The Pilot Station, the rotation list and other lists
The Pilot Station, the rotation list, other lists, and our stories.
Disclaimer: before you start reading grab a beer or two, a glass of wine, or a glass of Ron Abuelo on the rocks (like the one Captain Cano, a good man he is, gives me every year for Christmas) or the read might be too long and boring.
Most of us arrive at the pilot station with ample time before our duty starts. At the beginning I used to do it as the most basic attempt to keep myself away from tardiness. Very often I would show up one hour ahead of time, or more, which eventually made me feel like an idiot. You know, sitting there by my own device whereas I could have stayed home longer. But soon I became an expert "photo finisher", crossing the door with a smile on my face and the stupid idea that I was getting away with "something", that something being "time".
I wasn't. You rarely get away with fooling time. The only thing I was achieving was missing an opportunity. The opportunity to better understand the people I was working with, to glimpse at the lives of the elite group of professionals I have become part of , the lives of my brother pilots. (I just wrote elite and brothers in the same line)
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So, while sitting at Diablo I invariable listened to some of the stories that pilots were willing to share. I did not pay much attention to what they had to say about how their transits had been, but about the highlights of their lives and of their careers.
That is how I learned about Captain Hall, whose mother gave him birth on a boat named "La Ramona", in the middle of Gatun Lake, while they were trying to get her to the hospital. In fact his name, Ramón, is just a reminiscence of that glorious boat. Seeing the light for the first time under the sky of Gatun lake can't be understood but as a premonition of the "El Guapo's" future.
As a kid, Aristóteles Katulas would memorize the names of most of the ships that arrived at Cristobal. He'd recognize them by just looking at their stacks. His father was a Captain and later a shipchandler. I picture a small boy mesmerized and overly curious about every single boat that his eyes were able to see. I have the feeling that, in his dreams, he'd see himself aboard one those ships, crossing the Cristobal breakwater out into the Caribbean and then on to the vast Atlantic. He's been climbing ladders up and down for decades, boarding more ships than what he, as a child, ever saw. And not out to the sea, but in from the breakwater towards the canal or its inner anchorages and to the harbor. ( I believe the scenario was similar for Willie Dorfmayer, and pup Bamber.)
We also know who "biutiful" is, right? I know that, like many of us, he never thought he would become a pilot in the canal. Or at least that becoming a pilot wouldn't materialize the way it did. But there is always a helping hand that reaches out to us, as if driven by some unseen force to change the course of our lives.
That force manifested itself to Ivo through Captain Boulloza (rip). It was during a night transit and, being the second mate, Ivo was standing the midnight to four watch. Captain Boulloza was the pilot.
It must have not taken him too long to find out that Ivo was a Panamanian. I imagine two native Spanish speakers holding a conversation in a language which neither one of them fully had command of. The question must have been made in Spanish, of course with Boulloza's strong Gallego's accent, and not in English. "Joder tío, y cuàndo vas a aplicar para el pup, o te vas a quedar por fuera?"
A week later and Ivo was filling out the application for the PUP program and mailing it to Balboa from the following port.
Maybe, if it hadn't been for this kind gentleman, a son of our "Mother Land", Ivo's joining the Pilot's force could have been delayed, or worse, he would have missed the opportunity of his life altogether.
But it wasn't only Ivo who would wrestle with the language. Many others had language issues too. ( I myself still do, though I am a masochist who has grown obssesed with it).
Ivo's story repeats itself amongst us in a variety of versions. We all had someone who somehow gave us a push, a hint, or the directions on how we could get where we are.
Captain Bonanno is a hero to many.
Captains Feuillet and others attended U.S. Academies because of him. And it does not mean that they had it easy. Not in vain was he awarded the "Orden Vazco Nuñez de Balboa" by the Republic of Panama.
In spite of that "language problem", time would prove that the "art of piloting the Panama Canal" wasn't available only for fluent English speakers, though, nevertheless mastering it still poses an advantage even these days.
And time would also prove that there was no need to sail all over the world for an eternity to earn eligibility to enter a Panama Canal Pilot training program. Of course, and as in the case of being knowledgeable in the subject, having some sea time would also provide some invaluable advantages. But neither English nor seatime would be the free ticket that would determine the outcome. The funny fact is that many of those who weren't proficient in English were very good in speaking a third language. Captains Javier Santamaria, Espartaco, Galvez, and others can speak Greek, and Captain Guardia, we all know Captain "Va bene", Italian.
