Just Another Tuna Pilot Guide
Nick Henderson
First Edition, 2015
Note: I wrote this guide during my time as a tuna pilot with Tropic Helicopters in 2014-2015.
At the time of writing this note, I had been on 3 ships with 3 different crews, mechanics, and
helicopters. The number one thing in tuna spotting operations will always be safety, the
number two thing – is flexibility. If you are considering this job know that that conditions
aren’t ideal all the time, and that you will be living with people from around the Pacific-Asia
region. If you’re a new pilot odds are your contract is one year long, strap in, and stick it out.
You will see and do a lot here that will make you a better pilot. Welcome to the world of tuna
pilots – you are one of a very small brotherhood of men willing to embark on an adventure
most will shy away from. This guide is not a how-to, or a manual, it’s meant to give you some
insight into my experiences in the hope of making your time at sea easier. My way is not the
right way for you, it’s the right way for me – you’ll find that in this career of aviation it is
paramount that you learn from others but develop a personal style to your work that enables
you to be the best, safest pilot you can be.
Contents:
1. Introduction
2. Getting the Job
3. What to Pack
4. Travel Tips
5. Training
6. Maneuvers Guide
Takeoff
Searching
Raft / “Payow”
Returning to the Boat
Other flights
Tuna Herding
Landing
7. Maintenance
8. Your First Boat
9. Life at Sea
10. Life in the Ports
11. Port Guide
Appendix A: Getting your affairs in order
Appendix B: Networking, tips and tricks, pointers and pokers.
2
1. Introduction
My name is Nicholas Henderson. If you’re reading this that means I actually
finished writing it and put it out onto the internet for you all to have. It also means
that you have considered getting into the job of spotting tuna from a helicopter,
probably in the south pacific if I’m not mistaken? Good for you! This job is
something of an adventure, and you’re in for a real change of pace from your current
lifestyle, especially if you’re a western pilot, and even more so if you’re from the
United States where we are bathed in luxury daily.
Just being a helicopter pilot is not a job for everybody, you know that as well
as I do. It takes study, and practice, and a keen set of skills that can only be trained
to a certain point. Many people try to become helicopter pilots, and many people
fail, if you’re at the point where you’re looking for commercial jobs beyond your first
1000 hours than you have managed to make it into this order of men and women
aviators, and we welcome you into it.
I once heard that commercial pilots represent only .2% of the populace, and
if that is true than commercial helicopter pilots only make up a sliver of that .2%.
Being a tuna pilot will put you into an even smaller category of men. As I write this
I’m one of less than (what I estimate is) 100 pilots out here doing this work.
A bit about me. I started my pilot training shortly after getting out of the US
Army where I’d spent four years as a Combat Infantryman. The company I trained
with, Inland Helicopters out of Spokane, hired me on as a commercial pilot for an ag
contract and then eventually as a full time instructor pilot and instrument
instructor. I was very fortunate to have a great company to work for with a very
diverse environment to grow and learn in. 1000 hours came to me less than a year
after I was hired to instruct and fly commercially for them, doing tours, and
contracts as needed.
While I was instructing I made it a point to counsel my students on the
importance of setting goals, and creating a roadmap to get you from where you are
to where you want to be. I made it a point to reiterate time and time again that
networking was as vital to future employment as a robust set of skills and hours in
the machines were. All of that became evident when I found myself looking for a job
that would take me from small reciprocating helicopters into the turbine community
of commercial pilots. I had many plans for my path, “pokers in the fire” is the term I
would use, from tours in Alaska to oil in the Gulf, to tuna in the pacific. I applied to
dozens of operators and interviewed over the phone with several.
This is where networking came in handy. A lot of you reading this will
probably know me from the Helicopter Pilots group on facebook, or any other
number of helicopter pilot groups – where in most, I’m an admin. A few years ago a
call went out for someone to come on and help run the group. I volunteered as fast
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as the call went out, and have been doing it ever since. Through that chance
opportunity I met Ned Dawson, of HeliOps Magazine who eventually brought me on
with the magazine as a contributor and we went to HELI-EXPO in 2014. At HELIEXPO I made more and more connections, internationally I was connected now
more than ever. Before I hit that magic 1000 hours, all those connections were
simply just connections. Something to the tune of a quarter million connections.
When it came time for me to apply for jobs however, those connections became
contacts, references, people willing to carry my resume into the offices of their chief
pilots. Not all of them of course, but 1% of 250,000 is still 2,500 people.
Which is exactly how I got this job. I applied to two tuna operators in the
pacific, Hansen Helicopters and Tropic Helicopters. I got an email from Hansen
almost right away because someone that had known me from the Tuna Pilot group
on facebook had mentioned me to the Chief Pilot. He wanted my information, my
hours, and then told me that the soonest he’d have a spot for me was February of the
next year. I was excited, thinking I would soon be out at sea flying a turbine 500 and
doing a job I’d spent probably too much time watching videos of on youtube. I
quickly returned to my contacts in the Tuna Pilot group and started asking
questions, what to pack, what to leave, what was the best part, the worst part, how
were the helicopters, how were their experiences, any advice, and of course – how
was the food.
A pilot with Tropic Helicopters saw these questions and sent me a message,
telling me that he was going to mention me to the company and asked me to prepare
a CV and copies of my license, logbook, and medical certificate to send. When Tropic
contacted me they didn’t want me in four months, or two months, or one month,
they offered me a job and a flight to the Pacific the very next day! I was floored – of
course I had obligations to my current company and told them I couldn’t leave for
two weeks so I could put in a proper notice. We’d just hired two instructors so I
knew we would be well covered, I drafted a resignation letter and drove to the main
office (two hours away) to talk with the owner in person.
I’m not telling you this story to impress you, I’m telling you this story to
impress upon you that respectful persistence, engaged networking, and the right
skills and training can get you anything, anywhere. If you are the kind of person to
send an application and never follow up with phone calls or a visit to the office than
you will always only get the scraps. If you want to be a tuna pilot, or a police pilot, or
an ENG pilot, the lesson is the same. Set a goal, identify the key elements to
achieving that goal such as who can carry you into the CP’s office, follow up, be
ready to prove yourself, don’t lie about your skills, don’t undersell the ones you do
have, and never stop learning – always be a student first.
Before leaving for this job I was asked to contribute to a forum presentation
that will be featured at HELI-EXPO 2015 on social media and how operators should
be using it. At HELI-EXPO 2014 I was often greeted with “HEY! You’re the facebook
guy!” (I wish, he’s loaded $$$). Social media is still frowned on as a waste of time by
4
many people especially in the corporate world, they dismiss it as a fruitless pastime
and some companies even block it on their networks, and go so far as outright
ignoring the importance and growing presence of social media. The truth of the
matter is, anymore, social media and it’s evolving connection engine, will drive
employment of the future. Companies that embrace it will grow and thrive and
companies or people that continue to scoff at the technology will wither and
succumb. Your best candidates are on sites like facebook and linkedin in the groups
and discussion threads, and as a potential employee the companies you want to
work for are those that have made the jump into modern employment practices.
Maybe you want to work for Ma and Pa Miller down the road spraying
potatoes in their Jet Ranger, and that’s your drive in this life, to put chemicals on
spuds. I commend you for knowing that, and choosing that. But if you want to see
just how far this rocket of a career path can take you – than you better get connected
with pilots, peers, and owners on social media, and be active, talk to them, comment
on their posts, discuss in the threads, and make sure that they know who you are! Be
respectful, be thoughtful in your comments, and when it comes time to ask for a job
they’ll know who you are. I’ve added appendix b to the end of this document to go
over this topic more in depth.
For now, lets get onto the tuna pilot material, which is why you’re here in the
first place right? This job is not for the faint of heart, it isn’t for the pampered, or the
soft, it isn’t for the tame and timid. This job will rip you from your home, family and
friends, and thrust you into a world of wind and wave, surround you with people
you don’t know, feed you food you don’t recognize, and you’ll learn to love it. I’ve
made a point of bolding the points I make throughout this guide, so if you’re a
skimmer you can skim and get the points out of it.
Look for the bold points, and follow those, you’ll hopefully find that it
makes your journey easier.
5
2. Getting the Job
This section will be fairly short, because if you don’t know how to apply for a
job I’m not going to be able to save you in a few pages of loose writing on the
subject. Check out Appendix B for networking tips that will help you land any job.
With tuna pilots there are only so many operators that you can work for. Two
of the main ones, that we all know, are Hansen Helicopters and Tropic Helicopters.
Both use the Hughes/MD 500 helicopters for their operations, and both have a
sizeable operation throughout the pacific. There are other smaller operators like
Pacific Copters, Fishy Copters (I don’t trust that name), and others. There are also a
few companies in Mexico and South America that, though small, employ pilots.
Do some research, figure out what you like about each company and
what you don’t like and then apply for the ones you want to work for. I’ll tell
you this, there is a weird love/hate relationship between Hansen employees and
Tropic helicopters and Tropic employees and Hansen Helicopters. Online, go to the
Tuna Pilot group on facebook, and you’ll see all sorts of comments about each
other company. Take these with a grain of salt. I heard all of those bad rumors about
Tropic and I work here now, I came here a bit in fear, and you know what – none of
them came true yet. No pay issues, no piss poor maintenance, etc.
Now, since I mentioned it, I should go a bit more in depth. At some point in
their past Tropic stopped paying some pilots and the result was several pilots left
(which I would have too, no pay = no pilot) and told the world of tuna pilots about
the issue. From what I can tell since being here is that the pay issues were resolved
and everyone got their money, but the stigma of having had that happen sticks with
a company for a long time. Tropic has several newer D-model MD500’s and they are
getting more, as far as I can tell Hansen prefers and is sticking with the C-Models.
The D-Model is a very nice helicopter, lots of power, and flies great. The C-Model, is a
nice helicopter, but you can eat all of your power in a crosswind pretty quick
depending on how old the helicopter is and how the engine is.
Once you have picked a company, or companies, that you want to work for
send in your CV (resume) and ask for a pilot application. Both Hansen and
Tropic have their own pilot applications that you need to fill out, ask for one and
they will send it. I applied to Hansen very early in my career when I had less than
500 hours of flight time, they put my application in a folder and marked it as “Less
than 500 hours”. When I applied again a year and a half later with over 1000 hours
when they checked my name against their records they tossed me aside because
they though I only had less than 500 hours. It took me actually calling to follow up to
get them to realize what had happened.
Make sure you call and follow up. Call. Don’t email. Call.
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I think we’ve all heard the saying, “the squeaky wheel gets the grease”, and in
getting a job there is nothing more true. But in being a squeaky wheel, don’t be an
annoying nuisance. Some operators like to see the tenacity, others get annoyed by
it. Like PHI, in the Gulf of Mexico. I have two close friends that are senior pilots in
both the Oil and Gas, and Medevac, sides of the company. Without knowing each
other, or that I was talking to the other, they both told me that the HR people at PHI
will be fast to annoyance if you are always calling and following up. PHI has you
application and will call you when they are ready. Of course they told me this after I
called following up every week or so for a month. With most companies though
calling to follow up every other week will be good.
When you call, ask for the Chief Pilot, be respectful on the phone, use well
thought-out sentences, and don’t say anything stupid or rude, remember they don’t
need you – you want the job, so do a dozen other guys. If they tell you that they need
more time, or they will know more next month – don’t threaten them with things
like “well I’ve got other offers” or “I’m being looked at by another company”.
You aren’t selling a house to a first time buyer, they’ve hired hundreds of pilots, and
if you hint that you can’t wait for them to make their decision, they won’t wait
for you to pull your head out of your ass. Remember, right now you’re just being a
squeaky wheel, so that he/she knows your name, knows your file, and remembers
you. You’re not going to get the job from him/her, you’re going to get the job on the
word of other pilots who already work there who know you, and will vouch for you.
