Today is International Women’s Day. Indeed, it is the 100th Anniversary of the first International Women’s Day in 1911. We have followed with interest the women who have progressively stepped up to serve in jobs that not too long ago were reserved solely for men – whether on submarines, the bridge of a cruise ship, from the engine room flat to the bridge of a research vessel, or rowing alone across a mighty ocean. Now in honor of International Women’s Day, here is an interview with US Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer Petty Officer Second Class Sara Faulkner. She is one of 300 rescue swimmers in the Coast Guard and one of only four women.
She’ll drop in and save your life
“I joined the Coast Guard for the sole purpose of being a rescue swimmer. That was the only thing I wanted to do,” Faulkner explained.
Last year, a large sailboat lost power, stranding three people in a severe storm. The rescue operation took hours thanks to the 41-mile-per-hour winds and 15-foot seas that kept pushing the boat further and further away.
“I had to swim to that boat, and honestly, I had my doubts because the winds were pushing the boat and so was the rotor wash. It was pushing it away from me. So as fast as I could swim, it kept going,” Faulkner recalled.
Eventually, Faulkner got to everyone. Months later, she got a thank-you letter from one of the survivors.
“It was funny because he remarked that he was really surprised that it was a girl. So it was cool,” she said.
Faulkner is part of an elite team. Roughly 75 students go through the Rescue Swimmer Training School each year, and fewer than half make it out. The four-month course is mentally and physically draining with many candidates quitting before even stepping foot in the pool.