The last cruise my wife and I took was when Florida got hit by 3 hurricanes. As we left Miami we watched our pilot jump from the access port, like this one onto the front deck of the pilot boat. We all cheered when he made it. He gave us a thumbs up and the pilot returned to Miami.
99% set up, patience, timing - then one well- planted leap and quick duck into the cabin well done sir. Everyone aboard the ship was squeezing ass and watching...
You can hear the Pilot asking for a 10 degree alteration course to give a slight lee, having been in this industry for over thirty years I raise my hat to the Pilot. Personally, i would have gone back up to the Bridge and given the captain a good kicking. There are no second chances doing this job
Seems like that would be the standard procedure, wonder how big the ship he is jumping off is. We just opened up the well deck and had the boats go that way. Not a boat like that one of course. Well deck is a handy thing for launching boats. Steel beach for swim call too.
We watched the pilot boats a few times on our cruise around NZ we had some rough weather on the last four ports of call. Both the pilot and the pilot boat captain hats 🎩 off to both of them. They deserve every $ they earn, it’s dangerous out there.
Having been a ships crew member during many pilot transfers so very often large ships are confined to a shipping channel so many times to alter course or even slow the ships passage(the ship can lose steerage way)& cause a major disaster..yes I have never met a ships pilot who hasn’t earned every cent they get very brave souls who earn very seaman’s respect
frikin memories... I was a pilot boat captain for 20 something years in Hawaii and watching this stuff took me back to some hairy transfers specially at night at zero dark thirty and the ship is doing 12 knotts in rough seas with green water going over the pilot boat,, ,,yikes, you need ,balls of steel I probably did way over a thousand safe transfers but all it takes in one mistake and it will be fatal................................... ...... I dont miss it at all
Thanks for sharing. Like some of those crew members, I find this type of thing to be both exhilarating and amusing. Mostly we get away with it. Best wishes from New Zealand.
Sadly a UK Pilot died on the 8th Jan 2023 of accident while boarding a Ship, Condolences to the family and that brought me to this video watching how risky is their job
Poor seamanship on the tug, he should have gone around the ships arse if he wanted to pass to limit the swell. Ships master also gave a very poor lee. Pilot launch should have pulled away until the master brought the ship to starboard more. I never left the bridge until i was happy that the master understood the agreed heading for me to get off.
As a maritime pilot for almost 25 years I can say this is certainly not the way to do it. I have the impression this pilot disembarks at the weatherside. And what’s worse, he jumps when the pilot boat pitches into a wave trough when he should jump when it comes out of it. Unprofessional.
Didn’t help that the pilot boat looked too small for the job. We run 20m pilot boats and always have two deckhands to help the pilot safely on to the deck rather than leaping into the open wheelhouse door!
He literally crashed into that closed cabin door....☹️. Dunno what he was thinking. Seems he was used to this type of jumping off the vessel. Pretty confident man. .....!!!??.
Those who did not or even have the chance to be on japan waters especially bad weather they dont know and experience the real world there. Salute to. All. Japanese pilot they range from 60 yr old and above
I have personally done this many times and thanks to the crew of the pilot boat all went well. It's all down to the skills of the crew of the pilot boat and that of the pilot making the jump.
@@lbowsk I could not do it now. It was in my 20's when I did it. It was when I was fit and doing all sorts of sailing in high performance yachts then offshore racing..
the pilot did a fantastic job not hiiting the vessel, also the pilot getting back onto his boat had nerves of steel. great footage. Cheers Rosemary Perth Western Australia (71 yrs)
The safety procedure was thrown in the sea ! As such, we could see a race between the ship and the boat. The tides were high and the captain of the ship should have brought down the speed of his ship, to enable the pilot safely changes to his boat. Or even the crane and the bucket, would have helped the softy change over. Nothing was thought about !
To hang somebody over the side of a ship in rough seas is called an execution. We try not to do that. The ship's captain, at the pilot's instruction, was using the ship to shield the pilot boat from the worst part of the seas using speed and course headings from the pilot. If you pay attention, the pilot was hardly stressed at this operation. He's does it all the time. Like it's part of his job or something. A sailor's definition of safety is far different from that of a landlubber. We know what we're doing, thanks.
@@jons6125 It is a funny question , dipped in ego and high handed ness ! The gentleman who posed this question is not a creator of this universe, nor a ship designer and architect or owner of the ship ! It concerns with the security and life of the pilot , whose experience is most respected and recognized in that trade. His life and learnings are very precious and needed. Hence the gentleman who asked the question, may come out with problem solving solutions and safety of the pilots ! The channel itself came out with video shots and print "Watch how this pilot managed ............ ! The gentleman may also see the further observations of others and rest himself .
