The first volume of Pilots concentrated on the stories of American and British schooners. Volume 2 enters what for many will be a less familiar world... that of the remarkable pilot brigs and small undecked craft. Schooners range from the Hiates of Portugal to the beautiful station boats of the North Sea ports of Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium, and France. The development of the schooners themselves into such highly sophisticated craft is traced from regional predecessors. Volume 2 of Pilots is not just about boats — the sailors also have their role. The book follows highly difficult manoeuvres under sail, dangerous transfers at sea, the routine of everyday life, and the perils of heavy weather including ships wrecked and lives saved. All aspects of a spectacular and previously unpublished maritime tradition are considered, not forgetting the competitions between pilots to be the best crews.
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Video What a job! Battleship Texas - Pilot debark (August 22, 2024)
published on 27 August 2024
Video M/V Santa Loretta Precision Tug Maneuver (AHDPA)
published on 25 June 2020
Video MT GRAN COUVA from Sea to Waalhaven, Port of Rotterdam
by Herman Broers - published on 25 February 2021
Article Three new pilot boats for Port of Shenzhen
published on 20 February 2022
Video seadevcon 2021 - conference - HOW TO MAKE SMALL SHIPS (WORKBOATS, FERRIES, TUGS) CLEAN
published on 28 September 2021
Article Insurer Pays Out After Port Agent Fails to Book Pilot
published on 13 May 2025
Video SafeTug in Action
published on 3 September 2019
At 244 meters long, 42 meters wide, made up of 57,000 tons of steel and carrying approximately $41 million dollars’ worth of cargo, when the personnel at Teesport bring the Agathonissos – and vessels like her – into dock, there’s no room for error.
Watch this video to see how SafeTug helps to simplify this complex process, giving tug skippers, ship pilots and port personnel the vital information and situational awareness they need to bring her in safely.