Editorial

Editorial: John Clandillon-Baker

Pilot Gigs of Cornwall and the Scilly IslesJCB

EMPA Conference 2007 Graham Langley

Pension News Debbie Marten

Ralph Bird - Boatbuilder JCB

New Pilot Cutter Design JCB

Chairman’s Report Joe Wilson

Technical & Training Gareth Rees

ObituaryStatus of a Pilot Barrie Youde

PIANC Don Cockrill

Pilots’ Golfing Society Peter Ryder

Subscriptions to The Pilot John Pretswell

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AUTUMN 2007 No.291The official organ of the United Kingdom Maritime Pilots’Association

DIVIDE D W E FALL

UNITE

DWESTAND

In This Issue

Early HistoryThe earliest detailed record of the gig

dates from 1666 when gigs from St Mary’son the Scilly Isles rescued the crew of theRoyal Oak which had been wrecked on theBishop Rock and although there is littleother documentation regarding early gigs itis evident that the craft evolved over thecenturies into the remarkable craft whoseconstruction and design was perfected inthe early 19th century.

To us today, used as we are to the relative

comfort of enclosed and heated cutters (butwho still suffer some discomfort in badweather!), an open rowing boat does seemto be a somewhat masochistic craft for thenotoriously rough, wet and windyconditions experienced in the Atlantic offthe South West approaches. However,history has proven that althoughcompetition in pilotage was frequentlydisastrous for pilots and pilotage it didresult in some of the fastest and mostseaworthy craft ever constructed, a fact

In dealing with all the politics andlegislation of pilotage it is easy to lose sightof the fact that ours is one of the few jobsleft where the basics have remainedrelatively unchanged for centuries. We stillrely on a pilot boat to get us out to the shipwhere we board by means of a rope ladderhanging over the side. Every day our livesdepend upon the skills of cutter coxswainswho hold the boat alongside the ship whilstwe transfer on or off, frequently inmarginal conditions. In a worst casescenario, if the ladder parts or we fall offfor any reason the pilot boat is our lifeboatand our very survival in such circumstancesis totally dependent upon the skill andtraining of the cox’n and crew effecting aspeedy recovery. It was therefore with greatinterest that I came across a book on thepilot gigs of Cornwall whilst on holidaythat detailed these remarkable pilot boatswhich were still used for pilot transfers upuntil World War 2!

What is even more remarkable is howmany of these craft have survived for over150 years and whose design is nowenjoying a revival as leisure craft. With over120 officially classed pilot gigs nowregularly racing and gaining world widepopularity I would not be surprised to seepilot gig racing become an official Olympicsport in the near future. I therefore dedicatethis issue to pilot boat coxswains and crewboth past and present.

On a sadder note, Monica Brown, oursecretary in London, has been taken ill andhas been off work for some time. This hasobviously caused major problems with theadministration so please note the amendedcontact procedures on page 14. Meanwhile,we wish Monica a speedy recovery.

John Clandillon-Baker FNIEmail: john@pilotmag.co.uk

The Pilot Gigs of Cornwalland The Scilly Isles

The pilot gigs of the Isles of Scilly and Cornwall are totally unique six oared open boatswhich were used to ship pilots onto ships arriving of the South West approaches to theUnited Kingdom. This feature actually started as a review of a fascinating book that Ifound in the bookshelf of a holiday let in Cornwall. Titled : “Azook: The Story of the PilotGigs of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly 1666 - 1994”. The book, written in a livelymanner by Keith Harris, not only goes into great detail as to how these craft were builtspecifically for the role of getting pilots out to ships as fast as possible but also explainshow they were also ideally suited for many other roles especially as lifeboats, salvage andfor smuggling! Unfortunately, the book is out of print and the publishers: DyllansowTruran were bought by Tor Mark Press following the death of founder Len Truran someyears ago. Tor Mark Press advise me that there are currently no plans to re-publish thisimportant record of these remarkable craft. Fortunately I have been able to contact KeithHarris, who not only gave me permission to use content and diagrams from the book forthis article but also provided me with valuable additional information.

St Mary’s gig Slippen (1830) showing construction detail. (Azook)

Autumn 2007 2 The Pilot

that is borne out by the remarkablenumbers of pilot vessels around the worldthat have not only been preserved butwhose plans are still sought out for replicasin the 21st century. The fastest and mostseaworthy boats got their pilots out to theships first and so the boat designers andbuilders were also in competition toproduce fast and seaworthy craft. Thecomfort of the pilot was not an issuebecause if he didn’t find a ship or beat hisrivals to board it, he didn’t get paid. Thesewere tough times, as indeed it still is forthose unfortunate enough to have to earn aliving under a competitive pilotage regime!

Why an open rowing boat?With sailing craft becoming faster and

being able to sail closer to the wind it doesinitially seem strange that the Cornishpilots continued to use rowing gigs but withthe prevailing winds being South Westerlythe fastest route to incoming shipping wasdirectly into the wind so if a boat could bedesigned to get to windward faster usingoarsmen than a sailing craft tacking thenthe rowing boat’s pilot would get the job.The gigs did carry masts and sails whichcould be rigged when conditions werefavourable but their design was primarilyas a pulling boat since without either a deepkeel or centreboard they only sail well offthe wind. They were also used in differentways for which the design was ideal. Forexample, some were towed by larger sailingcruising pilot cutters and just used for thepilot transfer and because many of thevessels that were served were the coastaltraders the gigs were used to take severalpilots at a time on a short pull out to thelocal boarding ground. Whether by oar orsail the pilots must have frequently arrivedon board extremely wet and bedraggled butin those days hardship was a fact of life formost people and it obviously didn’t dothem too much harm because many pilotslived to a ripe old age! As for the gigsthemselves it would be natural to assumethat these were very solid, heavily builtcraft in order to withstand the rigours ofnot just the frequently adverse weather butalso the potential for impact damage whilst

alongside the ship transferring the pilot.Not so, these remarkable craft were builtfor speed and were therefore constructedfrom the lightest materials with many of thetraditional strengthening features reducedor eliminated altogether!

The lightweight design evolved as a resultof experience that too rigid a hull wasprone to having the seams open up in aseaway and when alongside a ship a certainamount of thwartship flexibility was alsonecessary to reduce the possibility ofcracking due to impact damage. Theconstruction obviously worked well inpractice since there are very few recordedincidents of losses and the fact that so manyof the early craft still survive bearstestimony to the success of the design.

The Peters FamilyAs previously mentioned, records of the

early gigs are scanty but in the early 19thcentury a boat builder called William Petersdesigned a boat that was so efficient that allpilot gigs were subsequently built to thatdesign, either by his descendents or otherstrained by the Peters family and this designstill forms the criteria for the official racinggig specification used today.

William Peters originally established thePeters boat building yard at Polvarth nearSt. Mawes in 1790 and gained a reputationfor building high quality vessels from gigsto schooners. However, at the turn of thecentury he decided to concentrate solely ongig construction. The reputation of thePeters gigs rapidly gained the attention ofthe pilotage world and in addition toCornwall and the Scillies other servicesordered them and in 1812 three gigs wereordered for Bassein, in Burma! Of the three

gigs ordered, only two were actuallydespatched to Burma due to lack of spaceon the ship taking them and the third wassubsequently sold to the Newquay pilotswho named her the Newquay. TheNewquay gained the reputation as being afast and seaworthy boat and thusestablished the basic design criteria forfuture gigs.

The Newquay still exists today and isregularly raced by the Newquay RowingClub and she is believed to be the oldestcraft in the world still afloat and beingused. Interestingly the other two boats builtfor Burma were still reported as being inservice in 1937 and it is possible that theyare also still afloat and working.

The last record of a pilot to be shipped bya gig was Jack Hicks of St. Agnes who wasput on board the SS Foremost on December1938 by the gig Gipsy. Gipsy (or Gypsy asshe was subsequently named) was built forSt. Agnes pilots in 1858. After World War2, in common with many gigs, she was leftto rot and in 1955was purchased by thePadstow Regatta Committee.

The Gipsy along with another St Agnesgig, the O&M had an interesting history,having been involved in the rescue ofpassengers and crew of the steamerCastleford that grounded in fog on rocksoff St Agnes in 1887. Following thesuccessful rescue of personnel, the Gipsyand O&M returned to salvage the cargofrom the ship which included 450 cattle. All450 cattle were saved and transferred to asmall island whilst the salvage was sortedout and a new ship arranged to collect

Gig Layout Plan (Keith Harris) Pilot Jack Hicks. (Azook)

The world’s oldest gig. The Newquay, built 1812 (Newquay Rowing Club website)

them. During this rescue a bullock’s hornhad pierced the hull of the Gipsy which wasplugged by a crewman’s sock! WhenPadstow took delivery of the Gipsy in 1955they discovered that this hole was still inthe planking covered by an original repairpatch!

