Larry who? An opinion without a name is as worthless as a check without a signature. Many publications simply will not print comments unless the author of those comments identifies themselves and takes responsibility for their statements. This "Larry" guy has repeatedly criticized the statements of others without providing a shred of evidence in support of that criticism and despite repeated requests has refused to identify himself. As to the harbor pilot issue I have held a USCG 50 ton Masters License for 30 years and for many years provided water transportation to ship's agents, custom officials, and occasionally to Pen Bay pilots themselves. So I am intimately familiar with piloting operations within Frenchman Bay. While there clearly is a need for skilled harbor pilots in busy commercial harbors with torturous shallow channels (NYC, etc) Frenchman Bay is not one of them. Miles wide and generally hundreds of feet deep the bay has very little commercial traffic other than lobster boats and sight seeing tours all of whom are more than capable of avoiding cruise ships usually traveling at relatively slow speeds. Between the outer Frenchman Bay entrance buoy and the outermost cruise ship anchorage (approximately 5 nautical miles) there are basically 2 "must avoid" obstacles: Egg Rock Light and Bald Porcupine Island. Water depths throughout this passage average around 150' with one small area of 70' depth. Cruise ships transiting to the anchorages further north must pass through a a 1/2 mile wide well buoyed channel between Sheep Porcupine and Burnt Porcupine Islands that has a depth of as much as 200' . Even without radar and the state of the art satellite navigation systems all cruise ships are required to carry any even semi competent cruise ship captain would have no problem whatever entering or leaving Bar Harbor without the aid of a harbor pilot under any conditions other than hurricanes. As to the Cat Ferry it was not until 2012 that they were even required to carry a pilot. As far as I know they have never collided with Egg Rock, Bald Porcupine Island, or Sheep or Burnt Porcupine. While this article conjures up images of stressed cruise ship helmsmen cranking a huge steering wheel back and forth, sweat running down their faces the reality is that the ship is being guided by a satellite navigation system that makes the one in modern automobiles look like a piece of junk. So why the requirement for harbor pilots in Frenchman Bay? Good question! Very good question indeed. Dare I suggest it has something to do with legislative lobbying and making money? The only real danger involved in cruise ships coming in and out of Bar Harbor is the sometimes tricky process of transferring a harbor pilot from the pilot boat to the cruise ship and back again, especially during rough conditions. Now there's some safety regulations that need tightening up!
The pilots have jobs in Eastport ,Searsport, Portland and have had those jobs for many decades. Bar Harbor does not want big ships.
It is clear that these few guys are not needed here anymore. No use crying about it. I was just down at the BH pier and the smell of diesel from the tenders serving the Zuiderdam was blowing out of the West right across the parking lot on the pier. If you can smell diesel it is a bad sign that it is at unhealthy levels. Asthma attacks happen at less than 1ppm which is way below the level you can smell. The tenders are emitting 1000ppm.
The pilots are simply steering harmful pollution into Bar Harbor. They are not needed. We should have figured this out long ago and never gotten involved with this dirty industry.
The village scold right on cue, now berating conscientious marine pilots, a critically vital yet highly dangerous job requiring an extremely high skill set demanding us all to live our lives without his idea of an income in his usual sanctimonious manner.
Another one trick pony with little interest in supporting a well rounded community.
These pilots are the unsung heroes of our waterways. It is dangerous job with a massive amount of responsibility. Thank you Pilots for all you do to keep our harbors and rivers safe.
Larry who? An opinion without a name is as worthless as a check without a signature. Many publications simply will not print comments unless the author of those comments identifies themselves and takes responsibility for their statements. This "Larry" guy has repeatedly criticized the statements of others without providing a shred of evidence in support of that criticism and despite repeated requests has refused to identify himself. As to the harbor pilot issue I have held a USCG 50 ton Masters License for 30 years and for many years provided water transportation to ship's agents, custom officials, and occasionally to Pen Bay pilots themselves. So I am intimately familiar with piloting operations within Frenchman Bay. While there clearly is a need for skilled harbor pilots in busy commercial harbors with torturous shallow channels (NYC, etc) Frenchman Bay is not one of them. Miles wide and generally hundreds of feet deep the bay has very little commercial traffic other than lobster boats and sight seeing tours all of whom are more than capable of avoiding cruise ships usually traveling at relatively slow speeds. Between the outer Frenchman Bay entrance buoy and the outermost cruise ship anchorage (approximately 5 nautical miles) there are basically 2 "must avoid" obstacles: Egg Rock Light and Bald Porcupine Island. Water depths throughout this passage average around 150' with one small area of 70' depth. Cruise ships transiting to the anchorages further north must pass through a a 1/2 mile wide well buoyed channel between Sheep Porcupine and Burnt Porcupine Islands that has a depth of as much as 200' . Even without radar and the state of the art satellite navigation systems all cruise ships are required to carry any even semi competent cruise ship captain would have no problem whatever entering or leaving Bar Harbor without the aid of a harbor pilot under any conditions other than hurricanes. As to the Cat Ferry it was not until 2012 that they were even required to carry a pilot. As far as I know they have never collided with Egg Rock, Bald Porcupine Island, or Sheep or Burnt Porcupine. While this article conjures up images of stressed cruise ship helmsmen cranking a huge steering wheel back and forth, sweat running down their faces the reality is that the ship is being guided by a satellite navigation system that makes the one in modern automobiles look like a piece of junk. So why the requirement for harbor pilots in Frenchman Bay? Good question! Very good question indeed. Dare I suggest it has something to do with legislative lobbying and making money? The only real danger involved in cruise ships coming in and out of Bar Harbor is the sometimes tricky process of transferring a harbor pilot from the pilot boat to the cruise ship and back again, especially during rough conditions. Now there's some safety regulations that need tightening up!
The pilots have jobs in Eastport ,Searsport, Portland and have had those jobs for many decades. Bar Harbor does not want big ships.
It is clear that these few guys are not needed here anymore. No use crying about it. I was just down at the BH pier and the smell of diesel from the tenders serving the Zuiderdam was blowing out of the West right across the parking lot on the pier. If you can smell diesel it is a bad sign that it is at unhealthy levels. Asthma attacks happen at less than 1ppm which is way below the level you can smell. The tenders are emitting 1000ppm.
The pilots are simply steering harmful pollution into Bar Harbor. They are not needed. We should have figured this out long ago and never gotten involved with this dirty industry.
The village scold right on cue, now berating conscientious marine pilots, a critically vital yet highly dangerous job requiring an extremely high skill set demanding us all to live our lives without his idea of an income in his usual sanctimonious manner.
Another one trick pony with little interest in supporting a well rounded community.
Tiresome.
with
These pilots are the unsung heroes of our waterways. It is dangerous job with a massive amount of responsibility. Thank you Pilots for all you do to keep our harbors and rivers safe.