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Crossing the Bar: The Adventures of a San Francisco Bay Bar Pilot (Paul Lobo)

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Crossing the Bar: The Adventures of a San Francisco Bay Bar Pilot (Paul Lobo)
There is nothing placid about San Francisco Bay. Its raucous waters have hosted brutal storms, daring rescues, horrendous accidents, and countless hours of drama and tension. Captain Paul Lobo knows that better than most people. As a federally and state licensed ship pilot of unlimited tonnage for those treacherous waters, Captain Lobo piloted nearly 6,500 ships in a thirty-one year career--everything from mega-yachts, to the USS Enterprise, to TV's Love Boat. Each trip tells its own story, and the Cap'n shares many sea stories,all true. Readers will find gripping, tense adventure stories, all well told.

Reading Crossing the Bar is like being on the rolling bridge with Captain Lobo. Here are tragic deaths and lives saved, inspiring rescues, devastating storms, and the infamous and horrendous oil spill after the Cosco Busan rammed the Oakland Bay Bridge--resulting in the first known imprisonment of a maritime pilot for making an error.

Readers will also find a December sea rescue Captain Lobo was involved during a winter storm with hurricane strength winds and monstrous seas.Without Captain Lobo, two other pilots and the pilot boat crew and their supreme effort, the ship they saved would have foundered on California's Marin County rocky coast line with the loss of all hands. A must read for mariners and armchair mariners alike.
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Article What is a Maritime Pilot? From "Crossing the Bar, The Adventures of a San Francisco Bay Bar Pilot" by Captain Paul Lobo

by Capt. Paul Lobo - published on 22 September 2020

Chapter 3 from the book "Crossing the Bar, The Adventures of a San Francisco Bay Bar Pilot" by Captain Paul Lobo, available on Amazon (link below)

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Opinion The valet parker for ships

by Bianca Reineke - published on 14 November 2020

Review of Capt. Paul Lobo's book "Crossing the bar". The valet parker for ships: More than 30 years of being a Pilot. Book Review by Bianca Reineke, Germany

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Opinion Book review: Practical Ship Handling, Fourth Edition, by Malcolm C. Armstrong

by Kevin Vallance deep sea pilot and author - published on 5 June 2020

Some ship handlers today use electronic instruments from start to finish and these ships usually have powerful engines and thrusters and an almost unlimited number of personnel on the bridge.

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Video DJI Mavic 2 Pro - Foyle Leader Pilot Vessel

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Article Pilot Boarding and Landing – use of Personal Emergency Radio Devices

by Nick Lee, T&TC Chairman, UK Pilots - published on 4 February 2020

Personal Locator Beacons (PLB) and other individual MOB devices have been available for some years now and have evolved to incorporate a variety of different alerting methods and combinations. However, usage of these additional enhancements within UK Pilotage is still in its infancy.

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Article Covid-19 Pilotage Guidelines by country (gathered by IMPA)

by Frank Diegel - published on 25 October 2021

Each pilot association and each country can get a good overview of how other colleagues approach safety.
Ship crews can see which rules apply in which country.
In any case, this list from IMPA is worth looking through and reading.

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Article Fall overboard during pilot transfer, Moreton Bay, Queensland, on 2 July 2025

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Occurrence Brief from the ATSB (Australia)

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Video Actual Pilot Boat Approached Ship/Boat Debarking

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#actualvideos #pilotboat #actualfootage

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Video Crowley Completes First U.S. Design for Fully Electric Tug with Autonomous Technology

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Crowley Engineering Services has completed a design of the first fully electric U.S. tugboat with autonomous technology -- providing operators a sustainable and high-performing solution for ship assist and harbor services in any port. The Crowley design, powered by the expertise of recently integrated subsidiary Jensen Maritime, leverages a large battery system and power saving technology to operate in a fully electric mode while producing zero air emissions or greenhouse gases. The 82-foot...

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Video Crecent River Port Pilot transfer

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