George, who died in September 2009 at the age of 97, was the grandson, son, and father of a Liverpool Pilot. Altogether, the family provided a pilot to the port for an unbroken period of nearly 148 years. For a service that has been in existence since 1766, it is quite a remarkable achievement and is a record, one imagines, destined to stay unchallenged.

George joined H.M.S. Conway in 1926 and was selected for the Pilot Service two years later. He did sea time with Lamport & Holt before joining the cutters in 1930, as an apprentice. Three years later, he was awarded the Liverpool Shipwreck and Humane Society’s Silver Medal for bravery. This was for two incidents that took place at the Bar during the previous winter; one for jumping in after a colleague who had fallen overboard and a second for pulling out a trapped apprentice, when the punt had been capsized by a ships belting. George gained his 2^nd Mates Foreign going ticket in 1937, after a second spell deep sea with Henderson’s, and soon after qualified as a 3^rd Class Pilot. In November 1939, in storm conditions, No 1 Pilot cutter grounded on Ainsdale Beach and although 10 were saved, 23 pilots & crew lost their lives. One of those was George’s father, Tom.

Pilots of the war era were remarkable seamen, working in almost impossible conditions during air raids, with little or no lights or communications and having to adapt to the ever increasing convoy system and the huge increase in traffic. Suffice to say that they seldom, if ever, talked about their war, but it is on record that the Liverpool Pilot Service claimed between 200 and 300 lives saved from wrecked and mined ships and many acts of gallantry were performed. In 1953, George was appropriated to Clan Line, a position he held with distinction until retirement in September 1972.  He and his wife Glenda had a wonderfully happy and healthy retirement. Married for over 70 years, he leaves a widow, three children and numerous grand and great grandchildren.

He was a sunny, relaxed colleague, a joy to work alongside and a man who will be sadly missed.

David Hopkinson

Ralph Bird’s coffin being towed through the streets of Truro       Photo: David Barnicoat

Ralph Bird was born of a Cornish family in 1942 in Fish Hoek, Cape Town, South Africa. Following the death of his father he spent his first birthday aboard a ship returning to Britain where he was brought up in Cornwall by his mother and his grandfather.

After attending school and technical college he trained as a shipwright through an apprenticeship with Falmouth Boat Construction. Once he had perfected his skills his interest in the traditional Cornish pilot gigs motivated him into dedicating his life to the restoration and preservation of the craft, many of which were lying rotting and abandoned.

In 1981, Ralph, with a handful of other enthusiasts, borrowed a few historic gigs and set up the Truro Three Rivers Race. Within five years, four pilot gig clubs had been established and this led  to the Cornish Pilot Gig Association being formed in 1988 with Ralph as President.The Association  introduced a standard design for all racing gigs and it was agreed that the Treffry should be the gig used for this standard. Built by William Peters in 1838 and owned by the Newquay gig club, Treffry is still  racing today and is considered to be the finest example of the craft.

Between 1986 and 2007, when he retired due to ill health, Ralph built 29 gigs and on  October 6, 2007, in a remarkable feat of logistics, all of these were brought together on the beach at Newquay for the christening and launch of his last gig which he had built for the Porthgain club in Wales. Porthgain named it Ralph Bird in his honour. Despite suffering from cancer, Ralph took an oar on the the Ralph Bird for a pre retirement row around Newquay harbour and all the crews raised their oars in honour of his achievements.

Sadly, Ralph finally lost his battle against cancer and passed away on the 2nd November 2009.

His coffin, draped in the Cornish flag of St Piran, was towed to Truro cathedral aboard the gig William Peters, which he built for Roseland in 1987, and gig rowers formed a guard of honour on the cathedral steps with raised oars as the coffin was carried in. For the service, the cathedral was packed with nearly one thousand people, many wearing their club’s gig colours providing a final tribute to this remarkable man.

