Look at Life - Pilot Aboard 1963

Many people wonder how ships made it across entire oceans without getting lost in the seventeenth century. Aaron introduces seventeenth century navigation to us today by beginning with piloting.

Look at Life - City of Sailors - Portsmouth - 1965
Portsmouth is no longer the sea-faring city it once was; this film from the Documentary Series "Look At Life" Volume 5 - Cultural Heritage in 1965 looks at its changing face.

Let us start a journey back in time. Back to the black and white films of history. The times have changed, but it is good to know what kind of things have changed and where are the roots of pilotage.

A collection of action from the St Johns Bar Pilot Association In the early 1800′s as the commercial ports along the St Johns River began to develop, a select group of brave and skilled seafarers would row to sea to meet arriving cargo sailing ships. These daring individuals would use their extensive local knowledge to safely guide the sailing ships across the treacherous sand bars that guarded the river entrance. This was the origin of the St. Johns Bar Pilots. Initially it was a bit of a...

USCG Station Yaquina Bay in Newport, OR
Surf Training from 12/19-1/20

Chesapeake Bay pilots guide massive cargo ships safely through the Bay's channels every day, but boarding them on a ladder attached to a moving ship is nothing short of breathtaking. Watch the video from a retired Bay Pilot.

Video by Tasmanian Ports Corporation
TasPorts' Marine Pilot Nick Hess recently produced a video from footage our crews have captured around Tasmania.
The video provides an amazing insight into the work TasPorts’ Marine Pilots undertake every day around the state - an essential part of the business that not many people get the opportunity to see.

In the chess match that has global powers looking for new ways to move goods around the world, the Mary Maersk and nine other sister ships are the biggest pieces.
Produced by: Erik Olsen
Read the story here: http://nyti.ms/1rIt2Sf

Issues like the Covid 19 crisis and the moves towards increased autonomy appear to be driving a renewed interest in Shore Based Pilotage (SBP), nowadays often called Remote Pilotage.

"Rope Ladders" by PTR Holland