Adventurers: Thuridur Einarsdottir

Captain Thuridur Einarsdottir (1777-1863) was a brawny sea captain whose fishing and seafaring skills made her into a legend in Icelandic history.

This month, we’re talking about adventurers – women who refused to be confined. They pushed the boundaries of where a woman could go, and how she could get there.

History classes can get a bad rap, and sometimes for good reason. When we were students, we couldn’t help wondering... where were all the ladies at? Why were so many incredible stories missing from the typical curriculum? Enter, Womanica. On this Wonder Media Network podcast we explore the lives of inspiring women in history you may not know about, but definitely should.

Every weekday, listeners explore the trials, tragedies, and triumphs of groundbreaking women throughout history who have dramatically shaped the world around us. In each 5 minute episode, we’ll dive into the story behind one woman listeners may or may not know–but definitely should. These diverse women from across space and time are grouped into easily accessible and engaging monthly themes like Educators, Villains, Indigenous Storytellers, Activists, and many more.  Womanica is hosted by WMN co-founder and award-winning journalist Jenny Kaplan. The bite-sized episodes pack painstakingly researched content into fun, entertaining, and addictive daily adventures. 

Womanica was created by Liz Kaplan and Jenny Kaplan, executive produced by Jenny Kaplan, and produced by Grace Lynch, Maddy Foley, Brittany Martinez, Edie Allard, Lindsey Kratochwill, Adesuwa Agbonile, Carmen Borca-Carrillo, Taylor Williamson, Ale Tejeda, Sara Schleede, and Abbey Delk. Special thanks to Shira Atkins. 

Original theme music composed by Miles Moran.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello from Wonder Media Network. I'm Jenny Kaplan and this
is Wamanica. This month we're talking about adventurers, women who
refused to be confined. They pushed the boundaries of where
a woman could go and how she could get there.
Today we're talking about a brawny sea captain whose fishing
and seafaring skills made her into a legend in Icelandic history.

(00:21):
Please welcome Captain Thurdeth and Visdotter wow Thirdathare was born
in seventeen seventy seven in a fishing community along Iceland's
south coast. As a teenager, she began accompanying her father

(00:45):
on fishing expeditions on the family's boat. Other members of
her father's crew sometimes viewed third of there with skepticism.
Her hand me down fishing clothes dwarfed her small frame,
but it wasn't uncommon for women and even children to
work on fishing boats with men. Anyone who had enough
strength for the job was welcomed. On the cold and
choppy seas, it was not an easy job. These boats

(01:11):
were not big ships with sails. They were open, wooden
row boats. The crew was totally exposed to the elements
which were harsh gusts of arctic wind, icy sleet and snow,
not to mention being thrashed by waves as they rode
perilously close to the sharp lava rocks at shore. Third

(01:34):
of There was up for the challenge. She proved to
be a skilled fisherwoman, which impressed her father, especially when
he saw her bringing in more catches at the end
of a long day than the rest of his crew.
He got her properly fitting fishing gear and officially hired
her as a deckhand. Not long after, a third of
There became a permanent part of the crew. Her father

(01:55):
died of leprosy. Thirdither and her older brother Biarni, took
command of their father's fishing business when they were still teenagers.
As the months stretched on, the community began to notice
thirdiether She was a natural sailor, able to predict coming
weather conditions with startling accuracy, and she'd begun to wear

(02:16):
men's trousers while she was fishing and while working on land,
something no other woman did. Third of There lived on
the edge of social norms and her love life as well.
When other local men proposed marriage to her, she said
she wouldn't agree to marry anyone until they'd lived together
for a while. She wanted to be sure they'd get along.
Sounds reasonable now, but for eighteenth century Iceland it was

(02:37):
seen as odd. In seventeen ninety nine, a storm surge
came crashing over the south coast of Iceland, and a
great flood swept over Thurdather's community. It stole the family's
boat out to see, leaving Thirdether and her brother without work.
So Thirdather took jobs on other fishing boats, quickly earning

(02:59):
a reputation as a star deckhand. She accepted more and
more responsibilities, often acting as skipper when they had to
navigate through stormy weather. She even continued the grueling work
of rowing and reeling in fishing lines when she was
pregnant with her first daughter. Third of There was popular
with the rest of the boat's crew, who came to
her often for advice or a kind word. They became

(03:20):
so loyal to her that many of them swore they'd
follow her as their leader if she ever left their boat,
and they kept that promise when Third of Their finally
became a captain for the first time in eighteen sixteen.
As a captain, Third of Their built on her reputation
as a fisherwoman, Hailed for bringing in the largest and

(03:41):
most impressive catches helming her boat, she became known for
never losing a member of her crew, an incredible feat
for any sea captain. In truly Icelandic style, her talents
were even immortalized in verse third of their sees a
sudden shift of the sea, Her answer flies forth, men
to oars, then on to water, so fast you can

(04:03):
see a slash in the strand fair keel scores. Third
of their's skills on land were just as remarkable as
those at sea. She became renowned for her shrewdness as
a detective. She once helped solve a robbery by discovering

(04:25):
that a shoe left at the scene of the crime
contained a specific family's stitching pattern. In another instance, she
came to the rescue of a young man she'd met
earlier in the fishing season. The young crew member had
been accused of taking more than his share of fish,
stealing from the boat owner. He sent for Thurdatha's help,
and she quickly deduced the truth thanks to one specific clue.

(04:45):
This young man was left handed, and he had a
unique way of cutting and cleaning his catch, so it
was easy to look at the owner's pile and the
young crew members and ensure the ratio was in fact correct.
The owner backed down. THIRDA Tha's long career as a
fishing captain ended in the early eighteen forties. She was
sixty three years old, older than most captains at retirement.

(05:09):
She died in November of eighteen sixty three, at eighty
seven years old. In the decades since third of Thair's
impressive career at sea, women's roles in the Icelandic fishing
industry have been greatly reduced and men began to criticize
them for participating in inappropriately masculine jobs. Then, as fishing
industrialized during the early twentieth century, women were pushed further out.

(05:32):
It didn't take long for thirde Tha's legacy to be
diminished as fishing became known as a male dominated field.
But in recent years scholars have rediscovered the importance of
women in Icelandic fishing in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
A lot of what we know today is thanks to
cultural anthropologist Margaret Wilson. In twenty twenty three, she published
the book Woman Captain Rebel, which details the adventurous life

(05:54):
of Captain Thirdethir, ensuring the story of one of Iceland's
greatest fishing captains will be documented for Jenner to come.
All month, we're talking about Adventurers. For more information, find
us on Facebook and Instagram at Wimanica Podcast special thanks
to lose Kaplan, my favorite sister and co creator. Talk
to you tomorrow.