I am training to become a harbor pilot. This involves riding ships with the current pilots every chance I get. I currently have 120 trips, 80 of which were as a trainee pilot holding a valid 1st class unlimited pilots license.
How do I format a sea time letter for a USCG renewal? Just about every trip is a different ship, I have trip sheets to document, yet there is no " ongoing participation in training and drills during the validity of the license being renewed. "
Harbor pilots do not participate in the training and drills of a foreign ship while transiting from sea to berth. The current pilots told me to call the USCG help desk and figure it out. The help desk was not helpful.
Before the forum burns me at the stake, please keep in mind that I am not an Academy grad, I’ve worked my way up from the deck of a tug. My very first lesson was how to operate a needle gun underway in a 25 knot blow. Please be kind!
Good luck finding help on here. The unlimited guys all will probably say you shouldn’t be able to get a first class pilots license because you came up on tugs. Their all a little butt hurt that somebody can do it with out the Academy or sailing on ships for twenty years. I wish I knew the answer to your question but I wish you the best of luck!
I am training to become a harbor pilot. This involves riding ships with the current pilots every chance I get. I currently have 120 trips, 80 of which were as a trainee pilot holding a valid 1st class unlimited pilots license.
How do I format a sea time letter for a USCG renewal? Just about every trip is a different ship, I have trip sheets to document, yet there is no " ongoing participation in training and drills during the validity of the license being renewed. "
Harbor pilots do not participate in the training and drills of a foreign ship while transiting from sea to berth. The current pilots told me to call the USCG help desk and figure it out. The help desk was not helpful.
Before the forum burns me at the stake, please keep in mind that I am not an Academy grad, I’ve worked my way up from the deck of a tug. My very first lesson was how to operate a needle gun underway in a 25 knot blow. Please be kind![/QUOTE]
The on-going participation in training and drills is only for towibnng vessel licenses. On that, you’re probably out of luck becasue, as you said, pilots don’t participate in drills. Your only recourse is probably a demonstartion of manuevering and handling before a Designated Examiner (e.g. “Part D” of the TOAR).
Do you have recent time before you started as a pilot? Aren’t you using assist tugs over VHF to berth/sail ships, a seminar on emergency maneuvers with tugs? Sounds like enough training/drills to me.
[QUOTE=TugNtow;144529]Good luck finding help on here. The unlimited guys all will probably say you shouldn’t be able to get a first class pilots license because you came up on tugs. Their all a little butt hurt that somebody can do it with out the Academy or sailing on ships for twenty years. I wish I knew the answer to your question but I wish you the best of luck![/QUOTE]
Good luck not being a douche.
This has nothing do with getting a license, it’s only about renewing one. Don’t give a shit about pilots anymore than they give a shit about the mates they meet randomly for 2-6 hrs at a time. Huge percentage of harbor/river/bar pilots in this country never held an UL license. Seems to have worked out fine, You’re the guy with the problem with that.
Pretty simple, no sea time in which to prove participation in ongoing safety training, then no gimme on the renewal. If I have to show active participation in said training (just like you), then so should he.
No more BS renewals and upgrades based on fluff.
To the OP:
If the pilots who let you ride aren’t helping you out, then I’m pretty sure Wang Chung Lines isn’t going to type up a letter for you… SOL.
Nobody cares whether you did or didn’t go to an academy or how may times you’ve blown a needle gun. We all suffer under the same STCW bullshit in order to renew, from those uber arrogant academy pricks and their “big dick” licenses all the way down to… well, TugNtow.
[QUOTE=Johnny Canal;144546]Good luck not being a douche.
This has nothing do with getting a license, it’s only about renewing one. Don’t give a shit about pilots anymore than they give a shit about the mates they meet randomly for 2-6 hrs at a time. Huge percentage of harbor/river/bar pilots in this country never held an UL license. Seems to have worked out fine, You’re the guy with the problem with that.
[/QUOTE]
Lol’z Johhny, can you break my balls about holding FCP (No tonnage restriction) without ever working a day on a ship? Well I rode like 2-3 for a half hour or so a decade ago. I like your arguements as you present the facts well, and I’m in the mood for the pointy stick.
[QUOTE=z-drive;144548]Lol’z Johhny, can you break my balls about holding FCP (No tonnage restriction) without ever working a day on a ship? Well I rode like 2-3 for a half hour or so a decade ago. I like your arguements as you present the facts well, and I’m in the mood for the pointy stick.[/QUOTE]
Looks like I struck a nerve Johnny, haha. Say what you will but you guys don’t ever just answer the question. You always have an anecdote or fuck you added in for good measure. Hell, I was sitting here last night and looked through the number of posts you guys have made the amount of nothing and crying is unbelievable. 500 posts, a 1000 posts. Wtf? You should just work for the National Maritime Center’s help line. And to the guy that started this post, I was right wasn’t I? See the help you got here? These guys aren’t gonna try and help you out. Thanks for proving my point there Johnny. Another guy berated by the know it all for asking a fucking question.
Oh and by the way, you can look back through all 50-60 of my posts and you’ll not find one where I have a problem with people holding a larger license or how they got it. In some you’ll see that I actually would have gone to an academy if I’d ever even heard of one where I grew up. My problem is how this board has a select few people who have a real problem with people who upgrade, ask questions, or do anything they don’t deem worthy of their precious time all while posting hundreds and thousands of times on this board. Obviously you have the time. Too much of it. Go read my posts and find one where I talk shit about a guy improving himself…
I should have left out any reference to academy grads, I apologize. Most that I have met a super professional, and some are turds. Same go’s with hawsepipers, most professional, with some turds. We are all trying to figure out this ever changing and difficult regulatory situation where you ask the U.S.C.G. the same question 3 times and usually get 3 different answers. The U.S.C.G. personnel tasked with understanding some of these laws are in the same boat as us, they are just trying to figure it out.
My situation - I have a 1600 ton Master oceans and a Master of Tow and a 1st class pilot unlimited. I have sea time as a tug Capt. towards renewal, and I have sea time as a trainee harbor pilot doing commercial ship assists.
My pilot instructors will sign off sea time for my pilot trips as i am actively involved in the safe navigation of the vessel and I give direction to two Z-drive tractor tugs during said maneuvers. The pilots do NOT know how to format my sea time letter as I am the first trainee ship assist pilot in a decade. Mr. Cavo made reference to a TOAR, yet I have been involved in all aspects of tug boating for 20 years and already have all the appropriate licenses and endorsements.
Its sounds to me like I should just submit a regularly formatted sea time letter and then just list the ships, tonnages, etc…
