PIlotage Stamps: Bermuda

March 16th, 2012 by JCB
Posted in Coastlines | No Comments »

 

 

Retired Harwich pilot Martin Dicks was recently on holiday in Bermuda and whilst in the local Post Office was pleasantly surprised to discover that last May, Bermuda had issued a set of stamps celebrating Bermuda pilotage. Martin sent me the above copy of the first day cover and what particularly impressed me was the accompanying information sheet which includes the following:

 The Graveyard of shipwrecks surrounding Bermuda is testament to the Island’s treacherous encircling reefs and complicated channels. Local knowledge, charts, lighthouses, signal stations, beacons and buoys have aided in safe passage of incoming and outgoing ships. but the experience of local pilots has been of paramount importance. Pilots are local coastal navigators who guide ships through the difficult approaches to Bermuda. Records show local pilots were being used during the initial period of settlement in the 1600s. Over the centuries local pilots used fixed visual references on land or sea to navigate into anchorages. The safe handling of ships and in all weathers required an intimate knowledge of the shoals, reefs and currents and a versatile knowledge of ship handling.

As our own Post Office considers abandoning picture stamps all together it is refreshing to find a country that still values the skills of our profession! JCB