At age 23, Kirstin Capaccioli has already been around the world. Her journey began as a student at Mass Maritime, which she graduated from last year with a degree in Maritime Transportation. She went on to pass the Coast Guard exams allowing her to operate vessels of unlimited tonnage (think tanker, cargo ship, or cruise ship). Today, Kirstin is a bridge officer for Azamara Club Cruises, a brand of Royal Caribbean International. It is a demanding and rewarding job that has taken her to some of the most beautiful, and some of the most dangerous places on earth.

I first met Kirstin five years ago at a marina in Hingham where she was working as a launch operator. At the time, she was being trained by a former Navy SEAL to operate the Night Cat, a high-speed interdiction vessel. She was 18, and the youngest person to be certified in fast rescue on the Night Cat. (You can read the article I wrote about her experience, “Young Hand Earns Place at Tricky Helm”, which appeared in The Boston Globe.)

I’ve continued to watch Kirstin work hard, play hard, and follow her dreams. And when South Shore Woman recently caught up with her while she was home in Hanover on break (she fit us in after her sky diving lessons), it became clear why this adventurous young woman is so special. She is smart, pretty, worldly, fun, humble, and--- as her mother, Karen, writes in her SSW article “Freedom to Choose”---fearless.  

We are very excited to introduce you to Kirstin, (a.k.a. “Ace”):

                                                                                                    

("Growing up I was always drawn to the water, and I knew I wanted to kick ass in a man's field." --- Kirstin Capaccioli)

 

SSW: What is your current role and your responsibilities?

KC: My current job title is a bridge officer (The bridge is the place on ships where it is controlled, steered, navigated, etc). I am a licensed third officer, unlimited tonnage – unlimited oceans. The officer ranking system from top to bottom is: Captain, Chief Mate, Second Mate, Third Mate (Mate is another word for officer). Then there is a hierarchy of unlicensed personnel that work under the officers. I am just starting out as an officer in the field, and coming out of the Maritime Academy, you have to start as Third Officer until you gain experience to upgrade your license and move through the ranks to captain, and then to pilot (if you so desire). All bridge officers are required to have the same book knowledge as the captain, regardless of the rank, but obviously we all have different experience levels based on years at sea which designates the position held on board. With Azamara Club Cruises, I have been working as Second Officer, but because the ranking is a little bit different with international companies, Second Officer is almost interchangeable with the ranking of Third Mate in the US ranking system.

 

The responsibilities of any bridge officer include: Navigating the vessel; controlling the auto pilot when making course changes; constantly monitoring the position of the vessel on the earth and how well the ship is making the required speed based on remaining distance to the next port of call; assisting in the preparation of voyage/passage plans to the ports that the company designates we must go to; firefighting, incident command and quick response in emergencies including medical, collision, running around, fire etc.; frequent use of radar/collision avoidance situations with other vessels; knowledge of distress procedures for both your ship and other ships; use of GPS navigation and Celestial Navigation (using sun and stars), and also using other means of navigation (radar, etc), and making use of wind and seas to best economize on fuel. Aside from all of that, the bridge is the main emergency center on any vessel. On the bridge you receive fire alarms, watertight door indications, you can view cameras showing other parts of the vessel, and the stability program for the vessel is constantly monitored (bending moments and shearing forces of the vessel), etc.  Also, I was constantly checking our engine efficiency and communicating with the engineers about where to consume fresh water from, and [where to] put the grey/black water (shower and sewage) of the vessel in order to have the best stability and lower the stresses on the ship, which is basically just a big piece of steel. In simple terms, you have to think about how many tons of water etc, that you need to evenly distribute so the ship won’t suffer damage. There are so many little responsibilities that we need to carry out each day, but those are the big ones.

 

Basically any officer position is extremely demanding regardless of your ranking, as you are the representative of the Captain, 24/7. The Captain of the vessel can’t possibly run the ship and stay awake at all times, so the shifts of running the ship called ‘watches’ are split up into 4 hour shifts, and each officer has 2 four hour shifts, twice a day on the bridge, and then works overtime another four hours in between to help maintain things around the vessel---maintaining the safety of the vessel, and checking that all equipment is up to regulation and in good working order, ready for immediate use.

 

SSW: Where has this job taken you in the world?

