Alex Clarke recounts a family tradition in which women as well as men captained ships during the age of sail. A running family story concerns women directing privateering voyages while a first mate held the licence. He presents this as a workaround for their inability to obtain licences themselves, without identifying a date, jurisdiction, or particular voyage. When another participant asks whether that makes their activity technically piracy, he agrees.
Notable Point · 1:19:37-1:21:05
A family account of women commanding privateers
A personal family account of women captaining privateers describes a first-mate licensing arrangement that the exchange calls technically piracy.