However, learning how to pilot in the Panama Canal is a slow and, to some extent, self-teaching process that can only be achieved by getting hands on experience.
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This is how, while sitting at the Pilot station I learned about guys like Api, (who doesn't know Api?) who without having to stand a sea watch made it into the Pilot Force.
In case you didn't know, Api would have been a senior doctor by now. One whom I am not sure I would trust my health to 😆. And not because he would have made a terrible one, but because after reading the memoirs of his brother Alvaro, "Walajo", I realized that he would have been an unhappy doctor. (get it ? on-jApi, not haApi at all). And anyone unhappy with his job does not deliver well.
The manner in which him and his brother were brought up, shaped them in a way that they would have never been comfortable inside an operating room or even behind a desk handing out prescriptions. He did not know it, as many of us, that he would end up inside the bridge of ships, sipping cheap instant coffee or giving our jitney drivers "intense quick lessons" on how to do their job.
Like Api, many others sidetracked from their original course. ( Captain Samaniego left medicine school to enter ENP, and he also saved my butt from being flunked thanks to differential ecuations )
Many more alter their courses. Some turn to port, others to starboard, but in the end they all ended up in the same harbour: the Pilot Station.
Captain Martiz is just another example. He was an architect in the making and I am willing to say that some of today's architectural icons of Panama City could have been part of his work. But fate plays its part on everybody, and he was no exemption. He became a "hawse pipe climber".
By the way, the list of "hawse pipe climbers" is not a short one. Perhaps some of us "sea timers" might have the erroneous idea that they were "lucky", or that the opporttunity was presented to them on a silver tray.
Really? Have you ever tried to board a ship via the hawse pipe? Of course not. Unless you are one of those pirates who terriefies the crews of ships passing near the coast of Somalia these days. And you are not.
For you to have an idea of what a "hawse pipe climber" had to do to get in, let me tell you that when Captain Aldo Young, Sanchiz, and Romero sat for the Apprentice program exams, out of the five thousand applicants roughly 90 were selected. And out of that bunch only but a few became pilots. In a way, we had the "creme of the creme" with us.
Camilo Porras and his family used to ride the ferry across the canal on their way to Las Tablas before the Puente de Las Amèricas was built. Not only that, but he also traveled on the SS ANCON from New York to Cristobal, maybe that was what lured him into becoming a pilot.
I could write about the stories I have heard at the Pilot station or inside a jitney, but the piece would be extremely long. Long enough for a book, and sadly I don't have what it takes to write one, like Captain Pedro Moreno who wrote a very good one on "finanzas personales". By the way, many don't know but Pedro is who we should thank for causing the ACP to recognize the ship's bridge as an extension of our work area, hence turning them into a "non smoking" areas.
I could write about the stories I have heard at the pilot station. But again, the piece would be so extensive that not even the locks' walls, including the new ones, and the un-built approach wall at Agua Clara would provide enough space for all the stories. And if I was to write the stories of every and each Panama Canal Pilot that has ever existed, then I would need to do it on the hulls of each and every ship that has ever transit this wonderful waterway. But I don't need to do that, for the stories are already there. Lingering in the air, around the locks, in the anchorage, the ports, and at the Pilot Station. You only need to pay attention so you can see them, hear them, and even smell them. Feel them.
If the Ancon was still around it would say Constantine somewhere on its hull. It would be written in a way that only pilots would understand. If you look close at one of those old fruit boats that have survived time you might see the word "oops" (which I know it is not a word) with an arrow pointing to an old small dent that says "Caballero was here" next to a " I am sorry Captain, I didn't mean that"
Just like today, while in the canal, you might hear a whisper in the air that says "let's see what this baby can do" (irrelevant if the wind is "azoting"), I expect future generations might also be hearing the following instruction on how to put a north bound neo inside Agua Clara locks "just tighten your butt and go!", whitout knowing that it was Captain Batista who said so.
But all of our stories cannot be put together to make up for our group history. We can relate to our personal stories, but it is the history of the group that leads to survival. That is why we do not know much about the pilots of the past. (Hell, some of the junior pilots don't even know anything about me.) But we all know, or at least are well informed, of what the Panama Canal Pilots Association has been since 1921, or else we would not know it is becoming 100 years old. Because it has a history that concerns us all as a group. A history that linked us all, present, past and future pilots.
