Early morning in the North Sea, three-metre swells, freezing winds, and a burst of hail hammering the deck - perfect conditions for another day with the Port of Tyne pilotage.
In this video we take two pilots out to the Aquamarine Ace onboard the pilot boat Collingwood, pushing through seriously choppy water on a bitter, stormy morning. You’ll see the full run out to sea, the swell hitting the bow, the hailstorm rolling in, and the precision teamwork that gets the pilots safely across in...
In 2006 I was invited to join Port of London Pilot Capt. Tom Miller on one of his last few voyages before his retirement. A pilot cutter ferried us from the Gravesend Port office to the Port of London Terminal where the Hebridean Spirit waited for us to board. Once aboard, the ship's captain manoeuvred the vessel off its moorings and into the channel. After handing the vessel over to Capt. Miller, the Captain joined the ship's company for dinner, and the first offer and a helmsman remained...
