanker ship," she said. "While on the bridge, the ship captain asked me how long I had been doing this job. I looked at my watch and said about four hours."
Although Nancy was now licensed to pilot ships on her own, she still had to prove herself on a daily basis. About 90 percent of the ships she handled were foreign-flagged vessels with foreign crews, many of them from countries that did not accept women in leadership positions. After navigating countless ships through the Bay Area, many of which were repeat customers on set transit schedules, Nancy earned professional respect from these mariners. They went from not knowing how to address her—they used to call her "Mrs. Pilot"—to asking other pilots "where's Captain Nancy?" when she was not assigned to their job.
She retired in 2015 after 25 years as a San Francisco Bar Pilot and more than 40 years in the maritime industry. She said unequivocally that she would not have done anything differently, but when it comes to recommending the profession to young women she has a caveat.
"Only if she is strong and willing to sacrifice," she said.
Nancy made personal sacrifices 40 years ago that are still benefitting women in the maritime community today. In 1974, the incoming U.S. Merchant Marine Academy class was the test-case for women at federal service academies. Without their successes, it could have taken much longer for other service academies to join suit—the other federal service academies began admitting women in the summer of 1976. There are currently about 30 female ship pilots in the United States. The opportunities for women are now there. They exist because of pioneers like Captain Nancy Wagner who persevered.
It's no surprise that her personal mantra reflects this attitude. What is it?
"Acta non verba, baby!" she said with unhesitating enthusiasm.
Indeed, her actions serve as a shining example of what one incredible and determined woman can and did accomplish. Captain Wagner, thank you.
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