KC: I  have officially been all around the world. In school as a student I made the crossing from Massachusetts to Italy, from California to Hawaii, and all across the Caribbean. But this past trip on the cruise ship was so special (because it was my first real job as an official officer). In four and a half months of working (we do four months on, two months off with this company), the other bridge officers and I took the ship to the following places: China, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Singapore, India, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Israel, Greece, and Italy. To get there, we transited the following major bodies of water: The South China Sea, East China Sea, Yellow Sea, Sea of Japan, Korea Strait, Pacific Ocean, Strait of Malacca, Andaman Sea, Bay of Bengal, Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman, Strait of Hormuz, Persian Gulf, Gulf of Aden, Red Sea, Suez Canal, and the Mediterranean Sea. The highlighted areas are the world’s major piracy corridors for industry shipping routes, which is another story all together, but basically our ship hired British marines on a gun boat to protect our ship from the pirates!! It was like living in the Pirates of the Caribbean.

 

SSW: Having been all around the world, do you have a favorite place?

KC: I can’t say that I have a favorite place of all the places I have seen so far. Each and every country offers something inexplicable; a taste of real culture differences and language differences… But the more I’ve traveled, the more I’ve learned that no matter what race, religion, ethnicity, etc., people all around are just the same everywhere. I’ve seen everything from industrial and poverty ridden Asia to the Middle Eastern turbulence and the beauty of the Mediterranean. I’ve also learned how big the world is and how small I am; how much I don’t know, and how much I need to learn!! Traveling the world has somewhat quantified it…. I’ve realized how big it really is and how much we need to work together as a human race. There is too much violence and hatred and political absurdities. I can say, however, that the most beautiful place I’ve seen is Sorrento, Italy. Lovely!! Their way of life is so family based, and they are the most gentle and beautiful people I have ever seen.

 

 SSW: Is it difficult being a woman  in a male dominated profession?

 KC:  Being a woman in a male dominated industry is a tough game, but you can’t give up. Some guys are really helpful and treat you the same, but, a fair amount do not. Sometimes it’s more of an unspoken thing where you just get a sense that you don’t belong and are treated as such. Sometimes men assume that you are incompetent and talk down to you because of your femininity, but the best thing I can advise anyone to do is to not show the weakness, and try to show them through your work that you can do it better than them--- which requires a lot of extra time and effort. But, once they become afraid of you, they stop bothering you- --and actually start to respect you! Also, try and remember that sometimes you can’t ask someone if you can do something--- you just have to take matters into your own hands and do it! Also, don’t laugh with them when they make comments that you don’t appreciate. And sometimes you have to make unpopular decisions to hold your own a little bit. If you make a good friend, that’s a bonus, but you can’t try to be everybody’s friend, you’ll never make it. You have to treat people like you want to be treated.

  

SSW: Is this what you always wanted to do as a career?

 KC: Growing up I was always drawn to the water, and I knew I wanted to kick ass in a man’s field… Why should they get to have all the fun?  I also get really bored watching people just stay in one place and be a “lady”… What does that mean anyway? I’m happy with where I am now for my age, but I’d really like to live up to some of my idols…other women in the maritime field who have totally made it--- the pioneers of our shipping world: Debbie Dempsey, a female pilot in Oregon who I got to shadow; Anne Mcintyre and Rebecca Hendersen who also pilot ships and worked on oil tankers previously;  Lynn Korwatch, who was one of the first women to captain a Matson container ship while 8 months pregnant.  (I met all four of those women.) And, to all the women throughout history that dressed as men to get to work on the tall ships and learned the rigors of old-time sailing. I love every one of them. The pilots are of particular interest to me because they get on board ships of multiple nationalities, people that come from all over the world, and the position is respected so highly that the men from cultures that don’t allow women to do such things are put in their place. They shut up fast when a 120 pound woman is telling them what to do with their ship! Hahaha!

 

SSW: What’s next for you?

KC: I guess my goals are to have fun, keep learning, and to stay upbeat. I also hope to inspire other young women to just go for it and stop asking the boys what to do! I hope that I’ll also stay balanced (aside from working on ships) to accomplish some great hikes up mountains and complete my skydiving training.  I want to be in love, and maintain my wonderful relationship with my boyfriend, George, who also works on ships. He’s totally supportive! I’ve also taught him quite a bit about how to treat women he works with.

                                                                                                            

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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