Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1891-12-04
NEW YORK PILOTS.
THE MEN WHO BRING SHIPS
SAFELY INTO HARBOR.

THE MEN WHO BRING SHIPS
SAFELY INTO HARBOR.
ihe Wages They Earn and the
Dnt!es They Perform-A Posi-.
ton Of Great Hardship and Re.
sponsibility.
Under the laws of the United States all
the States bordering on tho seaboara
have pilots who arc in charge Of board
Of commissioners. These officers are
appointed by the respective States, and
make certain rules for the regulation Of
pilots.
M New York, famous for it's beautiful
harbor and the many vessels that sail in
to its port, there are about 200 pilots, III
GLIDING those appointed by the State of
New Jersey. The pilot-boats themselves
are each owned by q company of six
pilots. Each man has an equal interest
in the earnings of the boat, though one
pilot owns share in more than ono boat.
The pilots are not paid salaries, but thor
earnings come from fees for tho services
they perform. Suppose that the average
earnings Of boat are $1,000 month.
The expenses for wages, food, repairs,
ETC., will be about $500. Then from Is
to % per cent. Of the gross earnings are
laid aside as revenue for annual dividends
coming to the shareholders. The remain
der will be divided equally monthly
among all the pilots working in the boat,
some Of whom will not be own
ers. The fees are paid by the owners Of
vessels who wish to be safely piloted in
to the port of New York, and the amount
depends on the draught Of tho vessel, all
the way from about $40 for small vessels
up to $170 for large steamers and ships;
and the rates are higher in the winter,
when the weather is cold and navigation
is difficult, than they are in the pleas
anter seasons of the year.
The pilot-boats themselves are not
particularly handsome craft, but they
are remarkable for their strength. They
set quite low in the water, have two
masts, are rugged like schooner, and
in stiff breeze they can skim over the
wa,er with great swiftness. Inside there
is well-furnished cabin which is quito
comfortable, and the men, when they are
idle, have pleasant time here-roading,
telling stories or playing cards. There
are hunks, or sleeping bcrths, on each
side OF the apartment, and one or two
staterooms, that are kept from view by
sliding doors. Everything is bright,
clean and neat, as it always is on board q
well-regulated boat OF any kind.
Five or six pilots sail on each trip,
and each takes his turn in "boarding a
vessel" The crew, consisting Of five
seamen, cook, and what is called the
"boat-keeper," are quartered forward.
The boat-keeper is the man who sails
the pilot-hoat after oil the pilots have
left it, and each in turn has boarded a
vessel which he is going a bring into
port. The boat-keeper takes charge of
the pilot-boat and brings it back to the
city.
When the pilot in search Of incoming
vessels starts out the sail down the bay
is very pleasant.
The pilots are often requested to take
passengers with them ON their trips.
They sometimes comply with this request
when it comes from o personal friend
but as rule they do not care to be both
cred with landsmen. say bothered, for
when the boat gets out to sea and the
weather becomes squally, the wind blows
great gale, and the little craft is tossed
about among the waves like cork--when
ull this happens, Us it frequently does
the landsman visitor is in IL great sta te
Of fear. He wants to be put on shore,
but that is impossible, for tho journey
has but just begun, and he is very sick
and miserable, and altogether, under
such circumstances, "a great annoyance and
bother to the pilots, who are as much at
home in such experiences rs you are
when you walk down the main street of
your city and quietly look in the shop
windows. An ordinary ocean voyage
bears no comparison to q trip on pilot
boat. Though the boats are strong and
well able to withstand the toughest kind
Of weather, to the man unused to them
it seems as if they were going to sink to
the bottom Of the ocean, even in an Or
binary storm.
This will give you some idea of what
the pilots experience. Some ton years
ago there was terrific storm in the
| winter, ana 1co anu Slcet IiOZc LWeiVt
inches thick on the sides Of o pilot boat
that was out to sea ut the time. On the
sixth day Of the storm this is the entry
that the pilot made in his log-book
':Blowing hard from northeast ut 4 a. m
Hauled the jib down. Lost man of
the bowsprit. Hove the yawl out ant
lost two men and the yawl; then hove thu
other yawl out and lost her. Lay arounl
lacking until daylight, and kept o look.
out on the masthead until q. M" Tho
same boat, two years before this was
hove to on her beam ends. Tho squal
wus so severe that she lost both Of hel
musts and u man who was in the rigging
On still another occasion she was nearly
filled with water by II wave.
A short distance from Sandy Hook one
Of the pilot boats is always stationed te
serve as sort of headquarters for thu
pilots when they leave the vessel after
they have piloted them out Of the harbor
This boat is anchored there for four days
when another one takes her place. NJ
matter how bad the weather is the station
boat is either anchored ut this spot or If
sailing about in the vicinity.
No class Of men, probably, endure 50
N L.. ~nI,