You mentioned the unique tide patterns in the Solent - I grew up along the west side of the main land channel separating the Isle of Wight and learned from an early age when swimming about the double high and double low tides along this coast and up Southampton Water. A normal high tide is followed one hour later by a second almost as high tide and the same thing happens at low tide. We were taught at school that this is a pretty unique tide system and that the longer high tide window was what enabled the development of Southampton port to service cross-atlantic passenger vessels in the Blue Riband days. This geographic advantage still serves the port well for larger vessels today.
@@wgowshipping Hi Sal. And The Solent has a very famous history. I imagine the British benefited greatly from knowing it's quirks so well. I see Mol Treasure is safely in Le Havre now. Thanks for the great video.
Thank so much for praising the skill of pilots. I was a deck hand on the Great Lakes during college and I vividly remember leaving port and one of the mates came back late. I of course allowed him to grab the ladder first, but by the time he got halfway up, the ore boat was some distance from the dock. I jumped for my life, had visions of being crushed between the ship and the dock, but I made it. Thanks for all you do supporting mariners!
My father was a navigator on the Red Funnel ferries form S'hampton to the I.O.W. The Solent Every one involved in working that port are highly experienced mariners. Cool video. Thankyou.
Our 5-year-old is well trained. Whenever she says, "follow me", I reply, "do you have a pilot aboard?" She in turn gives an enthusiastic, "Yes, I do." We don't have a maritime background in the family, but just maybe...
We where in port on that day and it broke down at the worst place local ferries could pass but larger ships had to wait, Solent ships you tube channel had cameras on it .
Great to hear of “success” in this area of transportation. These gentlemen would no doubt say, “all in a days work”.., but man what a good outcome. Great video, Thank you sir.
Pilots are one of the jobs you hear about but never know the dangers of “commuting to work” every hour of every day pilots are boarding and disembarking these vessels. A classic unsung worker that we cannot do without.
Sal, Many years ago I was on the bridge of a Silja ferry observing their bridge team management process. The ferry was traveling from Stockholm to Helsinki. Coincidentally, the Chief Mate was taking his pilotage exam. The exam consisted of a written exam and the actual pilotage on the bridge during transit. After sitting the written exam and passing it, the Mate and examiner came to the bridge. Had the Mate not passed the written portion the exam would have ended. The operational portion consisted of the Mate coming to the bridge and going through the transition from the mate on watch to the Chief Mate. At that point the Chief Mate went to a single free standing radar with a curtain that could be drawn around it. The curtain was drawn around the radar and the Chief Mate. He had to navigate the vessel through the archipelago using only the radar. I can't remember completely, but I think he knew rudder angle and propeller rpm, and possibly wind speed and direction. He was not permitted to use a navigation chart or notes of any kind. He was required to give commands to the crew regarding helm and engine orders. The crew on the bridge were limited in what they could communicate. The tension on the bridge of the bridge team, Master, examiner and guests was so thick you could cut it with a knife. After the exam finished the Chief Mate excused himself so he could change clothes. Think about how much knowledge a pilot needs to navigate a vessel moving through an archipelago while staying within the shipping lanes. Seafarers deserve a tremendous amount of respect for the jobs they do. Bob
Awesome story of ship pilots doing what they do !!! Those people earn every cent of what they're dedicated at, and until now, I did not realize that they are pilots, as they are truly un-sung hero's... 👍
Great story Sal! Maybe you can answer why these large ships do not install a video camera on both sides on the bow of these ships to see better in front of where they are going in congested areas. And on the sides of the ship also for when they dock? Just seems it would be a good safety feature that would aid them,?
It sounds like two full pilots due to ship size but for fatigue and such they wanted a third pilot to trade off two on one off much like long haul aircraft pilots where you may have one or two additional pilots to trade off with though it's not optional there due to duty limits and rest requirements.
I see a lot of ships go by where I live going to Southampton and Portsmouth dock/harbours (the beach is at the bottom of my road) and we always wave to the Isle of White seeing it about 5km away & we have the world longest running hovercraft service.
