Exclusive: Warwick mother is Bermuda's first female ferry pilot

It has taken nearly two decades of determination and dedication.

But 19 years after she got her first job on the water as a teenager, Tami Ray has become Bermuda’s first female ferry pilot.

It’s a feat that has not been equaled since Government took over the running of the ferry service more than 60 years ago.

Growing up in Warwick she never envisioned a life on the water, but now she says she can’t imagine any other career.

The 39-year-old mother-of-one added: “I just love being on the water.

“I would not want to be anywhere else.

“When I was at school I was into all the sports like field hockey, track and field, net ball and softball.

“And when we buried a time capsule at Sandy’s Secondary, all I could think to put in the hole was my trophies.

“Other children wrote what they wanted to be on pieces of paper. I had no idea what I wanted to do.”

Ms Ray left school at 17 and after working at her mother’s restaurant at Warwick Bowl, a residential care home, and a dental practice, she joined the private charter vessel LV Longtail.

She worked her way up through the ranks to senior mate and snorkeling instructor before Marine and Ports approached her about a possible job.

And in 2004 she began work on the Hamilton Harbour ferries with the rank of ‘Seaman’.

She told the Bermuda Sun: “I started up just tying up the ropes and collecting the fares, and within a month I was promoted to Leading Seaman.

“A year later I was working on the fast ferries going up to Dockyard and at the end of 2005 I got my engine driver’s licence.

“I went away to study for a year in Barbados to do more chart and theory work, and ended up being taught by people younger than me.

“But it was a good experience and I kept moving up the ranks.”

In May 2008 Ms Ray was approved to act as a pilot on the ferries, and just over a month ago she attained the rank of Senior Pilot.

Her boss, Terry Spencer, said: “We are very proud of what Tami has done.

“We always try to encourage diversity in the workplace and Tami has shown what can be done with hard work and determination.

“She makes history as the first female ferry pilot since it became a Government Service more than 60 years ago.”

Ms Ray added: “I’m not really a public kind of person, I did not do this for any recognition.

“This is just what I do and what I am.

“This year makes 19 years I have been on the water, and that is half my life.

“This is all I know and I can not imagine being anywhere else.” n