The notoriously difficult waters of the Torres Strait are located between Australia and New Guinea and contain more than 274 small islands in the Queensland territory. The strait connects to the Great Barrier Reef, the world’s largest coral reef system that stretches for 1,500 miles along the northeast coast of the continent. These waters require compulsory pilotage to transit any vessel. Our ship had two such professional seaman on board during our passage and, in addition to their duties, they both shared with us the tales and responsibilities of a career pilot. They were Torres Strait Pilot Captain John Foley, and Australian Reef Pilot Captain Wel Gamble, both 30+ year veterans.
Cairns, Mackay, and several islands serve as bases where the pilots live while on duty, and from where they can be dispatched by boat or helicopter to a transiting vessel. One is Thursday Island, with a population of about 2,600, there is Yorke Island, and Booby Island, which stands like a beacon in the ocean and serves as a perpetual resort for immense numbers of booby birds….yes, booby birds.
The Reef is strictly managed by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, an Australian government agency that oversees piloting in the reef, environmental impacts, and maintains and enforces a zoning plan for tourism, fishing, boating and shipping that identifies where particular activities are permitted and where they are forbidden. Pilots are in constant communication with the GBRMPA in their jobs, and Captain Gamble expressed the highest praise for the agency.
These pilots live under all kinds of conditions while on duty, whether on an international cargo ship, a fishing boat, private yacht, or cruise ship. If they cannot board by helicopter, the greatest hazard of their job is the pilot ladder which, though expected to meet certain safety regulations, offers no guarantee it will not be a dilapidated string of rungs thrown over a high deck. And often it must be scaled in the dark of night from a small boat in high seas. Once, upon reaching the top of the ladder, Captain Gamble was surprised to find it being handheld by two crew members.
The required training for a pilot is long and intense. There are two agencies that provide these specific pilot services and the Australian Reef Pilots (ARP), with which these two men are employed, has about seventy pilots on staff. Despite the solitude and extremely diverse conditions, both Captains expressed tremendous personal satisfaction with their careers, great respect for the sea and the reef, and looked forward to every day on the job.
Soon you’ll be calling “Land Ahoy”! It has been so interesting following you guys along. Can’t wait to see you soon.