I sailed the great lakes for 14 years, right through the years Sheree-Lee Olson writes about in Sailor Girl. This is a realistic look at life on the Great Lakes, when women were still fighting for an equal place in the shipping industry and expected to behave in a certain way dictated by the 'Old man' and his 'Mates'.

Although the story plot may be fictional, the view of life on the water is true and realistic in every detail. A great story in a real Canadian setting. Rare and wonderfully written.

Thanks Sheree for the 2 late nights (and 2 tired days at work) it took me to read it. I swear I know that crew right down to the last woman and man!

This is a journey back in time to anyone who has been there on a calm or stormy sea.

A great read for anyone who likes a good saltie sea story. One of those books you never want to end.


Thanks for bringing back the memories.
Vivian, former SIU member

I knew I was going to love Sheree-Lee Olson's Sailor Girl, because I love Sheree-Lee Olson; but I wasn't prepared for this book's vast imagery and insights. Set in 1981 on the Great Lakes, Sailor Girl recounts the maiden voyage of 19-year-old Kate McLeod, an inquisitive photography student and novice lake boat porter. With a curiosity akin to Kate's, I crossed effortlessly from dry land to cold dark sea, from middle-class comforts to cramped galley. From the first page, the quality of the writing - honest and bold; confident and exquisitely right - both created and quenched my thirst. This indeed was "a pilgrimage of water," a trip that I'd take again in a heartbeat.

As she sails from rust port to dust port, through the Welland Canal and into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Kate finds her sea legs. Whether it is a plunge into the killing cold waters of Georgian Bay, near-rape in Montreal, or drug deals gone bad, Kate is in the thick of it. Like Olson's writing, Kate is both tough and transcendent. Despite knowing better, despite the warnings, she constantly opens herself to the sea and its men, only to find both destruction and solace.

Thank you, Kate, for inviting me on your journey - from dry and desiccated, to the sweet meltwater of the final page. As Kate gulped it back, I heard a bright clap-lapping: "the applause of the waves."