Ralph’s remarkable legacy is that there are now 53 affiliated clubs and 141 registered gigs and with other gig builders working to Ralph’s standard continuing the tradition, the sport continues to grow in popularity. The annual World championships held in the Isles of Scilly have attracted teams from London, the Netherlands, France, USA, Australia and the Faeroe Islands. From the first race in 1981 involving three gigs it is now estimated that more than 7,000 people participate in gig racing at more than 300 regattas around the South West each summer. Thousands more enjoy watching these amazing craft in action.

As pilots we all owe a debt of gratitude to Ralph Bird for recognising the importance of these remarkable craft which has ensured the preservation of this important part of pilotage heritage.

JCB

“We got off in Vancouver then made the short journey across the straits to Victoria, where the SS Fort Camosun was being built. We stayed in a hotel until we joined the ship on a day-to-day basis before taking up permanent residence aboard.  In June 1942, we loaded a full cargo of timber, stacked up on deck as well as in the holds and, after bunkering in New West Minster, started on the long haul home. It had been a tiring period preparing the ship for sea, so I turned in early to be awakened two hours later by a crunching noise and being rolled out of my bunk when the ship took a 20/30 degree list.  Our ship had been torpedoed just eleven hours out on her maiden voyage.
I quickly threw my bridge coat over my pyjamas, donned a pair of shoes and made my way to my lifeboat station. It was 11pm and very dark because all the lights had gone out. When I arrived at my mustering point I was stunned to see what I can only describe as a heap of firewood where my lifeboat should have been. The torpedo had struck in number two hold, on the port side and what I was looking at was the remains of No. 1 lifeboat, which had been blown clear over the ship to land on my lifeboat. That was the cause of the crunching noise I had heard, because it was directly above my cabin.
Initially, I experienced a weird sensation that the crew had abandoned ship, leaving me alone, but gradually the noise of people filtered through, so I made my way to the starboard boat, situated on the bridge structure. The Captain, Chief Engineer and other crew members had assembled there and the decision to abandon ship had already been made because of the damage sustained. The torpedo had hit on the port side, shifted 50,000 cubic feet of timber which caused a split in the hull on the opposite side and also lifted the decks.
The hole made by the strike was some fifty feet diameter and there was the very real danger of the vessel breaking in half.

We all took up positions in the lifeboat and, after being joined by the remaining boat, pulled away into the dark night. The sea was quite calm and although excited, I didn’t feel we were in any real danger.

Then I saw a flash followed by a thud and a shower of sparks from the ship.  The submarine had surfaced and was attempting to sink our ship by firing shells from its deck gun. I saw another flash, followed by a ripping noise through the air, which was the missile passing close. The submarine was obviously trying to find us and I must admit that I was terrified. The Japanese weren’t noted for their leniency to prisoners – if they took them! The shelling stopped but then the sinister noise of his exhaust could be heard as he cruised around, trying to locate us.

It was truly terrifying and I even toyed with the idea of slipping over the side and hanging on to the boat. The reality is that I would not have lasted long because the water is bitterly cold, the result of an Arctic current sweeping south. So we just sat quiet and prayed.  Eventually, the exhaust note faded and we breathed a sigh of relief. We presumed the submarine had abandoned the search, but a few minutes later it returned.  He had gone up the other side of the ship which had blanketed the sound but was now back sweeping the area for survivors. Once again the noise of his engine faded away and after a short time it was agreed that he had left the scene, so we settled down for the night.

When the two lifeboats had joined up, some observant soul pointed out that the two navy gunners were missing. The Captain asked for two volunteers to go back board to investigate. I instantly put up my hand, and the 3rd officer, Mr Coles, said he would accompany me.

