Pilot Boat

Painting – Oil on Board
91 x 60 cm

Following the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne in 2006 I was fortunate to get a crewing position on the replica of Captain  Cook’s Bark HM Endeavour from Melbourne to Eden in NSW.

We took a pilot on board to help navigate the notorious Port Phillip Heads and just as we reached the heads the leading lights were obscured by a cold front moving through with gale force winds and lashing rain. The squalls cleared just as we reached the main channel through the heads and at that stage the pilot boat MB10054 followed us out through very rough conditions and our pilot somehow managed to jump aboard the pilot boat as it moved perilously close to the Endeavour.

The painting depicts these conditions with a pilot boat moving towards the western side of the shipping channel to rendezvous with a container vessel needing the services of a pilot to navigate this dangerous channel.