Isn't it called "maintaining steerage" and can be influenced by many factors, including currents, mass of the vessel, " turning circle", "sail area", etc.. I've heard that for certain ports, the coordination of these things are more art and experience as they are science. The addition of fore and aft thrusters has added greatly to the maneuverability of these huge vessels, but once again, the ability to use these things is usually dependent on the skill of the person in charge. How would you like to it in a sailing vessel (one totally dependent on sails, not on auxiliary motors). But then, they used pilots back then, long before aircraft.
Somewhere the other day I came across a pilot boarding video and it was somewhat rough seas. They were using a twin hull boat to get the pilot onboard and it seemed to me that it did not get tossed around as much as a single hull pilot boat does. Sal; your thoughts of which is better?
There would be no way any pilot would have wanted to proceed any further down Southampton Water to seaward with an unreliable engine - that section is difficult enough with any wind but further on the pillars would have had to make a 180 degree sharp turn around the Brambles Bank - where there have been a few incidents in the last 5-10 years with ships not making the turn……….
Mr. Pedantic here to remind you that pilot ladders and Jacobs ladders are different. The pilot ladder has exact specifications from rope strength, to number of spreaders and spacing, as well as color and other details. A Jacobs ladder is a generic rope and step ladder.
From my understanding they switched out the tugs during the manoeuvre and also would imagine they would have stemmed the tide so wouldn’t have been “actively pushing” for the whole time.
@@djcwilso Except the tide doesn’t stop there, there is a rare phenomenon of the water exiting Southampton Water causing a bump high tide around an hour or so after the lunar high tide, so there really isn’t a ‘slack water’ at any point in the tidal system.
@@grahamstretch6863 Yes a result of the tides going around the isle, I know about the double tides on the Solent and this would have been a benefit of a longer lower tide flow time between the 2 HW's. My point still stands that they wouldn't have been actively pushing at 100% for the whole duration. With minimal vessel power and the tugs they wouldn't push/pull to hold her in a stationary position they will have drifted up and down slightly stemming the tide as much as the limited power would have allowed
I do not care what "economists" and technologists say. These ships are getting way too big. There really are not adequate facilities to handle ships of this size, nor is there much awareness of how these behemoths really handle.
Maybe if the pilots wore a fancy uniform with epaulettes and gold braid they would get some attention like their fancy-pants cousins in the sky - instead they wrap themselves in thick, hi-vis jackets … nobody is going to swoon over them dressed like that
You mentioned the unique tide patterns in the Solent - I grew up along the west side of the main land channel separating the Isle of Wight and learned from an early age when swimming about the double high and double low tides along this coast and up Southampton Water. A normal high tide is followed one hour later by a second almost as high tide and the same thing happens at low tide. We were taught at school that this is a pretty unique tide system and that the longer high tide window was what enabled the development of Southampton port to service cross-atlantic passenger vessels in the Blue Riband days. This geographic advantage still serves the port well for larger vessels today.
Thanks for sharing. You explain the tide better than I could. It is so unique.
@@wgowshipping i am the great grand daughter of a White Star Line purser - he served on many famously named vessels but luckily not the Titanic!
@@wgowshipping Hi Sal. And The Solent has a very famous history. I imagine the British benefited greatly from knowing it's quirks so well. I see Mol Treasure is safely in Le Havre now. Thanks for the great video.
@@wgowshipping the whole incident waz live on Solent Ships yt channel MOL TREASURE didn't leave till othr day
@@wgowshipping she returned to her Berth SCT5 meanwhile another ship had 2 wait
Thank so much for praising the skill of pilots. I was a deck hand on the Great Lakes during college and I vividly remember leaving port and one of the mates came back late. I of course allowed him to grab the ladder first, but by the time he got halfway up, the ore boat was some distance from the dock. I jumped for my life, had visions of being crushed between the ship and the dock, but I made it. Thanks for all you do supporting mariners!
My father was a navigator on the Red Funnel ferries form S'hampton to the I.O.W. The Solent Every one involved in working that port are highly experienced mariners. Cool video. Thankyou.
Thanks for sharing this good news Sal. We sure could use more good news in 2023.
It’s always a pleasure watching people who are good at their jobs work!
It's great to hear a good news story. Thanks, Sal.
