Nautilus Chairman, Ulrich Jurgens, congratulates Admiralty pilot, Rachel Dunn, on her receipt of the Victoria Drummond award.

Photo: Nautilus

Rachel Dunn, wife of Southampton pilot, Neil Dunn, received the Nautilus  Victoria Drummond Award presented by Sir Alan Massey at the 1st Nautilus International Conference.

Rachel is the only female Admiralty Pilot. Having first gone to sea as a Cadet with Shell Tankers in 1984 she obtained her Masters Certificate in 1993. Shortly after that she left Shell and joined Wightlink as Chief Officer. In 1997 she was promoted to Master, a post that she held for eleven years before leaving to become a Trainee Admiralty Pilot in Portsmouth last year. Rachel has now qualified as a Pilot after twelve months in training and next April she will be a fully qualified as an Unrestricted Admiralty Pilot ready for the aircraft carriers.

The award is named after one of Queen Victoria’s goddaughters, Victoria Drummond, who abandoned a privileged lifestyle as a debutante to become the first female marine engineer in the Merchant Navy where she served for over forty years. During World War Two she was Second Engineer aboard the SS Bonita, when it came under attack from a German bomber. Having instructed the others to abandon the engine room she single handed not only  kept the engine running throughout the heavy bombardment but also managed to get the ship’s speed up to 12.5 kts, the fastest ever recorded in the ship’s 18 year life!  For this act of bravery she was honoured with an MBE and was awarded the Lloyd’s War Medal .

As Rachel says, ‘It was difficult enough for me when I first went to sea so I can’t begin to imagine what it must have been like for her. She was an amazing woman with an amazing history.”

Rotterdam pilot Paul Borsbroom took these photographs whilst piloting the  NAFTOBULK VII into the Heuvelman facilities in Gravendeel assisted by the tugs SIRIUS and EN AVANT 4. Now, where did the book say the pivot point should be?

Sometime prior to the establishment of the UKPA, in fact around 140 AD, a member of the Roman army of occupation army died near York. He was recorded as being an Ouse/Humber/Trent pilot. His headstone is in the York Museum and has the following inscription as follows:

Matribus Afris Italis Gallis Marcus Minucius Audens miles legionis VI Victricfs gubernator VI uofum solfut laetuslibens merffo. Translated:

To the African, Italian and Gallic Mother Goddesses Marcus Minucius Audens, soldier of the Sixth Legions Vitrix and a pilot of the Sixth Legion, Willingly, gladly and deservedly fulfilled his vow

Submitted by Harry Hignett

(Retired: Manchester)

(back row left to right) Jo Looj (cheerleader),Charlie Bull(London),Matt Easton (Liverpool), Terry Crowe (Ex-Liverpool & Cheerleader), Peter Flanagan (London),Willie Terry (Forth),Kevin Walsh (Liverpool & Captain), Stefan Looj (Liverpool),Simon Wood (Liverpool)

(front row left to right) Andy Bissaker (Liverpool), David Roberts (Liverpool),Michele Pulizzi (London),Giorgio Pirolami (London), Kenneth Macinnes (Forth),Steve  Swanick (Manchester),Steve Blake (Tees) and one missing camera shy Zane Joachim (Tees).

Ten teams attended the 46^th annual European Pilots’ football tournament which was held at the Yuri Gagarin sports field in Le Havre on May 14 last year.The UK was drawn with Flushing, Hamburg, Amsterdam and the Belgian pilots.

In the first game of Group B the UK drew 0-0 with Flushing.  There was a disjointed feel to the game, which was hardly surprising as our squad was drawn from far-flung districts and the players rarely get the chance to play together other than at this annual tournament.  As ever, Liverpool pilots made up the largest contingent (6), with four from the Thames, two from the Tees, two from the Forth and one from the Manchester Ship Canal.