We pulled alongside the stricken ship, climbed aboard and began the search. Mr Coles went to the bridge area whilst I went aft to their cabin. To my amazement I found them both asleep. I woke them and explained what had occurred and that we had abandoned ship but I was told, in fluent Navy language, to “go away”. They had slept through the incident because their cabin was directly opposite the steering flat where the steering engine which pulled the rudder over was located. They had become accustomed to the noise and vibration. Once I had convinced them, it was back to the boat and away into the night. There was no point in rowing around so we just drifted. I tried to sleep but the cold and cramped conditions made it near impossible. The next morning we sent out a distress call on a portable radio operated by a hand driven generator.

A few hours later an American Flying Fortress located us, wagged its wings to indicate he had spotted us then dropped a marker flare. We now knew it was only a matter of time before rescue came and sure enough, in the late afternoon, a Canadian Corvette came over the horizon.

During the night, the Captain had valiantly given his uniform jacket to a crew member called McCarthy, a big Liverpool/Irish stoker. When the torpedo struck, he had dashed up from the engine room clad only in a singlet and jeans. Having been torpedoed before he knew the score. After circling the ship and dropping depth charges, the Corvette came to pick us up and who should be first to board her but our friend McCarthy. The officer on duty saluted him and welcomed “the Captain”  aboard and McCarthy played it up to the hilt returning the officer’s salute whilst the Captain sat in the lifeboat trying to attract the attention of the Navy Officer. However, McCarthy backed off when the Officer said he would take him up to the bridge to meet the Commander.

The ship had to be prepared for towing so a volunteer skeleton crew, including myself were put aboard to set up the towing ropes. Once completed we patched up the hole in the hull using a mattress and some timber from the cargo.  No more could be accomplished so we re-boarded the Corvette which took us back to Victoria from whence we had commenced the voyage. The good people of Victoria made a great fuss over us. We were invited to take our pick of clothes from the shops and we were treated to dinner at the Mayor’s residence and even got to sign the visitor’s book in the town hall.

The ship was towed into dry dock in Esquimo where a huge wooden patch was put over the hole made by the torpedo. I was included in the skeleton crew assigned to take her to Seattle for permanent repairs in the naval dockyard there.

The Torpedo damage. Picture. Veterans Affairs Canada: www.acc-vac.gc.ca/remembers/sub.cfm?source=history/secondwar/atlantic/photohis#a03

The repair took almost two months, during which time we lived in a hotel On completion we took her back to Victoria where, once again, a full cargo of timber was loaded. We then set off for home once more via Guantanamo and New York. The passage was made with only two incidents; an attack on the convoy by a submarine in the Atlantic and a strange happening when we were passing through the North Channel, after the convoy had dispersed.  A German aircraft flew over, dropped one bomb which landed well clear of the ship and simply flew off; probably to a base in occupied Norway”.

The following information is from the history link website. Read the full entry here

SS Fort Camosun:

On June 20, 1942, The new coal-burning freighter SS Fort Camosun was on her maiden voyage from Victoria to England with zinc, lead, plywood, and other raw materials.  Just after midnight, in a position approximately 70 miles SW of Cape Flattery, the Japanese submarine I-25, under the command of Commander Meiji Tagami, launched a torpedo which severely damaged the hull after which the submarine surfaced and fired on the vessel with her deck gun causing further damage. The Officers and crew abandoned ship and were rescued later that day by the RCN corvettes Edmunston and Quesnel. Although the 1-25 had reported the Fort Camosun as sunk she actually remained afloat but semi submerged and disabled. The Edmunston, along with three US tugs took her in tow to Neah Bay for temporary repairs after which she was fully repaired at Seattle and returned to serve throughout the rest of the war, surviving another torpedo attack in the gulf of Aden.

