Mississippi River Pilot transfer off of south bound ship in the Mississippi River below New Orleans to a Pilot Boat. Pilots climb down rope ladder onto the top of the Pilot Boat while both boats are underway.

transfer of Marine Ship's Pilots by helicopter hoist is a demanding task.
Berthing means bringing a vessel to her berth until the ship is made fast. ... The berthing and unberthing manoeuvres require great knowledge and skill by the master, officers and the crew, as well as an excellent team-work with the rope-runners and the mooring party ashore

A wonderful poem As read by the author From his books "Poems" Sometimes it is good just to stop and enjoy a poem. This poem "Ship's Pilot" is read by the author himself. A valuable piece about the nature of the pilot.

This video seems to be slow and boring for non maritime people, but doing the job in a good way needs a lot of experience and knowledge. And it's the very the best job in the world.

A good working relationship with the pilot, effective Master Pilot Information Exchange at the start of the pilotage followed by well performing Bridge Resource Management during the pilotage passage, are important factors in a successful pilotage.

Today a look at a special vessel that is commonly seen on the Astoria waterfront: the pilot boat that takes pilots to and from passing ships.