re: River Pilots in Louisiana for dummies

What a crock of shite. The average Joe or Jane can go to one of those schools and get all the certs and the time on the water, and unless they're related to a pilot, there is absolutely zero chance they'll get into the association.

I have a lot of experience working around NOBRA pilots. The most entitled, most dickish people you will find on the water. I've no doubt that the pilots from the other associations are just the same.

Their job is not hard. They run the same stretch of river again and again and again. They can do it in their sleep. So what if it's a foreign crew? All they do is stand on the bridge and tell the captain, who will be able to speak English, what to tell the helm to do.

When I worked for Tri-G Marine in Baton Rouge, we brought one old NOBRA pilot to a ship at Exxon's dock. That fricker climbed the rope ladder all the way to the top rail of the ship when he had a heart attack, fell off, and hit the roof of the crew boat, leaving a nice dent. That shite royally fricked up that crew boat drivers head for a while. But he was kinda weird about shite to begin with. It wouldn't have bothered me. It's not like we killed him.