Our second match was against Amsterdam.  Our captain, Kevin Walsh, had watched the opposition defeat Hamburg 1-0 and his tactics paid off, with Amsterdam’s playmaker well-marked and the UK producing a much more cohesive effort,  to win 1-0 with a fine goal from Stefan Looj .  The UK then kept another clean sheet against the Belgians but sustained pressure failed to find the net.  This was repeated in the final group game, against Hamburg, to leave the UK joint top with the same points and goal difference as the Belgians but fewer goals scored.   After lunch, and a break from the strong sunshine, we had a semi-final against France, winners of the other group.   The UK played so well that our opponents soon gave up trying to attack, content that they had a spectacularly good goalkeeper.  He did indeed thwart the plucky Brits so, yet again, we finished goalless.  The match went to penalties and it was no surprise when the French keeper made the difference.

That left the UK to face the Belgians in a 3^rd place play-off but, with tired legs and a fierce sun, we agreed on a penalty shoot-out, rather than another half hour on a big, hard pitch.   The British weakness of losing on penalties held true but both teams were so tired that the competitive spirit was wilting, and thoughts were turning to replenishing fluids with a few cold beers.  Still, fourth out of ten is an improvement on last year’s 8^th from 12 and we finished this year as the only team not to concede a goal in play.  Rotterdam defeated France in the final to retain their title and begin a very congenial happy hour.

Our hosts organised a very good dinner dance, with a fine band, to round off a long and highly enjoyable day.  As in previous years, thanks are due to the Liverpool contingent – in particular Simon Wood and Dave Roberts – for organising so well and bringing the kit.  This year’s tournament is only weeks away, in Flushing, and will be played on Saturday 28^th May.  The UK squad is already in place but there is always room for late additions so get in touch with Simon if you would like a memorable weekend and the chance to meet colleagues from around Europe.

Simon Wood

Last November, Liverpool pilot Andy Bissaker made the trek to the mount Everest base camp for charity and the following is his account of the adventure.

After a successful ascent of Jbel Toubkal in Morocco in 2009, I decided that it was time to ask the family for a “high altitude shore pass” for last November. This came quite easily especially as I could raise money for a friend who had just passed away due to pancreatic cancer. So last November I found myself in the Hotel Tibet in Kathmandu listening to stories from “old salts” of dreadful altitude sicknesses such as Pulmonary Oedemas, Cerebral Oedemas, Frostbite, Hypothermia and worse the Khumbu two-step that would assault various bodily organs and functions.  Then there was the flight to the start at Lukla which was named the world’s most dangerous airport just before I departed.

The path up to Base camp was a ten day trek of absolute wonder, joy was in the journey rather than the getting there. On the way we passed the Sherpa capital of Namche Bazaar, the Dalai Lama’s palace in Tengboche, drank the really very good Everest beer in tea-houses. Everywhere was built by hand with no vehicles other than yak trains and the porters whose carrying ability was phenomenal. Daytime temperatures meant shorts and t-shirt, while the nights were spent standing next to stoves wearing down jackets. We crossed the glacial “River of Milk” on rope bridges more times than I can remember, climbed and descended endlessly, drank foul iodine water in gallons. However any hardships were more than outweighed by the magnificent Himalayan views and the local people.

Although I did succumb to the two step for a very short while, altitude sickness passed me by and on the 29th November we arrived at the Everest base camp at 18,000ft on the Khumbu glacier where the oxygen content is half that of my favoured sea level and thanks to friends and colleagues I managed to raise more than £1600 for a worthwhile cause.

Andy Bissaker

Retired Fowey pilot, Sam Guy, sent me this delightful photo of his dog “Chinks” (named after the rocks off the Scillies) keeping a sharp lookout whilst at anchor during “beer o’clock”! However, Sam still continues to keep his hand in professionally  and sent the following report:

Since ‘retiring’ from pilotage I have done the odd relief job on the local ferry and also on a small dredger belonging to Padstow harbour in North Cornwall. We have had a few interesting jobs with the dredger one of which was recovering broken containers from the seabed at the grounding sight of the Napoli in Lyme Bay. Although at present we are doing what a dredger is supposed to do ie. dredge, we had an interesting little job removing a derelict dredger from the upper reaches of the Taw estuary near Barnstable, in Devon late last year.  We had to get it off a bank and tow it 3 miles down river to be beached  and cut up. It was not the easiest of jobs especially as we had very little water, no bowthruster and single screw.

