Very early in my career I was mate on an Alaskan seafood processing ship and just before heading north for the season, we were in the process of coming alongside Pier 91 in Seattle and as mate I was typically up on the bow for the landing. The engine controls failed at the last minute and we t-boned the pier doing a couple of knots. I was literally right there on the very stem looking straight down watching the bow cleave a nice little wedge out of timber, steel and asphalt… Amazingly we did not open up the shell and after a day of USCG and insurance investigation we proceeded on our merry way but it was a learning experience for me. Engine controls have a way of failing at just the worst possible time and place.