The following information is edited from the Wikipedia entry for the I-25. To read the full wikipedia entry click here

Submarine I-25

The submarine I-25 is of interest because it carried a two-seater Yokosuka E14Y reconnaissance floatplane, known to the Allies as “Glen”. Made in specialist kit form it was stowed in the front of the conning tower and was assembled and disassembled by the crew.

www.subart.net/

On the same voyage as the attack on the SS Fort Camosun, the I-25’s “Glen” shelled a small coastal army installation. Damage was minimal and the only item of significance destroyed was a baseball backstop. However, on 9th September, 1942, the crew again deployed the Glen, which dropped incendiary bombs over the Oregon forest. This was the only time that the United States mainland was bombed from the air and the aim of the raid was to trigger wildfires across the coast. However, light winds, wet weather conditions and two quick acting Fire Lookouts kept the fires under control, indeed, had the winds been sufficiently brisk to stoke widespread forest fires, the lightweight Glen would have been unable to fly.

I-25 was subsequently sunk by US destroyer USS Paterson in 1943

Retired Manchester Ship Canal pilot John Law died on 10 April 2009 aged 86.

Born in Manchester, John, and his twin brother Eric, grew up in Ireland. During WW2 they both joined the Merchant Navy. Tragically, Eric was killed when his ship was torpedoed whereas John went on to serve in every major theatre of maritime operations. He survived his ship being torpedoed off the Canadian coast and was ferrying ammunition from Sydney into the Pacific, when the war ended.

After a few more years at sea, John joined the Manchester Ship Canal, quickly working his way up to being a first class pilot. It was a job he loved and one that he did for 35 years before retiring in 1985.

Away from ‘the job’ he built and sailed yachts. The first was a 24 foot Eventide which served as a holiday home for his growing family; a wife and three children.

His second was a 38 foot ferro cement yacht. Its completion was a remarkable accomplishment given that the method of construction was virtually unknown in the UK plus it was completed without the use of power tools. He spent many seasons sailing ‘El Lobo’ to Ireland, Scotland, Scandinavia and the Med.

But sailing was just one facet of an energetic man who was able to do anything he turned his mind to. He played the guitar, painted well, built and operated model aircraft & model train sets and took on construction projects ranging from fireplaces to house extensions.

He continued to sail until his late seventies but mobility problems eventually forced him to sell his beloved yacht. He accompanied his family on trips on the French canals, but it was no substitute for deeper waters.

John passed away peacefully after a short illness. He is sadly missed by his wife Maureen, his children (John, also a MSC pilot, Mitch and Carol) as well as other family and friends.

John law’s first hand account of the sinking of the SS Fort Camosun along with details of the ship and the Japanese submarine that torpedoed it click here.

John Law’s full life story can be read here.

Born in Ulverston, in the Lake district, Douglas McClashan spent a happy childhood enjoying the freedom that living in such an area provided. In 1944 the family moved to Cupar in Fife, but Douglas’ father died suddenly shortly after the move and with his Mother having to find work they moved to Leith and Douglas had to look after his three year old brother, Ken. At 16 he decided on a career in the Merchant Navy and joined Christian Salversen as a deck boy. Whilst serving in this capacity one of the old sailors urged him to study “Do you want to do this for the rest of your life?”. Douglas heeded this call and whilst working his way up through the certificate grades his voyages took him to South Georgia, Antarctica and Canada before returning to the Norwegian coastal trade. In 1958 he obtained his Master’s certificate and shortly afterwards he was promoted to Captain. In 1962 he became authorised as a pilot on the Forth where he served for the next 27 years until forced into early retirement by rheumatoid arthritis.

Douglas married Betty in 1957 and they moved to Silverknowes Brae where they enjoyed a happy family life for the next 52 years, enhanced by the birth of their daughter, Ruth in 1959 and son Andrew in 1965 and later on three grandsons. Despite his illness, Douglas was renowned for his sense of humour and cheerfulness and having turned his skills to cooking he became well known in the local supermarkets, spending time choosing ingredients for meals for family and friends which became legendary. In the latter years of his retirement Douglas’ health deteriorated further and in 2006 he was diagnosed with terminal cancer and in 2008 he became blind. Despite all the suffering Douglas never lost his sense of humour and fun and during his many stays in hospital he was a very popular patient with the doctors and nurses. He passed away peacefully on the 10th July and will be much missed by his friends and colleagues but especially by Betty, Ruth and Andrew and his three grandsons: Rory, Lewis  and Neil.

