The Professor opened the door to our knock. He was a small, thin man with a sharp pointed nose, twinkling eyes and a humorous mouth. ‘Welcome,’ he said in Russian and English. There were five Americans, three Russian girls and myself. It was an official trip, the girls there as our guides and interpreters. The Professor, I put his age at about 65, but he … [Read more...]

At the tender age of 16, I went to sea and my first ship was designated a Super Tanker. She was 32,000 tons deadweight, meaning she could carry that amount of oil. Some forty years later I was sent to join a ship at Rotterdam which could carry 480,000 tons of crude oil. The difference was startling, to say the least. I had sailed for months on 250,000 ton ships and … [Read more...]

The thermometer on the bridge wing registered -10°F (-22°C) as the ship sailed through the dark waters of the Baltic Sea bound for St Petersburg, Leningrad as it was then, carrying a cargo of oil drilling equipment, including Snow Cats for the USSR. We had been warned that the sea ice extended from the Russian mainland and crossed the Gulf of Finland to the west … [Read more...]

The name of the ship showed great promise but a less splendid vessel I had seldom seen as I leapt from the pilot boat to the ladder on her rusted side. The upper works were no better with rust staining the once white paint The bridge was old fashioned but the Chinese Captain and his officers gave me a warm welcome. We were bound for Denmark and Norway: Esbjerg, … [Read more...]

The ship’s ETA meant that I must leave home the evening before. I saw on the weather forecast that a huge depression was in the Atlantic and heading for the English Channel. Eight hours later, as I entered the pilot office at Brixham I was greeted with a telex message sent from the ship: “Hove to off Bishop Rock. ETA uncertain.” The storm grew until it … [Read more...]

A telephone call on the ship’s radio changed my plans. It was rare for a call to come for me, and usually it was bad news from home, but on this occasion, as the ship I was on was proceeding under local pilotage to Antwerp, the call was from my agent. “When you get alongside, please transfer to ‘Advantage’ , the Captain is particularly requesting … [Read more...]

With a cargo of bananas partly discharged in Newport Docks, the sleek white ship waited for the tide to sail to her next destination, Antwerp. Eventually, and a little later than planned, the moorings were let go and she entered the locks with two tugs assisting. Whilst waiting for the locks to fill and the outer gate to open thick fog came down and visibility was … [Read more...]

The river Scheldte, from Flushing to Antwerp, has always been a dangerous river with tight bends and many sandbanks.  I was on a large Japanese car carrier, the ’Meiyo Maru’, which was loaded with some 3,000 cars for the European market from Japan. I had finished my duty and turned in for a well deserved sleep as the local pilot came on board to take the … [Read more...]

An airline pilot once told me that his job was 95% boredom and 5% sheer terror. A Deep Sea Pilot's job is much the same. A Deep Sea Pilot assists vessels in navigating the busy waters of the English Channel, Dover Straits and beyond and as such is sometimes involved in events beyond his control. We had sailed from Leningrad (St Petersburg as it is now called) for a … [Read more...]