Captain Brittany Catanzaro
When US Airways Flight 1549 crashed in the winter waters of the Hudson River on January 15, 2009, NY Waterway ferries were on the scene immediately. Of those, Capt. Brittany Catanzaro on the ferry, Gov. Thomas Kean, and her crew saved 24 people quickly who otherwise might have suffered or died from hypothermia.
Since then, Catanzaro says, "A lot more people approach me and look at me at my job. I don't consider myself a hero. I'm in the Coast Guard, so I guess I'm in the mindset that you could need to save someone."
Catanzaro, at 20, is the NY Waterway's first female captain and their youngest captain ever. A born sailor living in Fairview, NJ, she grew up watching the NY Waterway ferries going back and forth since her father owned a boat next to the original terminal in Weehawken. Starting as a deckhand, she watched captains drive boats and "knew she could do it."
As for being a female captain, she says, "I like challenges. If you don't see too many women doing it, I want to try it." In Catanzaro's opinion, the best part of her job is being out on the water and being on boats.
Take a look at the full news article:
https://www.powerandmotoryacht.com/other/hero-finds-even-keel