Our waters just got safer

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 30: Bermuda’s newest and fastest pilot boat has just arrived on our shores.

The Bermuda Sun was invited to join the crew of the St David as they ferried a branch pilot out to an incoming car carrier.

The new St David ploughs powerfully through the churning ocean, her twin engines sounding more like a jet aircraft than a boat, as she heads towards an incoming car carrier.

The $2.8 million craft surges and plummets with the swells but seems barely troubled by the elements.

In no time at all, the sunny tranquility of St George’s Harbour, where we began the trip seems a long way off.

“She’s got plenty of power — more than any pilot boat we have had before,” says Pilot Boat Captain Errol Minors.

Capt Minors should know — he’s been working on the pilot boats in Bermuda for 32 years.

Ferrying branch pilots from Ordnance Island to approaching vessels normally took the older pilot boats between 20 and 30 minutes.

We draw alongside the massive Osaka less than 10 minutes after leaving St George’s.

Some of us are more white-knuckled and queasy than others.

Pilot Boat Captain Dale Brangman brings us expertly alongside the Osaka, her position sheltering us from the prevailing wind and waves.

Precarious

And branch pilot Micheal Lightbourne scurries out of the safety of the cabin and onto the starboard side, accompanied by two deck hands.

Pilot Lightbourne scales the precarious rope ladder that has been hung down from a small opening on the side of the ship and clambers aboard the carrier.

We quickly detach ourselves from the ship and head back towards St George’s.

It is an operation that takes just seconds but requires incredible skill and precision. And it takes place ever time a ship comes into Bermuda.

The welcome addition of the new St David makes it not just swifter but easier, too. Capt Minors says: “She has been a long time coming but she sure is worth it. The new St David comes with improved technology and greater power.

“We are just starting to understand her capabilities but there is no doubt she is a massive addition for us.

“She is much more sensitive on the throttle and the response of the engine is very good. You get a great view from behind the wheel too.”

Skipper Brangman added: “It doesn’t get any better than this. She’s smooth and powerful.

“It’s a real luxury to be able to take her out.”

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 30: The St David has a vital role to play in search and rescue operations as well as bringing in sick and stricken sailors from passing ships.

And just a few hours after she had taken the pilot out to the Osaka, the new pilot boat was called into action to perform her first ‘med-evac’.

At 5:30am on Saturday the crew headed through Town Cut to rendezvous with a passing tanker two miles offshore.

On board the St David was a doctor and an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT).

The tanker had rescued a sailor from his yacht out at sea after he suffered a heart attack.

Treated on board

The St David reached the tanker in a matter of minutes and the patient was helped onto the pilot boat in darkness and brought ashore.

He was then taken to hospital in a waiting ambulance.

Pilot Boat Captain Edward Burchall told the Bermuda Sun: “Everything went according to plan.

“The patient was able to make his own way off the tanker and the doctor was able to provide treatment as we headed back into St George’s.

“The new St David is faster and more stable than the older pilot boats and that obviously helps in these medical evacuation situations.

“It’s more comfortable and easier for treatment to be given on the boat as we head back in. We were very pleased with the way things went.”