@@brahmos6712 Your message just dripped with incompetence. As a naval officer of 30+ years I would keep you of deck if you came up with this kind of ideas. A ship needs speed to be able to maneuver. Especially important near land in bad weather. Using a davit to hoist the pilot onto the pilot boat would be extremely dangerous. The biggest risk is the ever changing position of the boat. The pilot uses his experience to judge when it is safe to step over to the boat.
No, not a leap of faith. They're trained how to do it, and do it all the time, both by day and by night. It's a leap of trained and experienced precise observation, judgement and timing.
Uhhh, what's Japanese for "slow down"!! Damn, they were going fast! Also they should have a cargo net on bow of pilot boat, you jump straight into it and hang on.. This is nuts...
A cargo net on the bow would be a bad idea. The bow is were the full force of the wind and the waves crash. Too risky that: 1. You'd fail to grab the net and miss/bounce/fall off into the ocean. Or into the deck of the pilot boat potentially breaking your bones or smashing your head. 2. A crashing wave would wash/knock you off the net into the ocean or into the deck of the pilot boat. 3. You'd land on/in the net poorly and break or dislocate your fingers/wrists/feet/ankles. Which are all common cargo net jump injuries. 4. You'd get tangled and trapped in the net, while getting battered by waves potentially risking broken bones and dislocated joints. No he's doing it right the way. The way he's supposed to and how he's done it many times before, day and night. Onto the side of the boat at the right moment and straight inside the cabin.
@@kevinbacon7514 River Pilots all over the world have been doing it the way shown in the video for over a 100 years and have never changed it. They've never changed it over the last 100 years because despite trying, nobody throughout the entire world, has figured out a better and safer way of doing it. The only other option is using a helicopter winch. Some River Pilot services do use helicopters. However, a helicopter can only be flown and conduct above-ship operations in good weather and calm seas. Hence why River Pilot services which do have a helicopter, only use them in calm weather and calm seas. In rough weather and seas they still have to use the Pilot Boat and methods of boarding and disembarking shown in the video. It is dangerous, and over the years, a small number of River Pilots have died or been badly injured doing it. But it is the safest option. There is no safer method. Despite repeated tries to invent a safer method. They don't use a cargo net on the bow, because using cargo net would be even more dangerous. Watch the video again, and carefully watch it. Watch how hard the waves crash over the bow of the Pilot Boat. Watch just how much the Pilot Boat pitches forward and back and rolls left and right on the waves. Watch just how much it repeatedly suddenly rises and lowers in height on the waves. Watch how much it suddenly drops too far back, or pushes too far forward of the ship's door. In those bad sea conditions, judging and timing precisely when to do a full-on jump into the air into an open-air cargo net, getting battered by waves is a hell of a lot more difficult, risky and dangerous. Than judging and timely precisely when to simply drop down straight into an enclosed, sheltered and safe cabin. Also, bare in mind that River Pilots also have to disembark ships at night, using the same method, as well as during the day. And also have to board ships using the same method again both by day and night. If jumping into a cargo net was safer, they'd already be long doing so, all over the world. They're not because it's not safer for all the reasons I've explained.
I know that the pilots have to join/leave ships on a daily basis, but subject to room in the channel, couldn't things have been made a bit easier for him if the ship had slowed and perhaps turned slightly to make a lee? It is not fun joining or leaving a ship from a launch at anytime, but that looked rough.
If you listen to the audio, you hear the pilot asking for a turn to stbd and the officer relaying that request to the bridge. Many moons ago when i was a seafarer in the North Sea, we had to launch our Fast Rescue Boats fairly frequently and the only time you ever saw the FRC come alongside a stationary vessel was in harbour or if it was DEAD flat calm. you want a bit of way on both vessels for steerage and also the cox'n of the small boat needs to be able to work his throttles up and down to maintain position and counter the waves, but still maintain forward motion (he does not want to drop back to neutral) I thought the cox'n did a cracking job in tough conditions. Not convinced that practice would fly in Australia though.
@@TKyCoss I am absolutely with you there on the need for both vessels to have a bit of way, but my impression from watching the video several times was that the speed seemed higher than it needed to be- almost in a hurry to get away. Obviously I don't have all the details of the event, but I do not remember any pilots on our ships having to board or leave so fast. In fact the only issue ever with pilots was when our ship got fined for missing the pilot for the Magellan Straits. (It was cold there🥶)
I’m amazed all the professional pilots (RUclips fantasists) commenting here didn’t actually realise he was waiting to get into Lee of the land that appears at the 4 minute mark.
