In Partnership with the Chatham Marconi Maritime Center:
A two-part lecture series on Women at Sea: Then & Now
The Atwood Museum, home of the Chatham Historical Society, and the Chatham Marconi Maritime Center have come together to produce a two-part lecture series. The two lectures will take place on November 1st and November 3rd, at the Atwood Museum and Chatham Marconi Maritime Center respectively.
Reservations are required for this event, see below for links and information about both speaker.
Part One: Barbara Semple
Women at Sea (Then)
November 1st, 5 PM, Atwood Museum Mural Barn
Women At Sea relates the experiences of being the only woman aboard a sailing vessel embarking on the China Trade in the late 1800s. Frances Carleton Brastow Amesbury captured these adventures through her five line a day journal entries and her own photography. When not at sea, she wrote of her life in the seafaring town of Rockport Maine.
The types of vessels she and her husband Captain Stanley Amesbury sailed on, what life aboard those months at sea were like, and the various places they made passage to are all documented in her diaries and photographs.
Frances is the great aunt of Barbara Brastow Semple, our presenter. Through Barbara’s reading of her great aunt’s 15 years of journals, as well as several books and diaries by other women of that era, she has put together a travelogue highlighting women’s voyages at sea, with an emphasis on Frances Amesbury’s experiences sailing the high seas around the world.
About Barbara Semple: Barbara is a South Chatham resident and researcher and docent at the Atwood Museum. She also sings with the Cape-wide Chatham Chorale and its Chamber Singers.
Barbara spent most of her career before retirement as a children’s librarian at public school, public library and private school in New Hampshire. After living for 38 years in New Hampshire, Barbara and her husband Paul retired to South Chatham 13 years ago. Having grown up in Fairfield Connecticut, three blocks from Long Island Sound, sailing boats, and having spent summers in Chatham for 55 years, moving to South Chatham was like coming home.
Part Two: Sara Kazamias
Women in the Maritime Industry (Now)
November 3rd, 7 PM, Chatham Marconi Maritime Center
Reservations for Sara’s lecture are currently closed. Walk-Ins may be available. Call the Chatham Marconi Maritime Center for availability.
The global maritime industry is advancing and innovating at a tremendous speed, with great focus on modernizing a sector that for so long has been behind the curve in many areas. Women represent only two per cent of the world’s 1.2 million maritime workforce and just 1 per cent of seafarers. Now, the ocean and the maritime industry have no boundaries for women.
Sara Kazamias will discuss the path she took to her maritime career including her time at sea and how she currently helps Massachusetts Maritime students finding rewarding careers in the maritime industry. She will be joined by a female cadet who is pursuing a maritime education and career.
About Sara Kazamias: Sara Kazamias is the current Commercial Shipping Coordinator at Massachusetts Maritime Academy (MMA) located in Buzzards Bay, MA. After earning her deck license in 2010 from the Academy, Sara sailed with Military Sealift Command for 7 years, earning her USCG Chief Mate Unlimited license. She worked on multiple vessel platforms to include tankers, cargo, tug/barge and salvage ships within the fleet operating in all parts of the world, but mainly the Middle East. She worked with a variety of cargo to include ammunition, dry/reefer stores, fuel, and general cargo supporting the US Navy through underway and vertical replenishments at sea. Along the way she earned multiple company awards honoring her leadership, communication, operational safety and efficiency. She further pursued her educational goals by receiving her MBA at the University of New Hampshire following her sailing career. With her passion to be involved in the maritime industry and to mentor officers-in-training, Sara began her career at MMA working with students in the regiment teaching leadership, discipline and operational effectiveness. She further went on to join the Career and Professional Services team as the Outreach Coordinator, traveling around the country connecting employers with students. With her sailing and business background, Sara now aids USCG license track students in their at sea internships and sailing careers.