The constructionThe early gigs were subject to

Government anti smuggling restrictionswhich limited them to four oarsmen inorder that they couldn’t outrun the revenueboats. Four oared boats were obviouslyinefficient for the pilotage role and in 1829a group of gig masters successfullypetitioned the wonderfully titledHonourable Commissioners of His MajestyKing George 1V’s Customs London torepeal the law. Although some pilots and

designers felt that an eight oared boatwould be ideal, the limit was raised to 6because no revenue craft would ever be ableto catch an 8 oared gig! The “official” pilotgig now used for racing, as classed by theCornish Pilot Gig Association, is based onPeters’ 1838 gig Treffry which has alsosurvived and again is owned by theNewquay club and is still raced.

Peters’ Treffry is a six oared, clinker builtcraft constructed from Cornish small leafelm. The length is 32 feet (9.75m) in lengthwith a 4’ 10” (1.47m) beam. The thwartsare also lightweight 3/4 inch (19mm) thickand being supported by a central pillar tothe keel had a slight upward curve. Thiswas a practical design feature that inaddition to tensioning the hull alsoprevented the thwart from piercing the hullif the boat came alongside slightly heavily.

Instead, the thwart would spring upwardor, in heavy impacts spring out altogethersince they were only lightly secured. Theboats are steered by a cox’n using a yoke tothe rudder. The depth of the hull from keelto gunwales is around 2 feet (60 cms) andwith the crew in place it has a draft ofaround 12 inches (30cm). The planking is amere 1/4 inch (6mm) thick and this lightconstruction results in a boat which weighsless than 7 cwt (approx 350 kgs) and thusenables it to be carried and launched by itscrew (six oarsmen plus a cox’n) and alsomakes it very fast. Gig oars are called“paddles” and when working as pilot boatsthese were “long and strong” up to 18ft(5.4m) but for racing they are around 14ft(4.2m) and spooned. A good crew cansustain speeds of around 7kts but speeds ofnearly 10kts have been recorded over ameasured mile with racing crews rowing at40 strokes per minute. Under sail, speeds of12kts have been achieved. When looking atthe construction plan a question arose inmy mind as to where the pilot sat in thegig? Keith Harris has advised me that thepilot wasn’t a passenger who lorded overhis sweating crew from the stern but wouldtake an oar himself. It was also notuncommon for some pilots, especially the“hovellers” to share a gig and since theycan be easily rowed / sailed by twooarsmen, up to five pilots could share thegig in this manner.

Under sail the rig was very simpleconsisting of a dipping lug mainsail on anunstayed mast with the halyard on theweather side acting as the stay. The mizzensail was also usually a dipping lug sailwhere the clew was attached to anoutrigger protruding beyond the sternthrough a hole in the transom (seediagram).

SalvageCommon legend mentions the Cornish

and Scillians as “wreckers” who luredvessels onto the rocky shores in order tomake a living from the salvaged cargo.Whilst it is possible that some may haveindulged in this dubious practice, thenature of the coastline, the storms, strongtides and currents combined with thedifficulties in navigating with accuracyunfortunately resulted in plenty of wrecksoccurring without the need to resort to“wrecking” practices. However, there is alocal Scillian prayer attributed to theReverend John Troutbeck from the 1790’swhich reveals a somewhat irreverentattitude to wrecks which reads: “We prayLord, Not that wrecks should happen BUT,that if any wrecks should happen, Thoushalt guide them into the Scilly Isles for thebenefit of the inhabitants”! It doesn’t comeas too much surprise to learn that the Rev’dTroutbridge was later forced to resign forhandling contraband!

The Pilot 3 Autumn 2007

The gig Mabel showingthe gig’s sail plan(Keith Harris)

Autumn 2007 4 The Pilot

Another story recounts an old pilot beingasked his opinion as to how the number ofwrecks could be reduced. His reply wasthat if they closed the Lloyd’s signal stationon the Lizard Head, Captains’ would give ita wide berth rather than navigatingtowards it to report their arrival!Regardless of the cause, it was the pilot gigswhich usually acted as lifeboats and salvagecraft attending these wrecks.

There are over 150 detailed documentedcases where gigs were engaged in rescueand salvage operations, usually in appallingconditions and at great risk to the crews.Hundreds more would have beenconsidered routine and gone unreported. Inmany instances the pilots were able to getvessels in distress clear of danger or tosalvage vessels after the crews had beenrescued and the conditions had improved.

The last rescue by a gig was in 1955when the gig Sussex, from Bryher In theScilly Isles, assisted in the rescue of the crewof the Panamanian steamship Mando thathad gone aground in thick fog. At that timethe Sussex was 69 years old and had notbeen used for 26 years! She was broughtinto service for this rescue as a result of hershallow draft and the fact that she didn’thave a propeller to become fouled in theweed around the wreck. Reports from thegig crew state that the hull was sound andshe took no water in through the seams.The Sussex has had an interesting andvaried career since she was constructedfrom the salvage proceeds of a ship bearingthe same name in 1886. Originally built forthe men of Bryher, in addition to pilotageduties, the gig was also used for generalpurpose work such as ferrying between theislands and in 1929 was used as a weddingbarge to transport the bride to Tresco. Theboat was also involved in many rescuesincluding that of the T. W. Lawson and theMinihaha. The Minihaha was carrying acargo of livestock and the salvage involvedtying the horns of the cattle onto the tholepins of the Gig so that they could be rowedashore.

In 1968 restoration work was under-taken by a boat builder and gig enthusiast,Ralph Bird, who fitted a new keel.Following this restoration in 1969 theSussex was rowed from Scilly to Penzancein the record time of 9 hours and 17minutes. In 1971 she was badly damaged ina gale and Ralph Bird brought thewreckage and fully restored the boat whichhe still owns and occasionally loans out toclubs.

Augustus Smith and the Scilly PilotsThe inhabitants of the Scilly Isles in the

early 19th century suffered much mis-management by those in charge of theislands but had survived by running whatwould probably now be referred to as a“black Economy”! A major upheaval to

their lives and lifestyle occurred in 1834when Augustus John Smith, described as a“gentleman from Hertfordshire”, took upthe lease of all the Scilly Isles and set aboutestablishing order through organisation,underpinned by rules and regulations. Bymaking himself Justice of the Peace andChairman of the Council he became knownas “Lord of the Isles”. His form of rule bydictatorship initially made him unpopularbut he introduced many reforms such as theintroduction of compulsory education forchildren (the boys studied navigation andthe girls net making) which eventually ledto successfully raising the living standardsof the population. One of his interests waspilots and pilotage.

The history of the Isles of Scilly pilotageis interesting since the position of theislands resulted in a high demand for pilotsin the days of sail with three hundred shipsrecorded as having visited the islands in oneday in the early 1800’s. Until 1808 pilotswere chosen by the “Court of Twelve”respected citizens who governed theIslands. In 1808 a new law placed pilotsand pilotage under the jurisdiction ofTrinity House. Unfortunately Trinity Househad no comprehension of the Scilly pilotageoperation and only granted 11 pilotauthorisations, all of whom were chosenfrom St Mary’s. At that time there were 77working pilots around the islands so it washardly surprising that riots broke out.Trinity House relented but still onlyincreased the number of authorised pilotsto 37!

The predictable outcome was a free forall, whereby pilots continued to workregardless of whether or not they wereauthorised by Trinity House and theunlicensed pilots became known as“hovellers”. This competition causeddisputes and severe hardships for somesince the Trinity House pilots had priorityand could supersede the hovellers.

Augustus Smith saw the injustice of thisillogical system and authorised the

unlicensed pilots to continue to work andthreatened the Trinity House pilots witheviction from the Islands if they challengedthe order. He thus created a fair regime andby the mid 19th century it is estimated that200 pilots were working out of the islandsunder his protection. Indeed, such was hisconcern for some pilots’ welfare that he leftone pilot, James Jenkins of Bryher, £300 inhis will for “his great distress caused bytrinity House refusing to grant a renewal oflicenses”. I propose a toast in his memory!

It is of interest to note here that the onlyTrinity House Pilotage Certificate to coverthe whole of the British Isles was issued toa Scillonian pilot called Captain Ashford.

Smuggling Since time immemorial anybody who had

a boat traditionally engaged in a bit ofsmuggling and the gig men of SW Englandwere no exception! Whilst the legitimatesalvage of cargoes provided valuableadditional income for the pilots and boatcrews, the temptation to engage in a bit offree trade between salvage and pilot jobswas difficult to resist especially since it wasenthusiastically supported by the localcommunity and playing cat and mouse withthe revenue men was probably as much apart of the off duty entertainment as theregattas! The gigs were not merely confinedto working close to shore, they hunted outships well into the Atlantic and up thechannel. The hardships of rowing andliving on an open boat for a couple of daysdoesn’t seem to have deterred them and thisendurance would obviously be morebearable if the crew could engage in a bit ofsmuggling. Consequently gigs madefrequent trips across the channel to France.Naturally not many records of thesevoyages were made but some detail hasemerged from those who were caught andfined. One Scillonian pilot, John Nance,made 25 by 250 mile round trips to Roscoffin Brittany in the gig Bonnet and on oneoccasion rode out a storm for 30 hours by

A gig engaged in salvage (Azook)

The Pilot 5 Autumn 2007

keeping the gig’s head to wind. Bonnet wasbuilt in 1830 and was named after an oldlady waved her bonnet at the launchimparting her good luck magic on the boat.It certainly didn’t do any harm sinceBonnet is still owned by the St Mary’s GigClub and races regularly. In 2006 she wasrowed the 60 miles from St Mary’s toNewquay for a reunion.