The land created no lee for this situation. The seas were either directly off the bow or just slightly off the port bow. That's why the piloted directed a 20 degree course change to starboard. That's what created the lee.
They called the bridge to go 10 degrees starboard to make a lee. In the Panama Canal the launch will have a crew member outside to assist even in foul weather. I saw no one there.
With the crew watching him leaving the ship possibly to his doom, it reminded me of a herd of gazelles, watching from a safe distance of a lone gazelle getting chased and caught by a lion and they're all thinking "Haha sucker at least its not me!!!"
Agonizing in its procedure. I cant count how many times I exchange boats at sea in the Navy. There are few times I have seen such an agonizing attempt. Its an issue of timing and simply stepping out into the air. The other craft rises to meet your foot. That guy is lucky he didnt end up sandwiched between the hulls. Its clear training is needed before they lose a pilot.
Try it at 2 am pitch black Falmouth bay Cornwall U.K. From the main deck down a pilot ladder about 60 ft. Onto boat below with only a spotlight showing the way.😜 timed to step onto the boat as she is rising out of the water almost at the top of the wave you only have seconds before the boat drops into a trough possibly 10ft down.
Is there no way for example to have a net on the pilot boat so that the pilot jumps into a huge target which would fold around him /her the time for the pilot boat crew to then disengage the pilot. Knowing nothing on this subject (as you can see)just an idea that's all .Brave and necessary job.
Pilot... A word from the ancient Greek pedon, meaning oar, which in ancient large boats meant the huge oar used as a rudder to stear a boat... In medieval Latin it became pilotus... The person in charge of the rudder. Which over many thousands of years is exactly up to this day what the pilot of a ship or plane does. Well done the pilot.
I dunno, maybe a whole lot more things to grab on the pilot boat than one diddy strap? A nice big rope net so even if you miss one thing there's plenty more?
I do not understand why the ship doesn't use a "" boom "" extending out & away from it, so as the pilot boat does not need to get so "" dangerously "" close to the ship, especially with so much "" up & down "" movement coming from the pilot boat. I would think, in this day and age, it would "" not "" be rocket science to come up with a less dangerous way to transfer a single person from one vessel to another.
Using an extending boom would actually make things even worse not better. Being further out from the ship, would make the pitching and rolling of the pilot boat on the waves significantly worse. The pilot would also be much more vulnerable extended out from the ship, and the jump on to the pilot boat would be much more difficult. The pilot boat has to come right up next to the side of ship, in order to use the side of ship as shelter from the full force of the waves and get a smoother ride. The ship is supposed to turn itself against the direction of the wind and waves in order to make itself a wind and wave block/shelter for the pilot boat right next to it. That's why the pilot keeps telling the crew to radio up to the bridge to turn the ship starboard(right). For whatever reason, the ship takes 5 minutes to complete that starboard turn wave shelter manoeuvre satisfactorily. After which the ride of the pilot boat suddenly becomes much smoother, and the pilot is finally able to drop down onboard. As soon as the pilot is aboard, the pilot boat immediately drops back and moves out of the ship's shelter and is immediately hit hard by the waves again. Crazy as it looks, it is genuinely the safest possible way to do it, especially in rough seas and weather. There is no safer way. Some pilot boats make it safer by having 1 or 2 deckhands out on the deck. Who are strapped to the deck and help guide the pilot as he/she makes the jump and grab hold of him/her as soon as he/she lands on the deck.
@ابوعمر Some maritime pilot services do use helicopters to winch the pilots onto and off the deck of the ships. However, helicopters can only be flown in good weather and good sea conditions. Especially so when it involves precision flying and winching above ships. So when conditions are bad, they still have to use a pilot boat to embark and disembark as shown in this video. The only people crazy enough to fly a helicopter in bad weather and sea conditions are the military, and even then they only do so if they have to.
There was a big harbour tug in the background....which looks far away, but trust me isn’t! The pilot boat looks too small for the conditions...didn’t look rough to me, very few whitecaps in the sea.
They can't slow down if they are in confined waters. They must maintain steerage. All they could do was turn slightly to starboard there to shield the pilot boat from the weather as best they could.
I can't believe that they took so much time to find easier water for his exit. A ship that big could put that little boat in it's wind and wave shadow.
