Medal of Bravery

• Awarded on: February 17, 2011
• Invested on: February 08, 2013

Kathryn Whittaker, M.B.
Medal of Bravery

On July 13, 2007, Kathryn Whittaker, captain of the sail-training vessel Fair Jeanne, risked her life to rescue her crew and 20 cadets when their engine caught fire on Lake Ontario. About an hour after dropping anchor, thick smoke was observed coming from the engine room. After finding the source of the smoke, Captain Whittaker was unable to extinguish the flames. She then shut the door to the engine room to starve the flames of oxygen, but the smoke continued to billow out. She commanded the crew to shut off the engine and to gather up on deck. Captain Whittaker went down to the charthouse through the thick, black smoke to retrieve a hand-held GPS. She dispatched a mayday call on the VHF radio, and provided the vessel's exact location. Shortly afterwards, several search-and-rescue teams and firefighting craft arrived on the scene; all those aboard the Fair Jeanne were saved.