Broadcast Journalism

Who's that girl behind the mic? 

In addition to writing and photography for print, I also have 20 years experience working on documentaries, web and television (ESPN) broadcasts, including Roy E. Disney and Leslie Disney's 'A Century Across the Pacific' film.

Here's a clip from an interview I did with Ken Read, skipper of Comanche, after they 'crushed the Transpac record' in July 2017. That's me, posing questions.

Watch on youtube HERE

Interviewing Ken Read for newsfeed 

Co-producing ESPN content, including interview with Dean Barker

ESP 

Radio interview during Long Beach Race Week

More from the pages of SAILING MAGAZINE: April 2020

Shifting gears to cruising mode 

I never intended to pull a bait and switch. When my husband Barry and I invited avid racing friends to join us in the Caribbean, our intent was to compete in the Golden Rock Regatta­—a weeklong event that combines buoy racing with lively courses from island to island  in mid-November.

Barry looks toward St Barts, on a delightful reach aboard our Sunsail charter boat

On the agenda was a week of serious fun racing around St. Maarten, with exhilarating courses to St. Eustatius, St. Barts and Anguilla. But as the race dates approached, with sponsorship money dwindling in post-hurricane St. Maarten, the field fizzled. The Golden Rock Regatta had hit rock bottom, and the races were scrapped ... 

Read the complete story HERE

American Red Cross: Public Information Officer

In addition to my professional career, I am a volunteer Public Information Officer for the American Red Cross. Here is another of my recent articles:

Home & Wildfire Prep Campaign Sparks New Career for one Volunteer 

March 10, 2020

By Betsy Senescu, American Red Cross volunteer

In October 2019, as seasonal Santa Ana winds fanned arid Riverside County, a fire ignited in the parched mountains of Jurupa Valley. No one saw it start. Residents reported, “It just started burning.”

Luckily, they were prepared ...

Read the whole story HERE

Elegant Eight Metres

As seen in the pages of Sailing-World 

Elegant Eight Metres

At the 8-Metre World Championship in Toronto, a royal presence and a deep Corinthian spirit maintain the “class” in this classic fleet.

Sept 2017 -- Sailing is the king of sports, and the sport of kings. King Harald, of Norway, was lauded for making a concerted effort to attend the 2016 8-Metre World Championships in Toronto as an ambassador for the 2017 World Championship in Fredrikstad, Norway. 

Toronto skyline backdrops the fleet. Photo UltimateSailing

In Toronto he raced the distinctive green-hulled 8-Metre Sira, originally his father King Olav’s. It was transported across the Atlantic on a specially built cradle on 80-meter Royal Yacht K/S Norge, which graced the Toronto waterfront, and where King Harald admitted he was “on vacation.”

“One of the things I like about sailing is, to the wind, it doesn’t make any difference who you are or what you are — the wind blows on everybody the same way. 

Read the entire feature HERE 

American Red Cross: Public Information Officer

In addition to my professional career, I am a volunteer Public Information Officer for the American Red Cross. Here is one of my recent articles on a campaign I worked on:

Sound the Alarm: A Volunteer’s Perspective

I arrived at the meeting place bleary-eyed, at 8:00 a.m. sharp. By some miracle, a crew of others had already established a small festival-like atmosphere, with registration and information tents, bagels and thankfully, coffee. 

As a volunteer at my first Sound the Alarm event, I’d signed up to help install free smoke alarms in one of our local communities, going door to door like Girls Scouts selling cookies. But, instead of hawking thin mints, we were peddling the gift of safety and life...

Read the article HERE:

The land of the green bottles & turquoise seas

I'm heading back to St. Maarten for the 40th Heineken Regatta - looking forward to seeing what's changed since I last covered it nine years ago! The racing? The parties? Or just me?!

Here's my article as published in Sailing Magazine from 2011 LINK

Photos for this article by the great, late Bob Grieser

ISLAND OF ROMANCE

The Island of Romance

AS SEEN IN SAILING MAGAZINE NOV. 2019

"Our destination was Catalina Island, a favorite haven for Southern Californians but familiar to folks worldwide thanks to a 1958 music hit that croons, ‘Twenty-six miles across the sea, Santa Catalina is a-waitin’ for me; Santa Catalina, the island of romance …’ 

A leisurely 37 nautical miles from our home port of Dana Point, California, the sail to Catalina was aboard our Antrim Class 40 Yippee Kai Yay. Designed for offshore racing, she rates durability and speed over comfort. She’s hardly the Love Boat, but we have modest amenities and all the necessities: a Forespar burner to boil water, a small fridge; a head, positioned immodestly forward of the mast, with a holding tank the size of a thimble."

READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE HERE