Submitted by Malcolm Rose ( Retired Pilot: Forth)

After several months of illness senior retired Liverpool pilot Bill Wilcox died on July 15^th 2009 at the grand age of 98.

Following his time onboard the training ship HMS ‘Conway’ moored in the River Mersey, and time at sea as a Cadet, Bill joined the Liverpool Pilotage Service around 1929.   As was commonly the case in those days, Bill was following in the family footsteps of his father and his uncle who were both serving Liverpool pilots at the time. After the usual lengthy apprenticeship he was licensed as a Third class Liverpool pilot in 1936 soon after his twenty-fifth birthday.

in 1940, as was normal practice, he was licensed as a First class pilot, and continued to serve as a pilot throughout all of those difficult and dangerous years of the Second World War.

Sadly, Bill’s younger brother Norman, who had also followed in the family pilotage tradition, was lost with the submarine ‘Thetis’ during her sea trials in Liverpool Bay in 1939 only a year after being licensed as a Liverpool pilot.

Later Bill was appointed appropriated pilot to the United Africa and Palm Line where he served for many years until his retirement at the age of sixty-five, in 1976.

His colleagues invariably found him to be a most amiable and jolly character to be in company with, but he was also very well respected by them as a skilled and conscientious pilot.

In retirement Bill enjoyed his family life to the full with his second wife Meron, having lost his first wife some years previously. He thoroughly enjoyed those many years in retirement being a very active person as his sons and daughters from both marriages grew up and had families of their own. He also delighted in the company of his grandchildren and great-grandchildren and will be greatly missed by all his family. He will be long remembered with considerable affection by those retired Liverpool colleagues who worked with him all those years ago.

Geoff Topp

Chairman

Liverpool Pilots’ Association (Retired Division)

John Frankish, retired Trinity House Cinque Ports Pilot, died on the 19th May 2009 at the age of 87.
Born on the 22nd March 1922, John and his twin brother Michael were educated at the King George VI School, Bury St. Edmunds. In 1938 at the age of 16, John joined HMS Conway, leaving in 1940 to serve in the Royal Mail Line.

On the 1st July 1942 Convoy OS.33 departed Liverpool. John was a Cadet on the SS Siris, which on the 11th July wasdispersed from the convoy with 6 other vessels to proceed to South America. At 0413 on the 12th July a torpedo from U-201 struck the SS Siris amidships and she began to sink. The crew, 55 people in all, took to 2 lifeboats: 6 Officers, including John, and 22 men in one lifeboat sailed for 10 days and 800 miles towards the African coast. 150 miles from the coast they were rescued by the Royal Navy, whilst the other lifeboat reached the Cape Verde Islands in 16 days.

In 1944 John was Chief Officer of the Empire Bittern which was scuttled at Arromanches as part of the Mulberry Harbour and went on to survive the war. John’s twin Michael was not so lucky, an RAF Pilot, he lost his life in 1941.

In 1952 John became a Cinque Ports Pilot serving 35 years until retirement in 1987. An unflappable character, a quiet man with a devastating sense of humour, John calmly piloted every type of vessel from Schuyts to VLCCs.

John married Jo in 1955 and filled the role of family man equally as well as that of a Pilot. He and Jo had three children, Hilary, Gillian and Michael travelling far and wide in their caravan between sailing their boat at Broadstairs and John playing golf at the North Foreland Club. Hilary was an asthmatic and sadly died at the age of 16. Gillian married Simon and they live and work in Marseilles with grand-daughter Sarah. Michael, an avid sailor, lives in the Medway Towns.

In latter years John had arthritis. Although disabled they led a full social life. John fmally died quietly at home, a fme seafarer, a lovely man, he is sadly missed by his family and friends.