Gigs as LifeboatsThere are many stories, particularly in

the Isles of Scilly, where the Gig has beenused in preference to the establishedlifeboat, due to conditions prevailing at thetime. A classic example is the wreck of theIsabo, an Italian grain ship that founderedon the Scilly Rock in 1927. Grain, floatingaround the wreck to a depth of two inches,caused the intakes of the Lifeboat tobecome clogged, and the gig Czar, was sentin and successfully rescued all the crew.

RacingDuring the past 20 years gig racing has

been one of the fastest growing sports inCornwall and most waterfront villages andtowns now regularly race one or more gigs.Such has been the popularity of the sportthat pilot gig clubs are being formedoutside the Cornish boundaries, not just inthe UK, but all over the world with clubsnow established in France, Holland,Ireland, the Faeroes, USA and Australia.The sport is governed by the Cornish PilotGig Association which monitors all racinggigs during the construction phase. Everyyear in May the population of the ScillyIsles doubles as teams from all over theworld congregate in St Mary’s for theWorld Pilot Gig Championships and thisyear saw nearly 2,000 rowers andsupporters participating in the event. Thecontest was the biggest yet, with a record103 gigs lining up for the first men’s raceand 95 took part in the ladies’ event.

It is fairly natural to believe that pilot gigracing is a recent leisure event and that inthe days when these craft were working,boats that the pilots and crews wouldn’thave had the time or inclination to engagein racing. Nothing could be further from

the truth. To quote directly from Azook,“The life of a the pilot was a dog eat dogexistence, the first pilot to get to a ship gotthe job, inevitably when more than onepilot gig spotted a potential job, a racewould ensue in order to get the pilotingcontract.”

The whole concept of the gig design wasto beat the competition in this race to getpilots to ships and it was only natural thatwhen a new gig was delivered it would beraced against the existing boats and this, inturn, progressed the development of thedesign into the ideal boat for all theconditions likely to be encountered. Inaddition to this practical need for speed, thecompetition between the boat crews wassuch that regattas were organised toformalise the races and records of suchregattas go back to the earliest days of the19th century. The whole of the localcommunity would be involved and seriousmoney could be won. In the larger ports theprize money was such that boats wouldcome from all around the coast toparticipate. Gig crews frequently camefrom the same families and started rowingalmost as soon as they could walk. Aremarkable account of a unique regattarace at St Mawes is recorded in the 1887issue of The Graphic magazine. At the1887 regatta someone came up with theidea of a race between veterans and boyswhere the total age difference was 500years. They actually managed to find crewswith an age difference of 501 years with theboys’ crew having a total age of 79 and theveterans with a total age of 580. Two of theveterans were 90 years old! The Graphicrecounts the race thus: “At the firing of agun the youngsters dashed off and by alittle clever steering and frequent spurtsmanaged to round the first mark about alength ahead, but on coming up thestraight, the Old Boys steadied down to along powerful stroke, soon collared them,then drew ahead and were never caughtagain.” The Graphic also reports that whenthe veterans were told that their exploitswould appear in the magazine they saidthat “it would be something to talk aboutwhen they were old”.

The Newquay Rowing Club owns threeof the oldest pilot gigs, namely theNewquay (1812), Dove (1820) and theTreffry (1838). There is a special racededicated to just these three boats, crewedby the 18 best club rowers and competitionis fierce to gain the honour of being chosenas their rew. The trophy is a 7 inch longsilver gig which was given to the club in1922 by Mr TA Reed, a Newquay business-man and great supporter of the Club.

Ladies gig racingNowadays there are almost as many

women involved in gig racing as men andagain most people would consider femaleparticipation in such events as beingsomething that occurred in the late 20thcentury. In fact ladies gig racing is almost asold as that of the men having been firmlyestablished in 1830 by a remarkablewoman called Ann Glanville, whocontemporary records describe as“longshorewoman and oarswomanextrordinaire”. Born in 1796 Ann Glanvillewas part of a large family of “riversiders”from Saltash on the Cornish side of theriver Tamar and would have grown up withboats on the river. There are records ofwomen’s races from early in the 19thcentury and one account states that“Women’s racing in Plymouth Regattasmoved from being an object of mirth in

Bonnet arriving in Newquay 2006. Photo: Andrew King (sports.webshots.com) The 3 oldest gigs (Newquay Rowing Club)

Ann Glanville. (Azook)

Autumn 2007 6 The Pilot

1831 to becoming the chief attraction in1841. Saltash women led this change andAnn Glanville led these women”.

These womens’ races were not justnovelty events because again serious moneywas at stake and in 1834 Ann Glanville’screw won £20, a considerable fortune atthat time. Amongst the crew was one ofAnn’s daughters since by this time she had14 children! Two of her sons are recordedas being big men who apparently used theirpower and skills in naval boat races forwagers that sometimes totalled hundreds ofpounds. After the publicity gained by herwins at Plymouth, Ann and her crew,known as the “Saltash Amazons”, becameearly celebrities and toured Britain andEurope as professional sportswomen atevents organised by entertainmentpromoters. However, their fame was notshallow since they trained hard and whenthey took on male crews they achieved winsas a result of technique, although theyrarely beat experienced watermenaccustomed to racing. As well as bringingrowing into the public domain they wereearly pioneers of women’s rights andhaving started competitive racing at the ageof 27, Ann was still racing at the age of 51.She died in 1880 at the age of 84.

Naturally there is a gig named AnnGlanville which was built by Ralph bird in1989 and is, of course, based at theCaradon pilot gig club at Saltash who werethis years men’s and veterans’ worldchampions.

The latest informationAs previously mentioned the world of gig

racing is undergoing an explosion inpopularity and a very positive aspect of allthis is that the building of Cornish gigs iskeeping traditional boat building skillsalive and order books are full. Should youwish to own one then a new gig with aprofessional paint finish for racingcurrently costs around £25,000. A goodsecond hand one will cost around £15,000.I’m actually a bit reluctant to reveal the costbecause in my district the pilotageoperation is currently being subjected to an“end to end” review and our pilotagemanager is looking at new pilot boats toreplace a couple of the older boats! Whilstthe accountants would love the gig concept,perhaps fortunately for us, these gigswouldn’t conform to modern regulationsbut as the price of oil rockets, their greencredentials may once again make them theideal boat for the future!

AzookIn conclusion you are no doubt

wondering what the title of the book“Azook” stands for?

Apparently it is an old gig term usedby the Newquay gigs and when thecoxswain of a Newquay gig wants his

crew to pull he calls “Hevva” and when hewants them to pull even harder he shouts“Azook”. Is that my pilotage manager Ihear shouting?

As mentioned in the introduction, thisfeature has been based on the book byKeith Harris and most of the photographsand diagrams are from that book.Obviously this is a very abridged version ofthe original which contains a vast wealth ofnot just general information but alsodetailed histories of many of the individualgigs. If by any chance you are lucky enoughto come across a copy in a second handbook shop, snap it up, because I’m surethat you will become as engrossed as I waswithin its pages.

Many thanks to Keith Harris, AnnCurnow-Care, Ralph Bird and Mr and MrsBellingham for their valuable help inpreparing this article.

JCB

“Azook: The Story of the Pilot Gigs ofCornwall and the Isles of Scilly 1666 –1994”. Originally published by: DyllansowTruran. Weblink: Cornish Pilot GigAssociation: www.cpga.co.uk/

Ralph BirdAs mentioned in the article Ralph Birdrestores and builds gigs and it was Ralph,along with a few other enthusiasts, who areresponsible for the revival of gigs andracing during the last 20 years and he wasalso a founder member of the Cornish Pilotgig Association. As I was writing this articlehe was building his last gig prior toretirement and just as I was concluding thisfeature I learned that a retirement eventwas organised in Newquay which saw alltwenty nine gigs that he has built over theyears brought to Newquay on the 6thOctober for a retirement tribute. A fullpictorial of this event is on page 8.

EMPA CONFERENCE BREMEN 20th JuneDave Williamson, SC representative Region 5 and Graham Langley attended the 41stEMPA conference as UKMPA representatives. The full proceedings are available on theEMPA website but the key topic for discussion was competition in pilotage.

