Picking up a pilot was considered by some captains as a kind of daring art. Already at some distance we tried to locate on the radar a smallish relatively fast moving target which usually was the pilot boat and kept moving slowly in that direction. We tried to avoid anchoring as much as possible as then you had to sit and wait for the pilot to board and that could take some time. Closer, by daylight, the pilot boat was flying a blue flag with white letter P. By night they carried a white light over red. With large vessels these days the pilot boards by helicopter which is simpler.