Good old times: PLA Thames Pilots at Work

Found on YouTube. Created by "British Pathé"
Location: England

Various shots following a river pilot. He is seen disembarking from one boat and climbing up a rope ladder onto a large ship.

Various shots of another river pilot, dressed in a cap, woollen jumper and sea faring jacket. He is seen at the wheel of his boat.

Various shots of two river police pilots on the River Thames in London. They are filmed in the cab and on the deck of their boat. They pull up alongside some riverboat houses and talk to a woman who owns one of the them. Back in their boat, there are now three river pilots making their journey along the Thames. CU. A river police union Jack flag at the back of the boat. VS. The boat drives alongside Victoria Wharf and London dock lands. VS. An RAF helicopter hovers alongside the police boat before flying off into the distance. CU. Another helicopter flying away.
FILM ID:3299.02

A VIDEO FROM BRITISH PATHÉ. EXPLORE OUR ONLINE CHANNEL, BRITISH PATHÉ TV. IT'S FULL OF GREAT DOCUMENTARIES, FASCINATING INTERVIEWS, AND CLASSIC MOVIES. http://www.britishpathe.tv/

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.

Look at Life Vol 01 Transport Pilot Aboard 1963

The story of Britain's pilotage services.

Found on YouTube. Created by "British Pathé"
Unissued / Unused material -

Hamburg, West Germany (FDR - Federal Republic of Germany).

German helicopters are used to carry river boat pilots to where they are needed.

Big CU Helicopter pilot talking into mouthpiece. Aerial view from helicopter of boat below. MS as the helicopter comes in and lands on deck of the ship. Various shots as pilot is picked up from lightship and flown off in helicopter. LS From bridge of ship as helicopter flies overhead. CU Small bird sitting on capstan.

(f.g.) Old record suggests material dates from around 27/04/1961.
FILM ID:3032.14

A VIDEO FROM BRITISH PATHÉ. EXPLORE OUR ONLINE CHANNEL, BRITISH PATHÉ TV. IT'S FULL OF GREAT DOCUMENTARIES, FASCINATING INTERVIEWS, AND CLASSIC MOVIES. http://www.britishpathe.tv/

“The current plight many seafarers are facing, unable to crew change or return home, is being described by many voices within the maritime community as the next humanitarian crisis.”

The Port Pilot, by Richard Blanco. In _Looking for The Gulf Motel_, 2012, University of Pittsburgh Press.

I am not a computer savvy. My knowledge in programming and robotics and those sort of things is nil. I get lost in the sea of social media and easily entangle myself in the web. All I have done for the last 25 years or so is to pilot ships through the Panama Canal. However, during the last couple of years I have done my best to catch up with technology, since it has enhanced our possibilities and improved safety in our field. But still, I have to admit that I am way behind the new guys in this important issue.

When I was a deck officer back in the early nineties I worked on a ship that used to load grain at different ports along the Mississippi river. The name of the ship was Golden Hope, a 600 feet long dry bulk carrier with a 95 feet in beam. An average size vessel for those days' standards.

Found on YouTube. Created by "Houston Maritime Education Center and Museum".
With ships as large as 175 feet wide and a channel a maximum of 500 feet wide, how to you safely pass? Former Houston ship channel pilot, Lou Vest, explains how ships fight against hydrodynamics to pass with such narrow margins.

https://houstonmaritime.org

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