For 170 years, the San Francisco Bar Pilots have been navigating the world’s largest ships through some of North America’s most difficult waterways. These state and federally-licensed master mariners are highly-specialized ship captains who rely on navigational experience, ship-handling skills, and local knowledge to transport more than $1.2 billion in goods to and from 200 Bay Area ports, docks, and berths every day. This critical service protects more than 1,000 miles of fragile coastline...
Over the course of 4 days this August, I was afforded the opportunity and privilege of riding with the Savannah Bar Pilots for an article I was writing for a major maritime magazine. The pilots are given the responsibility of boarding a vessel in the Atlantic Ocean and safely navigating the vessel up the Tybee Road 9 (a name for the shipping lane that leads into the Savannah River), into the Savannah River, and into the Port of Savannah. The same is done in reverse when a ship is outbound...
Hike Metal is excited to announce the launch a new vessel, here are the specs: Introducing the new HIKE Navigator! This 38' Pilot Boat has an impressive 13.3 ft beam. Powered by two Volvo Penta Diesel engines, this vessel can run at a max speed of 39 knots (45MPH, 72KMH) and has a 300 mile range. Hike Metal is a world Class custom boat builder offering unparalleled design of maritime engineering, production, and manufacturing of a variety of boats and ships for commercial, government, and...