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All in a day’s work for Pilots
26.05.11
by Linda McGrory
THESE dramatic pictures below show the Foyle Pilots
at work during the worst May storm in living memory.
Anyone would think the lads were actually scrambling
to make it back to shore as rising waves lashed
their 30ft boat in wind speeds gusting to over
140km/h on.
But Foyle Pilot boatman, Tommy McDaid, said it was
just a ‘normal’ day’s work, albeit it in ‘rowdy’
weather conditions. |
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The Foyle Pilot boat battles the
storm. Photos courtesy Charles Cavanagh. |
“It might look dramatic
and, there’s no point denying it, the weather
conditions were horrendous, but it was just a normal
day for us,” laughed Tommy.
“We did about nine runs that day and none of them
were storm related.”
The job of a pilot is to board large vessels at the
mouth of Lough Foyle and guide them through the safe
deep water channel to Lisahally Port in Derry. It is
compulsory for ships over 50 metres long to be
piloted.
On boat duty during storm ‘Udo’ on Monday were Tommy
and fellow boatman, Danny McCann, who is a
seventh-generation McCann working on the lough.
That stormy day they, and pilot Michael Hegarty,
were servicing a number of large cargo ships
including two coal boats, one carrying cullet
(crushed glass) and another with pumice.
Among their tasks was a ‘lightening’ job whereby a
smaller ship is guided alongside a larger carrier to
be loaded with cargo.
Tommy added: “Those big boats weren’t in to shelter
from the storm or anything. They were just doing
what they would normally be doing.
“And anything we did that day was just our normal
work, it was just a bit slower and a bit jumpier
than usual,” he added. “Let’s just say it was a bit
rowdy and wasn’t very pleasant,” he quipped.
Tommy, who worked on fishing trawlers for 18 years
and who has been working with the Foyle Pilots for
the last eight, said he and his colleagues are used
to high waves.
“The Foyle would be rough with us fairly often, it’s
just that on Monday, it was that bit excessive.
“We would normally meet big boats, over 120 metres,
off Shroove and we would be used to it being fairly
dramatic. But on Monday, the wind speed was 72mph on
the clock in the station. It was exceptional weather
with some of the strongest winds I’d ever seen for
May.” The Lough Foyle Pilots are: Michael Hegarty,
Georgie Hegarty, Con O’Donnell and Billy Kelly while
the boatmen are: Larry Kealey, Tommy McDaid and
station manager, Danny McCann. |
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