Which brings me to the next point – now that you’ve made applications to the
operators get onto facebook and join the Tuna Pilot group and the Helicopter
Pilot group (you should already be a member of that one). Start talking to the pilots
in the group, about their trips, and contracts. Ask them questions, comment on their
photos, engage them in dialogues. It’s human nature to thrive on attention, and
when we post something to these groups the best way to get us to tell you all about
this job is to ask us on something we posted. That’s how it works for jobs,
girlfriends, or buying a car, it’s a simple human truth. People love themselves, if
you want them to love you too – you’ve got to get them talking about the thing they
love the most in this world – themselves. If you’re lucky they will reciprocate and
you can talk about the thing you love most in this world, yourself, and a rapport is
created. If you want to work for Tropic Helicopters, a senior pilot who has been here
a few years who likes you will tell the company about you and they will hire you (if
they have a spot). Same goes for Hansen Helicopters. If the pilots don’t know you
to vouch for you the company just sees another pilot on a piece of paper. This
is a universal truth in employment practices. Any job with any company anywhere
gets x number of applicants that all look the same on paper. Picking one is a
crapshoot, unless you have a ringer. One applicant that, though on paper is the same
as all other applicants, has the reference of a trusted and current or former
employee has set themselves apart from all other applicants.
“Don’t let go of one branch until you have the other one in hand.”
-Tree Swinging Chimpanzee Proverb
7
3. What to Pack
Oh my god you actually convinced someone to hire you? I mean, uhh,
congratulations on making it this far young pilot. The future is bright for you. GO
forth…or something.
In all seriousness, especially for a young pilot after his first real job, the day
they offered you a job was pretty exciting wasn’t it? You called you closest friends,
told your family, and than immediately started to think about all the things you
hadn’t thought of. Like what you are going to do with all your stuff for a year, or
your car and motorcycle, where were you going to store those? I’ll try and answer
those questions in Appendix A to this guide, because there is a lot you need to do
before you set foot onto an airplane to fly you halfway around the world to work out
here.
This section is very basic. I put my list of what to pack together based on
three sources; my own travel experience, my ARMY travel experience (Iraq, no
postcards), and the input of a dozen and a half pilots in the Tuna Pilots group on
facebook. The result of this was that I packed way too much, and am lugging around
extra kilos of gear every time I transfer ships out here. I’ve never written a packing
list meant to be read and followed before, and today is not that day. This is a guide,
add and remove from it as you please. I’ll try and keep some sort of order here.
Clothes: “A nude pilot is not a welcome pilot.” –Ancient Proverb, probably
Item
Underwear
Quantity
10 pair
Socks
4 pair
Shorts
5 pair
Tank tops
4 or 5
Why
Clean underwear is a
must, when traveling
between boats and at sea
you don’t know how long
you’ll be without laundry
facilities.
You won’t need them out
here. You’ll wear shoes
maybe 5 times, only in
ports.
I use athletic shorts and
have 5 pairs. They roll
down tight and don’t take
up much space or weigh
much. The material is light
and cool in the hot sun.
Daily wear item if you like
them. I like them. Don’t
ever wear them to a meal*
8
T-Shirts
4 or 5
Buff
1
Sunglasses
3 pair
Sandals/FlipFlops/
Slippers
2 pair
Hiking/Walking Shoes
1 pair
Swimtrunks
2 pair
Pants
1 pair
When not in a tank top,
I’m in a t-shirt. I brought a
mix of athletic type and
cotton shirts.
You’ll want to wear this
when your flying to keep
the harness from cutting
into your neck and
shoulders.
If you’re like me than you
aren’t very good at
keeping sunglasses. I’ve
lost them kayaking, biking,
camping, driving, flying,
you name it. So just incase
you loose one pair, have
some backups.
One pair will serve as
bathroom and shower
shoes, trust me you want
that. The other pair will
serve as walking around
the boat and daily wear
shoes.
I brought these because
on the islands I plan on
doing a lot of exploring
and flip flops won’t cut it.
If you are a hiker, bring
something sturdy for
getting around. This is
where those socks come
in handy.
I brought one pair to swim
in and one pair in case the
first pair doesn’t last a
year or gets torn on coral,
or eaten by a shark.
I have one pair of jeans
with me because I left
home in them. It was
winter when I left so it
was cold and shorts
weren’t an option.
9
Camo-Pants
2 pair
Gloves, Flying
2 pair
Bicycling sleeves
2 pair
Hat/Cap
2
Track pants
1 pair
Long sleeve shirts
2 or 3
I don’t have any but I wish
I did have a couple pairs of
old DCU/BDU type pants
for flying in. There is a lot
of sun out here and you
don’t want to get burned.
They’re lightweight and
have cargo pockets.
One to use and one to
loose. I have a set of
lightweight gloves from
underarmour and a set
from the army. You’ll want
them.
Those stretch sleeves you
can put over your
forearms to protect from
the sun, also a nice thing
to have when flying.
Lightweight, roll small.
I actually have 3 but don’t
need that many. One to
use, one to loose again.
Good sun protection.
In place of the BDU/DCU
pants I mentioned above I
have a lightweight track
pant that I wear to protect
against sun on flights
sometimes.
I have two, the style of
choice out here is rock
climbing shirts, they’re
not clingy, light material,
breath, etc.
*On the boat, it’s both polite and a show of respect to not wear a tank top to any meals. Especially on some boats where you
will be dining at the Captains table. I learned this lesson after once wearing a tank top to a meal on a non-fishing day. We were
navigating to port to unload, everything was relaxed, I didn’t feel like throwing a shirt on. Don’t make that mistake, they do
notice. It’s their boat, be respectful.
10
Accessories: Daily life stuff, I’ll touch on flight stuff next. Also going to mention stuff
you don’t need in this section.
Duct Tape
Two Rolls
Rope/String
NONE
Multi-tool
1
Knife
1
Pens
6
Electrical tape
2 rolls
3M Velcro strips
2 packs
Power strips
2
USB Chargers
2 2-port
Hard drive
1 (As big as you can get),
mine is 5 TB but needs a
power source. Go for USB
powered.
Do I even need to say
why? You can fix/make
anything with this stuff.
I brought 20 miles of the
stuff, these boats are rope
emporiums, you’ll never
want for string here.
Because you might need a
corkscrew, or pliers.
Something sharp that can
be worn on a belt if need
be. Fixed blade.
You still have reports to
file out here, and think of
all the pens you use in a
year. You can buy pens in
port, but will want some
to start with.
They tuck nicely inside the
duct tape rolls, and are
good for fixing stuff.
I use them to Velcro my
power strip to the wall,
and my alarm clock to the
wall. Every transfer
though I go through a few.
Possibly with some sort of
protection. You’ll
sometimes be going from
220 to 110 through an
adapter. Most of these
boats have 110 power.
I have these, they plug
into the outlet, but have
two usb ports. I charge my
phone and my gps and my
2 GoPro’s at the same
time.
And load it with a ton,
hundreds, of movies and
tv shows and games. You’ll
be using this the most.
11
Earbuds
Headphones
Thermal coffee cup
DeLorme inreach GPS
Batteries
Camera (Handheld)
Camera (GoPro)
Notebook
3 pair
One to use, one to loose,
and one more to loose.
They’re small, don’t take
up space, and vital to
sanity.
1 pair
One really nice set with a
stupid long cable, or
Bluetooth. Your laptop
will be at the foot of the
bed and you’ll want to
listen to your movie while
lying down.
1
For coffee, in the morning
or at night. Keeps it warm.
1
I have the SE, it costs me
$50 a month for unlimited
tracking, unlimited text
messages, and SOS
insurance. Worth it, keeps
you connected to home.
A couple pairs p/device
I brought enough batteries
to power this ship,
thinking I wouldn’t be
able to get any this year.
They’re available in port
and you use them less
than you think. Just bring
a few pairs of
replacements with you.
1
A simple point and shoot
camera that you aren’t
emotionally attached to is
a good idea for exploring.
1 or 2 and a couple dozen You’re going to want to
flat and curved mounts for film and take pics while
it. Sportys Pilot Shop has a flying or diving, or
aircraft mount. Buy it.
climbing. It’s an
Selfie stick is good for
adventure, get an
diving with.
adventure camera and
document it dummy!
2
2 small notebooks are a
good idea. One will serve
as your aircraft logbook
for flights, the other
personal for info.
12
Carabineers
4
Water bottle
1 (1-litre)
UV Water Steripen
1
Hammock
1
Watch
1
Headlamp
Cell Phone
1
1
(I brought my old
Samsung Galaxy S4 and
had it unlocked as soon as
I landed in Suva, Fiji.
iPhones unlock just as
easy also.)
Laptop
1
Sheet
1
You’d be surprised
sometimes by how limited
your space is. I make
overhangs with string in
my bunk and attach my
cup, water bottle and
lamp to it by lightweight
carabineers.
I bought a nice, traditional
blue and white Nalgene
bottle before coming out
here. I use it non-stop. A
good water bottle is a
must.
This thing is good for 8
years of purification and
removes 100% of bacteria
and other nasties that get
people sick drinking water
in foreign countries. Buy
it. Used mostly in port.
I brought one of those
lightweight small
backbacking hammocks
with me. Luxury item –
you don’t need it, but you
might like having it.
Water and impact
resistant like a G-Shock.
For when it is dark.
Bring one cell phone with
you that you either
already have unlocked or
will get unlocked in
country. Every port you’re
in you will be able to buy a
SIM card and prepaid
“load” of data. Often faster
than any WiFi you’ll find,
great for Skype and
Facebook.
For computing, watching
videos, filling out forms,
writing Tuna Guides.
For covering your bed
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Pillow case
Laundry bag
2
1
Plastic bags
12x12x12
Storage bags
3
For covering your pillow
I bought a mesh one from
an Army Surplus store, it
works great.
I brought 12 gallon sized
ziplocks, 12 sandwich
sized ones, and 12 snack
sized ones. They’ve come
in handy, I suggest
bringing them.
I bought these at REI,
small organizing bags, I
broke them down into
Accessories, Computer
Stuff, and GoPro stuff.
Keeps things neat and
tidy.
Flight Accessories: Every pilot is different and have varied opinions on what you
need to fly with.
Helmet
1
Headset
1
Flight vest
1 Load Bearing Vest
Life vest
1 aviator life vest, low
profile, like from Mustang
Safety.
Protect your head and
face, I have an SPH-5 and
love flying with it. Bring
replacement visors, and a
helmet bag to protect it.
Heat and sun is hard on
the parts so store it inside,
not in the helicopter
All the helicopters have
headsets in them, you
don’t need to bring one. I
did however bring my
own as a backup to my
helmet.
Something with the
MOLLE style straps for
attaching stuff to it. Mine
is an old DCU one.
Every helicopter has one
for the pilot so you don’t
need one. But, they’ve
been with the helicopters
for years, so trust as you
see fit.
14
Personal Locator Beacon
1
Survival Kit Pouch
1
Emergency Water
Emergency food, protein
bars, water proof
wrapping
Basic first aid, bandages
Anti-burn gel
Anti-Bacterial (Neosporin)
Waterproof matches
Knife/Multitool
Compass
Signal Mirror
Light
Buff
4 packs
4 bars
Gloves
2 pair
Long pants
2 pair
Long sleeved shirts
2
Cycling Sleeves
2 pair
1 set
4 packs (small)
1 pack
1 canister
1
1
1
1
1
Buy it, register it, and
strap it to your vest. Also,
be familiar with how to
use it.
Large first aid type pouch
or M249 SAW Drum
pouch. Strap it to your
vest.
In the Survival Kit
In the Survival Kit
In the Survival Kit
In the Survival Kit
In the Survival Kit
In the Survival Kit
In the Survival Kit
In the Survival Kit
In the Survival Kit
Attached to Vest
Already mentioned this in
the clothes section. You’ll
be very grateful to have it
though.
Already mentioned this in
the clothes section.
Already mentioned this in
the clothes section.
Already mentioned this in
the clothes section.
Already mentioned this in
the clothes section.
Toiletries and First Aid: Your boat will have the stuff for basic first aid and someone
onboard will be trained how to use it. That being said it won’t hurt for you to have
your own private stash. As for toiletries the following is what I brought.