Our 5-year-old is well trained. Whenever she says, "follow me", I reply, "do you have a pilot aboard?" She in turn gives an enthusiastic, "Yes, I do." We don't have a maritime background in the family, but just maybe...
$500k a year isn't a bad career direction. Maritime colleges instead of the usual carp schools will put her on her way..
Nice coverage Sal , good story !
Coming out of Southampton and Portsmouth round the isle of eight was always a chore we always had 2 navigators checking everything
Good one. Thanks Sam.
Thank you
Great feel good story! I used to live above the Columbia River which also has a tricky navigate from the pacific.
We where in port on that day and it broke down at the worst place local ferries could pass but larger ships had to wait, Solent ships you tube channel had cameras on it .
This was most pleasant, Sal, and how you reported it was very understandable. Thanks. Seems like the news focus is on horror stories. Thank you. ❤love
Great to hear of “success” in this area of transportation. These gentlemen would no doubt say, “all in a days work”.., but man what a good outcome.
Great video,
Thank you sir.
Great video it's so good to hear good news.
I think so too!
Pilots are one of the jobs you hear about but never know the dangers of “commuting to work” every hour of every day pilots are boarding and disembarking these vessels. A classic unsung worker that we cannot do without.
Sal,
Many years ago I was on the bridge of a Silja ferry observing their bridge team management process. The ferry was traveling from Stockholm to Helsinki. Coincidentally, the Chief Mate was taking his pilotage exam.
The exam consisted of a written exam and the actual pilotage on the bridge during transit. After sitting the written exam and passing it, the Mate and examiner came to the bridge. Had the Mate not passed the written portion the exam would have ended.
The operational portion consisted of the Mate coming to the bridge and going through the transition from the mate on watch to the Chief Mate. At that point the Chief Mate went to a single free standing radar with a curtain that could be drawn around it. The curtain was drawn around the radar and the Chief Mate. He had to navigate the vessel through the archipelago using only the radar. I can't remember completely, but I think he knew rudder angle and propeller rpm, and possibly wind speed and direction.
He was not permitted to use a navigation chart or notes of any kind. He was required to give commands to the crew regarding helm and engine orders. The crew on the bridge were limited in what they could communicate.
The tension on the bridge of the bridge team, Master, examiner and guests was so thick you could cut it with a knife. After the exam finished the Chief Mate excused himself so he could change clothes.
Think about how much knowledge a pilot needs to navigate a vessel moving through an archipelago while staying within the shipping lanes. Seafarers deserve a tremendous amount of respect for the jobs they do.
Bob
Awesome story of ship pilots doing what they do !!! Those people earn every cent of what they're dedicated at, and until now, I did not realize that they are pilots, as they are truly un-sung hero's... 👍
Awesome channel, cool story.
Thanks so much!
I can appreciate the dangers associated with that kind of boarding. We do a lot of touch and goes up in Alaska.
Thanks Sal
Love it Sal ❤
Great story Sal! Maybe you can answer why these large ships do not install a video camera on both sides on the bow of these ships to see better in front of where they are going in congested areas. And on the sides of the ship also for when they dock? Just seems it would be a good safety feature that would aid them,?
A good story at lunch at the mango farm. Thanks Sal
Glad you enjoyed it Jeff!
Great report. Thank you for posting.
Hey Sal, your tweet on the grounded ship in the Suez spawned an article on Zerohedge.
Thanks...I will check it out.
Well said.
It sounds like two full pilots due to ship size but for fatigue and such they wanted a third pilot to trade off two on one off much like long haul aircraft pilots where you may have one or two additional pilots to trade off with though it's not optional there due to duty limits and rest requirements.
I agree.
Sounds Like these Pilots are the real Treasure . Thanx for this Video .
Southampton is a very interesting docking and piloting area - I was going to say it with a video all by itself
I see a lot of ships go by where I live going to Southampton and Portsmouth dock/harbours (the beach is at the bottom of my road) and we always wave to the Isle of White seeing it about 5km away & we have the world longest running hovercraft service.
@@QALibrary
WIGHT, IT’S THE ISLE OF WIGHT! 😡😡
White! 🙄😡😡
Thank you for clearing this story up, Sal...🇺🇸 😎👍☕
Our pleasure!
