“Harbour pilot! It’s very interesting, it pays well and you get to meet a lot of different people,” said Charles Caudrelier.
What woud you do if you weren’t a skipper in the Volvo Ocean Race? Jeremie Lecaudey finds out…
“Harbour pilot! It’s very interesting, it pays well and you get to meet a lot of different people,” said Charles Caudrelier.
What exactly is a harbour pilot, you may ask? When a cargo ship or big boat arrives into a harbour, the harbour pilot is responsible for parking the boat safely. He is taken out to the boat a few hours before arrival, which may be via helicopter or by transferring from another smaller boat and up a tiny ladder on the side of the ship – something I wouldn’t want to do in heavy seas! The ‘keys’ are then effectively handed over to the harbour pilot who then has the task of manouevring the boat into its allocated parking spot. The vessels can be as long as 400 metres which is as long as a football stadium. Imagine trying to park a football stadium into a harbour!
Charles studied at the merchant navy school in France – a school for officers who want to work on ships and undertake roles such as the one mentioned above. His sailing career was also going well meaning he never quite made it as a harbour pilot, going on to win the Figaro series in France and securing two podium finishes in the Volvo Ocean Race. I think everyone at Dongfeng Race Team is glad he never made it as a harbour pilot…