Toothbrush
4
Toothpaste
2 tubes
Nail clippers
1 set
One for every 3 months,
you’re supposed to swap
those out you know.
Enough to last you a
month or more, you can
buy more in ports.
Good enough for fingers
and toes
15
Cotton Swabs
500
Deodorant
2 sticks
Soap
1 bottle of body wash or 2
bars of soap
Razors
4
Clippers
1
Insect repellent
2 bottles
Sunscreen
2 large bottles
Allergy meds
Pain meds
Wet wipes
Toilet Paper
1 bottle of pills
1 bottle of pills
1 package
2 rolls camp style
Neosporin
2 tubes
Chapstick
2 sticks
I bought one of those big
boxes and broke it down
into small baggies of
swabs for cleaning ears.
I’ll have more than enough
for the year.
Enough to last you a
month or two until you
can buy more in port
Enough to last you a
month or two until you
can buy more in port
I bought mine in port, to
clean up my neck line
around my beard
Nice electric set that does
everything from haircuts
to beard trims to nose
hair. Mine are Phillips
brand. Small and
lightweight.
Bugs aren’t bad at sea but
are friggin’ jerks on land.
You’ll get eaten alive.
Minimize it by having
spray or cream.
There is a lot of sun out
here. Don’t get burnt, life
would suck.
Just in case
Just in case
Just in case
The ship has a huge
supply of TP. But just in
case you’re in port or
somewhere without, this
will be handy.
I used mine on the
leftovers of the Honiara
Mosquito feast of 2014.
Good for cuts and scrapes
too.
To keep your lips from
cracking and chapping in
the sun
16
Anti Diarrhea Pills
1 bottle
Anti Constipation Pills
1 bottle
Awake/Caffeine Pills
2 bottles
Sleep Aid like Melatonin
1 bottle
Bandaids
Guaze
Athletic tape/wrap
Earplugs
Assorted box
Assorted sizes
Two rolls
52 pairs
Anti-fungal foot cream
1 tube
Alkaseltzer
1 box of tablets
Anti-itch cream
1 bottle
Multi-vitamin
1 bottle, large
Towel
1 extra large
The food here can take a
toll, come prepared to
fight back.
Same reason as above. It
could go either way.
I use a caffeine
supplement, sometimes a
good nights sleep is hard
to get, so this helps keep
the focus during the day.
I didn’t need it, some
people have trouble
adjusting to the new
timezone.
You might get a boo-boo
See above
See Above
Those foam type you roll
between your fingers.
They’re small, don’t take
up space, and you’ll want
them for compressor
washes and some guys
sleep with them.
Haven’t needed this yet,
but jungle rot is a real
thing. Especially if you’re
crazy and wearing shoes
out here.
Good all around fizzy.
Helps with stuffed up
sinuses or pressure
headaches.
For bug bites, those
bastards will get you.
The water on the boat is
filtered, desalinated, sea
water. It has no minerals
and the food isn’t exactly
balanced. You’ll want
something with minerals
and vitamins.
High absorbent
17
Ok, I think that about covers it. It looks like a lot of stuff and it really is, but
remember you’re coming out here for a year. I’ve scaled back some of the quantities
though, because I brought enough to last me a year of everything. Because I forgot,
despite having traveled to over 40 countries over my lifetime that stores exist in
other countries. In all seriousness I didn’t know the conditions I would have on the
island in the ports, you can get almost any basic items you want in port. Multivitamins are more likely in a port like Suva, or Honiara. The chemist (pharmacy) I
went to in Tarawa didn’t even know what multivitamins were. Not confidence
inspiring.
18
4. Travel Tips
This part, for me, seems a bit like a common sense chapter. BUT, I remind
myself that not everyone has had the fortune to travel as much as I have and I
thought including a chapter on travel tips would actually be a nice thing to do for
those of you getting ready to step off on your first real international journey. These
tips come from 26 years of traveling the world and aren’t just for tuna pilots on their
way out to sea. So stick with me as I take you from gate to gate and get you there
stress free and relaxed.
1. Express your travel preferences to the company agent buying the tickets. And
then, throw your expectations out the window. Initially I was booked on a
straight forward flight to Honiara, however when I landed at my first
connection city (Portland) I got an email telling me that I’d be going to Suva
instead. When I made it to LA all my new tickets were in my email. Now,
something tells me that this was an exception, not the rule just be prepared
to make adjustments to your travel schedule on the fly. But tell them that
you would like a morning departure from your home city, and that you’d like
to have an aisle (trust me) seat the entire way.
The aisle seat is a smart choice, a lot of people like the window so they
have something to lean against to sleep. That is the one and only benefit of
the window seat. The small porthole view of the airport your landing at isn’t
worth the sacrifice. In an aisle seat after meal service is done you can
spread your legs out into the aisle and stretch which is good for
circulation. You know what’s better on an 18 hour trans-pacific flight?
Walking around. If you want to really get the blood flowing, you don’t
have to wake up two strangers or climb over them in an awkward “I
wanted the window seat” lap dance to exit the row. If you need
refreshments, in the middle of the night, the stewardess can get to you
without going over the other passengers. Are you starting to get a trend
here? Also, if someone wants out of their seat you have the option to get out
into the aisle, or let them give you a lap dance. Your choice.
2. Arrive more than 2 hours before your flight. Remember if you’re traveling
internationally there is more work to getting into the airport, onto the plane,
and out of the country. Plus, you’ve got a bag full of stuff that may be too
heavy and you’ll need extra time to pack it down into that spare small duffel
bag you brought with you. What duffel bag? The one I’m telling you about
right now, have a spare small gym duffel bag that folds flat with you in
your main bag. If the first bag exceeds the airline max bag weight, step aside,
and pack down into the duffel and then try again. If that doesn’t work you
ignored my advice and brought too much stuff. Give half of it to the person
that drove you to the airport.
19
3. Wear comfortable loose fitting clothing, that wont cut of circulation
during long periods of sitting on a plane. You’ve got a lot of that in your
immediate future. Wear slip on/slip off shoes. America is the only paranoid
country in the world that has you take off your shoes but you want that to be
easy while you are in the USA. Limit the bling, it’s a pain in the ass for
security and makes you look like a douche bag anyways. Remember no big
liquids or aerosols in the carry ons, have the laptop in an easy to reach
place for removal (almost every country does that bit). I suggest a nice big
backpack that has room for your computer, electronics and as always a
change of clothes and some basic toiletries. You always should travel
internationally with some essentials in the carry on, in case your main
bags get lost.
4. Buy a travel wallet, that has a slot for your passport, spaces for frequent
flyer cards and credit cards, a pouch for money, etc. Use this solely for your
travel documents. Before you even get in line at security relocate
everything from your body and pockets to your carry on, except your
travel wallet. When you reach the first agent make sure you hand them your
passport, photo page open and boarding pass facing them. The easier you
make their job the less time you spend in the ques.
5. Once through security put yourself back together, you’re a mess, and then go
to the screens on the other side of the security checkpoint and VERIFY YOUR
DEPARTURE GATE. They change these, often. Maybe you were getting felt
up by Chico the friendly TSA Agent when they made the announcement,
maybe you liked it, this simple check is quick and will get you to the right
gate at the right time. Nothing is worse than sitting at the wrong gate
wondering why the screen says the flight is going to Budapest and not
Brisbane like your ticket says and than hearing your name paged over the
airport speakers because you’re the fool holding up the plane.
6. Every airport has outlets, you just need to know where to look. Try and
grab a seat near one, so that you can charge your devices and use them while
you wait. Places to look:
a. The walls. Common outlet placement location.
b. Pillars. Less common, but still an accepted practice in architecture.
c. Some airports have seats with outlets and usb ports built in, claim one
and protect it with your life. They are thrones.
d. In Seattle there are random silver plates in the floor, if you pry one of
these open there are outlets for the cleaners underneath them. You
look like a crazy person sitting in the middle of traffic charging your
iPod, but you’ll be happy later when you’ve got a full charge.
7. When they say they are boarding by rows or sections get into the cue with
the group before your group is called. Don’t rush to the front of that group,
20
just, casually get in line. By the time they’ve processed half of them you’ll be
at the front of the line when they announce your section and you’ll be able to
board and put your bags into your overhead space without fighting for it.
Nothing is worse than having to put your bag ten rows behind your seat
because that was the only space.
8. When you get into your aisle seat, because you took my advice, don’t fasten
your seatbelt until the other two row occupants are firmly in their
seats. If you can, put both your carry on bags in the overhead bin. (I had a
backpack and my helmet bag.) Why? Because if you need anything you were
smart and have an AISLE seat and can get up to get it, also once you’re
airborne you can kick your shoes off and store them under the seat in front of
you and stretch your legs into the empty space. So nice.
9. During the flight the pocket in front of your seat is for magazines, sick bags,
and trash. Never put anything you love and need into that seat pocket. It
is a black hole of despair. People have lost phones, tablets, passports, wallets,
babies, you name it – all to that pocket. Instead store everything in a
designated pocket on your backpack. Always use the same pocket, get into
the habit so that when you are looking for something you know exactly
where to go every time.
10. Most modern airliners have Personal In-Seat Entertainment Devices for
everyone now, so you won’t have to bother with a ton of movies and tv
shows on your iPad or laptop to keep you entertained. They feature fairly
new Hollywood releases and American TV shows. Use that as much as
possible, it’ll save your device batteries for after you land.
11. Drink a ton of water. You’re NOT, I say again NOT breathing recycled air
like so many people believe. You’re not an astronaut. But, it is very heavily
conditioned air sucked in through the turbine engines and heated over the
combustion chamber of the jets so you will dehydrate. With every meal have
a glass of water, when the attendants come through with water and cups,
take one, every time. Don’t be afraid to hit the page button and ask for more
water, or walk up to the galley and knock gently then ask for water.
Interrupting pretty flight attendants is a favorite pastime of mine. You get to
flirt with pretty flight attendants. And you get a glass of water at the least out
of it.
12. Sleep, don’t fight it. If you get tired and you don’t go to sleep you’ll only be
even more tired when you get to where you are going. The schedule change
will happen easier if you let it happen naturally. Humans are fairly robust
creatures, we adapt quick to the sun being up when we think it is supposed
to be down. Helping it along with some melatonin or caffeine when you get to
your destination is all good, but for now, on this flight, just go with the flow.
The dim the lights, fill your belly, and then expect you to sleep.
21
13. When you wake up you’ll almost be to wherever you are going. They’re going
to feed you breakfast. Before they make the tray service get up, stretch
your legs and back and then grab your travel wallet out of your
backpack and stash it in your pocket. During meal service they’ll come
through and hand you customs and immigration forms. Once they’ve cleared
your tray fill this out, and tuck it into your passport. You’ll need it several
times once you land.
14. When the plane has landed don’t worry about standing up like everyone else
does. The plane isn’t going to leave before you are off of it, and it is better
to be comfortable in your seat than to sardine against everyone in the aisle
trying to get out of the plane. You have an aisle seat anyways, because you
took my advice, so you’ve been stretched out this entire flight, a few more
moments sitting won’t kill you.
15. Once you are off of the plane don’t stop at the first set of bathrooms if you
have to use any. They’ll be packed with everyone that didn’t read this guide.
Every major international airport is logically built to accommodate more
than one large international arrival at a time. Odds are there is another
bathroom only a few meters away near the next gate. Airports and sports
stadiums – the most toilettes in one place you’ll ever find.
16. If you come from a 1st world country and have a new passport you have a
smart chip in the front cover. Take advantage of any self serve kiosks for
immigration, they are user friendly and speed things up a ton. You have
nothing to declare because you don’t travel with dead chickens or a bushel of
apples. The rest of immigration should be easy, claim your bags and hand
your immigration card from breakfast to the agent. They’ll look at it, look at
you, and then let you exit the airport. I mean, assuming you and your
passport match and you aren’t on a watch list.