One of these guys has just died working in Hull uk his comrade was injured but alive He was boarding a ship… literally this last few days, apparently his comrade jumped in the sea to help brave fellas and RIP
Yer it happens. There was a River Pilot in Liverpool UK about 25-30 years who miss timed his jump and ended up having his legs smashed into and crushed between the side of the pilot boat and the side of the ship. He survived but ended up having both his legs surgically amputated, and was medically retired.
Is this the only way to transfer pilot? Can't there be a overhung hoist which may lower him on tge deck. Or this pilot boat itself can be lowered with crane ?
Every day everywhere people risk their life like that and very few talk about them
Great respect !
The last cruise my wife and I took was when Florida got hit by 3 hurricanes. As we left Miami we watched our pilot jump from the access port, like this one onto the front deck of the pilot boat. We all cheered when he made it. He gave us a thumbs up and the pilot returned to Miami.
My highest compliments to the men that perform these dangerous, yet crucial jobs!
Women are pilots too! 🎉
@@carolynpatterson5217 Yep!
Look at the woman pilot video even scarier
99% set up, patience, timing - then one well- planted leap and quick duck into the cabin well done sir. Everyone aboard the ship was squeezing ass and watching...
Hats off to the pilot boat captain. It was tough keeping his small boat from hitting the ship in that rough water😎👏🏻
Oh they don’t. The pilot boats get smashed into the side of the freighter all the time. They’re built with fenders surrounding the deck
You can hear the Pilot asking for a 10 degree alteration course to give a slight lee, having been in this industry for over thirty years I raise my hat to the Pilot. Personally, i would have gone back up to the Bridge and given the captain a good kicking. There are no second chances doing this job
What about this for a scenario? The pilot set course for a good lee and as soon as his ass was off the bridge the Old Man put the helm over.
well said. the captain is an idiot
No way you disregard the pilot’s instructions.
Seems like that would be the standard procedure, wonder how big the ship he is jumping off is. We just opened up the well deck and had the boats go that way. Not a boat like that one of course. Well deck is a handy thing for launching boats. Steel beach for swim call too.
Gosh
I'm happy to say that no pilots were harmed in the making of this video! Salute! 🌹
Please can you post more videos like this. These pilots aren't given enough credit and exposure. Thank you.
Oh yes they are given a lot of credit. I knew pilots in NY. Very, very well paid.
Like in aviation, there are old Pilots and bold Pilots but NO old, bold Pilots......
That is funny
We watched the pilot boats a few times on our cruise around NZ we had some rough weather on the last four ports of call. Both the pilot and the pilot boat captain hats 🎩 off to both of them. They deserve every $ they earn, it’s dangerous out there.
Impressive Pilot boat driver. It took so long I was about to say give that boarder a good push and he should make it.
The pilot in the boat deserves a raise.
Whoa! what a guy! Cheers from the Pacific West Coast of Canada.
Having been a ships crew member during many pilot transfers so very often large ships are confined to a shipping channel so many times to alter course or even slow the ships passage(the ship can lose steerage way)& cause a major disaster..yes I have never met a ships pilot who hasn’t earned every cent they get very brave souls who earn very seaman’s respect
I must have shouted NOW around 20 times watching this
frikin memories... I was a pilot boat captain for 20 something years in Hawaii and watching this stuff took me back to some hairy transfers specially at night at zero dark thirty and the ship is doing 12 knotts in rough seas with green water going over the pilot boat,, ,,yikes, you need ,balls of steel I probably did way over a thousand safe transfers but all it takes in one mistake and it will be fatal................................... ...... I dont miss it at all
And also remember, that this pilot and others like him, have to be able to perform this maneuver at night.
A matter of right timing, steel nerves, patience and a skilled pilotboat skipper!
Thanks for sharing. Like some of those crew members, I find this type of thing to be both exhilarating and amusing. Mostly we get away with it. Best wishes from New Zealand.
Sadly a UK Pilot died on the 8th Jan 2023 of accident while boarding a Ship, Condolences to the family and that brought me to this video watching how risky is their job
And a Japanese pilot died in May 2023 while boarding a cruise ship. It looks like fun, but it is a dangerous job. i hope both families find peace.
Poor seamanship on the tug, he should have gone around the ships arse if he wanted to pass to limit the swell. Ships master also gave a very poor lee. Pilot launch should have pulled away until the master brought the ship to starboard more. I never left the bridge until i was happy that the master understood the agreed heading for me to get off.