John Godden

PS: Further details on the sinking of SS Siris, the survival story and the history of the U- 201 can be found at the following link: www.convoyweb.org.uk/os33/index.html?siris.htm~mainframe33

JCB

Colin was born in Bethseda, North Wales on 24^th April 1922. His childhood was spent in Dovercourt and then in Lowestoft when his father, Captain Leslie Rhodes, took up the position Harbour Master there. Never a committed scholar he much preferred messing about in boats, being a keen Sea Scout, canoeist and yachtsmen. Naturally his life was to be the sea and he was apprenticed to the Port Line in January 1939 sailing out on his first voyage on the Port Denison.

WWII was declared whilst Colin was on board his second ship, the Port Hobart. He survived the war unscathed but sadly many of his ships were sunk just after he had left them. The heavy toll of good men shortened his apprenticeship to 3 years. He remained with Port Line obtaining his Certificates and good promotion sailed as temporary Master of his last ship before joining Trinity House in 1953 as pilot at Lowestoft.

In 1954 he joined the Medway Pilots and remained there until retirement in 1987.

Although not a religious man, Colin was a spiritual one, believing his legacy would survive through his children and his deeds. His marriage to Charlotte in 1957, one son, two daughters and eight grandchildren are testament to one, and his tireless work for pilots in general another.

In those self employed days pilots were not paid for union work and had to make up their turns after a day off. Colin represented the Medway Pilots in the London Pilots Council and the UKPA, eventually taking on the President’s role. Under Colin’s Chairmanship of the UKPA Executive along with TGWU Brethren, the PNPF was established – many a pilot should raise their glass to him on a monthly basis for this.

One notable event during his tenure as President was to address some 1250 pilots at the Birmingham conference when relations with the ship-owners was at a low ebb.

Through the UKPA Colin became involved in EMPA at the time that the United Nations was establishing IMCO (later to become International Maritime Organisation). Upon submitting papers regarding pilot issues to IMCO they were politely informed they could not be accepted as they did not represent an international group. Thus the seeds were sewn for Colin with others including Rt. Hon. James Callaghan to form IMPA, of which he was appointed the first Senior Vice President. Through the years Colin was involved in the revision of the Collision Regulations, SoLaS Convention of 1974 and the first STCW Convention.

Apparently not content with this heavy commitment Colin was also instrumental in establishing the Nautical Institute, being a founder member, it’s second President and for several years its Treasurer. In his “spare time” Colin was an active member of the Freemasons taking on many senior local and provincial roles.

After a long illness stoically borne with good humour, Colin died at home 7^th March 2009.

Pilots and seamen have much to thank for Colin’s life, a legacy indeed. A good shipmate for his colleagues, a fine husband for a very understanding wife, a mentor and hero for his children and grandchildren.

John Gurton

Medway Pilot

]]> http://www.pilotmag.co.uk/2009/06/25/colin-alfred-rhodes-1922-2009/feed/ 0 http://www.pilotmag.co.uk/2009/06/25/george-henry-harry-potter/ http://www.pilotmag.co.uk/2009/06/25/george-henry-harry-potter/#comments Thu, 25 Jun 2009 15:09:34 +0000 JCB http://www.pilotmag.co.uk/?p=1225 It was with much sadness that many colleagues and friends attended the funeral of retired London pilot George Potter who died in January aged 83.

Born in Whitby Bay in August 1925 he went to sea early on in the war where shortly afterwards his ship was torpedoed. Having been reported as “missing, presumed dead” his family was deep in grief when the news arrived that George had been rescued and taken to safety.  Despite this early traumatic experience, George continued to serve in the Merchant Navy throughout the war and no doubt witnessed many more tragedies. One particularly harrowing event occurred at the end of the war. In 1945 he was serving as Chief Officer on board the S.S. Cattaro loading dried fruit for home at Patras when an earthquake occurred which devastated that City. At the request of the RN, George and the crew joined their search and rescue party but were unable to locate any survivors in their sector.