A note on connections: It is more likely that you will have connections between
destination and departure point, than not. If the connection is international you will
most likely need to clear some sort of intermediary customs point before being
shuffled back into the terminal. These are easy, if your connection is close in
timing mention it to a flight attendant or a gate agent when you land, they often
have “express passes” waiting for you already because they’ve seen the connection
issue. These can turn a 30 minute line into a 5 minute line. If for some reason you
have to leave the terminal and check in again (I was going to use LAX but their
customer service is terrible – so Brisbane, Australia instead: I had to claim my
luggage due to the change in tickets enroute, the check-in agent noticed how close
my connection was and gave me an express pass for customs. I hate LAX, I’m falling
for Australia) these will be available at the check in counter. You’ll most likely
have to ask for them unless the agent is paying close attention.
22
Every connection airport you have your goals should be to get to your next gate,
grab refreshments on the way there, and be seated at a power outlet well before the
call to board is made. The more time you get charging the better, and the
refreshments can mean a whole meal or just a smoothie. Your options on the plane
will be very basic, so take this chance to get something different from the offerings
on board. For instance you can get gallons of diet coke on the plane, you can literally
drink it all and they wont stop you – so when you’re in the airport, get a mocha, or a
milkshake. Mix it up.
A note on modern major international airports: They are like cool little
concentrated culture bursts. If you’re lucky your connection is three or four hours
away. Check out the airport, most have art or museum displays throughout, many
have live musicians, and there are great restaurants. I’m not a shopper but there are
stores too – that make some malls look like flea markets. Incheon International
Airport in Korean is a great example, there are Korean restaurants that are fancy sit
down places, the food looked great – but I didn’t have enough time to check it out.
Next time I go through Incheon, I’ll be programming a long stop.
They also have showers and hotels and storage areas, you really have no reason not
to experience a bit of culture of the country you’re in, as temporary as it may be.
A note on food, drink, and smart choices: Ok so you’re traveling for a day or two to get
to your destination, you’re going to want to make some smart choices with what you
eat and drink.
1. Alcohol, seems like a fun little indulgence. Remember the cabin of
that airplane is pressurized to simulate the oxygen level at 8,000
feet. That’s why some of you get headaches at altitude, or feel
sleepy. Your body is oxygen deprived while you acclimate. The
result of drinking one glass of booze at 8,000 feet is magnified well
beyond what you would experience on the ground, so take it easy,
drink responsibly, and don’t get drunk. It’ll dehydrate you, and
that defeats the whole bit of water advice.
2. Water, hydration, etc is all meant to keep your cells energized,
your brain fueled, and your organs working as they are meant to.
Food that are very salty, like the in flight pretzels negate that, so
take it easy on the salty starchy snacks. They’ll lead to dehydration
and bloating.
3. What you eat, choose easy meals. Don’t eat a triple chili burger
jalapeno express with extra onions and crushed garlic and chili
sauce. It’s not going to make you happy, it’s not going to make your
row mates happy, and it will make you uncomfortable. Pizza,
burgers, fried foods, most Indian food* – just bad choices. Don’t do
it. *I love Indian food
23
5. Training
The simple truth about this job is that it is not something that you should do
unless you absolutely, at the bare bones minimum, meet the minimum flight
experience standards set forth by the companies. This isn’t a place to learn about
landing in unfavorable wind conditions or slope operations, it is a place to put those
honed skills to work and learn to make them better. If you lie about your
qualifications and come out here then you are taking a much heavier risk than
others. Can you lie and get away with it? Sure, probably, I’m sure people have in the
past and lived. Those people, you if you choose to go down this path, had better be
outstanding pilots ahead of their hours in skill and experience.
One of two things will happen when a tuna company hires you. You’ll
either go to one of their main hangars and wait for a boat there during which time
you might scrape a few hours of training out of them, or you’ll get sent to meet a
boat and a pilot that can train you at sea on your first trip. The latter is what
happened to me as a result of the company needing an urgent replacement for a
boat that was not going to be one of our hangars. I can only tell you about training at
the hangars from what I was told by the pilots I met there when we stopped to
unload in Honiara.
Training at the hangars: You’ll essentially be on a small allowance waiting for
a boat to arrive with a helicopter in need of a pilot. Your one year contract doesn’t
start until you take over as PIC on a boat. During your time on the ground at the
hangar you’ll have a chance to work in the maintenance facility with the mechanics
on helicopters. Take this chance to learn about your machine, you’ll want to
know as much as possible when you are out at sea. When a ship comes in with an
empty heli-deck but no need for a helicopter if there is a flyable machine available
and a safety pilot you might be able to get permission to practice landing and
taking off from that boat. The guys I talked to had done this once or twice. It’s good
to get this experience, it helps you set up a mental sight picture for your approach
and departure paths, but landing on a stationary ship in a smooth water harbor is no
substitute for the real deal. They will eventually sign off on you to go out to a boat
and you’ll learn there is a whole other dimension to the landings we do.
Training on a boat: This is what you want, express as much to your new
employer and ask them if you can do a training trip with a senior pilot. When
they weren’t looking for tuna and the captain didn’t see a need for the helicopter we
were able to take off and fly. Getting a feel for the machine in different wind
conditions, landing on a boat that is moving and pitching with the sea, these are the
real world environmental conditions you’ll be operating in. I logged 3.7 hours of
training on my first trip, was signed off for PIC and now I’m on my 3rd boat with my
3rd helicopter, working the fishing grounds. We just sailed into Tarawa fishing
grounds actually (as of writing this paragraph).
24
Honestly the best kind of training you’ll get for this job is the training
you can do before getting out here. If you have access to a flight school, maybe
you’re instructing in one, ask you chief pilot to train you on cross wind and tail wind
landings, slope landings to the front and rear, stuck pedal landings, and pinnacle and
confined landings, if possible to a platform or dolly. The next thing I would suggest,
if you’ve got some coin set aside or a credit card you’re ok touching for $1000 is find
an operator with a Hughes 500C that would be willing to give you some dual
transition training and pay for it. That way when you show up out here you’re
already familiar with the helicopter. I did not do that, I don’t think I suffered for not
having done it, but I can see how familiarity with the machine could have helped.
Study, your books from flight school are never going to go out of style, the
chapters on pinnacles and confined area landings, the chapters on crosswinds and
tail winds, and weather are all going to be good reads. Also download the flight
manual for the Hughes 500C and the MD 500D and start studying them. They
are available for free as PDF’s online. I’ve got both of them on my laptop and on my
phone so that I can study them constantly. The more you are familiar with the limits
and design of your helicopter the more you’ll be comfortable making it work for you.
“Any landing you can walk away from…”
-A pilot with too much luck and money, probably of airplanes
There isn’t much room to wiggle around on your landings out here, and
that is what it all comes down to. We can fly helicopters, we can take off, that part is
easy. Landing is tricky enough though on dry ground, trying to keep both skids level,
set down smooth, not upset the balance of the rotors or deflate the dampers, add in
a rolling and pitching ship with a strong crosswind and ocean spray on your canopy
and it becomes an art form. The first time I landed on dry land after getting to port I
surprised myself with how smooth the landing was – all those landings on the boat
had really worked my skill set up. I’ll take that forward from this job.
Your landing space may be one of those huge tennis court landing pads on a
Spanish boat, or a tight confined space on a Taiwanese boat between exhaust stacks
life rafts and buoys. You won’t know until you’re assigned a boat. Prepare for a
small landing pad and be grateful if you get a big one. Your control touch in this
job needs to be tits on, you’ll be making micro corrections every millisecond on
approach and set down. You’ll be watching your pontoon, the deck, the beacons, the
pitch of the platform. For me, I NEVER look at the sea when I’m landing, just the
heli-deck and the area around my helicopter. The sea isn’t going to tell me much of
anything, I already know it’s swelling and rolling, the deck is the thing that is going
to bite me in the ass if I loose site of it. If you’re coming here from a Robinson there
will be significant visual parallax from where you’re used to sitting in an R22/R44 –
you’re a lot higher up than your skids now, you will contact the deck sooner if you
loose site of that fact.
25
6. Maneuvers Guide
I am not a flight instructor. Ok that is a lie, I am a flight instructor, certificate
doesn’t expire for a while still so technically I am a flight instructor. That does not
mean that I am an expert pilot, it does not mean that I am a technical writer or
master of drawing diagrams (some instructors can’t even draw stick figures DG*).
What it does mean is that I took a bit more time in my training to learn maneuvers,
aerodynamics, weather, and all other sorts of fun aviation related stuff well enough
so that I could confidently teach them to student pilots and recover the helicopter in
the event that they got out of hand with the training. It means that I took a course on
Fundamentals of Instruction to learn the psychology of teaching and learning.
That’s it. It really just boils down to the fact that I have an extra license and
it’s going to expire April of 2016. So now that we have clarified that I am not an
expert pilot and that being an instructor pilot means I simply have a heavier wallet
than you do (unless you too are an instructor pilot – huzzah good sir) let me be very
clear in stating that in no way is this section written as a training manual, nor is it
endorsed as a training material by any company (unless they want to endorse it –
than, you know, it is endorsed by that company and I’ll add a note to the back) and
at no time should it be used as a sole source of information concerning maneuvers
conducted in tuna pilot operations, helicopter flight operations, or operations of any
kind. The reader, by reading this guide, agrees to hold harmless the author
(Nicholas Henderson) in the event that the reader at any point in his/her
career should crash, wreck, ball up or put a helicopter in the drink. At no point
is the author to be held liable for the actions of pilots reading this guide and
shall be legally protected by this sentence, right here. By reading anything
beyond the first page or cover page of this guide you, the reader and their
family, friends, pets, and estranged lovers surrender any right to claim against
the author. Me.
Ok now that we have that out of the way and I’m relatively confidant that
none of your families can sue me because we’ve clearly stated that you are not to
use my guide and by reading beyond the first line of the first page you’ve agreed to
that let’s get started with class. Remember, read, take what you think is good and
ignore the rest.
26
A. Takeoff from a moving Tuna Fishing Boat
Taking off from the helicopter flight deck of a tuna vessel is much like taking
off from any location you’ve ever taken off from again, with the one distinct
difference being that this location is moving. Not just forward, but also side to side
and front to back. Once you’ve gone through your startup sequence and you signal
your mechanic to release the final strap down you have become exponentially
more dangerous to your mechanic and to the passenger and yourself.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Make sure that until you are ready to release the final strap you
are at idle. Don’t roll up to full throttle until you are ready to
release the final strap. Do not release the final strap unless you are
at full throttle.
Once you are at full power and your Nr is stabilized in the green
and all of your instruments indicate in the green, only then will
you signal for strap release.
The passenger will be briefed on inspecting for the two straps on
his side, and to give a “2” indication followed by a “thumbs up”
indication to signify that 2 straps are clear and his side is good for
takeoff. The pilot will return this thumbs up with a thumb up.
The mechanic will conduct a visual sweep of the passenger side,
then the pilot side and give two “thumbs up” one for each side to
indicate all four straps are clear. The pilot will return this thumbs
up with a thumb up.
The pilot will watch the mechanic move to the relative safety of
the back of the helicopter landing deck and wait for the mechanic
to be clear.
The pilot will conduct on more gauges check, and the apply up
collective with left pedal to keep the helicopter oriented toward
the front left of the ship, not spinning on the landing net or rope.
When the helicopter becomes light on the skids the pilot will
increase collective in a steady upward motion to lift the helicopter
vertically above the helicopter landing deck, making sure to not
drift in any direction. Remember the boat IS moving toward you
now that you are off the deck, that is a lot of steel coming your
way – you will be in a somewhat sideward hover at approximately
12-15 knots but will have the visual appearance of stationary
location over the helicopter landing deck.
Once sufficient altitude is achieved to safely turn the helicopter
without striking any antenna, life raft, or other ship mounted
material the pilot will orient the nose of the helicopter into the
wind for climb out.
The pilot will maintain a steady climb out at 80 knots and 55-60%
torque until reaching a cruise altitude of 1000 feet.
The pilot will conduct a trend check at 1000 feet during the first
flight of every flight day.
