Doris Barbara “Dodie” Post Gann (1922–2012) was an

alpine skier Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing ( cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether ...

in the 1948 and 1952

Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (), also known as the Winter Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were held i ...

. Post later became an accomplished sailor and conservationist with her husband, author and screenwriter

Ernest K. Gann Ernest Kellogg Gann (October 13, 1910 – December 19, 1991) was an American aviator, author, sailor, and conservation movement, conservationist. He is best known for his novels and memoirs about early aviation and nautical adventures. Some of his ...

Ski racing

Post was a member of the Reno Ski Club while growing up in

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada–California border. It is the county seat and most populous city of Washoe County, Nevada, Washoe County. Sitting in the High Eastern Sierra foothills, ...

and attending the

University of Nevada The University of Nevada, Reno (Nevada, the University of Nevada, or UNR) is a public land-grant research university in Reno, Nevada, United States. It is the state's flagship public university and primary land grant institution. It was founded ...

, Reno. Post was selected as captain of the 1948 U.S. Olympic Woman's Ski Team for the San Moritz, Switzerland

Olympics The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competit ...

. However, she was unable to compete due to a broken ankle. In 1950, Post was made captain of the FIS World Championship's ski team in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

. She competed in the 1952 Olympics in

Oslo, Norway Oslo ( or ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of towns and cities in Norway, most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a Counties of Norway, county and a Municipalities of Norway, municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a populat ...

. For the 1956 Olympics in Cortina, Italy, Post served on the ski team selection committee and as team manager.

Sailing

Post met author

while he was skiing in

Lake Tahoe Lake Tahoe (; Washo language, Washo: ''dáʔaw'') is a Fresh water, freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada of the Western United States, straddling the border between California and Nevada. Lying at above sea level, Lake Tahoe is the largest a ...

. Gann invited Post to help sail ''Albatros'' from Holland, through the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal () is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean. It cuts across the narrowest point of the Isthmus of Panama, and is a Channel (geography), conduit for maritime trade between th ...

, to its new home in the

San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay (Chochenyo language, Chochenyo: 'ommu) is a large tidal estuary in the United States, U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the cities of San Francisco, California, San ...

. Post and Gann married and spent three years sailing the ''Albatros'' throughout the

South Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

. The ''Albatros'' was used in the movie Twilight for the Gods based on Gann's novel. It was later sold to a sailing school and sank in the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

, after encountering a severe storm. The 1996 movie

White Squall A white squall is a sudden and violent windstorm at sea which is not accompanied by the black clouds generally characteristic of a squall. It manifests as a sudden increase in wind velocity in tropical and sub-tropical waters, and may be a micro ...

, starring

Jeff Bridges Jeffrey Leon Bridges (born December 4, 1949) is an American actor. He is known for his Leading actor, leading man roles in film and television. In a career spanning over seven decades, he has received List of awards and nominations received by ...

, depicts the saga. Post and Gann moved to

San Juan Island San Juan Island is the second-largest and most populous of the San Juan Islands in northwestern Washington, United States. It has a land area of 142.59 km2 (55.053 sq mi) and a population of 8,632 as of the 2020 census. Washington State F ...

in the state of

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, where their yachting continued for the remainder of their lives.

Conservationism

Post and Gann made the first donation to the

San Juan Preservation Trust The San Juan Preservation Trust is a private, non-profit and membership-based land trust dedicated to helping people and communities conserve land on the San Juan Islands in Washington state. Noted for its $6.4 million purchase of Vendovi Island ...

in 1980, by donating 38 acres of their Red Mill Farm to the trust. Post served as either a trust board member or an emeritus adviser for the remainder of her life. After Post's death in 2012, the remaining 738 acres were donated to the trust as a working agricultural preserve. A life-long dog lover, Post was also a founding member of the Animal Protection Society of Friday Harbor.

Death and honors

Post died in Friday Harbor,

on December 24, 2012. Post was elected to the

Athletic Hall of Fame in 1973. Post was elected to the US Ski Team Hall of Fame in 2001. The annual "Dodie Gann Memorial Dog Walk" is held each year in Friday Harbor.

References

External links

US Ski Team Hall of Fame - Dodie Post GannUniversity of Nevada Athletic Hall of Fame - Dodie Post
{{DEFAULTSORT:Post, Dodie 1922 births 2012 deaths American female alpine skiers Olympic alpine skiers for the United States Alpine skiers at the 1948 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 1952 Winter Olympics 20th-century American sportswomen