History: Pilot Boat Tragedy (1939)

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.

Based on MAIB Safety Digest 1/2025, Case 12, published April 2025 by the UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB).

In this episode we have a chance to meet Ivana-Maria Carrioni-Burnett, a Marine Pilot from the UK who works on the River Thames. Ivana highlights the concerns and fear that can be felt by those working in the maritime industry during COVID19. On the vessel, the seafarers are in their own isolation, or 'families' and then the pilot and other port personnel come onboard and they may be asymptomatic. For the port personnel, they aren't sure if the crew might be infected. Then there are the...

Documentary from 2019 by "The Sea Lad"

Now that I am a pilot, I know that I will be rated at the debriefing meeting regarding my work, as soon as I disembark. The bridge team and the captain will adjust their safety envelope for the next manoeuvre, according to my performance.

It's quite possibly the most isolated lighthouse in the world and is precariously perched on top of a rock pillar with the wild waves of the cold North Atlantic ocean raging below.

It does not happen very often that we have a Eurochannel bound ship to sea. In this case the MARIA P LEMOS, 333 m with a draft of 20,7 m left Rotterdam underway to the Far East .