When I got the opportunity to interview Pam Bitterman I jumped at the chance and not just because she has been a teacher of maritime history and seamanship but because she sailed on a tall ship for many years. About 3 decades after being a sailor, and as she raised her family she decided to write about her experiences and that is what we are talking about today – about a tall ship named Sofia, which sank off New Zealand’s North Island in February 1982