27
B. Searching for Tuna, Rafts (Payow) from the helicopter.
Your job is to search for tuna. Except that really isn’t your job, your job is to
safely fly the helicopter during tuna searching operations while a designated
spotter searches for tuna. In some cases that spotter is the ship Captain, Chief
Officer or a Fish Master. In any case you will be flying with someone else, they will
be looking for tuna you will be flying the helicopter. Now, that being said, if you spot
tuna or a raft that the spotter has missed, by all means point it out – they will love
you for it, especially if there is tuna there.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
In a stabilized level flight attitude the spotter will give you a
heading to fly to the first target.
Some spotters will point to an altitude on your altimeter
indicating the altitude they would like to be at for this target.
When you arrive they will expect you to circle the spot. Every
spotter is different, one Captain I had liked tight small circles
directly over a spot, his Chief Officer like wide sweeping circles
over an area. They’ll tell you what they want as soon as you
aren’t doing it.
Make coordinated turns to the right keeping the spotter side door
over, or within visual range of the target. If a school keep the
school in your peripheral vision, through their door and they will
be happy.
When navigating to a location they will give you a heading, follow
it as closely as possible. The notion that a 5º difference at 1000
feet over a mile traveled is negligible at a best, has no bearing with
these people, they want you on a specific heading.
Schools of tuna look like a frothy foam on the surface of the ocean
and can be seen on a clear day from several miles away. This is
where the nickname “foamer” comes from to describe the tuna
school on the surface of the ocean.
This is basic flight, straight and level, coordinated turns left or
right. Your VnE in the Hughes 500C is 80 knots with the floats,
keep it safe.
28
C. Rafts or “Payow”
One of the fishing techniques employed by these fishing boats it to leave a
“payow” at a place where they’ve seen major tuna activity. The raft, or “payow” is a
large floating object, typically a ring of yellow floats wrapped in black net attached
to very long weighted nets that descend for a hundred feet or more. To this net are
tied thousands of strands of varying length multicolored cloth. These strands
provide a safe haven for small “bait fish” to swim and hide and live. By creating this
habitat for the bait fish the fisherman have increased the odds of a large tuna school
remaining to feed long enough for a boat to check the payow and scoop them up.
When approaching a payow to deploy a beacon, you must use caution at all
times. This is a high risk maneuver.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
The spotter or the pilot will identify a payow to be flown to.
The pilot will determine the direction of the prevailing wind
and plan his approach into the wind.
With a favorable wind the pilot will descend to a hover over the
payow, keeping the floating beacon in site in his chin bubble
canopy window. By keeping the payow and buoy in the view of the
pilot, the pilot ensures that the buoy does not drift rear of the
cockpit and toward the tail rotor.
The spotter will have uncoiled the rope and grappling hook
attached to the helicopter buoy to be deployed and will now climb
out onto the pontoon of the helicopter.
The spotter will hook the buoy to the payow under, NOT OVER,
the helicopter pontoon. If the rope goes over the pontoon you’ve
just attached yourself to hundred of wet soaked net and cable. You
can not take off in this case.
The pilot will maintain the hover with buoy in site while the
spotter climbs back into his seat and fastens his lap belt.
The pilot will perform a slow rearward hover from the buoy
keeping the buoy in site, this will allow the pilot to determine that
the rope and hook have indeed NOT been hooked over the skid.
BE AWARE – YOU CAN NOT SEE BEHIND YOURSELF, KEEP THE
HELICOPTER WELL ABOVE THE SWELL HEIGHT OF THE SEA.
Once confirmed the helicopter is clear of all ropes, lines, buoy’s or
antenna, the pilot will perform a normal takeoff from a hover
pulling power to gain height and climb out into the wind.
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D. Returning to the boat
When I arrived to train I thought that the second most important thing to
being able to actually land on the boat was finding my way back to the boat, and
indeed it is. I was alarmed when they told me the GPS navigation system on my boat
wasn’t working, and as such could not give me a homing signal to return to the boat
by. I persisted about the issue, asking about the antenna, and the install and what it
would take to get it working, my training pilot kept assuring me it just did not
matter. He was right, and now, on a boat with a working system and a helicopter
with a working transceiver, I don’t have a need to use it. You’ll be able to see the
boat, if not, they (the boat) can see you on radar and will tell you what heading to fly
to get back to them. It’s like having your own personal air traffic controller. These
boats are fairly distinct objects on the surface of the ocean and on a nice day
you can spot them a 10 or 15 miles without a problem.
E. Other Flights
You may be asked to do other flights with the helicopter, and most
companies typically allow that so long as it falls under the scope of their contract.
For instance you may be asked to transfer parts, supplies or crew between boats.
Transferring crew will only happen if there is an open helicopter landing deck,
parts and supplies might be done with a long line and a grappling hook. For
instance, the other day I went to a ship that had a helicopter already on its landing
pad, we were picking up medicine, my spotter lowered a rope with a hook on the
end to a man on the bow and retrieved the bag. Be very aware of your
surroundings when hovering in this sort of situation, there are many obstacles
to be cautious of on a ship. Use fixed points for reference, such as the top of the
bridge, and the windsock to keep your hover stable and your height constant. Vary
your power setting to climb and descend in only small amounts. You don’t want
to be descending, chasing the deck of the ship when a large up swell happens, you’ll
meet that deck faster than you’d like.
F. Tuna Herding
I know most people reading this that have researched this job at all will be
surprised at how short this section is. I am on a Korean boat and they are getting out
of the practice of fish herding with helicopters, as such, I’ve never done it so I can’t
really write on what all goes into it. Except the following: Keep the helicopter at
the same height of the helicopter landing deck at all times. This will keep you
clear of swells and cables. Wire strikes can happen at sea, there are a lot of
them strung out during fishing operations, keep them in sight and in mind. Try
to avoid moving backwards if able. Watch your power setting in the hover.
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G. Landing
By far the most challenging thing you’ll do out here is land on a moving ship.
The Koreans, for example, don’t like to slow down or turn the boat into the wind
especially if they are chasing a school of tuna or racing to a payow no matter how
many times you ask. The key here is to remember these immortal words – “Goaround’s are free.” If you don’t like the way a landing is setting up, pull power and
fly out away from the ship. Set up, and try again. There are many tips and guides on
how to land on a tuna boat, I’ll try and make my technique clear here.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
No matter the direction of travel, always make your final approach
along the starboard side of the boat.
Maintain enough space from the ship to ensure clearance from
cables and guy lines from the observation tower to the deck.
Match speed with the ship while at a height of approximately 1012 feet above the helicopter landing deck.
Accelerate just enough to move forward of the antennas and into
the clear approach lane for the helicopter landing deck.
Apply left pedal and right cyclic to transition into a sideward
“hover taxi” and begin your approach to the helicopter landing
deck.
First use the edge of the helicopter landing deck as a visual
reference for clearance of your pontoons, making your approach
while remaining still 5 feet approximately above the helicopter
landing deck.
Once your skid tips clear the edge of the helicopter landing deck
move your attention to a spot just ahead of your intended set
down point and continue your approach toward this spot.
a. Keeping in mind at all times that a ship of steel is bearing down
on you, do not allow yourself to drift toward the stern of the ship.
If you are unable to maintain your clearance from the rear of the
helicopter landing deck, conduct a go-around.
b. If at anytime you need more left pedal than you have power you
will experience a sinking sensation, allow the helicopter to turn
right, into the wind, and fly out to conduct a go-around.
Smoothly lower the collective until your pontoons contact the
deck and come to a complete, full collective down stop. Do not
attempt to hover or twist the helicopter. The deck will be moving
up and down with the swell of the sea, time your approach so that
you have sufficient height to avoid un intentional contact with the
deck, and so that you set down during the lull between high and
low points of the swell.
Allow your spotter to exit the helicopter.
If the helicopter needs repositioned do it now, using gentle up
collective for a small correction.
Landing on the deck will be different every time you do it. The wind and speeds will change
daily. Mentally be focused on the safe arrival of your helicopter and passenger.
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7. Maintenance
Unless you are a pilot/mechanic you will be partnered up with a mechanic on
the boat. Odds are he’ll be on the boat already when you arrive and will have been
there for sometime with the past pilot or past two pilots. These guys extend their
contracts often and get very set up on the boats they’re assigned. Every boat I’ve
been on the mechanic had been on for no less than 6 months before I arrived. Most
of the mechanics in this job are Filipinos, many from the Philippines Air Force with
years of experience on the Hughes and MD Helicopters.
You responsibility as the pilot in command is not different here than it
has been at any other job. You have a pilot preflight inspection to complete before
the first flight of the day and a concurrent preflight to conduct before subsequent
flights in the day. You are the final say on the airworthiness of the helicopter.
Your mechanic will do a thorough preflight in the morning, and as a “crew chief”
spends more time in and one your helicopter than you do, or at least – a good one
will. I have heard of pilots and mechanics fighting, literally fist fighting. Don’t do
that. You’re both professionals and need to act as such. Get to know your mechanic
and treat him right – he’s keeping your helicopter in working order, and he’ll have
more reason to be thorough if he doesn’t hate your guts.
Things do go wrong in the field, or at sea, and the companies do their best to
try and keep you stocked up on spare parts for the things that regularly fail. If they
need to they will ship you replacements via other fishing boats, but that takes
a lot of time. Work with your mechanic when he is doing any major work so that he
has support. Even if you’re just handing parts and tools to him or cold water, in the
hot sun on the helicopter landing deck – he’ll appreciate that extra help. Use your
flight manual, follow your checklists, and be a pilot – use common sense to make
sure you’re not climbing into a casket.
As I am not a mechanic I’ll leave it at that. Trust and lean on your
mechanic, take care of him and he’ll take care of you. Help when you can, where
you can and always do your own preflight inspection. It gets down to a few
minutes of walking around the helicopter poking and pulling on certain components
and visually inspecting for noticeable sings of trauma or wear.
When you get to port you will find that the mechanics and pilots tend to split
off into individual cliques. Don’t let that be the status quo. Spend some time with the
mechanics group, and even though they make a crap load more money than you do –
buy them a round of beers or two, or a bottle of whisky. Remember that human
truth I mentioned earlier in this guide? It all comes back to that.
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8. Your First Boat
Ok, so you’ve made it this far. Something tells me that you aren’t reading this
as pleasure material and that you didn’t pick it up at your local bookstore. You
probably downloaded it from one of my links on facebook (Helicopter Pilots Group
or Tuna Pilots Group) or someone who knows you and me emailed it to you because
you got a job, you’re preparing to leave, and you have questions that need thorough
well thought out answers. Man, your friend is not a nice guy if he sent you this – it’s
dripping with sarcasm, this entire thing. I do like to think it is well thought out
though. So I guess your friend isn’t that bad.
First, congratulations, you’ve applied for the job and been hired. You’ve
packed your bags, you’ve done your research and maybe even done your training.
Now you’ve been told which boat you’re going to, and what port you are meeting
them in. Maybe it’s one of my old boats, the Caribe, the Shilla Harvester, or the Shilla
Jupiter (Note: I’ll need to add the name of the next boat too, the Jupiter goes for dry
dock in July). What are you getting into, this is your first boat and you want to know
what to expect.
I’ve only ever met a boat in Suva. Both times I met my boats in Fiji. The Shilla
Jupiter and I met at sea, we did a transfer of pilots between the two boats because
the Harvester Captain wanted the Jupiter pilot. Seeing as he was the most senior
Captain in the fleet, he had that power. Anyways, I digress. I need to make it clear
that I’m writing this guide from a perspective of having been on Korean boats. I
don’t know how Spanish, America, or Taiwanese boats work. Yet. I may update this
depending on where I go after the Jupiter.
When you arrive at the boat the crew will help you get your bags to the pilot
room, whether you want them too or not. The crew are typically very nice,
friendly people and their job is to work so moving bags from shore to room is an
easy task for them. Your first stop will be most likely to the bridge to meet the
Captain and Chief Officer. They’ll collect and keep your passport, this is normal,
they hold all of the passports in a locked briefcase and only bring it out when the
ship enters and leaves port to clear the crew through customs and immigration.