Wow the pilot boat driver has some skills driving that tiny pilot boat up against the ship
This is where pilots earn their paycheck.
As a maritime pilot for almost 25 years I can say this is certainly not the way to do it. I have the impression this pilot disembarks at the weatherside. And what’s worse, he jumps when the pilot boat pitches into a wave trough when he should jump when it comes out of it. Unprofessional.
Didn’t help that the pilot boat looked too small for the job. We run 20m pilot boats and always have two deckhands to help the pilot safely on to the deck rather than leaping into the open wheelhouse door!
He literally crashed into that closed cabin door....☹️. Dunno what he was thinking. Seems he was used to this type of jumping off the vessel. Pretty confident man. .....!!!??.
Those who did not or even have the chance to be on japan waters especially bad weather they dont know and experience the real world there. Salute to. All. Japanese pilot they range from 60 yr old and above
Yeah but he had his YT ratings to consider....not to mention entertaining the ships audience!
I'd like to know just how well paid these pilots are.
all in a days work for so many men and women.... casual bravery.... they make it look so easy.
A lot of men went to Davey Jones locker doing this ...respect to the Sea and Her secrets 🌊 🙏
This is why in the maritime industry these guys get some of the highest pay.
And they sure earn it!
I have personally done this many times and thanks to the crew of the pilot boat all went well. It's all down to the skills of the crew of the pilot boat and that of the pilot making the jump.
Where do you keep your giant, oversized balls?
@@lbowsk I could not do it now. It was in my 20's when I did it. It was when I was fit and doing all sorts of sailing in high performance yachts then offshore racing..
Me too ✋️ concentrate on high wave .
@@richielittlewood867 Exactly .- The high wave gets you clear so there is no chance of getting pinned between the pilot boat and ship.
the pilot did a fantastic job not hiiting the vessel, also the pilot getting back onto his boat had nerves of steel. great footage. Cheers Rosemary Perth Western Australia (71 yrs)
Life is short enough without wasting it watching videos like these. Skip to 5min 12sex to see pilot depart!!
Agree. 5 min of my life wasted waiting for "departure" in last 3 seconds.
I think you kind of missed the point, that a safe transfer depends on finding the perfect moment - and that takes TIME. This video clearly shows that!
Love how the crowd is all watching the pilot - wondering if he will make the jump.
The safety procedure was thrown in the sea !
As such, we could see a race between the ship and the boat.
The tides were high and the captain of the ship should have
brought down the speed of his ship, to enable the pilot safely
changes to his boat. Or even the crane and the bucket, would
have helped the softy change over. Nothing was thought about !
Do you know what your taking about?
To be picky - on a boat, a crane is called a davit. It would be very unsafe to dangle someone off the side. Risk of entrapment or impact.
To hang somebody over the side of a ship in rough seas is called an execution. We try not to do that.
The ship's captain, at the pilot's instruction, was using the ship to shield the pilot boat from the worst part of the seas using speed and course headings from the pilot.
If you pay attention, the pilot was hardly stressed at this operation. He's does it all the time. Like it's part of his job or something.
A sailor's definition of safety is far different from that of a landlubber.
We know what we're doing, thanks.
@@jons6125 It is a funny question , dipped in ego and high handed
ness ! The gentleman who posed this question is not a creator
of this universe, nor a ship designer and architect or owner of the
ship ! It concerns with the security and life of the pilot , whose
experience is most respected and recognized in that trade.
His life and learnings are very precious and needed.
Hence the gentleman who asked the question, may come out
with problem solving solutions and safety of the pilots !
The channel itself came out with video shots and print "Watch
how this pilot managed ............ ! The gentleman may also see
the further observations of others and rest himself .
@@brahmos6712 Your message just dripped with incompetence. As a naval officer of 30+ years I would keep you of deck if you came up with this kind of ideas. A ship needs speed to be able to maneuver. Especially important near land in bad weather. Using a davit to hoist the pilot onto the pilot boat would be extremely dangerous.
The biggest risk is the ever changing position of the boat. The pilot uses his experience to judge when it is safe to step over to the boat.
Oh! My! Word! That man loves his job! I know nothing about these things but couldn't the ship slow down, it appeared, to me, to be getting faster!!! x
Literally, a leap of faith.
No, not a leap of faith. They're trained how to do it, and do it all the time, both by day and by night. It's a leap of trained and experienced precise observation, judgement and timing.
Love the guy give thumbs up to the pilot boat’ yeah waves over the windows is normal we got this’
Uhhh, what's Japanese for "slow down"!!