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Not only do we come from different paths, but also from different socio-economic origins (I know, this could be a sensitive topic). Some of our partners had to: harvest coffee, shepherd cattle, pick tomatoes, sell shoes, clean windows at a store, work at a gas station, be a caddy, record tapes for the Diablos Rojos drivers, and do whatever was necessary to make a living or pay for their education. Individuals who came from the most abject poverty, even though they would not look at themselves as being poor.
Guys for who what we call today "intermittent fasting" was actually their regular diet, and the sophisticated term "earthing", that is walking barefoot, was actually the norm for they had only one pair of shoes.
I also know of other guys who had everything they needed to pursue any career they'd have chosen. Whose parents or grandparents had already broken their own backs to provide for their children's future.
I credit them equally. Sometimes it is more difficult to decide which route to take when you have many options, than to take the only one you have before you. It could be confusing in the first case, whereas in the second the option chooses you.
Does it really matter how you became a pilot? In a sense, it does. Because it tells the story that shaped your professional/personal life. But for practical purposes, it does not matter. Once you are in, the landscape is leveled to the ground and everybody starts from scratch. It is like a new beginning, one which has not much to do with what has transpired in your professional and personal life in the past.
It matters more what we can become than what we were. We work in the present to build a future. A future that will be the present of others.
The Pilot Rotation list is nothing but the main gear wheel that makes the merry-go-round of ships transiting the Panama Canal turn. It has been like that from the very beginning. That pilot rotation list only shows the names of the pilots currently active, and not the ones who are no longer with us. Most of them have been forgotten. Most of them, forgotten forever.
We know who was the first Panama Canal Pilot. That is easy. How could we forget when there is a bust of him in front of the Union hall?
And when we are reminded in a magazine article or history book about who he was..
But do we know who was the second pilot? I don't. Do we care? We do remember Captains: Chamberlain, Tygar, Allen, Pino, the two Araúz, Salazar, the two De Leon, Moyo, Terán, Sarah Terry, Moss, Nessler, Gundin, Gotti ( the equivalent to Bonnano for the West side fellows) etc only because some of us got to meet or work with them. But very few know, for example that JorgeTerán and Moss did an oustanding job during the "war" we had with the Administration back in 2000. There was also Captain Feliu who played, along with Sanchiz, Alvaro, Ranking, Leal, and others a fabulous role during our last negotiations. And recently, I can't forget the role of Captain Puztae and his team in SIDMAR (our training center) to develope a way to deal with the new locks.
I apologize if I missed some names, my memory can only handle enough information to transit a neo.
The point is that we have no idea who pilot number 43 was. Or pilot 33? Obviously, because there is very little or no connection to them. (By the way I know Api is pilot 666, only because it is a fitting number for him 😄)
What connect us to those pilots of the past is what was achieved by them: the idea that the Panama Canal Pilots was a special group. An elite group. (Here is that word again) And that the best way to look after the interests of this group was by creating The Panama Canal Pilots Association. And that was the beginning of a kind of brotherhood. (brother pilot, again)
Thirthy years from now and nobody would know who we were as individuals. Even 10 years from now and we will be a name next to a number with very little meaning. However, the Panama Canal Pilots Association will outlive each and everyone of us. As individuals our descendants will remember us, perhaps. But as a group, under the umbrella of the PCPA, we will prevail.
As a group we have come a long way. If Vasco Núñez de Balboa would wake up from the death he would do more than shit his pants. If Teddy Roosevelt could see how the canal has evolved, he would dance and say "I knew it." And if the 21 boys who wanted to raise the Panamanian flag in front of the Balboa High School back in 1964 could see through a crack in their graves what has happened after they left, they would cry tears of happiness. ( at least to see that this part of the deal is still well guarded).
(Ok, time to pour some more wine....)
"Brother" pilots, members of this "elite" group of professionals, raise a cup or two to commemorate the creation of the Panama Canal Pilots Association. It has survived 100 years, and unlike us, it will survive for as long as there is people like us, like you and me, who care about this canal.
We are well respected by many worldwide.