German Minister for Transport, Elfriede Reif, spoke about piloting in Germany andrecognised the low accident rate associated with piloted ships. She supported EMPA’spolicy that a pilot should not be under any commercial pressure whatsoever andconfirmed that Germany is publicly against competition in Pilotage.

Other delegates provided examples that proved that safety was being compromised bycompetition. Concern was expressed that Denmark State was supporting competitionbut hoped that the example of Florida, which had recently scrapped competitivepilotage, might be used to oppose the Danish de-regulation. It was also the case thatcompetitive pilotage had produced no economic benefits to the commercial shippingmarket with any cost savings generally being swallowed up by a top heavyadministration. The case of the Great Barrier Reef pilotage was an example, where 4000movements were undertaken by 75 pilots. This operation is supported by 50 shorepersonnel!

Unfortunately, despite two major defeats, EU policy was still being directed towardscompetition in pilotage and a third maritime and ports policy document was reviving thecompetition issue. (Since this report was submitted this document has been released.http://ec.europa.eu/maritimeaffairs/subpage_mpa_en.html).

Pilotage statement Section 4.4http://ec.europa.eu/maritimeaffairs/pdf/Ports_policy_EN_COM_2007_616.pdf) JCB

Chris Hughes, addressed the delegates and explained the role of deep sea pilots whowork in a competitive environment. There are five different agencies competing againsteach other which results in rates being cut in order to get business. Pilots’ salaries arebeing compromised with a lot of pilots returning to sea as masters where they can earnmore money. Chris stated that the pilots feel that, in particular, all vessels using the deepwater routes (16 metres) should be subject to compulsory pilotage and he asked EMPAto support the Europilots campaign on this issue..

General:EMPA are considering the best policy to campaign against any revival of the competitionpolicy.The MarNIS and POADSS developments are covered in Gareth Rees’ report on page 11.There were demonstrations of other portable pilot units by various manufacturers.Ukraine were accepted as a new participating member of EMPA.A smoking policy was definedReports from member countries were presented.Dave Williamson was elected as an EMPA Vice president.www.empa-pilots.org

Edited from a report by Graham Langley

The Pilot 7 Autumn 2007

PENSIONNEWSTHE SECRETARIATBuckhurst HouseIn August of this year the lease onBuckhurst House came up for renewal andI am very pleased to say that the Trusteesagreed to the new terms and that theupheaval of another move has beenavoided for the foreseeable future.

Alternate TrusteesThe last quarter has seen the resignationof Jon Armstrong and John Lorking, twoAlternate Trustees appointed by theAssociation of Participating Bodies. Theincreasing complexity of pensions’legislation, as well as the Regulator’sTrustee Knowledge & Understandingrequirements may, in the future, make itmore difficult to find volunteers to act astrustees, be they alternates or otherwise.

Continuing on the theme of TrusteeKnowledge and Understanding, I ampleased to announce that three of ourTrustees have successfully completed ThePension Regulator’s e-learning Toolkit.

Scheme Funding StatementsThe annual Scheme Funding Statementwas sent out to all PNPF members inSeptember. The details contained thereinwere not much different from the 2006Statement and I really cannot envisage toomuch change in the information until afterthe 2007 triennial valuation has beenfinalised.

Triennial Valuation 2007Although not due until the end of the yearthe Trustees have already turned theirthoughts to the 2007 valuation. For thefirst time the Trustees will have todetermine the assumptions to be used incalculating the valuation results, withadvice from the Fund’s Actuary. Accordingto Regulations the assumptions used mustbe prudent, but unhelpfully they do not goon to define prudence. To assist theTrustees in determining the assumptionsthe Actuary will be preparing a fundingadvice report in early 2008.

Change of AddressResearch carried out in 2007 shows thatsince 1996 almost 36% of employees inthe private sector failed to notify theirpension schemes of their change ofaddress. Locating missing deferred

members and pensioners affects mostschemes. Which is the reason for thisgentle reminder to let us know when youchange your address. This is particularlyimportant if you intend to move overseas.

HEDGE FUNDS- A very brief historyHedge funds have received a lot ofattention in the press over the last year ortwo and as you know the Trustees arecurrently following an investment strategythat diversifies risk and return by investingin alternative assets, ie hedge funds. Ashedge funds seemed to have the reputationof being a bit of a chimera I thought Iwould share with you this brief history ofhedge funds that I recently came across.

It may be hard to believe but essentiallyhedge funds have been around for anumber of years and goes back to a wellknown gentleman by the name of AlfredWinslow Jones. In the late 1940s, Mr.Jones who had been to Harvard and hadbeen a writer at Fortune magazine wantedto offset the risk that was in the market bybuying stocks that he liked and finding ameans to sell the stocks he did not like.This coined the first phrase of hedge fund.The word “hedge” means to mitigate apossible loss by counterbalancing oroffsetting. Over the years it has evolvedand various strategies have beendeveloped. But it was in the 1980s and1990s that it really picked up with“specialist managers” running smallunconstrained firms and manufacturingdifferent sources of alpha and beta whichis then passed on to the investors.

QuellosAs you know Quellos is one of the Fund’sfund of hedge fund providers. On 1October 2007 Quellos was acquired byBlackRock, best known for its acquisitionof Merrill Lynch. Whereas Merrill Lynchis best known for its acquisition ofMercury Asset Management (MAMs).Those of you with memories that go as farback as mine will remember that up untilJanuary 1998 MAMs was one of ourinvestment managers. A real example ofwhat goes around comes around.

PENSIONS ACT 2007The 2007 Act received Royal Assent on 26July 2007. It introduces reforms to thestate pension system, including proposalsto simplify the administration of occ-upational and personal pension schemes.The changes made by the Act are goodnews to many, particularly those on lowearnings, but also to those people, such ascarers, who have no earnings at all.

The general thrust behind the proposalsis to ensure that most people receive asuitable level of retirement income by:-

• Improving the level of the basic statepension and at the same time easingthe qualifying conditions.

• Making it easier to save forretirement by introducing personalaccounts.

• Streamlining the regulatoryenvironment to try and ensureemployers retain their occupationalpension schemes.

An OverviewThe number of years required to qualifyfor a full Basic State Pension will fall to 30years for both men and women attainingstate pension age after 6 April 2010.

Annual increases to the Basic StatePension will be linked to earnings ratherthan price inflation.

The State Pension Age will graduallyincrease between 2024 and 2046 to 68 forboth men and women reflecting increasedlongevity.

Schemes will be allowed to convertGuaranteed Minimum Pensions (GMPs)into scheme benefits so that they canultimately make savings on benefitadministration.

The introduction of a Personal AccountsDelivery Authority which will makepreparations for the introduction ofPersonal Accounts from 2012.

Improvements to the level of paymentsmade under the Government’s FinancialAssistance Scheme.

Debbie MartenDebbie@pnpf.co.uk

Pensioners Deceased–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

May 2007 to July 2007–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––GC Newman MedwayGW Smith London-Thames

RetirementsMay to July 2007

GW Anderson Harwich JuneJH Bryant PLA MayMC Magill Forth JuneR Mountney Lowestoft AprilG Rafferty Liverpool JulyP Vile Wisbech MayP White Sunderland May

Autumn 2007 8 The Pilot

RALPH BIRDIt is generally acknowledged that therenaissance of the Cornish Pilot Gigs wasdriven by the enthusiasm and dedication ofone man, boat builder Ralph Bird. AfterWorld War 2, many of the surviving pilotgigs, which had served a useful training roleduring the war, were abandoned andalthough a few local enthusiasts kept somecraft maintained there were no realorganised regattas and these historic craftwere on the verge of rotting into oblivion.However, in 1981, Ralph, with a handful ofother enthusiasts, borrowed a few historicgigs and set up the Truro Three Rivers Race.Within five years, four pilot gig clubs hadbeen formed and as a result of a meeting atMr Bird’s cottage in 1986, the Cornish PilotGig Association was formed two years laterin 1988.

The Association agreed from the outsetthat there should be a standard design forall racing gigs and it was decided that theWilliam Peters 1838 built Treffry should bethe model for the racing gig and all racinggigs are still strictly built to this design.Indeed to ensure compliance with theconstruction rules new gigs are inspectedthree times during construction by amember of the CPGA committee.

Next year will therefore mark the 20thanniversary of the establishment of theCPGA and the sport has never lookedstronger with 124 gigs now registered.

As part of my research into the feature onthe pilot gigs I managed to contact Ralphwho was able to clarify several points on the

construction and working of the boats andhe told me that, although semi retired, hewas currently building a new gig forPembroke. What he didn’t tell me was thatthis was actually the last gig that he wouldbuild and it was only by chance, that just asI was finalising this issue, that I learned thatthere had been a major launch celebrationfor this gig in Newquay on the 6th October,where this Pembroke gig was named RalphBird in his honour. What was even moreremarkable was that the CPGA hadmanaged to get all 29 gigs that Ralph hasbuilt over the years to Newquay for thecelebration. This was no mean feat sincesome had come from Wales and the ScillyIsles but as Anne Curnow-Care, Secretary ofthe CPGA, says, “that is the wonderfulthing about the sport of gig rowing”.

