Diana believes that she may hold the world’s record for throwing up at sea after getting pregnant on a 106- day engineless non-stop voyage from Panama to Port Townsend, in a boat without standing headroom. She’s been a shipwright, an offshore fisher, a racing sailboat captain, and is now a writer. Diana grew up in Vancouver, Canada, and on Lake Washington in Seattle. She also spent time in Sausalito, California in the 70’s, where she first got interested in boats, but then went back to Washington and settled on Bainbridge Island, where she designed and built her first boat. She earned a living as a commercial fisher, sailing a boat she built herself (and it included a bathtub!) In 1990 Diana moved to Port Townsend where she became a full-time shipwright. In this interview we talk about the “funky boatyard,” what it was like being a woman in the marine trades, racing sailboats, commercial fishing, what Port Townsend was like in the 90’s, offshore voyaging, and more. Here’s the interview.
Some of Diana’s photos from back in the day.
106 days in this sweet girl!
First effort at design and build
First girl to win Ed Clark race
Launch day for Ocean
My first shop in the funky boatyard
Ocean's first rig
This K38 taught me to sail