Great story
Isn't it called "maintaining steerage" and can be influenced by many factors, including currents, mass of the vessel, " turning circle", "sail area", etc.. I've heard that for certain ports, the coordination of these things are more art and experience as they are science. The addition of fore and aft thrusters has added greatly to the maneuverability of these huge vessels, but once again, the ability to use these things is usually dependent on the skill of the person in charge. How would you like to it in a sailing vessel (one totally dependent on sails, not on auxiliary motors). But then, they used pilots back then, long before aircraft.
Somewhere the other day I came across a pilot boarding video and it was somewhat rough seas. They were using a twin hull boat to get the pilot onboard and it seemed to me that it did not get tossed around as much as a single hull pilot boat does. Sal; your thoughts of which is better?
I discussed this very thing on my video about the pilot who died in the Humber.
th-cam.com/video/F9DuUnwmXqU/w-d-xo.html
There would be no way any pilot would have wanted to proceed any further down Southampton Water to seaward with an unreliable engine - that section is difficult enough with any wind but further on the pillars would have had to make a 180 degree sharp turn around the Brambles Bank - where there have been a few incidents in the last 5-10 years with ships not making the turn……….
Mr. Pedantic here to remind you that pilot ladders and Jacobs ladders are different. The pilot ladder has exact specifications from rope strength, to number of spreaders and spacing, as well as color and other details. A Jacobs ladder is a generic rope and step ladder.
Imagine a local airline pilot having to jump seat with every international flight boarding the airplane 60 miles out Executive Decision style.
Why do these big vessels drop power so often? Seems there should be backups to backup systems.
Tugs actively pushing for 10-12 hours. How often does a tug need to refuel?
Around once every week or two depending on how busy they are
It depends on the amount of thrust they are using and they could swap out as needed.
From my understanding they switched out the tugs during the manoeuvre and also would imagine they would have stemmed the tide so wouldn’t have been “actively pushing” for the whole time.
@@djcwilso
Except the tide doesn’t stop there, there is a rare phenomenon of the water exiting Southampton Water causing a bump high tide around an hour or so after the lunar high tide, so there really isn’t a ‘slack water’ at any point in the tidal system.
@@grahamstretch6863 Yes a result of the tides going around the isle, I know about the double tides on the Solent and this would have been a benefit of a longer lower tide flow time between the 2 HW's. My point still stands that they wouldn't have been actively pushing at 100% for the whole duration. With minimal vessel power and the tugs they wouldn't push/pull to hold her in a stationary position they will have drifted up and down slightly stemming the tide as much as the limited power would have allowed
"do not take my jokes EVER SERIOUSLY"
-- is that the new class ?
other than NY, what US ports have a VTS?
Puget Sound, SF, LA, Houston are a few I can think of off hand.
Hey Dr Sal🇦🇺🦘
That time i was onboard
Is there going to be a point at which either logistic considerations, or regulators, say "Enough it enough" on the size of these maga container ships?
I do not care what "economists" and technologists say. These ships are getting way too big. There really are not adequate facilities to handle ships of this size, nor is there much awareness of how these behemoths really handle.
Don't know whether you saw this, but Ever Forward's cell phone pilot has lost his license forever.
Whatever happened to sensible limits?
QUICK THINKING ON THEIR PART.
Interesting
I thought there were airline pilots, and ship pirates, because of the Rrrrrr...😁
Pilots: I think of aircraft
Helmsman: I think of water craft
Driver: I think of car/truck/bus...
Coachman: I think of a stagecoach
Maybe if the pilots wore a fancy uniform with epaulettes and gold braid they would get some attention like their fancy-pants cousins in the sky - instead they wrap themselves in thick, hi-vis jackets … nobody is going to swoon over them dressed like that
good thing a rogue wave didn't come along
Not sure that I understand the headline. Isn't that their job??
It is, but this ship lost power and for 10 hours they had to maneuver the ship with tugs and limited power.
✌💯
Except Ryanair......... 😉
Just a note - it's called Southampton Water (i.e. singular)
needing two pilots is like a dinasaur that's so big it needs a brain in it's butt
Dig deeper please... accidents?