The local priest from Porthgain blessed

the Ralph Bird ashore in both Welsh andEnglish before she was carried down to thebeach and launched for her first outing onthe water. The weather was apparentlyperfect for the event and hundreds of peopleenjoyed the event. Ralph, along with someof his colleagues, rowed the boat out for alap of honour round the harbour and theother crews from the assembled “Bird” fleettossed their oars in salute and gave Ralphthree cheers as he passed the assembled lineup.

Afterwards, addressing the crowd Ralphsaid: “I never thought gig rowing wouldtake off in the way that it did. It has been anhonour and a privilege to build the gigs andmeet the hundreds of people associated withthe sport”. The photographs are reproducedwith the kind permission of Anne Curnow-Care.

Ralph Bird (2nd from right in the sunglasses) rowing the Ralph Bird

The 29 gigs constructed by Ralph Bird lined up on Newquay beach

The Pilot 9 Autumn 2007

NEW PILOT CUTTER DESIGNThis quarter’s feature on pilot gigs illustrates how a successfuldesign can survive unchanged for generations. The modern pilotboat is a similar example since it is still possible to order a pilotcutter whose design is basically unchanged from the first highspeed cutters introduced in the 1960’s.

It was therefore with interest that earlier this year I visited theSouthampton workboat show to have a look at a radical newdesign of pilot boat which had been brought over to the show bythe St Nazaire pilots. Called “ORC” the craft are constructed bythe Bernard shipyard at Locmiquelic, near Lorient in Brittany,France. The unique feature of this boat is the beak protrudingfrom the hull above the water line. The idea behind the beak is toimprove bad weather high speed capability. With a traditionalbow form, as the boat encounters a large wave, the flare of thebow causes the bow to rise up and then when the boat drops offthe back of the wave the bow slams into the next one. As well asbeing extremely uncomfortable for the occupants, this effectobviously has the potential to cause hull damage and consequentlyin rough conditions speed capability is seriously reduced which inturn results in a slow slog over the waves out to the pilot transferarea. The ORC beak acts as a form of wave piercing extension tothe hull which, as it enters the front of a wave reduces thetendency for the bow to rise rapidly as a result of the bow flare.With the vertical movement of the bow stabilised, the fall off theback of the wave is lessened and the “angle of attack” into thefront of the next wave is reduced and the process is repeated. Thedesign has also enhanced sea keeping properties in following andcross seas. The boats are also designed to be self righting.

St Nazaire pilots have been operating an ORC 180 since 2001and the boat has dramatically enhanced bad weather performanceover their traditional pilot boats. Pilot Michel Catho, who

attended the show with the boat, informed me that they areusually able to maintain the boat’s design speed of 27 knots insea conditions of force 6-7 and they can even maintain fullspeed through the larger waves / swells encountered at the sandbar on their approach channel. The Coxswain informed me thathe had actually motored through a wave at speed and apartfrom the bow fendering being peeled back the boat suffered nodamage.

Of equal importance for a pilot boat is how the boat handleswhilst alongside a ship during the pilot transfer. The hydro-dynamics of some modern pilot boat hull designs have resulted intheir becoming “stuck” alongside a ship which has necessitatedrequesting slower ships speeds during pilot transfer. In badweather this increases the likelihood of heavy rolling developingwhilst making a lee. Michel advises me that these hulls are verystable alongside and they normally transfer at speeds of around 10- 12 kts. In good weather they have safely undertaken transfers at15 kts which means that the majority of ships don’t have to reducespeed whilst boarding / landing their pilot.

General informationThe ORC hull is available in lengths from 10 - 25 metres and theinterior layout can be tailored to individual user needs. The pilotsof six French ports are now using ORC boats and this year theNorwegian pilots at Hammerfest took delivery of an ORC 140.The ORC hull is not just used for pilot boats. The French lifeboatService the Societe Nationale de Sauvetage en Mer (SNSM) arenow operating 22 such craft around the French coast and thedesign is becoming increasingly popular in France with manyother small craft sectors.www.bernard-naval.com/

JCB

St Nazaire’s ORC 180 pilot boat, LoirePhotos: Michel Catho, St Nazaire Pilots and JCB

Autumn 2007 10 The Pilot

Chairman’s ReportFor those that don’t as yet know, oursecretary, Monica, has been seriously illrecently, and has spent some time in hospital.She is now at home convalescing, and I’msure that you will all want to wish her aspeedy recovery. For the time being the T&Ghave provided a temporary secretary but myadvice to everyone is that if you wish tocontact the section committee you shoulduse their home details. Also, that anyfinancial matters to be dealt with should beadressed directly with the treasurer and hereI must congratulate John Pretswell for hisefforts.

The IDM went ahead in September,although was in jeopardy at one stage due tolack of members. There was general debateabout apathy within the membership, statusof a pilot, affiliation to T&G, ABP HumberPilots, MarNIS, ETCS. I shall forward acopy of the final notes to each local secretaryin the near future,

The IMPA/EMPA safety week was from8th to 14th October. Completed forms willbe sent to IMPA, who are compiling areport.

MAIB have recently released its reportinto the collision between Alaska Rainbow(pilot onboard and 2 tugs connected) andSea Express 1 (PEC holder) on the RiverMersey. For those that haven’t seen it, it isavailable from MAIB’s web site. Two factorsmentioned in the Conclusions are that thepilot was not proactive in requiring support,which increased his workload; and thatneither the pilot nor the master had orderedthe fog signals to be sounded (although VHFcommunication had taken place).

A quick survey of some districts hasshown that it is not uncommon for fogsignals not to be sounded in narrow rivers,especially whilst manoeuvring with tugs fast.In this case Alaska Rainbow would haveneeded to sound one long and three shortblasts every two minutes, and each tug onelong and two short every two minutes.Clearly this could be seen as causing asignificant distraction. Perhaps each districtshould look at its own procedures for fog.We are all seamen, and know that the rulesapply to all waters, however, there isprovision for “local rules” to apply. In this“blame culture society” that we live in weshould all remember that in the event of an“incident”, bodies like MAIB will look atevery detail.

Several other conversations have made melook into what a pilots status is whilst on thebridge of a ship. We know from theCavendish Report that a Pilot becomes theemployee of the shipowner. Law defines apilot as “any person not belonging to a shipwho has the conduct thereof”. All the caselaw we have says that the pilot has theconduct of the ship, and is entitled to allassistance he can get from the Master and

crew. The Master should only intervenewhere he has misgivings as to the wisdom ofthe pilot’s proposed course of action, or if inimmediate peril. This is a very importantpoint. There is a wide held misconceptionthat pilots are not in control of themanoeuvring, and are merely advisers to theMaster. Yes, we do advise, but we shouldalso have the con of the vessel.

Two cases were mentioned to me recently;one where the Master took control off thepilot approaching the berth – then hit aberthed ship, and another where the Mastertook control, then ignored the pilot’s advice,and took a long time to berth the ship. Theship was sent an invoice for the extra timethat the labour was standing by, and thepilot was asked by his CHA to explain whyit took so long for HIM to berth the ship.

My advice, and the advice of our solicitor,is, in cases where the Master takes “control”of the vessel, that you inform yourVTS/CHA by VHF – if only to protectyourself. You may be thankful that you didif there is an incident. Having taken thecontrol, I would also suggest that pilotscontinue to offer advice – it is up to theMaster whether he continues to disregard it.

I have raised my concerns on this subjectwith DfT – mainly as a result of the P&IClub findings into “pilot related claims”.

Conference 2008 will take place at theCrown Hotel, Harrogate, on May 15th and

16th. We are working on final details andwill send out information in the near future.I hope that changing the venue and date willentice a few more people to attend.Harrogate is a great place for shopping, andhas many attractions. There will be a golfday on the 14th prior to Conference.

It would be remiss of me not to mentioninsurance! The process for renewing has notbeen without its complications, although forthe majority, a smooth process. We havebeen assured that it will be better next year.Unfortunately a small number of pilots havechosen not to renew their insurance, and ithas been my regrettable duty to cancel theirUKMPA membership; this at a time whenwe can do without losing members.

Section committee continue to serve allpilots to the best of their abilities, and wehave each taken on extra work with Monicabeing ill. However, technology is an aid, andwe move more information by e-mail andthe web site. It would be useful to have eachlocal secretary’s e-mail so that we can cutdown on paperwork in the post.

There will be some changes to paymentsfor The Pilot, to be introduced next year.These mainly affect retired pilots, but alsopilots who retire between the annual renewaldate (July). A separate note is included inthis magazine on page 14.

