Host Molly Taylor interviews Captain Judy Helmey of Miss Judy Charters on the Ships of the Sea podcast recorded in the Ships of the Sea Maritime Musuem located in the historic William Scarbrough House and Gardens about becoming a charter captain through sea school, time on the water, and mastering safety, responsibility, and people skills.

Helmey reflects on 61 years fishing - starting on her father’s boat as a child - and describes how the job requires roles from counselor to nurse, plus pairing customers with the right captain now that she runs the company. She shares navigation and seamanship stories, Gulf Stream distances and her past pace of 250 trips a year, learning storms with modern equipment, and extraordinary encounters including waterspouts/tornadoes, a submarine snagging her gear, and Navy live-fire zones.

She discusses sexism, varied clientele, famous passengers, reading birds to find wahoo, and her father’s influence, Savannah charter history, and conducting burials at sea, including sinking caskets.

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A looking inside Ships of the Sea Maritime Museum

Museum EVENTS

Education and Group Programs

Meet the Production Team Dee Daniels Media

FIND A FAVORITE SPOT IN THIS EPISODE:

00:00 Podcast Introduction

00:42 Becoming a Captain

01:47 Best Parts of Charter Life

04:05 Running the Business Today

05:58 Knowing the Waters

08:05 Family Roots on the Island

10:03 Learning to Drive Young

13:13 Seasickness and Customer Care

15:41 Weather and Water Spouts

19:54 Safety and Seasoning

20:38 Submarine Snags Gear

22:01 Live Fire Hot Zone

24:42 Sexism on the Dock

27:15 Handling Every Client

28:37 Famous Faces Aboard

30:12 Birds Lead to Wahoo

33:15 Glitter Chum Trick

35:04 Dad’s Hustle Origins

37:19 Burials at Sea Finale

On the Ships of the Sea podcast, host Molly Taylor interviews Savannah Stevedore and operations manager Carter Hubbard about what stevedores do: plan and manage the execution of loading and unloading ships in coordination with the International Longshoremen’s Association, steamship lines, and the Georgia Ports Authority.

Hubbard explains how longshoremen handle physical work (unlashing, twist locks, driving trucks), clerks and checkers track container movements, and stevedores plan vessel stowage and oversee safe execution on the dock. He describes the industry’s shift from paper to tablets, the many roles required to move a container, constant troubleshooting from equipment and network issues, and handling specialized cargo like racing yachts, military gear, and breakbulk. The conversation covers vessel classes, hazardous and refrigerated planning, training, ship turnaround pace, and maritime career paths.

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A looking inside Ships of the Sea Maritime Museum

Museum EVENTS

Education and Group Programs

Meet the Production Team Dee Daniels Media

FIND A FAVORITE SPOT IN THIS EPISODE:

00:00 Meet the Stevedore

00:23 What Stevedores Do

01:03 Longshoremen and Port Roles

02:17 Planning vs Execution

03:09 Clerks Checkers Explained

04:19 Ops Manager Responsibilities

05:14 Tracking Containers Today

07:20 Career Path Into Stevedoring

09:20 Ships Schedule and Pace

10:07 Troubleshooting and Redundancy

12:10 Terminals Unions Specialties

13:27 Breakbulk Yachts and Military

16:51 Ship Types and COVID Impact

18:52 Avoiding Complacency

20:18 Training the Crew

22:06 Career Paths In Ports

24:21 Container Planning Physics

26:07 Managing Massive Teams

27:17 Crane Speed And Workflow

28:48 Boarding Ships And Diplomacy

32:12 Life Aboard International Crews

35:12 Why Savannah Port Matters

Welcome to the Ships of the Sea podcast, an audio voyage from Ships of the Sea Maritime Museum. In this introductory episode, producer Dee Daniels introduces host Molly Carrott Taylor, Executive Director of Ships of the Sea Maritime Museum, and previews the new podcast exploring Savannah’s maritime stories.

Molly shares her background as a collegiate sailor and longtime art museum leader, how she came to Ships of the Sea after consulting on membership and fundraising, and highlights recent growth, including bringing in over 6,000 children in two years and increasing the budget to $1.2 million from $800,000 in 2022.

She explains the museum’s home, the 1819 William Scarborough House, Scarborough’s role in the Steamship Savannah Company, and the Steamship Savannah’s May 22, 1819, transatlantic voyage—now honored as National Maritime Day.

The episode previews community-focused education and STEAM field trips, events like Celestial Seafarer and Supper at Sea, rotating exhibitions, upcoming sequential-art stories of key ships, and future podcast topics on modern maritime careers such as pilots, stevedores, longshoremen, attorneys, and archaeologists.

CONNECT WITH US:

A looking inside Ships of the Sea Maritime Museum

Museum EVENTS

Education and Group Programs

Meet the Production Team Dee Daniels Media

FIND A FAVORITE SPOT IN THIS EPISODE:

00:00 Welcome Aboard

01:02 Meet Molly Taylor

02:02 From Consultant to Director

05:31 Scarborough House Origins

05:59 Steamship Savannah Breakthrough

08:05 Schoolhouse Legacy

09:09 National Maritime Day Roots

11:04 Community Programs Vision

12:31 Signature Events and Exhibits

16:20 Hidden Maritime Careers

22:13 A Day in 1819

26:02 Hands On Learning Ahead

28:59 Closing and Support