Damn, they were going fast!
Also they should have a cargo net on bow of pilot boat, you jump straight into it and hang on..
This is nuts...
A cargo net on the bow would be a bad idea. The bow is were the full force of the wind and the waves crash. Too risky that: 1. You'd fail to grab the net and miss/bounce/fall off into the ocean. Or into the deck of the pilot boat potentially breaking your bones or smashing your head. 2. A crashing wave would wash/knock you off the net into the ocean or into the deck of the pilot boat. 3. You'd land on/in the net poorly and break or dislocate your fingers/wrists/feet/ankles. Which are all common cargo net jump injuries. 4. You'd get tangled and trapped in the net, while getting battered by waves potentially risking broken bones and dislocated joints.
No he's doing it right the way. The way he's supposed to and how he's done it many times before, day and night. Onto the side of the boat at the right moment and straight inside the cabin.
@@andywilliams7323
SO THIS IS BETTER THAN TRYING A NET !!!????
WOW!! MAKE SURE YOU STAY FAR FROM ANY SAFETY COMMITTY I'M ON....
@@kevinbacon7514 River Pilots all over the world have been doing it the way shown in the video for over a 100 years and have never changed it. They've never changed it over the last 100 years because despite trying, nobody throughout the entire world, has figured out a better and safer way of doing it.
The only other option is using a helicopter winch. Some River Pilot services do use helicopters. However, a helicopter can only be flown and conduct above-ship operations in good weather and calm seas. Hence why River Pilot services which do have a helicopter, only use them in calm weather and calm seas. In rough weather and seas they still have to use the Pilot Boat and methods of boarding and disembarking shown in the video.
It is dangerous, and over the years, a small number of River Pilots have died or been badly injured doing it. But it is the safest option. There is no safer method. Despite repeated tries to invent a safer method.
They don't use a cargo net on the bow, because using cargo net would be even more dangerous. Watch the video again, and carefully watch it. Watch how hard the waves crash over the bow of the Pilot Boat. Watch just how much the Pilot Boat pitches forward and back and rolls left and right on the waves. Watch just how much it repeatedly suddenly rises and lowers in height on the waves. Watch how much it suddenly drops too far back, or pushes too far forward of the ship's door.
In those bad sea conditions, judging and timing precisely when to do a full-on jump into the air into an open-air cargo net, getting battered by waves is a hell of a lot more difficult, risky and dangerous. Than judging and timely precisely when to simply drop down straight into an enclosed, sheltered and safe cabin.
Also, bare in mind that River Pilots also have to disembark ships at night, using the same method, as well as during the day. And also have to board ships using the same method again both by day and night.
If jumping into a cargo net was safer, they'd already be long doing so, all over the world. They're not because it's not safer for all the reasons I've explained.
Ayos tlga kabaro need talaga timing sa ganyan. Keep safe always new friend watching from Norway
That was amazing. My heart was in my throat. The pilot boat seemed very small.
All I can say is WOW😮👍💪
I know that the pilots have to join/leave ships on a daily basis, but subject to room in the channel, couldn't things have been made a bit easier for him if the ship had slowed and perhaps turned slightly to make a lee? It is not fun joining or leaving a ship from a launch at anytime, but that looked rough.
If you listen to the audio, you hear the pilot asking for a turn to stbd and the officer relaying that request to the bridge. Many moons ago when i was a seafarer in the North Sea, we had to launch our Fast Rescue Boats fairly frequently and the only time you ever saw the FRC come alongside a stationary vessel was in harbour or if it was DEAD flat calm. you want a bit of way on both vessels for steerage and also the cox'n of the small boat needs to be able to work his throttles up and down to maintain position and counter the waves, but still maintain forward motion (he does not want to drop back to neutral) I thought the cox'n did a cracking job in tough conditions. Not convinced that practice would fly in Australia though.
@@TKyCoss I am absolutely with you there on the need for both vessels to have a bit of way, but my impression from watching the video several times was that the speed seemed higher than it needed to be- almost in a hurry to get away.
Obviously I don't have all the details of the event, but I do not remember any pilots on our ships having to board or leave so fast.
In fact the only issue ever with pilots was when our ship got fined for missing the pilot for the Magellan Straits. (It was cold there🥶)
Pilots are the hotel valet drivers of ship parking lots, except they get high pays and very infrequent tips.
I have more respect for the captain of that small boat
Boy, that could have been a much shorter video.