Best wishes to all.Joe Wilson

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The Pilot 11 Autumn 2007

TECHNICAL& TRAININGSince our last report to The Pilot we haveseen the launch of the revised Boarding &Landing Code for Pilots on the 28th June.This prompted one Pilot to write expressinghis concerns as the Code did not mentionthe dangers inherent in the carriage of bags(rucksacks or whatever) by Pilots on theirbacks while boarding albeit that a briefmention is made of the Pilot’s bag in sect.8.9 under the heading of PilotDisembarkation Operation but not of thedanger of carrying it. Bags carried withshoulder straps can impair the inflation ofALL types of lifejacket and the currentEMPA Recommendation on SafetyAwareness Amongst Pilots suggests thatPilots should never wear a bag or portableradio over their neck or arm whileembarking/disembarking.

After being stalled for a few months workis now progressing at a pace on thedevelopment of the POADSS unit under theMarNIS project. The first trials of the

hardware in Venice are shown in thepicture above (Sept 2007).

Full scale trials are expected to take placein Lisbon culminating in a demonstrationplanned for June 2008The bid for funding for the Azipilot projecthas been submitted by NewcastleUniversity and a decision will be made bythe EU in early December.

On the issue of training the demise of PSSLhas once again left the NationalQualification for Pilots hanging in the air,perhaps there is an opportunity here forETCS to be promoted as the standard andSection Committee will be bringing this tothe attention of the MCA at the firstavailable opportunity. The NauticalInstitute are revamping their DiplomaSchemes and Peter Aylott, the newlyappointed NI Education & TrainingManager, will be invited along to our nextmeeting to see if there is merit inincorporating ETCS into the NI PilotageDiploma. This Diploma will be linked toMiddlesex University and could then formpart of training and career progression of aPilot. Credits towards a MSc would then beaccrued.

We have been fortunate enough to havefound a place on a recently formed PIANCWorking Group (PIANC is a professionalorganisation offering access to worldwidetrends and challenges in port and waterwaydevelopment and management) which willbe looking at the use of hydro/meteoinformation to optimise safe port access.See page 13.

Following discussion at the April meetingwe have extended an invitation to the IrishPilots (AMPI) for one of their members tojoin us and I am pleased to say they haveaccepted and we look forward to greetingLiam Dempster at our next meeting on the8th November.

Gareth Rees,Chairman T&T Committee

POADSS Mk I

Autumn 2007 12 The Pilot

Captain Colin VineDSC RD RNR FNI

Colin Frank Vine was born in November1915 and died in May 2007.

After prep school he went to HMSWorcester from 1928 to 1932 and joinedBP Tankers as a cadet, reaching 2ndOfficer by 1939.

He had joined the RNR and wasmobilized in 1939, being appointed tocommand HMS Crescent Moon and as

Senior Officer 400th Minesweepingflotilla, serving overseas until 1943.

In 1943 he was appointed FirstLieutenant in HMS Chelmer, a new-buildfrigate commanded by (then) CommanderPeter Gretton (later Vice Admiral Sir PeterGretton KCB DSO OBE DSC) of the 37thEscort Group. In a full North Atlantic galehe took a whaler with the surgeon fromChelmer to a merchant ship to attend aninjured seaman, being awarded the DSCshortly after.

Released from RN service in 1944 hebecame a Suez Canal pilot, where heremained until it was nationalised in 1956.

Colin then completed the Long NavalCourse, becoming a North Sea pilot from1958 to 1964. Promoted to Captain RNR.From 1964 to 1975 he was CaptainSuperintendent of the Prince of Wales SeaTraining School and returned to pilotingwhen that school closed down in 1975. Hewas elected an underwriting member ofLloyds in 1964.

Colin was elected to The HonourableCompany in 1955, admitted to Livery in1969 and served on the Court from 1971,as a Warden from 1985 and was Master1985/86. He was a Founder Member ofThe Nautical Institute and became a

Fellow in 1985.Colin married in 1959, Elizabeth Jo

Colpoys, daughter of a well knownsubmariner and was widowed in 1986.There were two sons, Michael, an OxfordMA who took Holy Orders and is a Vicarin Newcastle area and Christopher whoqualified as a mechanical engineer atBristoland now works for Rolls Royce AeroEngines.

Always my “choice pilot”, Colin’s lastship was with me in World Truth, an OBOVLCC and the younger officers werefascinated to look at this ‘grand-dadfigure’ and think of him at sea in a whalerin a convoy under attack in an Atlanticgale.

On that last trip, Colin’s sandwiches hadbeen put in the fridge in the pilot cabin, butI had forgotten to tell him. Late in the firstwatch he asked my Chinese 3rd Mate,Robert Wong, if there was any chance of asandwich. Robert led Colin to a quietcorner of the wheelhouse and said “MrPilot, I’ve been here for three months and Ihave never had a sandwich. You only cametoday and have no chance.” Never mindall the packets of instant noodles.

Captain Eric Beetham

OBITUARY

Status of a PilotAs mentioned in Joe’s Chairman’s report onpage ?, there is increasing concern over howsome maritime sectors such as P&I Clubsand investigators are referring to pilots as“advisors” and giving the impression thatthe pilots’ role is going on board a ship andmonitoring the ship’s bridge team executingthe ship’s berth to berth passage plan. Weof course know this to be nonsense but tooutsiders, who visualise every bridge to beequipped with the latest navigationalequipment and manned by a highly trainedbridge team fully integrated into thesystems, it is inevitably how we areperceived. This misconception, in turn,naturally leads to questions as to why onearth we are there at all!

Fortunately the status of the pilot hasbeen defined by law and the following isedited from an opinion on the issuesinvolved by Barrie Youde which establishesthat a pilot is far more than a mere advisor.

JCB

Statute law defines a pilot as “any personnot belonging to a ship who has theconduct thereof”: see Section 742 of theMerchant Shipping Act 1894. Theinterpretation provisions of the PilotageAct 1987 specifically prescribe this

definition (Section 3L) and the importantphrase is “has the conduct thereof”.

Apart from this basic explanation,Parliament has not laid down with anyprecision what the status of a pilot is.However, inferences may be drawn fromthe wording of statute law and regulations,and the judges have left no doubt that thepilot is in charge of the ship’s navigation,not the master and the following courtcases confirm this.

The Tactician (1971): In this case the judgeconsidered the meaning of the word“conduct”. And stated: “it is a cardinalprinciple that the Pilot is in sole charge ofthe ship, and that all directions as to speed,course, stopping, and reversing, andeverything of that land, are for the Pilot”.

The Mickleham (1918): This case alsoconsidered the meaning of the word“conduct” and again concluded that if aship is to be conducted by a pilot it “doesnot mean that she is to be navigated underhis advice: it means that she must beconducted by him”.

Another case Babbs V Press (1971)examined the pilot’s status should a Masterdecide to take over the conduct of the vesselfrom him and the judge decided that “apilot can only act in such a capacity when

he personally has the conduct of the ship,i.e. the control of its navigation andhandling. Hence if the Master supersedesthe Pilot for whatever reason the Pilotceases to be a pilot and is not responsiblefor the actions of the Master”.

This aspect of the Master relieving thepilot of conduct also requires legalclarification because although by statutethe Pilot has the conduct, under commonlaw, the Master may still intervene toexpress his misgivings as to the wisdom ofthe Pilot’s proposed course of action, and ina situation of immediate peril he is entitledto take the navigation out of the hands ofthe Pilot provided he can show justification.Therefore if there is any implication to beread into the written law of pilotage, it isthe simple and natural rule that pilotsshould generally be trusted to exercise thequalifications granted to them; and thatintervention by the shipmaster should onlyhappen if and when trust in the pilot hasbroken down. As to whether a pilot shouldreport by VHF to the CHA whenever ashipmaster supersedes him, it is entirelyproper that he should do so; and it mightwell be a sensible precaution.

Edited from a legal opinion byBarrie Youde

The Pilot 13 Autumn 2007

PILOTS’ GOLFING SOCIETYTwenty seven pilots from six ports Forth, Tees, Humber, Manchester, Bristol & MilfordHaven took part in the 32nd playing of their annual event at the Bells Hotel & Golf Clubin the forest of Dean. After this dreadful summer we were blessed with great weather. PaulPullen of Milford Haven dominated the winningcircle on all three days. Here are the results:

Manchester Salver R Smith (Tees)

Wilmslow Cup P Pullen (M Haven)D Fortnum (Humber)

Hawkestone Cup P Pullen (M Haven)

Pilots’ Cup J Cracknell (Sullom Voe)

Milford Cup P Pullen (M Haven)

Jim Purvis Memorial P Pullen (M Haven)

Nearest Pin W Kitching (Forth)

Next year we are meeting in spring at St Mary’s,Bridgend, South Wales on Sunday 27th April forone night. Our annual meeting on September 7th,8th & 9th is at Langbank, Glasgow Scotland.

Contact Peter Ryder on 01646 600711 or email: pilotlight10@hotmail.com for details. P Pullen

Working Group 49 meeting,October 2007The working group is undertaking arevision of the WG 30 report published in1997 which is basically the industry designbible for fairway and channel design. WG30 had input from IMPA via Tony Boddy(retired Trinity House, London North).