This photograph of the Tyne pilot cutter “Queen of the May” was sent to me by Bill Young who discovered it whilst sorting out some family documents. The photograph was taken in 1933 by his father William Mould Young who was a Tyne pilot.

The Queen of the May was bought by the Tyne Pilotage Authority in 1921 from  the Coats cotton family.

Built in 1895 by A & J Inglis of Glasgow as a pleasure yacht she was  127 feet ( 38.7m) long and was powered by a 39HP triple expansion steam reciprocating engine.

In 1943 she was acquired by the Royal Navy for use as a calibrating vessel and was eventually disposed of in 1946.

JCB, with historical information supplied by retired Hawich pilot Andy Adams

L – R: John Godden, John Felton & JCB

Last Summer marked 21 years that the magazine has been edited by pilots.

Prior to 1989 the magazine had been produced by a professional editor in a small format. The content mainly consisted of long accounts of meetings and was generally considered to be a bit boring! Following the transfer of pilotage to the CHA’s by the 1987 Pilotage Act, London pilot, John Godden decided that the magazine shouldn’t be allowed to fold and bravely took on the editor’s mantle.

John Godden’s first issue

To keep production simple John set up an association with a local family run print firm: AR Adams & Sons in Dover who produced and printed the magazine until I took over production in May this year. Throughout the last 21 years, the content has been laid out and collated by John Felton, who has also provided valuable assistance to me since I took over his role. In recognition of his service to the magazine, John Godden and I paid a surprise visit to John in September and  presented him with a plaque, champagne and a pilot flag, courtesy of the UKMPA.                                    JCB

Photo: Dave Pickston

As one of the key fundraisers, Falmouth’s senior pilot, David Barnicoat, along with club treasurer Emma Campbell,was invited to name and launch Black Rock. The naming ceremony was followed by a traditional blessing of the boat and all her crews by Reverend Jon Robertshaw.  She was then taken for her maiden row around the harbour with David gracing the pilot seat in the bow. The launch was cheered by a large crowd of onlookers and the gigtwas suitably christened in the bar! Built by David Currah in Looe to strict standards laid down by the sport’s governing body the Cornish Pilot Gigs Asociation, Black Rock is a noticeably light, fast, and head turning boat, finished in varnish and named after the most prominent landmark at the mouth of Falmouth Harbour.

Happy Captain?    Photo: JCB

I recently piloted a small coastal tanker and upon arriving on the bridge I noticed that the printer in the improvised office section (now an essential element of a short sea trader’s bridge!) of the wheelhouse was clunking away merrily, churning out page after page of documents. After a while, noting that this energetic little machine was showing no sign of giving up, I asked the Captain what he was printing out and he explained that his company had recently been taken over and the since the change he had been bombarded with emails and instructions and procedures and policies and everything else that a large modern company seems to have to produce to be able to function. That morning, he had received an email advising that the new safety management system document was attached and that he was to print it out and email confirmation of receipt and also to confirm that he had read and understood its content. Being busy with navigation and ensuring that he complied with the 12 page port arrival procedures he had hit the “print” key so that he could read the attachment later. Much later as it turned out! It was nearly an hour and a couple of paper and ink cartridge changes (this was a cheap domestic printer) before we both heaved a sigh of relief as the printer finally fell silent and relative peace was restored to the wheelhouse! It turned out that the attachment was the company’s full safety management system document, totalling 402 pages! Being a Dutch ship, with the office still in Holland, I was surprised to note that this massive wadge of paper was all in English and although the Captain spoke English perfectly I questioned him why such a seemingly essential document was not printed in Dutch. With another resigned sigh, he explained that the new company’s policy was that all communications now had to be undertaken in English and hen had already been told off because he always spoke Dutch when he phoned the office! As he explained, when trying to explain a technical issue it was always easier and safer to do it in one’s own language. What I love about the Dutch is their great sense of humour and later on, whilst he was sorting through the pile of papers I asked him if he had located any important procedures. “Oh no Mr Pilot, I know that just by being a tanker underway we probably breach them all but I am just checking to make sure that I order the correct grade and colour of toilet paper”. It’s no wonder that so few officers now aspire to rise to command!

JCB