After that, depending on the boat, Captain, and circumstances you’ll either have time
to get somewhat settled into your quarters or you’ll be going up for a demo flight
right away.
Your room will be on the upper deck of the ship, just underneath the
helicopter landing deck. It will either have a door that opens out to the port side, or
to the rear of the ship where you can see the fish deck and control station for the
booms. Traditionally the pilot and mechanic share a room, on some boats the
fisheries observer is also in the room with you, on other boats (the Spanish boats)
you have your own room. Your room will have a bathroom attached to it that is
separate from the crew facilities. You won’t spend too much time on the bridge.
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Other people and rooms on this upper deck are the Captain, Chief Officer, Radio
Operator, the chart room, the radio room, the bridge, boom control station, speed
boat, and storage, and the helicopter parts locker/room is here as well. The door to
the tower ladder is here, which allows spotters to climb the tall observation tower at
the center of the ship.
Your heli-deck is yours. The rest of the crew will only come up here to get
stored rope and nets that are kept at the back of the deck. Your fuel, more parts
lockers, and of course the helicopter, are all up here. This area is a big flat surface
that is ideal for working out at night, it’s fairly clean and again – it’s yours. The crew
on the Caribe made the mistake of putting a bunch of fish up there once to dry in the
sun, not thinking that maybe the giant fan shaped like a helicopter might blow their
little fish kebabs away. It most certainly did blow their fish snacks away on the next
flight and again on the landing.
At the rear of the boat a stairway leads down to the fish deck, this is normally
next to the boom and hoist control station. The fish deck is wide and open, there are
a bunch of drums of steel cable attached to the nets and the nets, net boat, and fish
chute are all back here – you’ll eat down here for parties on special occasions but for
the most part will keep clear, especially when they are fishing. On every boat I’ve
been on the galley has been in the same place – just through the rear door to the
lower deck and then on the left. In the galley you’ll find all the appliances of home –
industrial stove top and hoods, restaurant grade fridge and freezer, a microwave,
dishes and utensils, and you are able to access this at anytime. Perfect for late
night ramen cravings. The ship also has your weight in ramen per crewmember, it
seems like they never run out. You’ll learn to love this stuff if you don’t already.
Who am I kidding, we’ve all been flight students, broke and shoveling money
we don’t have into a helicopter we can hardly fly. We all know and love ramen!
The rest of this deck is crew quarters and the laundry, as well as the
community showers and toilettes for the crew. There are the walk in vegetable and
meat freezers and a hatch leading to the bow, as well as a stairway to the bridge and
another one leading down to the engine deck. As for the engine deck, there isn’t
much down her for you, conveyer belts funnel the tuna into the fish wells which is a
smelly, but neat, sight to behold during a catch. The fishwells are accessible when
they are empty by ladders, but only crazy people and stowaways go in there. Three
stowaways died in one a few weeks ago when it was filled with ice cold salt water
brine and tuna. They spent the rest of that trip submerged in fish and ice until
almost a month later during unloading their bodies were found. Fish wells are not
a play area people.
And that is it. That’s your first boat. That’s your every boat. Get to know the
crew, they will help you, they’ll give you beer or Soju, ramen or haircuts, and they
can help with things that you might need during the trip, such as building a shelf for
your bunk if it doesn’t have one. So that you have a place to watch movies, place
34
your laptop up there and close your bunk curtain and it’s as good as a home theatre.
Especially if you followed my packing list and bought those nice headphones with
the long cable. I have the Audio-Technica ATH-M50s/LE and they are amazing! Best
sound I’ve ever had in a pair of headphones.
Also, one last note, you’re going to get a lot of information from your
mechanic on what to do and where to go and when, but remember that they are not
your boss out here but you also aren’t theirs so don’t come out here thinking you
have rank to pull on anyone. Get along with your mechanic and you will do fine. He’ll
know, most likely, the ins and outs of the ship and how the crew and officers
function so if you have any questions, ask him. Other than all that, welcome to the
fleet!
35
9. Life at Sea
Living on a ship at sea can certainly take some getting used to. It isn’t our
normal set of circumstances or environments. The living space is shared and
small, and you have to improvise a lot of solutions that in any other place would be
otherwise easily solved. Most of the ships you’ll be on will have had a long list of
pilots before you that will have beat you to making modifications that make the
space more livable, but you may find yourself on a boat that is new, or newish, and
you’ll be the one setting things up.
First, your cabin. There will be 2-3 bunks in your cabin and you’ll get one of
those for you exclusively. The space becomes more than just a place to sleep, it
becomes an office, a movie theatre, and a storage space all while remaining your
bed. I suggest bringing a multi-tool and then scrounging up some string and
screws and making a hanging system along the wall of your bunk. This is where
those carabineers from the packing list come in handy, you may not have much shelf
or storage space so clipping your cup handle and a lamp and your headphones to
this string gets them out of the way but easily reached. I use velcro strips to mount
my alarm clock to the wall so I can see and reach it while lying down. This also
gets the clock out of the way but still in a usable place. I also store my small duffel
bag at the foot of my bed and my backpack I use as an extra pillow, or to sit my
pillow up.
There really is no telling how old these mattresses are so that sheet from the
packing list is going to be used more as a barrier that you know is clean between
you and the mattress. You’ll either have a foam bed or a traditional spring mattress.
The spring mattresses are more susceptible to mold and bed bugs than the
foam ones so if you do wind up with a spring mattress keep an eye out for signs of
those two things. On my first boat I didn’t have a closet or shelf space so I lived out
of my suitcase, I suggest getting a bag that stands up on its own so it takes up as
little floor space as possible. On ships with a locker or closet space of sorts
organize your stuff to make it easy to get in and out of.
Some ships have refrigerators in the pilot room and others, well…most, do
not. You can improvise some cooling for a can of soda or bottle of beer if you whip
up a small hammock out of string and hang it in front of the AC vent. I’ve also been
on boats with AC units that stand in the room on the floor, in which case you can just
stack the items you want cooled on the vent slats. If there isn’t already a nail or
screw in the wall put one up high so you have a place to hang your towel to dry. I
bought a high absorbent extra large camp towel from REI before I left and it works
great, also it rolls down very small which is nice. Have a pair of sandals by the door
for coming and going, so you can put them on as you leave. Some boats the
pilot/mechanic room doesn’t follow the no shoes inside rule the Asians love, but
you’ll have nicer cleaner floors if you stick to that policy of taking your shoes
off just inside the threshold.
36
Meals are served hot three times a day and announced over the intercom
when they are ready to serve. Every boat is different on what that means for the
pilot, you either are sitting with table service and the officers, or serving yourself
and sitting with the crew. You’ll figure that out fairly quickly – the crew tend to
point you to the right spot at your first meal. You have free reign of the kitchen so
if you do want a hot snack feel free, when meal service isn’t on, to use the appliances
and cooking equipment – just be sure to clean up your mess.
On a flying day you’ll get up early, check the whiteboard in the galley the
night before to see when the rest of the crew are being woke up, and check
what time twilight is. No night ops authorized mean that you don’t need to be up at
3am if they are going to be up that early, just be sure you’re up and pre-flighted
before the sun comes up because once it does you are on the clock. During the day
it is best not to put on your headphones and tune out the world – you’ll need to be
able to hear the PA system for when they want the helicopter started, so still feel
free to play games and watch your movies – just keep one earbud, or one ear cup, off
of your head so that you can still hear announcements.
Flights vary in length but are not longer than 2 hours at a time, and you will
have a bit of time between flights to allow the engine to cool and the refuel. Be sure
to drink water between these flights, hours in the sun in the helicopter at a time
will dehydrate you and that will cloud your vision and reaction times. When the day
is done the crew will close the windows on the top of the observation tower or
“cockpit” as they call it. Until those windows are shut, so long as it isn’t raining or
dark out, you are able to fly. Once the tower closes you and your mechanic
should get the post-day work done. Do your compressor wash and do the tie
downs, get the helicopter washed and locked up for the night. Make sure nothing is
left out on the helicopter deck, because you don’t want it to get lost over night.
The best time to do laundry is during a fishing day, around noon I find,
because the crew are often very busy with other tasks for the fishing and won’t be
using the laundry. If you get called up for a flight don’t worry about it, you’ll be back
in plenty of time to check the load and move it over to the dryer or back to your
room when it is done. The ship I’m on provides a big bucket of laundry detergent – I
brought a bunch from the US with me just in case. It’s a good idea to have some
single wash packets or a gallon bag of powder if you have some extra space in
your bags in case soap isn’t provided.
Take some time during the day and make some rounds on the deck, stretch
your legs and make sure you aren’t sitting around all day. Lethargy will cause your
muscles to atrophy more than they already are going to out here, and the lack
of circulation might lead to cramps while flying – it is a good idea to keep the blood
flowing. The crew are well intentioned good people, so don’t worry about any
trouble there, if you treat them with respect and show some interest in who they are
and where they are from than they will treat you fine. If you are smart you will
37
befriend them as they will be willing to help you out with building projects, haircuts,
ramen, you name it – but only if they know you and like you.
If you aren’t flying, and not on standby to fly, climb the tower and check out
the view from up there, you’ll get a great photo of the top of your helicopter. If the
crew are up there spotting than it is probably not the best idea to be up there too –
as they may suddenly need you on the helicopter and it takes time to climb up and
down that tall ladder.
A lot of the officers have computers and hard drives with rips of movies, so if
you are looking for extra films ask the crew if they have movies, be prepared to
share your hard drive in exchange for theirs so that you both get movies from each
other. When you’re done out here you’ll have a huge supply of movies in digital form
on the hard drive you brought. Do not forget the hard drive, you really don’t want to
go insane out here.
Every Sunday is the last day of your week, compile all your flight times
from the week and trend tests, into your weekly report and then save that to your
USB thumb drive. You’ll then take that to the radio operator or Chief Officer and ask
to use the ships email to send the report to HQ.
I take a bit of time in the morning and again at night to string my camp
hammock up on the unused starboard walkway on the upper deck of this ship I’m on
while writing this. I go out there and kick back with some music and my inReach so I
can send some messages back and forth with home. I also like to skip breakfast, I
drink coffee in the morning and if I’m really feeling the need for breakfast I’ll make
up some ramen after the service is done. Breakfast is normally served and done by
6am. Some pilots buy powdered milk and cereal in port before sailing and that is a
real treat, I’ve done it. You mix some powdered milk into water and then pour a big
bowl of chocolate milo cereal puffs in and you’ve got a winning breakfast. Otherwise
the only option is fried egg and rice.
Smokers spend a lot of time out on the fish deck behind the galley smoking,
or on the upper deck smoking. I don’t smoke so I don’t have any other input on that
except that if you do smoke you will be in a lot of the same company, almost
everyone on the ship smokes. It’ll give you a chance to get to know the crew I
suppose. Most ships allow smoking in the galley, but nowhere else inside. As a
courtesy to the next pilot and mechanic who might not be smokers – refrain
from smoking in your cabin and leaving behind that awful stench. It’s just
polite.
One more thing, it will take some time to get used to the pitching of the deck, I don’t
get motion sick but some guys do. It will pass, and before long you’ll learn to walk
the decks no matter the angle.
38
10. Life in the Ports
Whoa! You’ve done it! You’ve completed your first trip and the boat is full of
tuna, now it is time to go to port and meet the refrigerator ship. You’re headed to
some mysterious island populated by half naked dancing girls in the south pacific
right? Wrong. Whatever Hollywood inspired ideas you may have of blue water and
white sand beaches populated by coconut shell wearing babes need to get tossed
out right now. You’re going to go unload in a commercialized fishing port on some
island or atoll (really flat island) somewhere.
I’m not saying it isn’t a fun time, or that there aren’t pretty girls there, in fact
it is the opposite of those things – a lot of fun, with pretty girls if you want them. But
it isn’t exactly a tourist stop per se.