One new aspect has been the intro-duction of risk assessment methodologyand one member has produced a paper onrisk and published studies that presentedaccident frequency and concepts ofacceptable risk levels and all were agreedthat this needs to be incorporated into thereport.

IALA have been invited to join the groupsince they have expertise in informationsystems on positioning and navigation butit was decided that WG49 should notconsider the design and implementation offairway navigation aids because it was sucha large and complex subject and a separatesub group may be formed to examine thisaspect. However it was agreed that therelationship between navaids and fairwaydimensions must be mentioned in theWG49 final report with reference torelevant IALA guidelines.

It was also agreed that the WG had aprofessional responsibility to ensure thatany guidance given would result in safechannel dimensions, which, consequently,would be likely to be conservative (greaterthan the actual minimum required). It wasalso noted that in most cases, the existingWG30 guidance provides good conceptualdesign estimates of channel widthrequirements when the method is appliedcorrectly but it needed to be made clear thatthe guidelines only provide a preliminaryindication of fairway dimensions and that adetailed design process is required tooptimise the fairway for the specificsite/purpose. Don Cockrill raised the issueof skill levels of the mariners handlingvessels in confined waterways becausewhilst pilots were experienced in suchnavigation, narrow channel navigation wasoutside the experience of the non piloted“bridge team”. It was therefore agreed thatthere may be some merit to including someparameters related to the skill of the vesseloperator in the guidance. Other factors,including the use of escort towage mayresult in a modification of the existingmethod using the ship’s beam. Practical

PIANC: Permanent International Association of Navigation CongressesWhat’s this? - A new Day, another acronym! The title gives the impression that PIANC is a just another navigation forum butit is actually a highly specialised group of experts that looks at channels and how ships behave within them. The vast majorityof PIANC’s work is undertaken by the boffins who have produced wonderfully complex formulae to cover the infinite varietyof vertical and horizontal parameters with respect to block coefficients of ships, speeds and under keel clearances etc. Obviouslythis work is of great relevance to pilots and pilotage so fortunately, London pilot and Section Committee member, Don Cockrillhas been made a full member of the “horizontal” working group, as part of his UKMPA IMPA portfolio. The following isedited from Don’s report and the minutes from the meeting. JCB

tests involving those experienced in narrowchannel navigation should also be used totest the concepts.

Don’s report:-The involvement of a pilot in this project isessential in that the WG is made up entirelyof erudite hydrodynamic scientists,designers and engineers who by their ownadmission have very limited knowledge andunderstanding of the realities and practicalaspects of ship navigation, handling andpilotage which are all directly impacted bythe results of their work. IMPA thereforehad great impact in the document byintroducing the concept of the humanfactors aspect of shipping and pilotage in itsmany forms and a reference to the need forchannel design to take into account the skillof the ship navigator in confined waters etc.

I have a short work list of specialistparagraphs to write and or contribute to ona variety of subjects. Any references, views,opinions, local experiences or otherrelevant input you may have which wouldpossibly be of assistance to me in compilingconcise and useful contributions to theproject would be most gratefully received,preferably by the end of December.

Subjects I am specifically covering are:

1. The size and location of Pilot Boardingareas.

2. Helicopter pilot boarding operationswith particular regard to shipmanoeuvring space required.

3. Escort towage – how the use of escorttugs may impact on the design widthof a channel.

4. Manoeuvring areas – Impact onrequired size of area in relation to tuguse.

5. Tug operational rules and how theymay affect channel design widths.

6. VTS & VTMS -what impact they mayhave on the design width and depth ofa channel.

7. Inboard vessel navigation systems –descriptions, myths and realities!

Note that each item is generally onlyallocated space for a few hundred wordsmaximum so I am only required to writebroad outline descriptions on each withreferences for detailed information whereappropriate.

The next meeting is to be held atMARIN, Wargeningen in April 2008.

Don Cockrill,Email: don.cockrill@tesco.net

Autumn 2007 14 The Pilot

Subscription toThe Pilot magazine

Payment by retired pilots for this magazinehas been haphazard to say the least. In fact,there has not been a proper record kept ofwhen people have paid, and a large numberhave not paid recently. We are going tomove to a new system where there will beone annual payment, on 1st July, andstarting 2008. A form to complete andreturn with your cheque will be sent outwith the Spring edition.

If newly retired pilots wish to subscribeto The Pilot magazine after the 1st July ofeach year payment will be pro rata for theremaining issues of the magazine. Pleasenote that there will not be any refundsgiven should you stop your subscription.

Rising costs for printing and postagehave also led to an increase in the price, andfrom July it will be £12 pa. At £3 per copyI’m sure you will agree it still representsgood value.

Please return the form in 2008, even ifyou do not wish to subscribe; we can thenamend our database.

Any retired pilot that sends a cheque inthe interim period will now have itreturned, so please don’t send any more,even if you feel your subscription is due.

John Pretswell

As mentioned in the Chairman’s report, Monica Brown, our secretary based in London hasbeen taken seriously ill which has obviously disrupted our administration. As an interimmeasure all correspondence etc should be directed through your local Section Committeemember or the chairman whose contact details appear below.

Also please note that all the circulars are now posted on the UKMPA website whichmembers should check regularly. There is also a discussion forum. www.ukmpa.org

UKPMA CONTACTSPresident Lord Tony Berkeley

Honorary vice-Presidents:Messrs F Berry, OBE, DI McMillan, T Morgan, C Wilkin, OBE

Chairman of the Section CommitteeJ Wilson, 34 The Orchard, Broom Hill, Ingelby Barwick, Stockton-on-Tees TS17 5NA.(H) 01642 750395 (M) 07881 958274 Email: joe.99@btinternet.com

Vice-Chairman/Secretary/TreasurerJ Pretswell, 13 Ladylands Terrace, Selkirk, TD7 4BB.(H) 01750 21173 (M) 07968 633970 Email: john@pretswell.fsnet.co.uk

Section CommitteeS Campbell, Burnside House, Roundy Hill, By Glamis, Angus DD8 1QD.(H) 01575 575530 (M) 07710 72205 Email: simsalcam@aol.com

D Cockrill, 29 Edith Road, Faversham, Kent ME13 8SD.(H) 01795 537310 (M) 07966 709403 Email: don.cockrill@tesco.net

P Wylie, 48 Fox Howe, Coulby Newham, Middlesborough, TS8 0RU.(H) 01642 595147 (M) 07980 578605 Email: peter.wylie@ntlworld.com

John Pearn, The Grange, Hill Mountain, Houghton, Milford Haven, PembrokeshireSA73 1NA. (H) 01646 601556 (M) 07971 615703 Email: john@pearn.co.uk

D Williamson, 19 Ridgeway Drive, Lydiate, Liverpool, L31 0DE.(H) 01515 318211 Email: merseypilot@blueyonder.co.uk

Europilots RepresentativeCaptain CJA Hughes, Tumblehome, 5 Orchard Close, Felton, N Somerset BS40 9YS.Email: chairman@europilots.org.uk

Chairman, Technical & Training CommitteeG Rees, Braye House, New Farm Road, Alresford, SO24 9Q.(H) 01962 732238 Email: dcg.rees@talktalk.com

Editor of The PilotJohn Clandillon-Baker FNI, Canterbury Gate House, Ash Rd, Sandwich, CT13 9HZ.(H) 01304 613020 Email: john@pilotmag.co.uk

PNPF Debbie Marten Tel: (01732) 779460 Fax: (01732) 779464

Auditors Hawdon Bell & Company, North Shields

Conference sessions are not just dry and boring events. Here the section committee sharea joke at the IDM on board the HQS Wellington.

(L-R): Dave Williamson (R5), Treasurer John Pretswell, Chairman Joe Wilson(allegedly), Peter Wylie(R3), Simon Campbell (R4), John Pearn (R6), Don Cockrill (R1).

R.A. WILKINSON& CO

5 Mortimer Street, BirkenheadCH41 5EU

Tel: 0151 647 6259 • Fax: 0151647 2190

ALL ASPECTS OF PILOTAGE,EMPLOYMENT AND

COMMERCIAL CONTRACT,LITIGATION AND COMMERCIAL

AND RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY

Richard Wilkinson B.A. (Law)Barrie Youde LLB (Hons)

This firm has unrivalledexperience in the creation of Pilotage

Co-operatives and all practicalpilotage matters

The views expressed in letters, articlesand advertising in The Pilot magazineare those of theirauthors and do not

necessarily reflect those of the UKPMA.

