Ever daydream of being a pilot?

Skipper Steve daydreams of being a harbor pilot. Then he becomes glad other people actually do it!

Working on making charts into murals often gives me pause to daydream a little. Yeah, I’m too old to think about changing careers, and frankly I’m having too much fun with Nautical Chart Wallpaper murals to seriously think of a change. But if I were a younger man, I might be a pilot . . .

Say the word “pilot” and the airplane driver comes to mind. But that’s not the pilot about which I daydream. Did you know that when a large ship comes near a port, a Pilot Boat meets the ship, and a pilot comes aboard and heads directly to the bridge. It is the pilot, not the captain, who takes over the helm and makes sure the ship makes it safely to the assigned dock. And a pilot, not the captain, takes the boat out from the dock to the ocean waters as well.

Two ships pass each other in Houston’s narrow channel.

Lest you think that sounds boring, consider this. Every ship is of different size, different power, responds differently to the pilot’s “touch” and that’s not all. Every day on the water is different. You have a variety of currents caused by the spring tides, neap tides, and are affected by the depth of the water around you. Wind plays a factor too, playing on the freeboard of the ship (side of the ship from deck to the waterline) which can be a bit like trying to parallel park if the street is moving one way and the car is trying to go the other way.

And all the while the Captain of the ship is looking over your shoulder, worrying about his or her multi-million dollar ship!

Of all the places where pilots are used, I have to think Houston is the most challenging as the long entrance to that city is a narrow dredged canal that runs several miles from southeast to northwest. And to make it all the more challenging the channel is shared by huge ships coming the opposite way, often passing within yards of each other!

The Entryway of the Shuptar Home proudly dispays the “entryway” to Houston via the Houston Channel

So I was excited to get a call from Adam and Dawn Shuptar asking for this particular mural. Adam is a Houston Pilot and wanted this entryway made into a mural of Houston’s “entryway.” It wasn’t easy for us, we had to stitch two charts together to make it happen, but the result, I think you agree, was magnificent! Notice how the canal comes up diagonally on the big wall and continues horizontally over the door onto the next wall!

Credit goes to the Shuptar’s who were really detail-oriented on what they wanted in their nautical chart mural. They were patient enough to work with me in making it happen.

A cool cap thanks to Adam Shuptar

To my delight, Adam surprised me by sending a Houston Pilots cap and polo shirt which I am proud to wear!

Now for a little trivia. Traditionally when a ship used to close in on a harbor, they would hoist the “Golf” flag which means “I request a pilot” Once the pilot was on board, the ship would fly “Hotel” which means “I have a pilot on board.”

The next time you go on a cruise, look for the pilot boat to meet the ship coming in and bring the pilot on board while the ship is steaming toward the destination. Going out to sea, the pilot boat comes out to retrieve the pilot once the ship is in or nears open water. A great nautical tradition and an important one to the safety of the ship as the pilot’s local knowledge of the harbor is quite detailed.

How about you? Do you have a favorite harbor you would like to see on your wall? I’ll put my Houston Pilots cap on and create it right away, tailored to your specifications!

Call 801-989-8083 for details.

We can often make YOUR daydreams come true!