When you arrive the first thing to happen is the customs and immigration
people come aboard and process the ship and crew into the port, you get a stamp in
your passport which you wont see until you get it back from the ship when your
contract is done. After that you’ve got one of three options. You’re either, one, lashed
at the refrigerator ship in port or, two, connected to an actual dock and lastly, three,
in a port where you have a company hangar.
In the first case above you’ll want to nab the agent for your boat and ask if
you can ride back to shore with them in the fisheries boat. It’s a nice boat typically
and your best bet for a straight shot to the shore. You’ll want to have your backpack
packed for 4 days on shore, unless you are in a port you’re going to stay on the boat
during (PNG). When they go to leave, load up with them in their boat and ride to
shore. The agent will sometimes have a car there to take you to the hotel. Make sure
to get the agent’s cell phone number so that you can call and check in with him/her
daily to make sure you have an updated departure time for your ship. If your boat
leaves without you – book a ticket home, you just got fired.
In the second case, you simply walk ashore, make sure you’ve got ID with you
in the form of a photocopy of your passport photo page so you can get in and out of
the security checkpoint. You can stay on the boat in these cases, you get the luxury
of being at port, without the cost of being in a hotel. Unless you want to stay at a
hotel.
And lastly, in the third case where you have a company hangar on the island,
get permission to fly to the hangar from the local control tower, load your stuff into
the helicopter, and take off, fly over the island and to the hangar. If you’ve never
been to the hangar before, well, email the office before you arrive in port and they’ll
give you the tower frequency and the GPS coordinates for the hangar. Landing on
dry land is a fun experience after weeks or months of landing only at sea on a boat.
Most guys will stay at the hangar on these islands because it is free (Honiara and
Pohnpei for Tropic Helicopters) but next time I’m in Honiara I’m going to a hotel.
39
Once you’re checked into the hotel you’re going to want to do a few things.
The first, depending on the day will be get a cab/bus/truck to the telecom provider
to get a SIM card for your unlocked phone and load it up with a bunch of prepaid
data. Then you’re going to want lunch that isn’t Korean/Taiwan food and if at all
possible as close a taste of home as you can. Then you’re going to want to hit an ATM
and pull out a couple hundred worth of local currency. This is the best exchange rate
you’ll get because the Western Unions and other currency exchanges charge their
own exchange rates and take commission on currency transfers. After that, hit a
grocery store and buy some snacks and a case of beer for the hotel room and head
back.
Most guys spend their first day in port online, chatting with family and
friends, getting caught up on the month they just spent at sea and getting their
photos and stories uploaded for their loved ones to read. Like me, all mine are
uploaded at http://theroamingpilot.me so if you’re looking for more personal tales
of the tuna pilot adventure head there and check it out. Also, I’m publishing a series
this year with HeliOps Magazine, so you can search their archives too.
It will be very unlikely that you’ll be in port alone. I mean highly, extremely,
unlikely. There are so many boats out here with pilots and mechanics on them all on
the same time table as the others that you’ll either cross paths with a pilot on the
way or on the way out or you’ll arrive on the same day in which case you’ll have a
buddy for some of your time on the island. You can also split the cost of a hotel room
with the other pilot if you both want to save some money. So you and your fellow
pilots will probably at some point that evening venture out for food and then a pub –
and if not a pub, you’ll make your way back from the food to your hotel where
you’ve got that case of beer from earlier cooling off.
Life in port can be a laid back vacation on a tropical island, or a party at the
discos, or an adventure taking in the local attractions. There is a lot of WWII history
around here so if you’re into that you can easily find your way to old gun
emplacements, and sites of historic battles. There is world class scuba diving to be
had so I suggest getting certified before you come out here so you can take part in it.
You can rent motorcycles and cars and kayaks and sails if you are so inclined. You
have a lot of options on the island, just remember to use your time wisely and
always check in with the agent for your boat to confirm the departure time.
Most of these ports have a lot to offer, so as I visit them I’ll add to the next
chapter what I can to get you around the port like you’ve been there a dozen times
before. So, if you’re reading an early version of this, say in early 2015, there might
not be a lot of info. The final version, which you’ll want, will be released later this
year and should include a whole lot more info for you.
One more thing, if you are leaving your ship while it is in port, no matter
what – lock the door. Lock it, and padlock it so you have a double layer of security.
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Don’t trust the local security – they’re as crooked as the thieves the might board
your ship in the night and root through the trash. Just make sure that you and your
mechanic both have a key, or that you have a safe spot for the key that you do have
so that either of you can get into the room. You don’t want to come back and find
that the local “security” that EVERY port will put on your boat got away with some
of your nice electronics. It hasn’t happened to me, but it did happen to some of the
other crews.
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11. Port Guide
So here I’ll try to include information on telecom, hotels, bars, restaurants,
shopping, tourist attractions, and transportation. Also, any other pertinent
information that I deem fit to include will be here. This is a compilation of my
experiences in ports where I’ve stopped so I don’t have every bit of information, and
I don’t know all the names yet but I’ll try and get you around without them.
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
G.
H.
I.
J.
Suva
Tarawa
Honiara
Brisbane
Pohnpei
Rabual
Tuvalu
Majuro
Samoa
General Santos City
A. Suva, Fiji
Suva is the Capital of Fiji and isn’t exactly a tourist destination more than it is
a commercial port and seat o’ government for the Island nation. There are some
local attractions and a resort a short bus ride from the town, but ultimately this port
is for commerce and not leisure. However occasionally a cruise ship will make its
way to Suva so there could be a lot of tourists around while you are here. If you are
in Suva than you either came here with a ship at the end of a one year trip or you are
meeting a ship about to begin one. The crew of officers will change, they will
celebrate hard, and the new officers will take over the ship for their one year trip.
There are several hotels here in Suva, the one I stayed at was booked for me
by the company which means it was really cheap and affordable. The Southern Cross
hotel goes for $70FJ a night if you book it online, and $80FJ in cash at the desk. It has
a Korean restaurant on the roof and a bar with a view of the city. The rooms are
clean, air conditioned, and have two beds.
Near the Port of Suva, where you will be meeting your ship, is a modern
shopping center called Tappoo City, and the 4th floor is a large food court. There is
also a night club/disco on the 4.5th floor accessible by stars in the food court. Just
behind this area there is a shopping center with a grocery, cell phone stores and
movie stores.
If you haven’t unlocked your phone yet go to the Phone Hospital store, they
are on every corner it seems like, and ask them to unlock it – it’ll take several hours.
Your best bet is to go to the one right across from the McDonalds though, since that
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is where the Chinese guy is that does it. Any other outlet sends the phone there to be
unlocked. Once your phone is unlocked right behind Tappoo City is a Telecom store
you can get your sim card, phone configured for internet, and prepaid internet there.
Make sure you specify internet to them, so that you aren’t buying a bunch of load for
calls and texts in Fiji, you’ll only be here a few days you don’t need to call anyone.
You can buy all your groceries in the shopping center just behind Tappoo
City also. As a rule of thumb I buy something for each of 21 days at sea and then
while at sea ration it out to one thing per two days (cookies, crackers, chips, etc) so
that it lasts longer than the voyage itself.
There is a really good restaurant called the “Bad Dog” I highly recommend,
it’s within walking distance of the Port, between the Port and the Southern Cross
Hotel. It is walking distance, if you do need a taxi for any reason they are very
abundant especially near the port.
That’s all I know about Suva, I didn’t go to any of the clubs or bars while I was
there but they are all located on the same street as Tappoo city and lit up with bright
neon. Don’t wander alone, go with a buddy, and keep your wallet in your front
pocket because pickpockets are active here. The Chinese mob own Suva and the
bars and women there so play it safe if you go out for that sort of thing.
B. Tarawa, Kiribati
Tarawa was my first port call when I took this job and was out at sea, you will
anchor in port and tie off to a refer ship there, when the agents come aboard ask
them if you can ride back to shore with them when they leave your boat and then
standby because when they leave, they leave fast.
Most pilots stay at either the George Hotel or the Boutique Hotel, but there is
also Mary’s Hotel and The Betio Lodge. Next time I’m in Tarawa I’ll be staying at the
Betio Lodge – it has a exponentially better restaurant and the internet is free. At the
George and Boutique you need to pay for it. The lodge is just as affordable but the
rooms are nicer than the George. The Boutique hotel has very nice rooms and is
right next to a shopping center and telecom, also you can rent a motorbike or a car
here. Mary’s hotel has a restaurant that has a very delicious cheeseburger – I didn’t
see the rooms but the New Caledonian girl I chatted up who was staying there said
they were fairly nice.
The ONLY place to get a sim card on the island is at the state owned telecom
and they don’t exactly follow posted hours. Typically they’ll be there during
business hours, if they feel like it because they’re on island time, and if they are it’s
an easy process to get hooked up. The internet speed you’ll get off of your phone
with a sim card and their 4G network is worlds quicker than what you’ll get with the
internet in the hotels.
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There is a lot of WWII history here but the country is extremely poor so they
have made absolutely zero effort at preserving the sites. The most obvious piece of
history are the four coastal guns the Japanese installed and used during the battle of
Tarawa. Only one still has its barrel, all are rotting in the salty corrosion of the sea,
and all are marked in graffiti. Something else to note is that the beach here is filthy,
especially close to the port. If you want to spend time in the water you’ll want to
either rent a car and go to the extreme other end of the Atoll (about a 45 minute
drive) or rent a sail kayak and sail over. There is a nice resort with good food and
internet out there and the water is blue and crystal clear. (According to other pilots,
I didn’t make it there last time)
Every hotel also is a bar, so you won’t need to wander far to get some drinks.
All of these locations are in secure compounds and the lock the gates at night. The
streets aren’t particularly dangerous from what I’m told, but every hotel has to pay
for private security – I think it is an elaborate racketeering job. There is a disco in
town called “Midtown” and it is an experience everyone must have at least once
(and then never again). It is an open building that is not well ventilated playing the
latest island covers of pop music, packed to the seams with locals dancing and
drinking. You’ll see more than one fight, and you’ll be the object of attention and
affection from every local girl in the bar. There is a hotel attached to this club, I don’t
think that it is a place you’ll want to stay. Not without some shots…of antibiotics.
Transport on the island is provided by a “bus” network of vans operated by a
team of one man driving and one woman gathering bus fare. Currency on the island
is Australian Dollars, and a bus ride from pickup to anywhere on the route is
between .40cents or .80cents per person depending on the lady gathering the fare.
They are hot, blasting music, and smell of body odor so mentally prepare for that.
The airport has flights on every Monday and Thursday, otherwise the
international airport runway is just part of the highway system. There are shops and
restaurants there so if you head that way you can stop.
There is a drug/meth problem on the island, so keep a battle buddy with you
when you’re out especially at the disco or at night. The other threat here is feral
dogs. One of the pilots was attacked by a pack of wild dogs on a beach near the port
and one bit his ankle. I never felt threatened by any of the dogs, but it is something
to keep an eye on. Please don’t abuse them thow, or throw rocks, they are
unfortunately living in terrible circumstances – don’t antagonize them or make their
lives harder than they have to be. I about jumped a Filipino who threw a rock at a
dog and hit it in the snout. I’m just a few threads away from actually busting the
nose, with a rock, of the next guy that hurts a dog for no reason – only sociopaths
and murderers hurt animals for no reason – you psychopath.
My next stop in Tarawa will go something like this. I’ll spend my first night at
the Boutique hotel. When I arrive I’ll get my sim card right away and go online and
talk to friends and family. I’ll buy and chill a case of beer for the next day and eat a
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burger at Marys Hotel for dinner (it is a short walk down the road from the
Boutique). The next day I’ll rent a car and head to the other side of the Atoll and go
to the resort for the day, with my chilled case of beer and spend the day at the resort
and on the beach. The next day I’ll rent a sail Kayak and do another beach day. That
night I’ll relocate to the Betio Lodge and spend the next few days on the internet and
near the port with other pilots kicking back – and my shopping. I always go back to
my boat the night before we sail to make sure I don’t miss it due to any schedule
changes.