After the war, George continued to serve as Chief Officer and Master until, in 1959, he was accepted by Trinity House as a London “Channel” pilot. Once authorised, he became a respected and popular member of the Gravesend pilotage community and was renowned for his good humour. Outside pilotage, George became involved with helping others and the term “pillar of the local community” doesn’t really do justice to his dedication. Amongst many other activities he became leader of the local cub and scout troop and was also involved with the Singelwell Primary School where he served as a Governor.  Whilst serving as a church warden at St Margaret’s church he became caretaker of the Gerald Miskin Memorial Hall where his organisational talents ranged from establishing the youth club to setting up the mother and toddler group! Such was his wizardry at sorting problems and helping people that it was inevitable that he became known as “Harry” to his friends.

I personally had the pleasure of tripping with George during my training and remember him as one who was always willing to share his knowledge and experience.

St Margaret’s church was filled to capacity for his funeral and he will be sorely missed by all who knew him but especially his wife, Gerda, his four children, his grandchildren and, more recently, a great grandchild.

JCB

Collated from several sources submitted by Retired Trinity House Channel pilot: Don McLean.

Londonderry Port and Harbour Commissioners has mourned the passing of Foyle Pilot Captain Dan McCann of Shrove, Greencastle in Co Donegal.  Dan spent 32 years as a pilot on the Foyle, having first gone to sea at the age of 14 in 1967, on board the “Owenro”, joining his elder brother John, who was captain of the ship.   

Dan served on at least 20 ships over the next 9 years and worked for shipping lines such as Gem Lines and Coes.  His travels took him to North Africa, the Mediterranean and Scandinavia before getting his Master’s Certificate to become a Captain in 1976 at the age of 23.  That same year he joined the Foyle Pilots, 55 years to the day after his own father had become a Foyle Pilot.  

Piloting on the Foyle was an integral part of his ancestry.  Dan was at least the sixth generation of Foyle Pilots on his father’s side – the first recorded reference being to Roger McCann in 1808, from whom he is directly descended.  Dan was also the fourth generation of Foyle Pilot’s on his mother’s side, descending from Neil Gillespie who was first recorded as a Foyle Pilot in 1811.

Until he retired from ill-health earlier this year, the ships he piloted through the narrow channels of Lough Foyle included all classes of vesels including high profile visitors like the Royal Yacht “Britannia”, and “The Bounty” in August 2007.

Dan will be deeply missed by his fellow pilots, boatmen and Londonderry Port and Harbour staff.  Harbour Master Bill McCann, a nephew of Dan’s, described him as someone who was “conscientious, safety conscious, an excellent ship handler with a calm steady temperament which meant he worked well in often hazardous conditions with ships’ crews from all round the world.”  

Fellow pilot Captain Con O’Donnell – who grew up with Dan in the same rural community – said that as a man, Dan’s life and loyalty was centred in his home and family but that when it came to his work as a pilot, “he brought the same loyalty and dedication to the job and to his colleagues.”

All those who knew him will remember Dan McCann as a gentle, kind, generous, straight and honest man.  He had a mischievous sense of humour and an ever present twinkle in his eye.

The sea was Dan’s profession but also his hobby and indeed his passion. For many years he spent his summer holidays fishing for salmon in Lough Foyle. Then for the past ten years he and his wife Michelle spent their free time sailing in their yacht “Aronele” along the west coast of Scotland and Hebridean islands. They planned to venture further afield after retiring. 

That was not to be, however, as Dan became seriously ill in October last year and peacefully passed away at home on 11^th Sept, aged 56 years. He is survived by his beloved wife Michelle, his sons John and Barry, daughter Meadhbh, daughter-in-law Fawzia and grandchildren Saoirse and Oisin, brothers Charlie, John and Desmond, and sisters Joan, Marie, Eileen and Katriona.

Submitted by :

Trish Hegarty

Press officer: Londonderry Port & Harbour Commissioners