I’m amazed all the professional pilots (RUclips fantasists) commenting here didn’t actually realise he was waiting to get into Lee of the land that appears at the 4 minute mark.
The land created no lee for this situation. The seas were either directly off the bow or just slightly off the port bow. That's why the piloted directed a 20 degree course change to starboard. That's what created the lee.
They called the bridge to go 10 degrees starboard to make a lee. In the Panama Canal the launch will have a crew member outside to assist even in foul weather. I saw no one there.
With the crew watching him leaving the ship possibly to his doom, it reminded me of a herd of gazelles, watching from a safe distance of a lone gazelle getting chased and caught by a lion and they're all thinking "Haha sucker at least its not me!!!"
Grief. 😖 Terrifying to watch.
The pilot is very experienced
And this my friends, is why bar pilots make the big money!! It is by far one of the MOST dangerous jobs in the world!!!
Agonizing in its procedure. I cant count how many times I exchange boats at sea in the Navy. There are few times I have seen such an agonizing attempt. Its an issue of timing and simply stepping out into the air. The other craft rises to meet your foot. That guy is lucky he didnt end up sandwiched between the hulls. Its clear training is needed before they lose a pilot.
I have heard that people who are out of work and getting desperate will take almost any job... but I think most of them would pass on this one. 🙄
This should be an Olympic sport.
Man the almost crossed the Pacific Ocean by the time he committed
Nah, they already cross pacific and came back to same spot
I love the little woohoo at the end 😊
Try it at 2 am pitch black Falmouth bay Cornwall U.K. From the main deck down a pilot ladder about 60 ft. Onto boat below with only a spotlight showing the way.😜 timed to step onto the boat as she is rising out of the water almost at the top of the wave you only have seconds before the boat drops into a trough possibly 10ft down.
NO 🤣🤣
I hated pilot ladders at any time- much preferred joining or leaving from the dockside.🚢
@@mikealman9259 YER. He's not making it up. It's true.
Well that's five and a half minutes of my life I'll never get back.
Is there no way for example to have a net on the pilot boat so that the pilot jumps into a huge target which would fold around him /her the time for the pilot boat crew to then disengage the pilot.
Knowing nothing on this subject (as you can see)just an idea that's all .Brave and necessary job.
Was a boatman for 4 years. Most pilots were against getting their shoes wet. Swing a lee......hello.
All the passengers should be made to watch this
Oh My God ? My Heart Was Racing ? I Cannot Imagine , This Is So Dangerous !
The guy or guys snickering would poop their pants if they had to make an "exit" like this.
Nope, I would have been going wherever that ship was going and flying back 😂😂
I don't miss my offshore days of swing on baskets from a Crane.
Billy Pugh baskets. The stuff of nightmares for some. 😅
When you are a pilot on a ship and there's a new girlfriend waiting for you at the shore.
The captain of the pilot boat did a great job holding that boat next to the ship. I just don’t know why it took the guy so long to jump on. 😎
Why don't you take his place, and show us how you would do it.
Look at the big ass wave that hit a second after he got on. Timing could be a big reason.
@@chuckychuck I’ve done it a few hundred times…
I take it you where trying to be humorous there?
@@chuckychuck That's funny 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Pilot... A word from the ancient Greek pedon, meaning oar, which in ancient large boats meant the huge oar used as a rudder to stear a boat... In medieval Latin it became pilotus... The person in charge of the rudder.
Which over many thousands of years is exactly up to this day what the pilot of a ship or plane does.
Well done the pilot.
Balls of steel. Would not catch me doing it.
Skip the first 5 full min, absolutely nothing happens
Really great, thrilling experience, thanks for sharing 👌👌👌
The moment he came to starboard it calmed down
Very dangerous. ☘️☘️☘️☘️👍👍👍
I dunno, maybe a whole lot more things to grab on the pilot boat than one diddy strap? A nice big rope net so even if you miss one thing there's plenty more?
Have watched the pilots boats dropping off and picking up. Always interesting.
The main vessel cannot turn to starboard. Due to other vessels. But it could slow down...
I do not understand why the ship doesn't use a "" boom "" extending out & away from it, so as the pilot boat does not need to get so "" dangerously "" close to the ship, especially with so much "" up & down "" movement coming from the pilot boat. I would think, in this day and age, it would "" not "" be rocket science to come up with a less dangerous way to transfer a single person from one vessel to another.
“”do” you”””really”think”” “”so””?