The Pilot 15 Autumn 2007

Shop & Factory: Mariner’s House, Mariner’s Way, Somerton Business Park, Newport Road, Cowes, Isle of Wight PO31 8PBTel: +44 (0)1983 282388 • Fax: +44 (0)1983 282399 • Email: admin@seasafe.co.uk • Website: www.seasafe.co.uk

Autumn 2007 16 The Pilot

District Name Address Email Telephone Number

Aberdeen . . . . . . . PG Williams . . . . . . Aberdeen Harbour Pilots, North Pier, Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire 01224 597000 x 7113 (O)

Barrow . . . . . . . . . Graham John Wood Sea Mill, New Biggin, Ulverston, Cumbria LA12 0RJ 01229 869261 (O)

Belfast . . . . . . . . . . W Esler Esq . . . . . . “Ramoyle”, 17 Corran Manor, Larne, Co. Antrim BT40 1BH 028 905 53504 (O)

Boston . . . . . . . . . . R Williamson . . . . . Boston Pilot’s Association, Boston Dock, Boston, Lincs, PE21 6BN 01205 362114 (O)

Bristol . . . . . . . . . . GJ Hill . . . . . . . . . . 5 Rippleside Road, Clevedon, BS21 7JP janellandgraham@blueyonder.co.uk 01275 872413

Clyde . . . . . . . . . . . TJ Purse . . . . . . . . . The Father’s House, Church Lane, Howwood, Renfrewshire, PA9 1AS thomaspurse@btinternet.com 01505 706756

Cowes . . . . . . . . . . Rod Hodgson . . . . . c/o Harbour Office, Town Quay, Cowes, Isle of Wight PO31 7AS dhm.chc@cowes.co.uk 01983 564290

Cromarty . . . . . . . DJ Roberts . . . . . . . Victoria Lodge, Ardross Road, Alness , IV17 0QA roberts.lloyds@virgin.net 01348 880122

Crouch . . . . . . . . . D Enever Esq . . . . . 23 Glebe Way, Frinton on Sea, Essex CO13 9HR 01255 677330

Dartmouth . . . . . . D White . . . . . . . . . Sunny Bank, West Town Meadow, Bishopsteignton, TQ14 9SF 01626 772034

Dover . . . . . . . . . . Nigel Stokes . . . . . . Dover Harbour Board, Harbour House, Dover, Kent CT17 9BU nigel.stokes@doverport.co.uk 01304 240400 Ext 4522

Dundee . . . . . . . . . S Campbell . . . . . . . Burnside house, Roundy Hill, By Glamis, Dundee, DD8 1QD simsalcam@aol.com 01575 575530

Europilots . . . . . . . Capt CJA Hughes . . Tumblehome, 5 Orchard Close, Felton, North Somerset BS40 9YS chairman@europilots.org.uk

Falmouth . . . . . . . J Willis-Richards . . . Manor Cottage Farm, Boskenwyn Downs, Gweek, Helston TR12 7AD jasonrichards@toucansurf.com 01326 574634

Forth . . . . . . . . . . . Robert Watt . . . . . . Maryville, Glasgow Road, Bathgate, West Lothian EH48 2QR r.m.watt@btinternet.com 01506 636682

Fowey . . . . . . . . . . C Wood . . . . . . . . . The Secretary, The Pilot Office, Par Harbour, Par, PL24 2BD charlie@.foweypilots.com 01726 815929

Gloucester . . . . . . CR Merry . . . . . . . . Martins, Lancelot Court, Churchend, Slimbridge, Gloucestershire GL2 7BL carl@merryc.freeserve.co.uk 01453 890726

Haven Ports(Harwich) . . . . . . Ian R Simpson . . . . Haven Pilots Secretary, c/o Harbour House, The Quay, Harwich, Essex CO12 3HH havensec@hotmail.co.uk

Heysham . . . . . . . Capt J Millross . . . . Sandside Cottage, Fluke Hall Lane, Pilling, Preston, Lancs PR3 6HP 01253 790058

Humber . . . . . . . . D Fortnum . . . . . . Humber Pilots, c/o 41 School Lane, Kirk Ella, Hull HU10 7NP dave@humberpilots.karoo.co.uk 01482 627755 (O) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fax 01482 671700

Inverness . . . . . . . Capt K Maclean . . . “Corsten”, 12 Beaufort Road, Inverness, IV2 3NP 01463 715715 (O)

King’s Lynn . . . . . R Havercroft . . . . . . King’s Lynn Conservancy Board, Harbour Office, Common Staith, King’s Lynn, Norfolk PE30 1LL 01553 671697 (H)

Lerwick . . . . . . . . . N McLean . . . . . . . Kinnoull, Levenwick, Shetland, ZE2 9HZ 01950 422387

Liverpool . . . . . . . Chris Thomas . . . . . Liverpool Pilotage Services Ltd, 4 Woodside Business Centre, Birkenhead, Merseyside, CH41 1EH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . secretary@liverpoolpilots.com 0151 949 6811

Londonderry . . . . DP McCann . . . . . . (Foyle Pilots), Upper Road, Shrove, Greencastle, Co Donegal, Ireland 00 353 7781036 (H)

London . . . . . . . . . Rod Owen . . . . . . . La Cala, Haggars Lane, Frating, Colchester, CO7 7DN rod.owen3@btopenworld.com 01206 257397

Lowestoft . . . . . . . RMusgrove . . . . . . . 7 Station Road, Lowestoft, Suffolk NR32 4QF richardmus@talktalk.net 01502 563503

Manchester . . . . . . JC Mahoney . . . . . . Manchester Pilots Ltd, Queen Elizabeth II Dock, Eastham, Wirral, Cheshire CH62 0BB 0151 327 1233 (O)

Medway . . . . . . . . S Nichols . . . . . . . . 2 James Close, Lyminge, Folkestone, Kent CT18 8NL selwyn_nichols@hotmail.com 01303 862946

Milford Haven . . . Will Allen . . . . . . . . Crossways Cottage, Rosemary Lane, West Williamson, Pembroke. SA68 0TA william.allen2@homecall.co.uk 01646 651637

Orkney . . . . . . . . . IJ Waters Esq . . . . . Lansdowne, 25 Royal Oak Road, Kirkwall, Orkney KW15 1RF 01856 875237

Perth . . . . . . . . . . . I Henderson . . . . . . 34 Lorne Crescent, Monifieth, Dundee, DD5 4DZ

Peterhead . . . . . . . GD Geyton . . . . . . . 43 Blackhorse Terrace, Peterhead, Aberdeenshire AB42 1LQ 01779 474281 (O)

Poole . . . . . . . . . . . Brian Murphy . . . . . The Pilot Office, The Quay, Poole, Dorset, BH15 1HA brianmurphy@phc.co.uk 01202 666401 (O)

Portsmouth . . . . . P Fryer . . . . . . . . . . 21 Montserrat Road, Lee on the Solent, Hants PO13 9LT 02392 297395 (O)

Scilly Isles . . . . . . . J Phillips . . . . . . . . . Rose Cottage, The Strand, St Mary’s, Isles of Scilly, Cornwall TR21 0PT 01720 422066

Shoreham . . . . . . . Dave MacVicar . . . . The Pilotage Service, c/o Shoreham Port Authority, The Harbour Office, Albion St, Southwick, Brighton, BN42 4ED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . macvicker@aol.com 01273 592366 (O)

Southampton . . . . Capt Matt Winter . . 159 Olivers Battery Road South, Winchester, Hampshire SO22 4LF matthew.winter5@ntlworld.com 01962 855157

South East Wales . WP Barnes . . . . . . . Verber, Victoria Park Road, Cadoxton, Barry, S Glamorgan 01446 742637

Sullom Voe . . . . . . J Leslie Esq . . . . . . . “Cliona”, 4 Lovers Loan, Lerwick, Shetland 01595 695856 (H)

Swansea,inc Port Talbot . . . GP Harris . . . . . . . . c/o ABP Harbour Office, King’s Dock, Swansea, SA1 1QR 01656 662608 (H)

Tees Bay . . . . . . . . Peter Lightfoot . . . . 18 Regency Park, Ingelby Barwick, Stockton on Tees, TS17 0QR katiaandpete@hotmail.com 01642 760447

Teignmouth . . . . . M Swallow . . . . . . . 22 Livingstone Road, Teignmouth, Devon TQ14 8NL 01626 774902

Tyne . . . . . . . . . . . There is no appointed Secretary. Communication should therefore be to:Tyne Pilots Ltd, Pilot Watch House, Lawe Rd, South Shields, S. Tyneside NE33 2AH tyne.pilots@virgin.net Tel: 01914 555656 Fax: 01914 566514

Weymouth . . . . . . PM Runyeard . . . . . 14 Netherton Road, Weymouth, Dorset DT4 8SB 01305 773118

Wisbech . . . . . . . . B Knight . . . . . . . . . 29 New Road, Sutton Bridge, Lincs PE12 9RA 01406 350838

Gt Yarmouth . . . . Lindsey Wigmore . . 2 Masquers Close, Gorleston, Gt Yarmouth, Norfolk NR32 6SE wiggies@tinyworld.co.uk 01493 301674

United Kingdom Maritime Pilots’Association

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