Shopping for supplies and food in Tarawa is fairly easy, just be prepared for
some sticker shock, prices here are very high. There is a store a short walk from the
George hotel that has a fairly large selection. Not much however in the way of cold
storage and no climate control so if you have a sweet tooth expect your chocolates
to be melted or at the very least to be chalky from too many temperature changes.
Next, the Betio Lodge is right next door to a nice new shopping market that has a
large selection and more cold storage. Very convenient to buy there and then walk it
to the hotel if you stay at the lodge. I don’t think the selection is any larger than the
selection near the George Hotel. Lastly there is a shopping center attached to the
Boutique hotel that has most of what you’ll want or need. There are small shops
upstairs that cover everything from notebooks to bug spray and clothes, while
downstairs is the main market with a bigger selection than the other two. There are
also two other small local shops nearby (look for the western union – it’s in the
same store) that have some other items. It used to be a Filipino store but when I was
there last it seemed as though someone else took over and all the Filipino stuff we
were looking for was gone.
C. Honiara, Solomon Islands
Honiara is the capital city of the Solomon Islands and also has a hangar for
Tropic Helicopters here. After you clear customs and immigration you and your
mechanic can load up your bags into the helicopter and fly to the hangar. When you
arrive there most likely there will be other pilots and mechanics waiting and you’ll
instantly have company. The maintenance people will want to know about any
discrepancies and then they will wheel your helicopter into the hangar for a couple
days of work.
Grab someone that knows their way around, one of the other pilots or local
workers and grab a truck and head into town. There are also a lot of taxi services
available here. This is a very well developed port and has everything you could want
in terms of shopping, food and bars. The Lime Lounge is a good breakfast place and
coffee shop with eggs and bacon. Also the Grand Pacific (or was it…Pacific Coast)
casino has a great restaurant with cheap lobster, steak, burgers, and pizza. I had a
western omelet there and it was amazing. Just remember you’re in a different part
of the world and over here they like their eggs runny – ask for it well done, it’ll still
come runny. Send it back to the kitchen and ask them to cook it more, only after two
tries will they get it right. The Monarch Bar has a great beer and pizza happy hour
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offer. The Royal Solomon Hotel is where I’ll be staying next time I’m at the Island. It
has a nice restaurant, a nice bar, an old cable car instead of an elevator and a nice
swimming pool. Also the internet there is supposedly pretty good which is a billion
times better than the internet at the hangar.
Honiara has a ton of WWII history, so make sure you go check out the
Guadalcanal Memorial on top of the ridge when you are there. Also, the Solomon
Islands are scuba diver Mecca, so get certified before coming out here and when you
are in port go get on a dive trip. Best bet is to find a dive shop near the yacht club for
your options but there are wrecks of ships and planes from WWII here, and great
local reefs. Be prepared for a day trip at the least though, because the port isn’t
exactly gorgeous. There are also day trips to waterfalls and hiking locations around
the island. I didn’t get much time in Honiara before getting flown to Suva to meet
another boat, so next time I’ll spend more time exploring.
For nightclubs you’ll want the Cowboy Grill, which isn’t really a grill from
what I could tell. They have live bands and a DJ, two bars one indoor and one
outdoor. They import sexy Filipina girl bands often to play the stage and the drinks
are cheap enough to have a good time. Right across from the grill is an upstairs
bar/club as well. All your nightlife entertainment contained in one small block.
As for shopping, there are small shops near the hangar, there are big
shopping complexes located throughout the town. The Hyundai Mall has an
electronics store, and other stores if you need anything done. If this is your first stop
go here to the Mobile One…or was it…Phone Plus…store to get your phone unlocked.
Trust me when I say that you’ll want your phone unlocked. By the end of this
contract you’ll have a collection of sim cards from every country you’ve stopped in.
If you do work for Tropic Helicopters than you will have the option to stay at
the Hangar while you are in Honiara. It is free to stay there but it is far from ideal. In
fact the conditions on your boat often will be better than those at the hangar. Like I
mentioned above, I’ll be staying at a hotel next time. The food is prepared by a
Filipino cook who does a really good job with it, however the meals are almost
identical to what you get on the boats. There is no source of cold or purified water
or beverages, you have to leave to buy all of that. The room you will be in is a shared
bunk room, when I was there all 5 beds had someone sleeping on them, as did the
two couches and two foam mattresses that had been put on the floor – it was a full
house. The bathroom is a public bathroom and is filthy, leaving much to be desired.
The hangar was a fun social gathering point with a large courtyard but most of us
were on our laptops and phones while we were there. That is, those of us who had
gone and purchased sim cards – the company “provides” internet at the Hangar but
it does not work. You would have better luck writing a note, sticking it into an open
bottle, floating that bottle out to sea, shooting the bottle, and then waiting for a reply
from your loved one.
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However, interestingly enough the internet in the office itself is fairly quick
and would allow for people to check email and browse their facebook and maybe
even talk to loved ones. That’s my gripe with the hangar in Honiara, and I’ve only
been there once so I don’t know if it is always like that but I’d wager heavily on yes.
The staff and people are all great, and it’s a good time spending time with them – but
your time in port is your BREAK from the hardship of living on a boat for a month
fishing, you should make it enjoyable and comfortable.
D. Brisbane, Australia
I’m just including this one to brag. I got to spend one night here on my way to
Fiji, it was AWESOME to be back in a modern city again, even if it was for less than
18 hours. If you get to spend a day in Australia consider yourself lucky. The
company put me up in the Airport Motel in the suburb of Ascot. It’s a short walk to
Racecourse Road, which has a bunch of bars and restaurants on it. Go for a walk and
enjoy. Just keep your eyes open and up, they have a Drop Bear problem. Odds are
you wont stop here. At the end of your contract don’t rush home, take some time
and travel Australia, you’ll thank me for suggesting this.
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APPENDIX A: GETTING YOUR AFFAIRS IN ORDER
There is a lot that goes into leaving your life for a year in a remote operating
environment with very little hope for reliable connection or communication back home.
There are things to consider, things to arrange, documents to draw up and sign at a notary
public, and the list just seems to go on and on. Now, for a moment lets say that you’re a
smart person, you’d have to be right? You come this far as a pilot, surely you’re a smart
person. Being a smart person you told the company that hired you that you would need NO
LESS than two weeks before you could travel. Because, you being a smart person, know that
there is a lot to be handled before you can get on that plane and leave for a year. You
couldn’t possibly leave tomorrow like they’re asking – because that would be dumb.
What I’m going to try and do here is give you a list of things that you’ll want to do, or
at the very least consider doing, before you leave for this adventure lifestyle of ours.
Because being smart people means that even though we live a life of danger and fly although
it is full of risk – we want to protect ourselves and our loved ones from the little problems
and also from the big problems.
A1: Health Insurance: There are strange and mysterious diseases out here in the strange
and mysterious pacific. There are also not so strange, and seemingly normal ailments too.
You are going to want n international health insurance policy to cover you in the event
something does, in fact, happen to you in terms of your health and well being. I would
suggest your first order of business once you’ve accepted the job is to arrange an
International Health Insurance policy that covers everything from emergency to
preventative medicine and maybe even consider their emergency repatriation coverage too.
Just in case it is bad enough you need to be transported by private jet to America. It’s a small
price to pay for the peace of mind of knowing that it isn’t going to cost you and two
generations of offspring their lifes wages to pay for your care.
A2: Banking: Make sure that all of your bills and debts are set up to auto-payment from
your banking account where your salary will be wired. You won’t be home to get the mail
that your account is past due, and you wont be home to answer the collection calls. When
you do get home you will find that you have the worst credit score imaginable and your car
has been repossessed. Do not leave the country without setting up auto-pay. Also, get a
family member onto your bank account with you, so that they can check your account and
confirm that you are getting paid, and that it is the right amount.
A3: Medicines: Aside from the basics in the first aid kit I describe in the packing list, you’re
going to want to make sure that if you need any special or specific medications that you get
a full prescription of that medication before you travel. You’ll also want to ask your doctor
for a scrip to reload the prescription later on in the year. Some of the pharmacies here care
about having a doctors note, others you just walk up to the counter and tell them what you
need. It’ll be handy to have that note just in case. Also, before you leave get anti-malarial
medication, and make sure your shots and shot records are up to date.
A4: Medical Certificate: Go see an AME and get a newly issued medical certificate and try
to schedule the appointment as close to when you are going to fly out as possible, so that it
is valid the entire length of your contract. The laws of your certificate issuing country still
bind you when you’re flying out here and flying without a valid medical certificate is, not
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surprisingly, against the law. Remind the operator that hires you about this as well when it
comes time for your medical to expire, they’ll want to have a pilot replacement ready for
you.
A5: Apartments and related: Ok so you aren’t homeless and living on the streets right? If
you’re like me than you will need to arrange to get out of your current lease, or get someone
to take it over. I did both, got released from my lease AND had my roommate take over my
portion. It worked out really well. Also, any utilities in your name like cable, internet, water,
gas, electric, make sure you get ALL of that transferred to the new tenants before you leave.
You don’t want them to stop paying while you get charged and dinged for non-payment for
a year.
A6: Purchases and Mail: If you are buying items like life vests, seat cushions, helmets,
headsets, bags whatever, and having it shipped to you make sure that you do that first.
Assume that Murphy’s law will come true with everything you order online. If you order it
less than a week from when you are supposed to leave and pay for overnight shipping – it
probably will be that package, that order, that gets lost or held up in the mail, or they ship
wrong. Handle all shipping and purchases as soon as you have the job and contract. Arrange
also to have your mail forwarded to a relative who will go through it for you and look for
important documents and notices. Like those credit collections because you didn’t set up
your auto-pay like I told you to.
A7: Power of Attorney and Will: This is where it gets a little heavy. The power of attorney
is a smart thing to do. I got one drawn up by LegalZoom.com for my parents. It gives them
full rights to do anything and everything in my name. You will want one of these so that
someone in your life can handle your affairs for you while you are gone. Remember you’re
not going to be in a place to call or email or log on. You need someone at home to support
you while you are gone. My life fits down nicely into the back of my car, everything I own
with the exception of my motorcycle fits into that car. My parents have full power to
determine my will in the event something happens to me. Don’t leave your family without
some sort of tool or mechanism in the event that something tragic does happen out here.
Pilots have died doing this job. My advice to you is – don’t die. But if you do, have a plan in
place to support your family and loved ones back home. This will need to be notarized too
so don’t forget that part.
A8: Storage: You’ll want to take all of your stuff and put it into a nice, preferably climate
controlled, storage unit. Then you’ll want to put that storage unit onto an automatic
payment system tied to a credit card that isn’t going to expire during the year you are gone.
The storage unit should be big enough for your stuff, and in a secure facility. You may be
interested to find when you get home that you don’t want most of the stuff you stored
anyways and you’ll decide to get rid of it. But until that point of revelation in your life –
store your stuff, don’t just get rid of all of it.
A9: Cars, Motorcycles, and other Vehicles: Make sure that you have all of your vehicles
serviced and prepped for long term storage before you leave. Also, make sure that you
cancel the insurance you don’t need on them for while you are gone – no need to pay for
collision coverage if the car is going to be in a garage. I reduced all of mine to liability
coverage only. If you are leaving the vehicles in the care of another person make sure it is
someone you trust who is responsible and won’t rob a bank using them.
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A10: Cell phone: If you are with a service provider that has you locked into a two year
contract look into the cost of an early termination of that contract. You’re not going to want
to pay for a cell phone and service if you aren’t going to be in the country to use that service.
If they will let you schedule your service termination for a day or two after you leave, so
that you’ll have service while you travel out of the country, and will still have service if you
get delayed for a day or two.
*On cell phones, most airports around the world have a kiosk just past security as you’re
leaving the terminal that will have your sim cards and charge/load. Even in Brisbane the
first thing I did as soon as I walked through the security glass was to go directly to the kiosk
and get my SIM. An unlocked phone is a commodity you will not want to leave home
without. It is a wonder that the United States hasn’t evolved to this yet.
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APPENDIX B: NETWORKING, TIPS AND TRICKS,
POINTERS AND POKERS
NETworkING
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