Using an extending boom would actually make things even worse not better. Being further out from the ship, would make the pitching and rolling of the pilot boat on the waves significantly worse. The pilot would also be much more vulnerable extended out from the ship, and the jump on to the pilot boat would be much more difficult. The pilot boat has to come right up next to the side of ship, in order to use the side of ship as shelter from the full force of the waves and get a smoother ride.
The ship is supposed to turn itself against the direction of the wind and waves in order to make itself a wind and wave block/shelter for the pilot boat right next to it. That's why the pilot keeps telling the crew to radio up to the bridge to turn the ship starboard(right). For whatever reason, the ship takes 5 minutes to complete that starboard turn wave shelter manoeuvre satisfactorily. After which the ride of the pilot boat suddenly becomes much smoother, and the pilot is finally able to drop down onboard. As soon as the pilot is aboard, the pilot boat immediately drops back and moves out of the ship's shelter and is immediately hit hard by the waves again.
Crazy as it looks, it is genuinely the safest possible way to do it, especially in rough seas and weather. There is no safer way. Some pilot boats make it safer by having 1 or 2 deckhands out on the deck. Who are strapped to the deck and help guide the pilot as he/she makes the jump and grab hold of him/her as soon as he/she lands on the deck.
@ابوعمر Some maritime pilot services do use helicopters to winch the pilots onto and off the deck of the ships. However, helicopters can only be flown in good weather and good sea conditions. Especially so when it involves precision flying and winching above ships. So when conditions are bad, they still have to use a pilot boat to embark and disembark as shown in this video. The only people crazy enough to fly a helicopter in bad weather and sea conditions are the military, and even then they only do so if they have to.
@@andywilliams7323👍👏
Those on board got a wager going or something?!
Can someone tell me why the ship didn't turn to the right in order to get protection from the wind?
I totally agree. This is awful.
ship is leaving port and probably in a restricted channel ... land is not far away
There was a big harbour tug in the background....which looks far away, but trust me isn’t! The pilot boat looks too small for the conditions...didn’t look rough to me, very few whitecaps in the sea.
@@davidlockwood9192 agree. Why didn't the ship make a lee? it all looked really bad to be honest. :_(
Si escuchan en el video el pide 20 grados a estribor.
He must be one of those stunt pilots🤣
He almost walked onto the pick up boat,,,lol
I don't understand why the big ship just won't slow down...
It’s the small boats fault for bouncing up and down too much
@@MichaelDeMersLA
Lol
They can't slow down if they are in confined waters. They must maintain steerage. All they could do was turn slightly to starboard there to shield the pilot boat from the weather as best they could.
I have a neighbor who is a harbor pilot. He told me it was easy, just "walk over".
His pay is $300K/yr. Looks like he really deserve that.
Brave man.
F that. What's the ship's next port of call? I'm getting off there. I'll be at the bar.
I can't believe that they took so much time to find easier water for his exit. A ship that big could put that little boat in it's wind and wave shadow.
Most likely they are in a channel ?🤔
@@johnmagee9687 Maybe slow down a little?
@@pforce9 They need to maintain steerage in tight channels.
@@beer1for2break3fast4 You did notice that he slowed down. didn't you? I was just wondering why he waited so long.
😎👍
One of these guys has just died working in Hull uk his comrade was injured but alive
He was boarding a ship… literally this last few days, apparently his comrade jumped in the sea to help brave fellas and RIP
Yer it happens. There was a River Pilot in Liverpool UK about 25-30 years who miss timed his jump and ended up having his legs smashed into and crushed between the side of the pilot boat and the side of the ship. He survived but ended up having both his legs surgically amputated, and was medically retired.
Is this the only way to transfer pilot? Can't there be a overhung hoist which may lower him on tge deck.
Or this pilot boat itself can be lowered with crane ?
Beats talking crap at the coffee machine in a office where the point of your work is to make your boss even richer
Hello my friend always keep safe!
Thanks idol, you too..
Got to make a telescoping pole with a sling from the pilot boat to the big ship.
I'd have a giant sping web NET like a catchers mitt and dive into it like a spider in a web.
Close the pilot house door! 🤣🤣
I can't help but wonder if this was the first time they've ever done this. LOL
Bet that guy was 90 years old. He did it old school. 😎
Perfect timing is needed.
Jacke Chan: ok director tell me when camera starts rolling
Director: roll it
Jackie Chan: *jump
what a way to make a living!!!! Tough job!!!!
Bravo well done. ❤
That's the way you do it. Wait for your moment and just make the hop. Takes nerve, but just another day at sea for them.
Keepsafe sir...
That was Superman...