Becoming a Boat Captain

Celebrating Women’s History Month

Virginia Ferguson joined the crew of boat captains at Silver Springs on June 6, 1973.

Not only did this make her the first female boat captain at Silver Springs, it also made her the first female boat captain in Marion County to be certified by the U.S. Coast Guard.

A fleet of 22 captains sometimes took over 10,000 visitors a day on the Silver River. Her co-workers warned it would be hard work and that, on those busy days, she would hardly have a chance to get off the boat. 

When Virginia set out to work at Silver Springs, she was looking to provide for her family, not make history.

During a 2013 interview she said, "When I would enter the back of the boat, they would say, 'Oh. Female captain. Women's lib.' I said, 'No. It's not women's lib. I have four children, and we want to live. It has nothing to do with women's liberation, at all.' And that was true." 

Since the 1970s, Virginia saw ownership and management change half a dozen times, but the most significant change occurred in 2013 when Silver Springs became a state park.

As one of the longest-serving boat captains, Virginia played an important role during this transition as the unofficial dockmaster, mentoring new captains and keeping things running smoothly.

One of her favorite parts of this new chapter in the history of the park was the increased number of manatee sightings. 

Even though Captain Virginia retired from the park in 2018, her legacy continues.

Back in 2006, Captain Virginia trained a new employee, Captain Connie Mann. In addition to the glass bottom boats, there were two other boat tours: the Fort King River Cruise and the Lost River Voyage. All the captains were trained to operate all three boat tours, but Virginia, Connie and Captain Sheila primarily worked on the Fort King River Cruise.

Since they were the only three women out of a fleet of 30 captains, it came to be known as "The Pink Dock." They enjoyed the nickname and working together. 

In 2008, Captain Connie Mann became an employee of the Marion County Public School's Silver River Museum and Environmental Education Center. This facility, located inside of Silver Springs State Park, hosts almost every single fourth- and fifth-grade student in the county for a field trip. As part of the science curriculum, Connie takes the fifth-grade students on the river for a one-hour pontoon boat ride to learn about the flora and fauna of the Silver River.

Connie says she has remained close to Virginia: "We're family. We talk together all the time."