Pilot boats on the move: 12 striking colour photographs
The sight of a beautiful pilot boat sprinting and whipping up giant spumes could give one an adrenalin rush. It might even make young men and women want to become pilots. The exhilaration and thrill, however, cannot mask the cold reality: pilotage is hard work, and those who have chosen it as a career face constant danger.
The following are some of the most striking pictures of pilot boats that I have come across. Click on each one for a larger view.
“You know, our life is arduous, responsible, and hazardous. People on shore, I am sorry to say, very seldom recognise this. Not seeing us piloting ships through the streets of London, they think all we have to do is to get our orders, and come on shore to cash them.”
— Thomas Roads, as quoted in Pilots by Alfred T. Story, The Strand Magazine (1894)
Pilot boat Apollo, Nieuwe Waterweg (2016)
Photo by Kees Torn
Licence: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic
Pilot boat in Naples, Italy
Photo by Pete on Pixabay
Licence: public domain
Parmelia heading out into open water from Fremantle Harbour, Western Austraia (2012)
Photo by JarrahTree via Wikimedia Commons
Licence: Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Australia
View of Kwillina, the pilot boat at Esperance Ports, Western Australia (2019)
Photo by Bahnfrend via Wikimedia Commons
Licence: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International
Pilot approaches 2, Normandie (2015)
Photo by Michael Foley on Flickr
Licence: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic
Pilot boat in Estonia (2008)
Photo by neeme on Flickr
Licence: Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic
A WONDERFUL MUG FOR PILOTS
This white glossy mug features a 1925 etching by the noted British marine artist, Arthur John Trevor Briscoe (1873–1943).
Click here to order.
Pilot boat in the Faroe Islands (2013)
Photo by Omer Bozkurt on Flickr
Licence: Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic
Aberdeen Harbour pilot boat making its way Back to the harbour (2018)
Photo by Rab Lawrence on Flickr
Licence: Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic
Pilot boat Pieter Deconinck, Netherlands (2006)
Photo by Gerwin Filius on Flickr
Licence: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic
Pilot boat – Musel-Arnao, Principado de Asturias, España (2011)
Photo by Pedro Menéndez on Flickr
Licence: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic
Pilot boat from the port of Dieppe in the mist (2017)
Photo by Brice Menou on Flickr
Licence: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic
Pilot boat escorting the cruise ship Voyager of the Seas out of Sydney (2012)
Photo by Jim Bendon via Wikimedia Commons
Licence: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic
~ Barista Uno