I was once visiting San Francisco and decided to ride on a tour boat by the bay. There was a heavy swell and only me and the sailor remained on the main deck. Everyone else took shelter inside the boat or became seasick. The sailor told me that I must also be a sailor because I had not left the main deck like the rest. I said yes, I am a pilot. Where? In the Panama Canal. What? He said, and called the Skipper by radio and told him, hey John, we have a celebrity here!.
CONGRATULATIONS PCPA, we have provided world trade with over a 100 years of excellent service.They know it. And we should be proud of it.
Captain Caballero
I apologize for the names of brother pilots that I failed to mention. You are all great.
PD. I hope somehow someone will remember that there was once a Pilot who thought he could write like a "Spik". Never mind if some say that he just wrote pure bs.
More about us...
Within us are individuals capable of promoting change, change for the good. COOPRAC ( one of the best credit unions in town these days) was an idea developed by Captains Sanidas, Lee, and Calvo. Look how far we have come thanks to COOPRAC.
When it comes to negotiating our working conditions, I bet most of us want Captain Feliu to be part of the team.
When it comes to gather funds for a particular cause El Chatito Garcia is willing to help, and Velarde becomes the account. If it is about charity, Vilma is amongst the first to participate.
We are full of stories. Full of personal stories.
And talents. Have you seen Capt Bernard Sing a salsa song and play the "timbales"? Or Captain Galvez impersonating Monchi Luca? Or seen captain Fernando Rodríguez's wood work?
Or watched Pablo Testa crossing the finnish line at the end of an Ironman? And how many articles has the idealistic Hallax written for the local papers in an attempt to promote some rational thinking in the head of citizens or politicians ?
We can ask Capt Chen about going fishing with old time fisherman Tiblier. A scary story right there. Or ask his old classmate Gaitán how was it to change fron ENP to Massachusetts. A big change. Same for Mario Chong when he left ENP for California.
I know who says "Capitanes de La Patria", my paisano Liao. If I hear "Claaaseee", or "very gud", I know who they are. I know that if I am on the same ship with Armando Segismond, chances are the transit is going to be fast. To hear a good joke there is Capt Villalobos, philosophy, Winston, Panamanian history, De Obaldía, etc.
I even saw traces of the stories of Captain Mackay, Rudy Patrick and others left on an old Greek bulk carrier which I also sailed on. I witnessed how a group of Panamanian officers and crew were unfairly taken to jail in Venezuela for something they were not involved in. Many of us had to swallow our words, or eat our pride. I know Captains Barrera, Arrue, Cobhan and others have also their stories from when they were in the Academies up in the U.S. And Osorio, Crespo from their time in Brazil. And Facey, Donoso, Johnson, and Zapata, from their days with British Petroleum. Davidozky Castillo can tell us about attending a Russian academy.
Captains Nestor Castillo, Rentería, Tomàs Rivera, Gurdian, Jimmy Quirós, Flaco De La Rosa and others have their stories too. I am sure that if some of the Stolt tankers could speak we would hear them telling stories of the Burgos brothers, Benhur Palma, and others. I saw Capt Dejanón coiling the lines on the bow of the Progreso under a heavy rain while Nessler was running the boat. I watched a video of Capt Abad sitting on a bit at the bow of a passenger ship which was about to dock in some Caribbean port.
I knew what Captain León meant when he would say to me "secre: pura cirugía" when I was a PIT and we were landing a ship on the approach wall. And even when it was Nessler who first showed me how a "wing wall wide" was made, it was El Faraón Carrera who actually taught me how to do it.
By the way, if it is good coffee what you were craving for, talk to Captains Arauz or Corella. You probably did not know, but for a good lechón, Capt Pinzón, good quality rice, Captain Oscar Terán. For a detailed report on a Smit Tug that is not delivering, there is Captain Claus; for technical stuff, Captain Dutary, Ramos, J.P Gonzáles, José Sánches etc. For really "strong" letters Captain E. Tam. Too strong perhaps. Good conversation, Captains Kam, Ricord, Villalobos.
Cesar Pastor is a national hero in his natal Peru, just to remind us, again, how were seen by others.
Cattle? Both Jaéns, José Reyes.
For our ipads and rtks, Molino, Podes, Urrutia, and others.
For a good shirt to come to work, ask Captain Carrizo
A walking Wikipedia, Capt Osorio.
Stories, pilots, people, lives, stories, too many....stories.
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