JOHNSON, Electa (Search) 1909-2004

OBITUARY NOTICE— See index for CA sketch: Born August 17, 1909, in Rochester, NY; died November 19, 2004, in Holyoke, MA. Adventurer and author. Along with her husband, Irving, Johnson made a career of sailing the world and writing about her travels, while also sharing her knowledge with young aspiring sailors. After receiving a B.A. from Smith College in 1929, she attended the University of California at Berkeley for a year. A sailing voyage from France, during which she fell in love with her future husband, resulted in a lifelong love and obsession with sailing. Except for the years of World War II, the Johnsons spent a huge part of their lives exploring their world on various sailing vessels—which they always named Yankee—and made a number of discoveries, including three uncharted islands as well as the anchor and other artifacts from the H.M.S. Bounty. They also enjoyed sharing their sailing knowledge with young people, such as the Girl Scout Mariners, the at-risk youths charity known as the TopSail program, and, of course, their own children. They published several books about their travels, including Westward Bound in the Schooner Yankee (1935), Yankee's Wander World (1949), and Yankee Sails the Nile (1966). The Johnsons also contributed regularly to National Geographic magazine. In 2002 the Los Angeles Maritime Institute named two brigantines after the Johnsons.

OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Boston Globe, November 24, 2004.

Seattle Times, December 5, 2004, p. A25.

Washington Post, December 4, 2004, p. B7.